Day 90: HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY 

Captain Tom Moore.

A true gentleman, who has shown us all that is good in the world.

A truly inspiration man.

Day 89: Rainy Tuesday.

Dear family, friends and followers.

We have all gotten so used to the sunshine, but this morning we woke up to the pitter, patter of rain on the back cabin roof. April has apparently been the sunniest April on record, which we have all welcomed and enjoyed, especially for those of us who have gardens or nice places to do our exercise. Our garden certainly benefited from the rain, because I have been watering everyday with canal water. Using the watering can has been good exercise, which is a bonus.

Right I am going to get on my high horse for a minute or two, so if you do not want to read my rant then feel free to find another blog to read.
This past weekend, has seen people having bar-b-ques with friends and this is not just people living in houses inviting their friends around, this has included boaters doing the same thing. Friends have recorded this happening and there was absolutely no social distancing whatsoever. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
Have people not been listened to a word that has been said?
Have they not read about all the deaths of the public and key workers?
Have they not seen any of this on the TV or listened to the radio?
NO ONE AND I MEAN NO ONE is immune from this killer virus. It is killing millions across the world. Not only are these people putting their lives at risk, they are risking the lives of others including their families. People have been photographed and videoed gathering at locks, which is putting the lives at risk of the ones who are still working on the canal, supplying diesel, coal, gas and pump outs. Daily exercise is not an excuse to gongoozle. GO HOME. People are gathering in parks and not exercising, instead they are sitting around on the grass. Daily exercise is walking, cycling, running and then you go straight home. You do not hang around in groups nattering and drinking. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. Do as you are asked. Because if you do not, this virus will just carry on killing people and it will kill someone you love.
Ok rant over.
Sorry, but this makes me both angry and sad, because the majority of people are doing the right thing.

So the rest of my day was spent crocheting more Palliative hearts and tidying in the boat, because with the rain lasting all day, I was never going to any work done outside. I did have to venture out to collect a parcel at the gate for a neighbour, because we are not allowing anyone in the gate unless we know them.
We have now watched 6 seasons of Game of Thrones and need to buy seasons 7 and 8 to finish the amazing series off. We have both really enjoyed it so much. I do find the violence tough at times and some of the fruity language, but the story line is so brilliant, I kind of let those things go over my head a bit. I am not a violence and bad language kind of lady, as my family and friends will tell you, but the series has been amazing, with it special effects and just the sheer brilliance of the characters.
Tomorrow is another day and we will all hopefully wake up healthy and safe.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 88: Bees and hedge row.

Dear family friends and followers.

With it being another fine and sunny day, it was going to be an in and out day for getting jobs done.
Our day began with a lay-in and for us it was a big lay-in, because I did not actually wake up until 8 am, which for me is incredibly late. I am guessing sitting up late trying to get a food shop delivery slot helped with the sleeping in. In these days of lockdown, there is little point in getting up mega early. I am spreading all the jobs out, so there is no urgency to be up and at them.
Once up and about, Mr Robin got his breakfast. I dare say he was extremely miffed at having to wait so long to get his daily dose of suet containing mealworms. I went for my stroll in the Arm. The sound of the birds was drowned out by the road works and the traffic. It seems for some the lockdown is at an end, because there was a definite increase in cars on the road. Now of course it is possible they were all going to work at the hospital or Sainsbury's, but I wonder how many were out, just because they thought they could?
9 am I sat and watched the statement from Boris Johnson on his return to No10 after his fight with the Coronavirus. It is good to have him back on the front line. It was also good to hear, that he has no intention of lifting the lockdown until he is absolutely sure it is the right time. So it is now time for the media and press to stop asking the question about when will we be coming out of lockdown. It is beginning to sound like "Are we nearly there yet". After all how long is a piece of string?

Our hedgerow was beginning to look a little shaggy and in need of a trim. I used our strimmer to take the front of the hedge off and tidy it up. Because it is on a bank, we have a walkway along the base of the hedge, which was put in my the previous moorer. It is brilliant for someone who is vertically challenged. 

