It's been a long time

Keep getting told off for not writing blog so here we go ...

We came to realise that we have been on the rivers lee and stort since the beginning of the school holidays ( not that that means much to me now:) A total of about 9 weeks so far  and still here. Partly due to having visitors and its a nice place to cruise and partly due to having to leave the boat for over a week to help Dominique and Jamie being their boat down from Nottingham. A bit of déjà vu going on there! However we did come by a different route and I have to say it was a lot easier (or maybe we are just a bit more experienced now). We also got to see some different canals and can tick a few more off the list! Happy to say that they are well settled on their boat now and hopefully confident with handling her.

Also lovely to see Laura home from America for a week or so. Actuality a bit longer than planned due to American embassy not getting her passport back to her on time!  

We have also come to realise that we are going to have to hole up for the winter months. We would be happy to keep going but there are stoppages on the canal in winter and boaters are discouraged from moving about too much so we are looking at staying at apsley marina for dec jan and feb. 

John is about to have an arthroscopy in his knee. He has had problems since before the Milton Keynes marathon and hasn't run since. With any luck this operation will give him a new lease of running life. He is missing it dreadfully:( 

I'm sure I have left out loads of events over the last few weeks but come the winter I will have loads more time to write. 

Happy new year to any Jewish friends reading this. We met loads on the river today having a day out with their families.:)

And another thing...

Another thing I  love  about this life is the way you can start a day with no fixed plans and things just happen. Like today we started the day with Helen (of Pelham)  on board , heading from Stanstead Abbotts to Hertford. Helen was born and bred in the village and relived her childhood jumping off the bridge (mentally!) and finally went through the lock on a boat after a lifetime of wondering what it would be like. Then Carol came along with husband John and a cream tea! Later we stumbled across the Hertford acoustic club. What a friendly, welcoming and supportive bunch of people. This is the kind of day we had envisaged but could not possibly plan. . It just happened. 

Along the way in Ware we came across the gazebos. I have been to Ware loads of times but the view from the river is a totally different experience and I had no idea that these beautiful buildings existed and that they are unique as a group in the whole country. 

Also saw some kind of grebe. Maybe someone can identify the correct species. My book was a bit vague!

Loving this life

Just cooked dinner for lovely friends from Furneux (Marie Sue and Denis ) and now sitting on the deck with a glass of red thinking that it doesn't get much better than this. A few stars are beginning to make an appearance, the night is still and warm and fish are literally jumping....you could write a song about it:) 

Something puzzling me - where have all the male ducks gone?? Lots of youngsters who are clearly going to get male markings but where are the dads? I'm sure I could google the answer but would much prefer someone to tell me. 

Nearly at the end of a week in Stortford and having a great time catching up with friends in the area. We've had one or two rainy days this week but that has given us time for hobbies and I'm quite pleased to have finished some cabin lace for the saloon windows. It's a traditional design from the old working boats and although we're not really into the whole castles and roses look, I quite like this and the sense of achievement is satisfying. 

John has done a few jobs today!

You meet all sorts..

I've been very lax about writing the blog and already forgetting what we have done and people we have met so now attempting to recall the main events of the past week or so. 

Not exactly a highlight but quite spectacularly, John had severe sunstroke. Bad enough for me to call NHS direct for advice, who sent out a paramedic to check him out. His temp was 39.6. All he really needed was a cool shower, paracetamol and rehydrating. Quite scary and made us realise how exposed we are to the elements and taught us to take better precautions. Another new mantra.. Put a hat on!! This all happened with John's grandson, Charlie aboard. Luckily he slept through the whole paramedic episode. 

The next day saw another first. John (still slightly wobbly from sunstroke ) took an unexpected head first dive into the river at broxbourne. We can laugh about it now:) 

Without going into too much detail, John has also had a spectacular bout of gastro enteritis! Probably enough said about that !!

Yesterday John had his flight in a helicopter alongside a spitfire (his parting gift from work) quite an experience for him. 

We have been meeting all sorts of people along the way. A young lad yesterday fishing for crayfish which he sells to restaurants. Today we met a man who paints canal ware and we stopped for a quick lesson with Angie and the girls. This led to meeting Dudley who has some private moorings a mile from bishops stortford. A strong possibility for somewhere to hole up for the winter. 

Looking forward to meeting up with friends from little Hadham tomorrow and boat hunting with Dominique and Jamie at the weekend. It's all go!

Everything takes so long...

Everything takes so long but we are becoming used to it and trying not to get too frustrated. The plan today was to start heading across london and up the lee and stort towards stortford and my lovely FP friends. But we needed a pump out (man's work..I have nothing to do with it!) and water and the only convenient place was 3miles west at Little Venice. This took about 3 hours! Then we got distracted by the delights of Paddington and have been here ever since. You might think I am being facetious but actually it  is rather nice. There is a hidden world by the canal that most of us never see or appreciate. Ok there are some rough spots but so far we haven't felt too threatened or uncomfortable. 

Strolling around the nearby streets we became aware of a multitude of camera crew them realised that maybe Kate is about to give birth at St Mary's. We are so out of touch with news that she may already have popped!!

These hot summer evenings are delightful but makes us drink too much. 

Cheers one and all :)

Friday night

Another Friday night in Camden and we are bracing ourselves for another wild night. Not for us  of course but its a warm night and drinks are flowing upstream so expecting riots later. John may sleep through it all though after a couple of hours of "happy hour" earlier:)

Some technical problem today. The bow thruster stopped working but john has successfully repaired it, probably saving several hundred pounds. Dominique and I have been busy making hair accessories which we are displaying on the boat. One yummy mummy bought one saying it  was "good provenance" 

For anyone following this and wanting to comment .. I think I have downloaded the necessary to make this possible if you have a google account. Don't ask me about the other options!!!

Life in Camden town

What can I say. A place of contrasts. Lovely, friendly and quite peaceful during the week but come Friday night all hell breaks loose. Security men appear at the doorway of every pub demanding 3quid to get in and turning you away if you are wearing flip flops. So we beat a hasty retreat to the comparative tranquility of the boat for a jug of pimms! Much more civilised.

We have moored up in a cracking spot about 100 yards from the lock  at Camden and there is a constant stream of tourists walking by the boat, many of whom take photos of us and the boat. John has been strumming but so far no one has thrown any money at him, however I have sold a few crochet coasters that I've been making. One young girl bought them as a souvenir as it was the only thing she could find that was genuinely  made in England!

Lovely to have some more visitors. Mollie last week for a couple of days, then Hannah , Stephen , Natasha and Dominique.

We managed to fill up with water this morning without losing our prime spot by getting up at 6 and back by 8 before most boaters have surfaced. That means we should be able to stay in camden for another week maybe. It's good fun and a good week of weather ahead. Cheers!