novascotianboy

What a difference a month makes

2012-02-11T11:29:00.000-08:00

This time last month...
I was giving serious thought to running as a candidate in the upcoming Canal and River Trust election - and it was warm.

Now - I'm not standing - and it's as cold as - well, it's cold!

As you'll see from my post below, I had put a lot of energy into trying to put together a campaign for a seat on the Council of the Canal and River Trust. The Canal and River Trust - a charity - is supposed to replace British Waterways - a quango which currently manages most of the waterways in the UK.

The election itself has had its problems- confusing about who could run, who could vote, and when people would receive their ballot. It's the first time that an election like this has been run by British Waterways, so it is not surprising that there are teething problems - but there are rather a few of them!

After a week of trying very hard to gain support for my candidacy, I decided to withdraw when it became clear that it would take many, many hours a week to canvass the support I would need to be successful - and, not to point to fine a point on it - but I need to work to eat!

Many of those running are retired, or wealthy. I think this is a real shame - and part of the reason that I wanted to run. However, in point of fact, the real power in the new trust will be held by the management - who will remain the same despite the move into the third sector - and the Trustees. Some of the Trustees do seem impressive - others? Well, we'll see. The only real power the council of the new trust has is to appoint and dismiss Trustees - but the Trustees have the power to dismiss the council - so it's not really got "teeth. The Trustees will also "consult" the council on issues, but are under no requirement to follow the council's guidance.

And the weather? It's cold. Bloody cold. The canal has frozen, and keeping the boat warm is a full time job! Monty has found the best seat in the house - by the fire - and very rarely vacates it. We lesser beings (i.e. Andrew and I) make do....

So, those of you in your heated houses, bathrooms that are not, usually, at an average temperature of about 5c - have a hot bath and think of us.

...and when we're moored in a gorgeous rural idyll, with the doors of the boat wide open and the warm summer breezes gently blowing, we'll think of you!

Standing for Election!

2012-01-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

Well, I've taken the leap and put my name forward to stand as a candidate for the Canal and River Trust Council.

What's that, I hear some of you ask?

In a nutshell, British Waterways controls most of the inland navigation in the UK. It is a quango responsible to DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs - but DEFRA sounds sinister, eh?). The quango is going to cease existance in April, to be replaced by a charity. Essentially, a charity is taking over the function of the former quango.

The new charity will have Trustees and a "Council". This Council consists of 35 people - some elected, some appointed - from various constituencies that use the waterways. 4 of this seats are available to boaters - and an election is being run to fill them.

If you would like to help me in my candidacy, or find out more, email me on macdonaldpj@googlemail.com or visit my webpage - http://www.peterforcrt.weebly.com/ (website still under construction though, so bear with me!) At the moment I'm looking for people to sponsor me - I need 10 - so if you've got a BW licence and fancy helping out, get in touch! If you've already sponsored someone, don't worry - you can sponsor as many as you like.

Wish me luck - off I go....!

Christmas Afloat

2011-12-31T03:35:00.000-08:00

The lead up to Christmas, for us as for most, is a hectic time. For us, it meant lots of driving too and from the boat, performing in schools and at Christmas parties - even at the Canadian High Commission. Both Drew and I were glad when we had finished the last performance of the "season" and could have a day or two of "rest" (by which I mean preparing for Christmas) before Santa came to visit.

At the moment, we're moored near a little village called Grafton Regis - only a handful of houses, but one of the Queens of England was born here (hence the "Regis" in the title of the village). It's a gorgeous place to be - we overlook a field with grazing sheep and a 13c church.

On Christmas Eve, we decided to be good and go to Midnight Mass. The church we went to - St. Lawrence's, Towcester, is 600 years old - amazing to think how many midnight masses would have been celebrated there, and under what circumstances!

All was going well, until Drew felt a bit woozy and had to sit down. A few minutes later he said he wanted to leave, and on the way out collapsed! The Ushers were very helpful, and we knew it wasn't the warming whiskey he'd had on the way to church. A quick trip to A and E confirmed low blood pressure - prescription? More salt in his diet!

On the day, our friends Robyn and Reg, their 16 month old son Evan, and cousin Gordon came to the boat for a meal. Getting a Christmas meal ready in an ordinary kitchen is work enough, but preparing it in a small space a few feet long and wide is even more of a challenge - but we managed. We had a great time - and it was good to celebrate with good friends.

My brother, his wife, and her parents were in England for Christmas - but in Swindon - a few hours away. Jetlagged from their flight over, they wanted to meet up on boxing day, so we stopped in at their hotel on the way down to Bath to visit Drew's cousin and family. Another nice meal, more chocolate, and a bit more driving!

We saw my brother and the family again on the 28th, checking into their hotel for the night and enjoying the pool, sauna, and free electricity! On the 29th we went to explore Bradford upon Avon (one of our favourite towns), Avebury, and Bath. That night, we stayed with friends Donna, Reedy, and their son Ethan.

So, our "post Christmas" season has been busy!

