Relaxing Sunday.

Hi Friends.


After an extemely busy day yesterday. I was tucked up in bed after the X-Factor. I just knew Cher was going last night. I still think it is all a fix. Yep by 9.20pm I was snuggled down in my bed. Keith sat up and watched 'Meet The Spartans' made in 2008 it starred Sean Mcguire. I did not even feel Keith come to bed, which is not like me, because I am normally a light sleeper.

7am and we were awake, so I made us a cuppa before we laid in for a bit longer. Before I knew it, it was 8.30am and Paddy was moving around in the saloon, wanting to go out. I very begrudingly got out from under my nice warm duvet, to take him out for his walk. Oh I should mention I did get dressed before heading out, otherwise it would not have been a pretty sight. As Paddy and I stepped off of the boat, it was clear the temperature had dropped below freezing again last night, because the canal was frozen over again, undoing all the work we did yesterday to break up the ice for the hire company. Paddy and I strolled up and back along the towpath, whilst Keith was cooking breakfast. I do love a cooked breakfast in the morning's, but I could not eat on everyday, my waist line just would not take it ;0).
After a wonderful yummy breakfast, I had to sweep the back stove chimney. I get all the glamourous jobs. But needs must, because I like to keep the chimneys swept. You really do not want to see my hands at the moment. They are not very attractive, I have coal miners hands, not that I have ever seen a coal miners hands, but if they are cracked and have ground in coal dust in them then I have them. I am going to have to scrub them clean before we go and eat out on Christmas Day.

Chimney cleaned, fires stoked I had plans to have a quiet day, because yesterday was somewhat manic. So come midday I made us some soup for lunch, then put my feet up to watch the films on TV. First off it was 'Triple Cross' on BBC2 a Second World War drama based on the allegedly true exploits starring Christopher Plummer. Then for the first time in over 10 years I sat and watched Coronation Street. I have to say the tram crash was very well done. It was quite emotional. I used to watch all the soaps on TV, but I have found better things to do with my time over the past 10 years. After Corrie, I turned over to Channel 4 to watch 'Volcano' starring Tommy Lee Jones and I really do not need to tell you the plot. Ohhhh well maybe I will, just in case you have not seen it. Tommy Lee Jones plays the emergency chief attempting to save Los Angeles from molten lava in this taut, effects-laden disaster movie. Of course it all ends happily ever after, like all movies. So whilst this is not the most exciting post I have ever written, it has been a lovely relaxing day for me.

During the afternoon, we did have a little annoyance, when a group of youngsters were trying to smash the ice at the stern of the boat, which made a hell of a racket. Keith went out to find out what they were doing and they told him they wanted to go fishing. These were the same lads as yesterday, who left stacks and stacks of fishing line all over the place, which I and another boater collected up and threw in the bin. We did not say anything to the youngsters yesterday, but Keith went out and asked the boys to move on, because in the basin and on the moorings fishing is not allowed and there are plenty of signs up saying so. Keith took the sticks off of the boys and sent them on their way with a flea in their ears. Just hoping they do not come back and cause problems. I do not want to spoil their fun, after all I was there age once, but it does say NO FISHING, and as they could read English, they should have known better. But you know what kids are like. I think however, I can honestly say with hand on heart, I never disobeyed signs, because if I had, I would have got a clip around the ear by my parents. I am sure normally these lads are good kids, just a little mis-guided.

The afternoon is now drawing into the evening, dinner is cooking in the back stove, Sausage Casserole with Dumplings and I can now look forward to an evening in front of the TV. With it being the X-Factor Final, I will be glued to that. I have a feeling One Direction may win this year, making Simon Cowell a very happy man. I actually think Rebecca is fantastic, but so is Matt. Oh choices, choices, not that I ever vote, as I think it is a waste of money and yes I also think it is all fixed. But I am sure someone will tell me it is not. I am now off to check on dinner, so have a wonderful Sunday evening everyone. x

Coal delivery and new pillows.

Hi Folks.

After the fun and games we had yesterday moving Hadar in the ice to the Sanitary Station, we spent the night on the electric hookup, which meant I got all of my washing done and used the tumble drier, so everything was washed, dried and put away within a couple of hours. After we had got a few things done, we decided to go down the late night shopping evening in Market Harborough. We went and had dinner at Abbey Cottage Chinese Restaurant, which we had been to a couple of times before, but they were closed. This time was third time lucky and we were not disappointed, because the food was lovely. With full tummies, we headed into the town to join in the madness which is the late night shopping event, which is held every year. There were loads and loads of people milling around in the town. We went and said hello to the Hfm team, who were playing festive music. There was a lot for the children to do with fair rides in the town centre. The atomosphere was very festive, so hopefully the local stores will have had a good evening, they stayed open until 9pm.

