We did it

Very glad to report that our little adventure on to the tidal Thames from Limehouse to Brentford went ahead as planned apart from a few minor hitches. Firstly I undid the ropes too early in the lock at Limehouse. How was I to know that they keep opening the gates a little bit. I saw the gate opening and thought we were away!

 It is really quite daunting when you hit the open water after the lock. It feels like you are at sea and when you are in a boat that has the seaworthiness of a brick, you feel a little vulnerable. Hence, when we hit some choppy water between bridges and the stern was out of the water so you could hear the propellor whining, a bit of a panic ensued! Thankfully this didn't last long and the rest was plain sailing. The only other awkward moment was when we went through the wrong arch of a bridge and was flagged down by the river patrol for a telling off. Oh and we didn't realise you had to book your passage through Brentford lock but the kindly lock keeper let us through anyway. (After a bit of banter when he pretended he wasn't going to let us in!)

The weather was chilly and drizzly to start  but actually this was a bit of a blessing as it meant that there were not too many big tourist boats on the river and we practically had it to ourselves. We passed a few of the high speed catamaran shuttle services but after a while they dropped off and the river was ours apart from the odd rowers practising around Putney bridge. 

At Brentford we caught up with Richard on Tin Tin who we met in July in Camden   After a glass of champagne and a cream cake we were on our way again. Love this life!!

Completed the last leg of the journey into Uxbridge in total darkness. 11 hours and 13 locks and about 30 miles. Not a bad day:)

It's now or never ...

Here we are, moored up in the surprisingly spectacular limehouse basin, awaiting the incoming tide tomorrow morning. We've just been up to the bridge and I have to say the water looks frighteningly choppy. Just trusting that the lock keeper won't let us out if its dangerous. We had to bite the bullet and buy an VHF radio but at least we know that help will be in hand if we run into difficulties. John is preparing the anchor as we speak and then it's off to the Narrow for a bit of Dutch courage! 

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 :)