We're keeping warm - the weather has been lovely - and keeping busy - including planning how to spend an Arts Council Grant Drew received (what a great Christmas present!). All and all, a great end to the year.

All the best, everyone, for a wonderful 2012.

Back on the Grand Union

2011-11-21T07:54:00.001-08:00

Wow - time sure flies. I hadn't realised it had been quite so long since I updated this blog until my mom asked me about it - at least my mom is following me!

So, where were we? Oh yes! Bath and the Kennet and Avon Canal. Seems like years ago!

Those who know English geography will know that Bath is in the West Country. We've since turned around, and went back up the Kennet and Avon to the Thames.

The Kennet and Avon has been a wonderful experience. Much of the canal is rural, and it runs through some beautiful countryside. The countryside itself bears the marks of ancient inhabitants, with stone circles, earthworks, and other iron-age remnants.

It was great being in the West Country, but we did seem to have a lot of work going on in London and the South East, which meant that our trusty little Fiesta travelled up and down the M4 countless times. The only injury she sustained was a flat tyre, and that was while parked near the boat - so really, I couldn't have asked for better motoring luck.

The Kennet and Avon joins the River Thames at Reading. Apparently there is nice mooring in Reading, but I've never found it. Our night there, we were moored next to a very grotty park where there was evidence of drug users, and we saw a "sex act" being performed. Not really the kind of place you want to stay for long - and we didn't!

Cruising on the Thames is an entirely different experience to being on the canals. By and large, on the canals you have to operate the locks yourself, where as on the river they are much larger, and are done for you. Mooring is also more difficult on the river, as along the canal, one side is always "Towpath" - and so public land, but on the river, much of the bank is privately owned - which means you either can't moor there, or need to pay. Still, we saw some beautiful properties...!

We left the Thames at Oxford, continuing north up the Oxford Canal. We've done this bit before, and were back in territory that was familiar. The Oxford, Leicester, and Grand Union canal all join around Braunston, and so we took the Grand Union canal south, and are now slowly chugging towards Marsworth - where we like to spend our Christmas - it's a bit of a tradition now.

Ever wondered why the path on the side of the canal is called a "Towpath"? At first I thought it was a "Toepath" - i.e. somewhere where people walked - but it's actually the path that the horses used to walk when they towed the boats. The photo is of a horse drawn boat we encountered on our way to Reading.

Autumn is here, and winter is almost upon us. Dark days, and the little light we do get is used mostly to collect wood! We're still warm, though, and waiting to see if we get a bit of Christmas snow.

Ancient Graffitti!

2011-07-14T14:53:00.001-07:00

I'm sure I've said it before, but one of the things that has always fascinated me about living in England is visiting buildings and monuments that are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. The town Hall in Antigonish - my home town - was built in 1905 - and I remember, even in the 80's, thinking "Wow! That's 75 years old!". Nowadays, when I visit a church and see that it's Victorian - a mere 150 old, I think "Meh. Let's find a proper old church".

Of course, many ancient buildings and monuments have survived in England for hundreds of years because of their beauty and the fact that they remained useful and relevant to those who lived nearby - but often it's hard to imagine the people the actually used these places. You can imagine the work and craftsmanship that went into building them - but WHO built them? What were their names?

At the moment our Narrowboat is moored in Bath, Somerset. This city was built as a Roman spa town, and became very fasionable in the 18th century. The city is a world heritage site because of its wealth of Georgian architecture. Though beautiful, what struck my eye was a piece of graffitti.

I guess some things never change - I saw this piece of graffitti - if you can call it that- under a bridge in Bath.

To think that it was carved before Canada existed as a country is amazing. I've since seen graffitti under bridges from the late 1700's.

Mr. Hodges - your stone graffitti has now entered the digital age!

Want upper arm strength? Try the Caen Hill workout!

2011-06-17T06:34:00.000-07:00

What is 2 1/2 miles long, 70 metres tall, and takes 3 hours to climb or descend? Caen Hill!

Caen Hill is a series of 29 locks near Devizes, Wiltshire, on the Kennet and Avon Canal. Drew and I have been moving to boat towards Bath as we have some work in the West Country and Wales over the next few weeks.

We hit Caen Hill a few days ago, and began the slow descent towards Bath around 11.30 in the morning.

Thankfully, we met a boat that wanted to "share" the locks with us, which sped up the entire process a bit - and took some of the weight off my shoulders!

For those of you who don't know about locks on canals, very quickly, locks on broad canals (like the one we are on) consist of 4 gates - two at either end of the lock - and 4 paddles (which are plates of metal or other doors inside the lock gates that can be opened to let water in or closed to prevent water escaping.

To operate the lock (going down) goes something like this:

1) Skipper moors up and drops off the "locker" (for want of a better term! - the person operating the lock)

2) The locker checks to see if the lock is full. If it's full, he opens one of the gates so the boat can get in. If it's not, he opens the two paddles on the top gate to let water in so that the water level in the lock comes to the same level as the level on the canal where the boat is.