I really had thought I would have slept like a log last night, but nope that did not happen. We were in bed by 9.30pm, because we were both shattered and Keith was falling asleep in his chair. The night began well, with me falling asleep straight away, but that did not last, because at midnight there I was wide awake and listening to Keith snoring grrrrrrrr. He has a bad shoulder at the moment, so he cannot sleep on his side like he usually does. This means he is laying on his back and therfore he snores. It got so bad that I got up and sat in the saloon for an hour and listened to him snoring and the wind blowing the ice against the boat. I felt I knew how Titanic must have felt when she was hit by an iceberg, because it really is eerie when the ice scratches along the side of the boat. A bit like fingernails running down a blackboard. 1pm I climbed back into bed and tried to sleep, but I knew I had to be up at 6am, so was then clock watching. 6am came and the alarm went off. I was up and dressed with a list of things to get done before our coal delivery would hopefully arrive. The list went something like this.

1. Breakfast.

2. Walk Paddy.

3. Put washing machine on.

4. Roll up the sheeting on the hold and tidy coal.

5. Fill up the water tank.

6. Make a Sausage Casserole, which was put in the back stove.

With all of thoise jobs done, it was time for a coffee, whilst we waited for the coal delivery to arrive. When Tom and Chris arrived, they pulled the lorry as close to the sanitary station as possible, so they could use the crane.

The delivery was made so much easier with the crane arm lifting each pallette off and down to the wharfside. Tom and Keith then lifted the coal bags to the boat and I stacked them in the hold. With the hold full, it was time for Coffee and hot Sausage Rolls before Tom and Chris left to do their next delivery.

Deliveries made to a couple of customers we secured the hold sheeting. Keith then did some ice breaking in the basin so the hire company can move some of their boats to the service area on Monday as they need pumpouts, he then reversed back down the canal to our original mooring where we will be until the thaw is complete hopefully. Once moored up, I then legged it down the town to buy some new pillows. A couple of our old pillows are now being used by Paddy for his bed, because his previous ones were absolutely disgusting. They are now residing in a skip. Paddy now has two nice clean, dry pillows for his bed and we now have two brand new pillows for our bed. It is a win, win situation. The town was packed with Christmas shoppers, it was still as manic as last night. I did what I had to do then legged it straight back to the boat, where I had to unload coal for a customer coming to collect their coal. With that job done the closed sign went up on the boat, because I am well and truly cream crackered. I will most definitely sleep well tonight and if I do not there will be trouble.

A Smashing Time

Hi Folks.

Today was the day where we would be trying to move the boat to the basin. We had a thaw overnight, but not enough to make the ice on the canal disappear. So one of the first tasks was to break the ice around the bow and stern to make it easier to move. We managed to move Hadar 200 metres into the basin ready for a coal delivery tomorrow, but it did take all of 1hr 15mins!! Most of that was trying to get away from the towpath mooring, but once into the middle of the canal and deeper water I was breaking the 3" thick ice quite comfortably. A hug thank you to everyone who helped us break the ice this morning to get us moving. It was very much appreciated.

Tomorrow we will be taking on a coal delivery, which will be very welcome to all of our customers, who are depending on us at the moment to keep them warm.

Hfm and JK Robbie Willams

Hi Folks.

It has been a day of first for me and at the age of 48 that does not happen to often.

The day began at 7am, when I woke up. Yep I managed to sleep in this morning, which is a miracle. First job of the morning was to rake out the ash in the back cabin stove, so that it could roar into life. With the cabin warming up, I was then up and dressed. Before breakfast Paddy got his walk down a very slippery towpath. I have visions of me landing up on my behind one of these mornings. I cannot afford to break anything as this is a very busy time for us.

After breakfast, the saloon stove was stoked up for the day. and boat chores done.

