Friday, It’s almost the Weekend.

Hello Friends.

I hope this posting finds you well and not to cold, because this morning it was –5.4 c outside and all was crisp under foot and the canal had ice on it again wooo hooo. I do so love my life on the canal and no I am not being flippant, I really adore my life and would not change it for the world.

This past few days, I have been a little reflective after the loss of our friend Les. Yesterday I sat and read Jaqueline’s latest posting on their blog all about Les and his last few days of life in what looks like an incredible Hospice. Everyone there was so caring. It is an inspirational read, but tissues were also needed, so if you feel you are up to reading all about Les and Jaqueline please do go and read their blog. Both Les and Jaqueline fought the good fight with such grace and determination and to the end, they have both been so inspirational. Talking about death is something we do not do enough and that is why Jacqueline’s latest posting ‘Death Is Hard Work’ is beautifully written.

Friday and yes it is darn nippy this morning. I do not normally worry about the cold, but this morning I was only to happy to put my duvet jacket on and gloves, so it must have been cold. The air literally took my breath away, when I stepped off of the boat with Paddy. He was very spritely this morning whilst out for his walk, either that or he was just in a hurry to get back in the warm. On our return to the boat, I re-lit the back cabin stove and stoked up the saloon stove, to keep our little piece of heaven nice and cosy.

There was very little excitement to my Friday. I got to go to the recycling bins at Sainsbury. Yeah I know, I lead such an exciting life. Recycling has to be done and when our two bags are full, they need to be emptied. The one good thing is, it gets me out for a walk in the fresh air.

More fresh air was taken in, when I decided to get off my bottom and take Paddy for a walk up to Lock Two on the Hatton Flight. There is no way Paddy would have gotten to the top. He may have reached the top, but I would of been carrying him home, so we walked up to the second lock and then did an about turn.

The Bottom Lock cottage is looking fabulous. it was sold at Auction for £165,000 towards the end of 2016 and the people who bought it, have really made a lovely job of its renovation. It will be nice to see people living in it and enjoying it. The only draw back for this cottage, like so many other lock cottages, is it does not have road access. You have to cross the lock gates to reach the cottage, so it could prove fun in the bad weather because the carpark is over the lock gates. I absolutely love the cottage.

Back to the warmth of the boat, I got on with emptying the engine room.

Why?

Well Saturday morning, Rob from Kate Boats, is coming to look at our generator and hopefully he can find out what the problem is with it and best of all fix it. We will then make firmer plans for this years cruising. We know where we would like to go, but if the generator is not working right, we will just stay put. You are probably thinking, why is the generator so important? Well our engine is a rare vintage engine and a loud lady to boot, so when moored up for a weekend or more, we do not like running her. She is much happier running on the move. The built in generator is quiet in comparison, and so we would prefer to have it working properly. So fingers will be tightly crossed for a good result.

After lunch, it was noticeable that the temperature was creeping up and the ice on the canal was melting, so it looks like the milder weather is on its way for the weekend, which means rain and lots of it.

I am still busy doing the family history. I have been going between my family history and Keith’s. I made a discovery in my family history. Walter Owen was born in 1882 and died in 1945. In 1901 he was a boatman in Birmingham, working with or for Thomas Beresford, who was the head of a boating family. Walter and I are first cousins three times removed. I know it is tenuous but I just knew I had someone in my family who was involved on the water. If you have watched ‘Golden Age of Canals’ you will hear me say “I feel like I have come home” and knowing that he was cruising the canals makes me so happy.