3) Once the boat is in the lock, the locker closes the gate, goes to the end of the lock, opens the two bottom paddles and lets the water escape from the lock (thereby making the boat drop down)

4) Once the water level in the lock is even with the water level below the lock, the locker closes the two paddles and opens a gate letting the boat out. Once the boat is out, he closes the gate and tries to hop back onto the boat.

Doing this 29 times is hard work! The paddles are heavy to raise, the gates often sticky and also very heavy - and running up and down the lockside to open and close gates and doors is good excercise.

When doing a "flight" (series) of locks, if you manage to do it with another boat, the whole process is sped up as while the crew of one boat operates the lock both boats are in, the crew from the other boat can run on to the next look and get it "set".

It was a long afternoon -but afforded us with some beautiful views of the Wiltshire countryside!

The next week or so will be spent mostly behind the wheel of our car as we speed up and down the M4 going to our many gigs over the next few weeks. We may end up looking back on the Caen Hill day with envy - but at the moment - well, my arm is still sore!

Gin Palaces, a sick cat, and a lot of locks!

2011-06-04T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well, we survived London!

The canal in London - or at least the one we did - may not be beautiful, but it certainly is convenient! For the first time in my life, I was able to get out of bed, walk a few hundred metres, and find a tube station! When I lived in London we lived "south of the river" - so tube (subway) stations were few and far between.

But, we needed to move on and so hit "old Father Thames" with gusto! We'd never taken the boat on a tidal river before, and the currents took some getting used to - but Drew managed well! I made tea and worried!

Moorings on a river are harder to come by then on the canal - but we managed to find them when we needed to. The biggest differences - aside from the currents - were the size of the locks (Huge! 5 boats sometimes!) and the size of the boats! Those who live and play on the Thames are rich. Really rich. Their boats are huge - their houses are huge - and we saw millions of pounds (£!) worth of boats and houses in a few days. One night, moored across from a beautiful mansion, I barely suppressed my urge to start shouting "hey - do you give to charity? Well, if you can afford a house that big, you don't give enough!".

We are now back on the canals, having left the Thames at Reading and joined the Kennet and Avon Canal. While the Thames was nice, in my heart of hearts, I prefer the canal - not as rough in terms of navigating, but a bit rougher - and more "real". Real people - real boats - and though the houses and boats are smaller, every bit as beautiful.

Oh - and Monty the cat had a viral infection - thankfully easily sorted (though expensive) and, seeing as he caught 3 mice last night - he's clearly better!

From Rural Idyll to "The Big Smoke"

2011-04-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

Finally, after having spent a lot of time in Hertfordshire, near Tring, it is time to "stretch our legs" a bit and head off down the canal.

Drew got some bookings in the West Country, so a few weeks ago we decided to upgrade our Boat Licence to enable us to go onto the River Thames and other rivers. We will be slowly (4mp/h) be moving towards Bath!

The last few days have been spent cruising towards London, where soon we will join the Thames and head off west.

Cruising from morning till the afternoon brings back lots of memories of when we first moved onto the boat. We spent most of our days cruising in a mad dash to get to Yorkshire (we failed!).

Then, as now, the car was in London, which meant that we could spend the day cruising and the evening relaxing. Since about March, when we retrieved the car from London, any cruise along the canal meant a bike ride or walk back for me to get the car and move it along. Now, as we don't need the car for a few weeks, we are able to fill our days with cruising - and cover a fair bit of ground. We left Tring a few days ago, and now are in West London. We certainly didn't push ourselves, but it has been nice to moor up somewhere new each night....

Well, I say new...

We spent most of the first few days re-covering the Grand Union Canal that we did when we first moved off from the Slough Arm over a year ago. Once we passed the Slough Arm, though, on our way to London, we started "virgin territory".

It is odd being in a city again - and moored here. At first I was a bit nervous - imagining gangs of youths attacking the boat our untying our mooring pins - but after a false start yesterday (we abandoned our first mooring after a gang of youths on the bridge were hurling abuse at passers-by) we found a good mooring in North West London. We're now near Ladbrooke Grove - much nicer!

Here's hoping the moorings keep showing themselves, and the weather stays fine - and the cat adjusts to city life!

Heathrow - scene of joy and tears

2011-04-01T07:32:00.001-07:00

Any expat knows that an airport is where you experience some of your most extreme "highs" and "lows". What better feeling is there than hurrying through the passport control desk to be greeted by hugs from family you haven't seen in months or years? What compares to the giddy feeling of waiting at arrivals to spot the first glimpse of your family as they arrive for a visit?

My mom and dad, who I hadn't seen in 18 months, arrived for an 8 day visit to the UK a few weeks ago. I could hardly wait! While they were here, we ran them ragged! They stayed at a local Hotel (as our narrowboat really isn't suitable for 4 people to share!) and each day I picked them up and showed them as much of my adopted homeland as I could. We also enjoyed their help in going down the first few locks of the Aylesbury Arm!