There is however a downside. The staging is old, slopes and is going rotten.

We are looking into replacing it and are waiting for quotes to have the work done for us. We also want it extend the staging right to the end of the garden, so that we do not have to climb the slope every time we want to do something to the hedgerow. I managed to tidy the hedge without causing myself a mischief thankfully.

The Bees using our Bee hotel have been very productive this past couple of days. One of the hotels is filling up nicely. It is fascinating to stand and watch them going about their work.

With so little breeze in the Arm today the reflections have been glorious. The only downside was the noise from the road works. Otherwise it was perfect for relaxing and enjoying the calm. Hard to enjoy the peace with the noise on the road.

Well that is it for today.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 87: Films and hearts.

Dear family, friends and followers.

A beautiful sunny start to Sunday. The Robin and Wren were battling for top spot in the singing chart this morning. But as most of us know the top spot has been taken by Captain Tom Moore and Michael Ball. I am quite sure the Robin and Wren are happy to be second best to an incredible man, who has now won two Guinness World Records.
He is now:
- The most money raised by charity walk (individual)
- Oldest person to reach number one in the UK charts
Well done Tom ❤️

Neither of us were up with the larks. With this lockdown comes lying in bed longer, because there is no rush to get up and about. We are spending the time to relax in bed, drink our tea and watch the news, before we spring into life. As I said yesterday the news is purely filled with the Coronavirus and no other world news, which is depressing. There is however light at the end of what is a very dark tunnel for some, because we are hearing good news stories of people who have survived the virus and are now back home with their loved ones.
A part from feeding Mr Robin, another of my new morning jobs is to water the garden, because we have had very little rain of late. We are promised some showers this coming week, which the garden will welcome, because our soil is really hard. I am thinking of mixing some compost with the soil to try and soften it a bit. In place it is like concrete. All the residential gardens were made up from the digging out of the Arm when it was restored back in the early 80's and so we know there is clay mixed in with the soil. I will have some horse manure coming, once the lockdown is over from friends who live nearby. Plants watered, I went for a stroll in the Arm to stretch my legs. Whilst pootling along, it was so wonderful to hear the birds and no vehicles on the Birmingham Road. The birds are not in competition with the road noise at the moment, they are only out singing each other. The Butterflies were out in force. Orange Tips, Peacocks and Small Whites. I could have very easily just sat in the Sensory garden and enjoyed the sunshine and birdsong, but jobs had to be done and no sitting allowed when on daily exercise.
Back onboard, I packed up 30 hearts for Palliative Care patients at the local hospital and put them in the post box.

The reason for the hearts is visiting is severely restricted in hospitals in line with national guidelines, so Trust staff hope giving patients and their loved ones matching fabric, knitted or crocheted hearts will help them feel connected. By giving the patient a heart, and sending a matching one to their family, it can help them feel like they have an emotional link, and a small token to focus on. The hearts are quarantined for seven days before they are given to the patient, to ensure any risk of infection is minimised. It is a new task learnt and it may give comfort to patients and their families.
Sunday for me has always been a day of doing very little, because it was once a day of rest and church. For me going to church stopped a very long time ago (long story). But doing little on a Sunday has always remained. I like to get any jobs done of a morning and then spend the afternoon watching Sunday movies. Today's choice of movies starred Hugh Grant. Have you heard about the Morgan's and 9 Months. Followed up with One Fine Day with George Clooney. I was crocheting at the same time as watching the TV. The evening we carried on with the Game of Thrones series. We are in Season 6 now and although I do find the language and violence extreme, I have enjoyed the series. We need to buy seasons 7 and 8.
See you next week.
Pop back soon xxx

Day 86: Food and painting.

Dear family, friends and followers.

Here we are, another weekend and another day in lockdown. Whilst sitting in bed drinking the first cuppa of the day. It struck me that the only news we seem to be getting is about the Coronavirus and Donald Trump. Is there no other news going on across the world right now?
What has happened to the conflicts?
What has happened to the starving children of the world?
What has happened to climate change?
Yes we hear about the none existent sport and we get the weather, but apart from that everything is around the virus. Also why are they only mentioning certain countries? This virus is worldwide and yet it is the same countries that get mentioned. It is just my observation.
My first task of the day was to feed Mr Robin, who was sitting on the fence waiting to be fed.