11am we left the boat to go to a coffee morning on NB Acen. Jo and John invited us to join them along with Chrissie and Richard from NB Digitalis, and Jill and Don from NB Idunno. We spent a lovely hour chatting, drinking coffee and eating nibbles. At midday we had to leave the party to be picked up by Moley from Hfm the local radio station. Moley had invited us to take part in his show from 1pm to 3pm to chat about life on the Waterway's, which was a first for both of us. When we got to the studio Dave Smith was on the air talking to JK who does a Robbie Williams Act celebrating the music of Robbie Williams. It was astonishing how much he looks and sounds like Robbie. I had to do a double take when I met him. Meeting JK was another first, JK is a lovely guy and maybe one day we will go and see him perform. He will be performing at the De Montfort Hall, Leicester on the 24th March 2011. Come 1pm it was time for Moley to take to the air and for Keith and I to join him in the studio.I never realised how quickly two hours can go. We chatted about life on the canal, especially with the present weather conditions. We talked about the history of the canals and answered questions sent in by listeners. It was really great fun but the time flew by and before we knew it, it was 3pm and time for Moley to hand over to Richard Oliffe. Moley made us feel very welcome and relaxed and it is certainly something I would do again. Moley very kindly gave us a lift back o our boat, as it is quite a hike from the studio even in good weather. We had a late lunch of Bacon sandwiches and a cuppa. It has been a fantastic day. Tomorrow we will be trying to move the boat, in order to take on a coal delivery on Saturday, so we will be crunching our way through the ice....

Shame on you.

I thought I would come back and have a bit of a rant.

On Monday 6th December, an horrific car crash took place near Market Harborough, in which two people tragically died. When anyone dies it is tragic, but to die in a car accident is devastating. I know because my Gran was knocked down and killed by a car. So when I read that there had been a third car involved and that car had fled the scene, It really upset and annoyed me.
How can anyone justify leaving the scene of an accident?

I really hope that the person driving the third car, either comes forward of their own accord, or someone tells the police who they are and where they live, because justice needs to be seen to be done, for all of the families concerned.
I then got chatting to someone on my Facebook page, who lost his daughter and her friend in a car accident. The driver of the car which caused the accident only got 4 yrs, which equates to 2 yrs for each life. That is not justice in my opinion.
How can someone's life only be worth 2 years?
The family of those who died have to live with the pain for the rest of their lives, whilst the offender, gets on with their lives once they are released from prison. There is something seriously wrong there. But again just my opinion.
I am a big believer in a life for a life or at least a life sentence, meaning life behind bars and not just a few years and then let out.
The lady who knocked my Gran down, was not speeding or drunk, she just did not see my Gran step off of the pavement, and no blame was put on the woman driving the car. However this lady has to live with what she did for the rest of her days. Apparently my Gran stepped in front of the car, without looking for the traffic. I do realise that in some cases it is a pure accident. I do realise all cases have to be taken on merit, but in cases where the driver is either drunk, drugged up, or speeding real sentences have to be given.

Whose fed up?

Hi Folks.

Who is fed up with this weather now?

I am certainly not, I absolutely adore this weather and everything it brings with it, including the hardships. I know I am totally mad.
I really love boating at this time of year, but there is not much of that going on at the moment, due to the ice, but there is nothing nicer than cruising when it's crisp and clear, and the low Winter sunshine is streaming through the leafless trees. There is something quite romantic about having the back stove stoked up, so there is smoke drifting from the chimney warming the Winter air and the smell of something cooking in the stove, as you meander all wrapped up in layers of clothing, to keep out the Winter chill.
Of course to cruise in this weather you do need to wear the right clothing. I am not the sort of woman who buys expensive clothing, because it would get trashed when we are working the boat. But we do make sure we spend a little more on good footwear and coats. My favourite jacket for Winter cruising is my Donkey jacket, which keeps out the Winter chill and the rain. When we bought them a couple of years ago, they were certainly worth their money. You should never skimp on good outdoor clothing and footwear when living on a boat.

My day began at around 4.30am when I woke up to find Marmite snoozing at the bottom of the bed on my hotwater bottle and across my feet. She certainly new the warmest place to sleep. I reckon she had been there most of the night. As she was hoggy the bottle, I had to move my feet to get the circulation back to my toes. Marmite may not look heavy, but she still managed to stop the blood flowing to my toes. With the blood restored to my feet, I got up and made us the usual cuppa, I also stoked the back stove to warm us up a little. We then settled down beneath the duvet for another 40 winks.
Last night had not been so cold, so when Paddy and I stepped off of the boat it did feel warmer. The towpath is still frozen solid, as is the canal but it was feeling much more tropical compared to yesterday. The plan for the day was to walk into town to get a few items, which included fruit and veg from Frutas, who do wonderful fresh fruit and veg. At the moment they have in Chestnuts, which I will be buying nearer to Christmas, because we love to put them in the back stove to warm though. Another thing they had today, which we do not see to often and that was Russet Apples. Normally you see Granny Smiths, Cox's, Golden Delicious etc, etc, but for a nice change they had British grown Russets. Whilst I did not need anymore eating apples, I did buy some cooking apples for a pie. With fruit and veg stowed away in my rucksack and all the other shopping done we trudged up the hill and back to the boat. Having stood on the towpath for half an hour chatting to Jackie and Ray on NB Roehaise, it was time to head back to our boat to make some lunch and a coffee. All in all a quiet day for me, no customers yet and no boat chores to do. I am a very lucky girl indeed.