While here, we went to London for a day, and to the West Country, visiting Bath, Frome, and places in between. We introduced them to The Archers (a favourite on this boat!) and they got us caught up on what was happening back home.

They also brought a "taste of home" with them - again, expats will know that there is nothing better than a parcel of food from home - Mollases in England is completely different than good Nova Scotian Mollases - and Green Tomato Chow is unheard of in these parts.

Saying goodbye at the end of the 8 Days was tough - it seems to get a bit tougher every time I say goodbye to my family - but they left us with good food and happy memories - even if we left them lighter in both their wallets and their backsides!

The Canadians are Coming!

2011-03-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

Wow - time sure flies when you're busy!

Our 2 weeks in the Tring cut were very convenient for transport (the train station was only 3 minutes walk away!) and for heating (lots of dead wood and forest) - but not so great in terms of light! The "cut" is deep - and so the canal is surrounded by the banks of the hill that it is cut into! I also got a parking ticket on my car as I had parked on a road with a double yellow line - which in the UK means "no parking". I parked on a muddy area off the road, thinking that would mean I was ok - but apparently double yellow lines mean "no parking" both on and off the road!

After our time in Tring, we carried on to the next village - Cowroast, where we had our montly pump out and then turned around and headed back towards Marsworth. After an overnight in Tring, we went on to Bulbourne Junction, where the Grand Union and the Wendover arm intersect.

What a great place to be! Good signal, good parking, and a beautiful view! We spent the week there as most days we had work in London and so it was useful to be able to quickly pop out to the car - and useful for me in my work editing an online newsletter.

Next week promises to be even more busy - as my parents arrive from Canada for 8 days. I am looking forward to it - and have been for weeks! I only see members of my family once a year - if I'm lucky - and haven't seen my parents since August 2009 - I'm hoping my father's first trip to Europe will be memorable!

Here's hoping the weather holds - always a dicey proposition on "the sceptered isle"

(photo is of Bulbourne Junction's former British Waterways Workshop - sorry it's so dark!)

Spring is Springing!

2011-02-19T14:36:00.000-08:00

It only seems a few days ago that I woke up each morning and could see my breath. It seems like yesterday that I would trudge along a snowy towpath along the canal to the boat, which was frozen in the canal. What a difference a few weeks make in this little country!

After having been moored for the past few weeks on the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal, we decided earlier this week to move on.

The Aylesbury Arm is much under-rated to my mind - sure, it's a bit shallow (though we heard from a British Waterways Mainenance man working on one of the locks that it will be dredged this summer), and sure, mooring is a bit tricky - but....

The Aylesbury Arm goes from Marsworth to Aylesbury, and passes through the lovely village of Wilstone - home of a great little village shop and the pub where the last witch trial in England was held! It is scenic, and very quiet - both things I like!

After leaving The Aylesbury Arm getting our monthly pump out of ...well - you know... we headed up the Grand Union and decided to try the Wendover Arm. This little arm of the canal has recently been restored, and we'd heard it was pretty. It was pretty, but it is also short - and mooring was hard - we only stayed one night.

We are now near Tring Station in the Tring Cut - a huge ravine where the canal passes through some of the Chiltern Hills. Though signal is bad, it's convenient, as a train station is only a few minutes walk away, and parking is easy.

So, we're hanging in there, and glad for the good weather.

Oh, and to make my Canadian friends jealous - the picture is of a Primrose and some snow-drops. Taken this week. Can YOU see snow? No. I thought not. No more complaining about English weather!

2011-02-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

Where I grew up, most buildings that were over 100 years old had a little plaque on them saying so. If the building was 200 years old, it was probably a museum.

When I first came to the UK, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of physical history that surrounded me. Walking down the same streets in London as Samuel Pepys, going into the castle where Anne Boleyn grew up - it was fascinating.

After having lived here for a few years, though, my attitude changed slightly. So much history all around meant I started to tune it out a bit - when everything is historical then historical things are a little less special. When I lived in Canada, I loved looking at Victorian architechture. In the UK, there is SOOOO much Victorian architechture! Besides, Victorian- that's, what, like only 150 years old? Psssh! Brand new by English standards.

Still, though, from time to time, something bowls me over and reminds me of the sheer wealth of history in this little island and makes me appreciate it a bit more.

On Tuesday, to celebrate Drew's birthday, we went for a drive through Oxfordshire. We visited a few churches, as we often do, and one of them - St. Andrew's, Great Rollright, featured the door carvings in the picture.

The zig zag pattern is Norman.... people have been worshipping in this building for probably over 800 years - 800 YEARS! - and people still do.

It's a bit humbling to come across someting like that Norman Doorway- yet to the congregation of that church, it's just the door to their church. Seeing it gave me goosebumps - and reminded me of that feeling of excitement I first had when I came to this old country almost 12 years ago.

Oh, and next time you visit a church - Norman, Victorian, or anywhere inbetween, pop a few quid into the collection box at the back - it's not about supporting "the church" - it's to help make sure those buildings will still be there in 800 years time.