This morning, we thought we would see if Mr Robin would take food from Keith's hand as well as me and the answer was yes. He was a little wary at first, but the thought of food got the better of him and he flew to Keith. I have noticed he is feeding a partner and that is why he comes more often. I do not feed him every time, because he needs to find his own food, such at caterpillars and bugs. But I am happy to supplement hi food with the odd piece of suet. It is nice to have him around.

Next job was to give our saloon rug a good beating and brushing. We have the rug down during the Winter when on the mooring and I roll it up and put it away when we are out cruising. The reason being, that when out cruising we sometimes walk through the boat with dirty boots and it is easier to clean the laminated flooring than it is to clean the rug. Anyway as it seems our cruising season is at a close, I decided to put the rug back down as it is warmer under foot.

Task three. I have been touching up the paintwork on the forend, where the paintwork was scraped off whilst out at the beginning of March. Having done the prep work, I undercoated and double top coated the Red, White and Blue. It is not perfect, but tidy, which is absolutely fine. I can now turn my attention to the cabin side and roof. Once the pontoon side is done, we will then turn the boat around and I can do the other side.

Yesterday Mr BT came and sorted out our broadband and phone line, which were playing up. It turned out it was a cable problem into the boat, so he very kindly put a new box in our bunker at the stern, so we can now plug in both ends. We now have a clear line and quicker broadband, which is a huge bonus. Having a landline on our mooring is such a joy, because we do not have to run out of the boat in the pouring rain with the mobile phone. Because we have no windows only portholes, we do not get a good signal inside, which can be such a pain. Therefore the landline is a godsend. The added bonus is having the broadband, especially at the moment.

We had a Tesco delivery booked for between 4 and 5 pm. The driver arrived at 3.50 pm, with our precious food. She dropped the bags at the gate (not literally) and had a chat, before she was on her way. Although very busy, the drivers are finding with no traffic to contend with they are actually getting their deliveries to there destinations a little earlier than normally, which is a huge help. I stowed away the food in the fridge/freezer and cupboard. This will see us okay for a while. The bonus was I got UHT and fresh milk. So if I cannot get any fresh milk, we can go back to the UHT.
Neither of us is keen to go and queue up for shopping, because it has its dangers as far as spreading the virus, even with the precautions being taken by most supermarkets. Keith misses his weekly trip on the bus to Aldi, but I am thinking about our safety first. So as long as we can get a delivery slot, we will carry on. I am using our shopping slot to buy for others in the Arm, which is a help to them as well.

I thought I would finish today with Pam Ayres.

Pam Ayers has been at it again. I think she wrote this for me and all the oldish girls out there.

This needs to be read so true and funny.😷😂😂

I'm normally a social girl
I love to meet my mates
But lately with the virus here
We can't go out the gates.
You see, we are the 'oldies' now
We need to stay inside
If they haven't seen us for a while
They'll think we've upped and died.
They'll never know the things we did
Before we got this old
There wasn't any Facebook
So not everything was told.
We may seem sweet old ladies
Who would never be uncouth
But we grew up in the 60s -
If you only knew the truth!
There was sex and drugs and rock 'n roll
The pill and miniskirts
We smoked, we drank, we partied
And were quite outrageous flirts.
Then we settled down, got married
And turned into someone's mum,
Somebody's wife, then nana,
Who on earth did we become?
We didn't mind the change of pace
Because our lives were full
But to bury us before we're dead
Is like a red rag to a bull!
So here you find me stuck inside
For 4 weeks, maybe more
I finally found myself again
Then I had to close the door!
It didnt really bother me
I'd while away the hour
I'd bake for all the family
But I've got no flaming flour!
Now Netflix is just wonderful
I like a gutsy thriller
I'm swooning over Idris
Or some random sexy killer.
At least I've got a stash of booze
For when I'm being idle
There's wine and whiskey, even gin
If I'm feeling suicidal!
So let's all drink to lockdown
To recovery and health
And hope this awful virus
Doesn't decimate our wealth.
We'll all get through the crisis
And be back to join our mates
Just hoping I'm not far too wide
To fit through the flaming gates!