Being prepared.

Good afternoon Friends.

It has been a morning of waiting around. This time I was waiting around for my Tesco Delivery. But before any of that happened, Keith and I were sat up in bed at 6am drinking tea and chatting about allsorts of things. We tend to have great discussion when sitting in bed with a nice warming cuppa to drink. This morning we discussed this weather and how it may end life a float for some, who are finding it all to hard to cope with. We have already met two couples who are contemplating leaving the waterways, one couple for good and the other who are considering mooring in a marina for the winter. I think to be a continuous cruiser in the winter, you do need to be aware of how difficult it can be, especially when frozen in. You cannot always be near facilities, it is easy to get caught out, as has happened to some this year.

To be prepared for a winter like this you should.

Make sure you are topped up with Diesel and Water. Also carry spare diesel and water in cans.

Take on a good supply of Coal or Wood. Just in case you cannot get to somewhere to get some.

Stock up the supply cupboard with lots of tinned foods and part baked bread. Just in case there is not a local shop.

Carry a Porta Potty if you have a pumpout loo and have a shovel. Because if your pumpout is full, you can at least dig a hole in a field and empty a porta potty out.

Make sure you have the correct clothing and footwear.

I have found that with all these things in place, we have absolutely no worries about being frozen in, when in the middle of no where. Of course if your frozen in for some weeks, you may need to walk to somewhere to get water. As for getting food when the tins and packets runs out, you can of course get a food delivery from one of the Supermarkets. I like to think there is a way around every situation.I wonder where the spider is who made this web?At the moment I have no idea how thick the ice is on the canal. I do however know it is not thick enough to stand on. As nice as it looks you cannot walk or skate on it. I do hope that we do not have anyone walking on it like we did last year. Last December a young man walked across the basin with his dog. I soon put him right on the dangers of walking on water covered with ice. He did not do it again, and is now not living on a boat, he found the boat life to much like hard work.I love this sort of weather, this is the Winter we should be having every year. Everything has been touched by Jack Frost and his icy finger.The hoar frost touched the branches on the trees, leaving them covered in a White coat of frost. It looked like they had been snowed upon. In the morning sunshine the brances glistened, as if someone had switched on fairy lights.No one in the basin is going anywhere at the moment. NB Idunno did manage to get over to the Sanitary Station for a pumpout over the weekend, but the basin is now all frozen over again.When the weather is this harsh, it is the wildlife that suffers the most. The ducks here have a small pool of water to swim in under a Willow tree, and Graham on NB Roehaise, has been making the pool bigger, by running his engine in gear everyday. The locals have been coming out with food for the ducks and Moorhens, so they are not going hungry. Putting food and water out for the birds is and wildlife is so important.

The morning wore into the afternoon and the Tesco delivery arrived at 12.30pm. We stacked the food in a box and bags and wheeled it back to the boat on the sack barrow. Once stowed away on board, I made us some lunch. I then had a coal delivery to make in the basin along a very slippery towpath. Job done, I am now in the warm for the rest of the day, unless of course I am called upon to deliver more coal. The hold is now pretty empty, so I am looking forward to a new coal delivery at the end of the week all being well.

Time for a coffee me thinks and then it will be time to organise something for dinner tonight. Have a good evening xx

A Winter Wonderland.

Hi Folks.

It was another very hard hoar frost last night, with the temperature getting down to at least -8.5c. Although a little dodgy under foot, it was nice to be out with the camera capturing such a beautiful morning. This is how our Winter's should be. For to long we have enjoyed tropical Winter's. This past two Winter's are more like I remember from my childhood when growing up on the farm.

This weather is certainly going to test the liveaboard boaters to the full. I think many may decide it is not for them living on board during the Winter. We absolutely adore living on board in the Winter.