Little Blue Light - I love you!

2011-01-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

Oh Dear.

I've written this post 3 times.

3 times it has not posted.

I can't type the whole thing again.

Here's the short and sweet version -

Internet Connection via mobile internet and a dongle is precarious.

Being in the middle of nowhere is beautiful, but it sucks if you have no internet connection.

Now, please, dear God, when I click "post" - POST!

Work work work!

2011-01-19T06:28:00.000-08:00

It never rains but it pours, apparently. Like buses, employment offers seem to come in threes!

As you know, I work as an Adminstrator for my husband's puppet company Objects Dart (www.objectsdart.info) While I enjoy that work, at "dry times" when we haven't got a lot of work on, things can be tight financially. Working in the Arts Sector, it's often "feast or famine" and income is not always regular.

To try to mitigate this, I applied for a job to produce the weekly newsletter of Puppeteers UK, a puppetry body which promotes puppetry and puppeteers. To my delight (and surprise) I got the job.

Back in September, I had also applied for a job working as a Temporary Care Assistant - sort of an "on call agency" job - where I could take assignments if I had time, or say "no thanks" when I was busy. I thought this would be an excellent way of also dealing with the "feast and famine finances" issue. I was offered a job, but the CRB check (Criminal Records Bureau) only came through 2 weeks ago! So, this week I have started doing some care work - which I'm enjoying, but it's not what I'm used to.

I had worked for a charity called L'Arche (www.larchelambeth.org.uk) which supports people with learning disabilities. Though in my interview for my new role I said that learning disability was my speciality, I have been offered temporary work on a unit supporting people with Brain Injury. It's been challenging doing something new, but I have learned a lot in the short time I have been there.

So, it's work work work these days - which is good for the finances if not always for the sleep patterns!

I hope to post some pictures on my blog in my next post - do get in touch if there is anything in particular you'd like to see!

We ARE safe!

2011-01-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

We ARE safe, at least according to the very nice BSS examiner who pronounced our boat "safe".

A little background on what the BSS is, and what it means to us;

Every 4 years, boats that are on the Inland Waterways system of the UK are required to undergo a Boat Safety Scheme Test. After the test, if you pass, you get a certificate. Without that certificate you cannot licence your boat, and your boat's insurance is invalid. As we live on our boat, we desperately needed to pass our BSS test as the risk of being "illegal" was too great - if we failed, we could potentially be homeless!

The man who did the test (who I won't name - but if you are interested, email me and I'll give you his name) was incredibly helpful.

When you have a test of this sort, you want the person performing it to be both strict in areas where your safety is at risk - and flexible where regulations say you must have a label on a door, say, or something similarly banal.

Thankfully, our examiner had that perfect balance between able to discern between what was an important element that protected our safety, and what was important but, provided we made it right on the day, he could pass us.

I can't tell you how relieved I am that we have our new BSS - which lasts 4 years. Not only does it mean we can relax a bit, but it also means that, maybe, perhaps, we actually bought a boat that is in decent shape! When we boat our boat, we knew nothing - less than nothing - about engines, electrical installation, propane installation, and the "nuts and boats" of our floating home. We sure aren't experts now but we do know a little bit more....

Are we safe?

2011-01-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know - we'll know on Monday!

Monday, the day that I have been dreading ever since we bought a bought with a one year safety certificate. The day I imagined someone would come along and tell us "Are you insane? It's a wonder you haven't been killed by that boat of yours! You are hearby relocated by Government Order to a DSS flat immediately!"

Yes, Monday, at our expense, someone comes along to inspect out boat to tell us if it is safe or not. If he agrees that, after one year of living on the boat and not killing ourselves, it must be relatively safe, and that though the boat is not shiny and new, it does what it is meant to do, then we will be given a certificate and allowed on our way for another 4 years.

If he decides that the tiny little bit of rust in the gas locker (where our propane is stored) is likely to kill us both in our sleep, then we are in for a rough day.

If there is something terribly unsafe that is a real threat, of course, I want it fixed and sorted - but part of me wants to slip the guy a £50 note and say "That's for you. Now, how about a safety certificate?".

I remember someone I won't mention by name scraping the inspection sticker of the windscreen of a car that had "died" but still had a valid inspection and sticking it onto his car - would that it was so easy!

Pray, chant, channel whatever saint or diety you believe in - but think of us on Monday. We need to get through this, and we need it to be cheap!

Coffee and Mornings

2011-01-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday, without a lot to do, Drew and I decided to visit the local village of Aldbury. The Morris men who we had sung Christmas Carols with came from Aldbury, and we thought a little nose-around the village was in order.

Wow.

The English have a term for villages like Aldbury - the call them "chocolate box" - because in the past, chocolate boxes were adorned with very idealised paintings and pictures of English life. Aldbury certainly is a chocolate box village - beautiful ancient buildings, a lovely village green and pond, and the church is absolutely amazing.