Pop back soon xxx

Day 84: Another year older and wiser.

Dear family, friends and followers.

Thank you for your birthday wishes. I can honestly say I had a lovely Birthday, even though we are in lockdown. Normally we would be off out for the day and enjoy a meal out in a restaurant. Obviously that could not happen, so we had the meal come to us.

I ordered a Thai meal from Totally Thai our fabulous local restaurant, who we like to visit for lunch every now and again. They have been in Warwick over 20 years and we have always had wonderful food and service from them, so we are supporting them in this difficult time. I had a bottle of wine on the boat (phew), so we enjoyed a lovely meal. Throughout the day, it was just a normal day. Keith gave me a charm for my trollbead bracelet as well. During the evening, we had a Zoom conference chat with my wonderful family, which was such a lot of fun. I have never used Zoom before, but it was brilliant because we were all on screen at the same time. We had a lot of laughs and swapped all the news, which of course included the virus and how we are all coping with it.

Incredibly special was receiving cards from my family and grandsons. It made my day and my year. We cannot wait to get together once this is all over for a proper family get together.
Day 84 of this virus in the UK and it looks like we will be in lockdown in some form for quite sometime, so it is time to knuckle down and get lots of jobs done. Today was the day to be getting some of the boats paintwork sorted out. There is touching up to be done, where Keith has knocked the paint off, whilst we were out at the beginning of March. I like to keep on top of the paintwork, to keep the boat tidy. This of course involve getting out my sander. There is nothing nicer than working with power tools. I am now just hoping I have enough paint to get all the jobs done.

I am beginning with the fore-end which has taken the most punishment.

I sanded down the dodgy bits with my little mouse sander and then undercoated the patches. Unfortunately I do not have any grey primer for under the blue, so had to use white.

No one will really notice the white undercoat once the blue is on top. That is a job for tomorrow.
After lunch, I sat and began crocheting heart for palliative care patients at our local hospitals in Warwick and Coventry. I contacted them to see if they needed anything and they need crochet hearts. So with the help of Youtube, I am going to see how many I can make. I am making them in different sizes as well. I love a challenge.
It has been another fabulous day weather wise and we are set for the same tomorrow, so I will be painting once again.

I am finishing today's post with a laugh, because I think we can all do with one right now.
I pinched this from another site - enjoy 👍

These are ‘supposedly’ genuine clips from council complaint letters:

1. My bush is really overgrown round the front and my back passage has fungus growing in it.
2. He's got this huge tool that vibrates the whole house and I just can't take it anymore.
3. it's the dog mess that I find hard to swallow.
4. I want some repairs done to my cooker as it has backfired and burnt my knob off.
5. I wish to complain that my father hurt his ankle very badly then he put his foot in the hole in his back passage.
6. And their 18 year old son is continually banging his balls against my fence.
7. I wish to report that tiles are missing from the outside toilet roof. I think it was bad wind the other night that blew them off.
8. My lavatory seat is cracked, where do I stand?
9. I am writing on behalf of my sink, which is coming away from the wall.
10. Will you please send someone to mend the garden path? My wife tripped and fell on it yesterday and now she is pregnant.
11. I request permission to remove my drawers in the kitchen.
12. 50% of the walls are damp, 50% have crumbling plaster and 50% are plain filthy.
13. I am still having problems with smoke in my new drawers.
14. The toilet is blocked and we cannot bath the children until it is cleared.
15. Will you please send a man to look at my water; it is a funny colour and not fit to drink.
16. Our lavatory seat is broken in half and is now in three pieces.
17. I want to complain about the farmer across the road; every morning at 6am his cock wakes me up and its now getting too much for me.
18. The man next door has as large erection in the back garden, which is unsightly and dangerous.
19. Our kitchen floor is damp. We have two children and would like a third, so please send someone round to do something about it.
20. I am a single woman living in a downstairs flat and would you please do something about the noise made by the man on top of me every night.
21. Please send a man with the right tool to finish the job and satisfy my wife.
22. I have had the clerk of works down on the floor six times but I still have no satisfaction.
23. This is to let you know that our lavatory seat is broke and we can't get BBC2.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 82: Birthday in lockdown

Dear family, friends and followers.

