Happy New Year.

I hope that you enjoyed a fantastic New Years Eve. Ours was a little strange. Having enjoyed Chinese Nibbles for dinner along with a pint of Old Speckled Hen, we settled down to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End". Keith fell asleep just after 8pm, leaving me to watch most of the movie on my own. He woke up towards the end of the film, but by then I was tired so at 10.15pm I was off to my bed and therefore I was not destined to see the New Year in, which is no big deal. Keith came to bed as well, but after just an hour he was up and woke me up whilst climbing over me, claiming he was to hot, even though the back cabin stove was almost out. So there was nothing for it, but to get up and make a cup of tea and see the New Year in with BBC 1. The fireworks were incredible. Braunston church bells began to peel as it approached midnight and the music from the pub got louder.

The fireworks in London were truly incredible and I would certainly love to see them for myself one year. We wished each other a Happy New Year and then I was off to my bed again, Keith followed on sometime later, in fact he did not come to be until 1.40am arghhhh. This time though I did not feel him climb over me. having had an interrupted nights sleep we were awake at around 8am, so Keith made us both a cup of tea before we got up to get on with the usual morning chores. Whilst I was out walking Paddy, Keith was cooking us breakfast for the fist time in 2012.

Breakfast all done, I did the washing-up and then got on with some new year clearing out. First cupboard was the food cupboard to get rid of things which are either out of date or never used. This has tidied up things no end, so now when I open the door, things do not fall out on top of me or Keith. The next cupboard to get the same treatment was the cupboard with all my storage containers in. Some of them have never been used, so are just taking up room, it was time for them to be binned. Living on a boat means you cannot have lots of stuff lying around which never gets used. Everything must have a use or its place, otherwise it goes. We have a small chest of draws, which also going to get used for something else once Keith cuts it down. Because we do not haver much space on our boat, I am always trying to clear stuff as I put it out, to make sure we are not overwhelmed and because it is the start of a new year, it is the perfect time to clear out the old. With two cupboards down, I will work my way through the rest of them over the next day or two.

It maybe a new year, but to me it is just another day. I am not saying that in a depressed manner, but to be honest it is just another day in a year which is now counting down to 2013. Of course we have got many things to look forward too. The Queen's Golden Jubilee, The Olympic Games to start with and then there are the things we hope to do this year. Firstly we want to get up on to the Leicester Line to collect our Christmas post, but this can only happen if there is enough water underneath us. Then we want to head for Whaley Bridge after the Winter stoppages to get our electrics and batteries organised. Easter we are hoping to go to the Ellesmere Meet. After that we have an idea of where we hope to go, but we never make any fixed plans, because they tend to go to pot.

So what are your plans for 2012???

I am off now to check my meat cooking in the back cabin stove and then the day is my own. So have a wonderful 1st day of 2012 xxxxx