Inside the church is a tomb of some local "well off" folk with a Green Man lying at their foot. The church also features medieval glass and a plaque to the memory of a seaman who died in Bedford Basin, Halifax, in 1877.

We were inspecting the church when we were invited to a "coffee morning" - which is, as the name suggests, a little group of people drinking coffee (or tea) and eating cakes. Everyone makes a small donation for the coffee and the proceeds go to the church.

We met, at this coffee morning, amoung other people a veteran of World War Two who had been dropped in the ocean in Norway after his plane had been shot down and a woman who had taught in international schools all over the world. "Polite conversation" does not begin to describe how interesting a morning we had.

As we are still iced in nearby, we went again to the coffee morning, and again had a lovely time. Aldbury has become one of our favourite places to visit - and who knows, we might end up as Morris Men by year's end!

Bye Bye 2010!

2011-01-01T02:15:00.000-08:00

So that's it. 2010's all gone. Now begins the annual struggle to remember to write the new year properly - signing checks and contracts with "2011" instead of "2010"

To celebrate the New Year, we walked the mile or so up the canal from where we are moored (well, frozen) to a pub in Marsworth - The White Lion.

The sign outside the pub promised "music and raffles" - and on our arrival around 8.30 they had run out of most of their lager supplies - which meant a night on the real ale!

Earlier in the day, I had driven to Marsworth to check to see if their water point had unfrozen - and it had! A couple was filling up their boat's water tank, and they stopped to let me fill my little 25L jug. We saw them later in the pub and had a nice chat - in fact, we had a lot of nice chats!

Having grown up in a small community, I sometimes miss meeting the same people on the street each day, knowing the names of people who I pass by, and recognising the same faces in the shops. Having spent over a month in this area (partly on purpose, partly due to the ice) both Drew and I are now "known" a bit, and people recognise us and our boat. Last night, lots of people who we recognised but had not found out their names spoke to us - we got great tips about nice places to go for a cruise, the trials of ordering a bespoke boat - and lots of other useful info.

But, most of all, we just had a wonderful evening - dancing, talking to folks, and ringing in the New Year well. It also re-affired not only how wonderful it is to live on a boat (no one we spoke to regretted their "lifestyle choice") and how, people are people no matter where you go - and chances are, if you go to a small village or community, people are that little bit nicer -

...or maybe it's just boaters!

2010-12-26T07:04:00.000-08:00

Here we are, iced in in Cheddington, Bucks.

We have had a wonderful Christmas with friends in London and a little 4 month old who seemed to enjoy his first Christmas.

There is wood to collect, water to fill up, and lots of work to be done over the next few weeks, but today and tomorrow we pause, rest, and give thanks for all we have.

Happy Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Walking, Driving, but not cruising - in a winter wonderland

2010-12-20T11:50:00.001-08:00

It's still cold.

The snow has stopped falling, but the temperature here is still resolutely below 0c. That might not sound too cold for you folks in Canada, but here, 0c presents many real problems!

I remember at my Nanny's house, if it got too cold, the pipes would freeze. When they did, she would open up the cupboard in the bathroom through which the pipes travelling and often put an electric heater near by to try to gently warm them up. She lived in an old house, and of course, the pipes never froze in my parent's house - built in 1985.

Because most of the housing stock in England is Victorian (a shocking endictment of English house-building practices since the war - to think that houses, sewers, and general infrastructure built over 100 years ago is still relied on daily by the vast majority of the population), the housing stock has been adapted as new fangled things like electricity and indoor plumbing came into existence. I remember when I first moved here how surprised I was to see the pipes that brought water to the house I lived in and sewage from it were on the outside of the house, and entered through holes drilled in the external wall in bathrooms and kitchens. My first thought was "those must freeze in the winter" - but as English winters (at least in the South, and at least until recently) used to be just 6 months where the rain was colder than usual - the plumbing function perfectly well.

This recent cold snap, though, has tested (and broken!) some of England's most integral infrastructure.

Heathrow Airport, the world's busiest International Hub, has been closed, and now is reopened with very limited service after the recent snowfall - and by recent, I mean on Saturday. Imagine if 15 cm of snow meant that Lester Pearson Airport in Toronto was closed for a day, and experienced severe delays and cancellations for days afterwards - people would be up in arms!

Roads have been closed (though thankfully now many are functioning - if not well, the adequately) - and people have been advised to cancel Christmas travel plans if possible.

I have not escaped the recent cold weather chaos! Aside from having to try to travel through it, we also had our own version of "frozen pipes" this morning when we turned on the water to find that the water pump could not pump any water from our boat's holding tank.

At first, I thought "we've run out of water". We've been low for days, and unable to travel to a marina or "water point" (a standpipe where boats can fill up with water) due to the canal being frozen. So, I went in hunt of a water carrier - (the sort of think you use when camping) and after much searching, found a 25L "jerry can".