Another year has past and yes it is my birthday today along with her majesty the Queen. I know so many will be spending their birthday in lockdown, so I know I am not alone. It does feel rather odd, knowing we will not be going out today or having a meal out, but I will make the most of it. The one big downside is I have no chocolate on the boat. How stupid is that. I do however have wine and we will get a takeaway delivered later. Keith gave me a lovely letter K charm for my troll bracelet and I have had a couple of cards, with I know more in the post, but they will not get to me till Friday, because we only get our post twice a week at the moment. Anyway it is what it is and I will have a lovely day no matter what.

Thought I would share this:

(Not mine and not sure of original source)

Here is a great analogy of the Coronavirus situation.

If you have to climb up a tree to escape from a lion then what is the primary criteria for deciding when to come down again?

Is it a question of how long you have been sitting up in the tree, or of how uncomfortable it is up the tree, or how there are other places you need to go to and things you need to do?

No, the most important question is, where is the lion now?

Is it still waiting for you at the bottom of the tree? If not is it still nearby to the tree and have you acquired any better tools for locating the lion and also tools for defending yourself when you climb back down.

At the moment all we know is that the Lion, if not at the bottom of the tree, is nearby, and the only way to defend ourselves from the Lion at present is to stay up the tree.

And here we must stay until we know that the Lion is either gone or until we know how to get rid of the Lion.

In short there is no reason to return to normal just because there's been abnormal for a few weeks and people don't like it.

Pop back soon xxx

Day 80: Our garden bloomin marvelous.

Dear family, friends and followers.

A beautiful start to Sunday, with the sun shining and the birds singing. Yesterday it was rather nippy and so I re-lit the stove, but on waking this morning, it was clear I would be letting the stove out again, because inside the boat was very toasty.
It has been a day to fling open all the doors and galley doors and let the sunshine and fresh air in. Because there are so few cars on the road, the birdsong was flowing through the boat this morning. Mr Robin was in fine voice as he waited for me to go and feed him.
As you will see and hear in the video we are blessed with being able to hear the birds and the bees. I think the wildlife is making the most of our enforced lockdown.

Today has been a day of cooking, gardening and of course making another video. Thank you for your kind messages about my first attempt at videoing our garden. I am giving it another go and I promise I will get better over the coming weeks. A couple of weeks ago, we had a meat delivery from our local butcher and in the pack was some steak. Now I am not normally a steak kind of girl. I like my steak in gravy, rather than it cooked on its own rare, medium done or well done. So I thought I would fry off the steak and add it to gravy for lunch. It actually turned out really lovely. There were two pieces, so the second steak is going to be had with pasta tomorrow. I am making everything go further, even though we have a food delivery coming this Thursday. We are of an opinion get it whilst you can, whilst not going and queuing at a supermarket. I am still not happy about going and queuing and so getting an online delivery is important at this time, especially as we do not have a car and I do not drive.

Having enjoyed a lovely lunch. The afternoon was spent chatting at a distance with fellow residential moorers. Although we all live here together, we do not see that much of each other, so it is always lovely to have a chat and put the world to right. Catching up on their news passes the time away as we all find things to do at the moment. Some of us more enthusiastic at getting jobs done than others. It was then time for Sunday afternoon films on Channel 5. Bridge over the river Kwai  and then Jason and the Argonauts. Classic films are always a welcome watch, especially on a Sunday.
Another week is drawing to a close. I wonder what next week will bring.

Pop back soon xxx