I took it to the nearest water point - which was frozen. After struggling to get my car out of the snow around the water point, I journeyed to the next one a few miles up the canal only to discover that rather than having a simple spout like most do, that would mean the water would come straight out of the "tap" and into my jerry can, the tap was located inside a metal box. My can wouldn't fit into this box, but thankfully the box had a drainage hole (presumably for excess water if someone leaves a tap dripping. With apologies to those who ask us not to waste water, I turned on the tap full blast and put my jerry can under the drainage hole to collect as much as I could.

I'm happy to report that water is flowing freely (albeit in less volume - as we are trying to conserve it now) on our boat.

The snow is lovely. The ice is beautiful - but the magic is starting to wear off. Give me an English winter anyday - and take this Canadian one back where it belongs.

Snow every day, please!

2010-12-18T12:50:00.000-08:00

Before I begin, let me make it clear that I like to be warm. I don't enjoy seeing my breath when I wake up, having to gather wood every hour to keep the fire going, and scraping ice of my car's windscreen before I drive anywhere - but please, let it snow every day in England.

The snow brings out the best in the English. It makes them funny, helpful, and brings out the "make do" "Dunkirk" spirit of legend.

The English are a friendly lot, more or less, but not friendly like folks back home in Canada. The English will say "hello" and talk about the weather, and will make polite conversation (unlike some of their European neighbours) but in general are more subdued in their "friendliness" than Canadians.

This all changes, though, when you add a few inches of snow - hell, a few centimetres of snow - to their environs. All of a sudden, perfect strangers and giving you advice on the best road to take to the nearest village, pushing your car when you struggle to go up a hill, and generally "mucking in".

Today, I decided to make the 5 mile trip to the nearest town with a supermarket. It had been snowing heavily -by both Canadian and English standards - for an hour or so, but having learned to drive in a country where a foot of snow wouldn't stop me getting where I wanted to go, I headed off to pick up what we needed for the weekend.

Passing through Marsworth, near where we are moored, I found on the bridge, people directing traffic - gesturing when to pass over the one laned bridge, and when to wait for a car coming the other way. A few miles further, where a lorry had gotten stuck on the bridge, people were out of their cars trying to push it to get it started again.

To a Canadian reading this, you might think "what's the big deal about going over a bridge?" but most of the bridges where I am now were built hundreds of years ago and designed to deal with horses and walkers - not cars. They rise at a sharp gradient - and being single laned and rising sharply, when you approach them, you can't see if someone is coming the other way and will run into you as you pass over the crest of the bridge.

As the bridge into the town was blocked by the lorry, I turned around and decided to go back to the boat for a cup of tea before setting off to the town on a different route. When I got back to Marsworth, I found the impromtu traffic directors had "upped their game" and had found a piece of carpet, which they laid across the road to give cars extra traction when trying to get over the bridge. These were the same people who would barely say hello to you, let alone have a conversation with you, on a day when it was sunny and fine -but here they were, showing you where to stop on the carpet, and then, when you started off, giving your car an extra push.

I'm lucky to know, more or less, how to drive in snow - but was almost tempted to feign ignorance simply because random strangers were so keen to help me.

I know it disrupts travel, causes delays, and makes my boat a helluvalot colder- but for all the goodwill on display today - I'd love it to keep snowing straight on through until June.

All pumped out and nowhere to go

2010-12-17T05:41:00.000-08:00

Like most other boats over the past few weeks, we've been iced in. Last year we crashed through our fair share of ice, and were determined to avoid it if at all possible. We've been in Marsworth for a few weeks waiting for the ice to melt, and by yesterday afternoon, it was! We made a dash for the marina to pump out our waste tank (goodbye one months worth of poop!) and moored up. We have to work all day today (Friday) which means that as the weather deteriorates - again - we will most likely find ourselves iced in a few miles from where we've spent the past few weeks - but at least now we will be able to use the loo without worrying too much about the waste tank.

Now, for some water. Please, PLEASE may we not be iced in when we get home - or please, may the water fairy fill our tank tonight!

Never Apologise, never explain

2010-12-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

Oh! So I've been gone for a while. I see that my last post was in February.

Why has this been the case? Where to start!

Needless to say, getting used to living on a narrowboat took rather more time than I thought. In those days in February, and onwards until May, once I had finished cleaning, working, gathering wood, and moving the boat - well, there was neither the time (nor, most likely the battery power) for such luxuries as updating the blog.

The last 10 months in a nutshell included the sad death of First Mate Oliver the cat, an unwelcome Cancer diagnosis, a very welcome Cancer "all clear", some new batteries (hence why I have a fully charged laptop to update the blog) and travels up through Stoke Bruerne, Braunston, Oxford, Rugby, Coventry.

Where are we now? In Marsworth, of course - and, as we always seem to be when I am in Marsworth, we are iced in.

I'm hoping that my local paper back in Canada will put a link to this blog on their webpage - and so will certainly be keeping this blog up to date. I hope to include some more of our tales on the boat - and also my ramblings on the state of this wonderful, maddening, enchanting, frustrating, and beautiful country.

Central Heating and a Bath!

2010-02-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

Well, after weeks living in rural England with the brief stop in places like Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes, I'm spending my first few days back in London since we moved on to the boat.

It's odd being in such a big city again - and odd spending time in some of my old stomping grounds. While I enjoyed waking up warm and having a bath, I do miss the boat and the tranquility of our current mooring in a village outside Milton Keynes. All the noise, people, and bustle are quite jarring after weeks on the boat!

But, a few days in London - buying a bike, getting the car mended, picking up meds for our cat and catching up with friends is welcome - it will just take a bit of getting used to.

Have raided my mobile phone for pictures - I'm not much of a photographer - but here is the good ship Friendship in ice - a common scene over the past few months!!

One Month Between Posts? Shameful!

2010-02-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

..but, things have been busy indeed!

Firstly, we were iced in at Marsworth for 2 weeks. While there, we ran out of calor gas, and ran quite low of water.

Then, when it looked like the ice was just about thin enough to try to head off, we set out for Leighton Buzzard. And got iced in again. And ran out of calor gas again!

Then, we finally made it to Leighton Buzzard. And got iced in again. And ran out of calor gas again!

See a theme?

Thankfully, the weather now (touch wood) appears to have changed for the better. We sorted out our gas problem - a leak. We have given up on making it to Huddersfield (which was our first destination) but have managed to find quite a few nice places to moor along the way. We're still heading North - but slowly.

We've even managed to work out how to get more time out of the laptop's batteries - which means that tomorrow I hope to post some pictures of our boat and our travels to date!

I'm going to keep this post brief - lots of things to catch up with and need to give the fire another poke - it may be warmer, but it sure ain't tropical!!

Moving on up

2010-01-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

We're still making our stately (i.e. slow) progress up the Grand Union. Today, we woke to beautiful weather and the promise of a good days cruising - which it was aside from a delay of an hour and a half at Winkwell where the swing bridge was not operating properly and a BW engineer came to let us and others through.

With that delay, we managed to get to Berkhamsted by about 3.30, when light was starting to fade - and decided to call it a day.

We've been pretty good in terms of discipline- rising at 7, cruising by 8 - but we are making slow progress and we work out how to get through locks and try to be polite by going slowly past moored boats...

That said, I've learned every day seems to have a ration of about 4 or 5 lovely encounters with other boaters or people on the towpath, and one very rude person. On 1 January, our "rude person" was someone in a wooden boat who, when I had stopped to wait for the lock, started shouting at me for "tearing past him" and said if he had to talk to me again about it he would knock me about. Despite the fact that my "tearing past him" was at a speed that the swans beside the boat were keeping up - well - anyhow...! Today's unhappy encounter was with a man whose boat I nudged. He was pretty annoyed - and to be fair, it was entirely my fault. I tried to apologise, was met with expletives - hey ho!

BUT we did meet a lovely family who helped us open the locks in Berkhamsted, and also got some great advice from a retired couple about how to improve our lock technique!

So, moored in Berkhamsted today - picked up some nice wine - Red for Andrew, White for me- and will try to get warm before the big freeze apparently comes. Worst winter in 10 years according to the Met Office apparently. Hoorah!

Will also try to get some pictures up here soon.

2 steps forward, one step back!

2009-12-29T03:00:00.000-08:00

That seems to be the rhythm of the narrowboat dance! After freezing and fighting damp and ice in Iver boatyard, we finally decided it was time to make a move. This was despite the fact that RCR (narrowboat equivalent of the AA) made an error and didn't process my credit card payment for breakdown cover, hence we are not covered yet - (must wait until 2 Jan) - and a persistent problem with batteries that would not charge. After 3 days of eating by candlelight and freezing, we thought, let's just bite the bullet and head off, buy some new batteries, and hope it was just down to the boat not being used for a long time and the batteries being old.

So, we winded (turned around) and headed towards the Grand Union, stopping for a pump out at the marina in Iver and to try to get a lead on the batteries. While waiting, I started to disconnect the old batteries and hey presto found a red lead that didn't seem to go anywhere. That seemed odd - and so I looked around for where it came from - the alternator - and where it might go - and thank God- found that it had fallen of the split charge box (which enables charging of both engine and boat batteries). Hooked that back up and wham! Power! Charging! Energy! Finally a success! Bouyed by that, we headed out into the ice.

The ice was incredibly thick, but we need to be up the Grand Union to avoid being blocked by stoppages, so we pressed on, stopping between Iver and where the Slough Arm of the Grand Union joins the Grand Union proper. Nerves frayed from the horrible sound the boat makes when crunching ice, we moored up, had a few too many brandies, and slept very well.

The next morning, we scrabbled up the bank next to our mooring in search of civilisation, and found it in the town of Iver - (though the boatyard we had been at early was called "Iver" it was actually nearer Langley). Refreshed, with newspaper in hand, we headed off towards the Grand Union again.

More thick ice - and more! Just when we thought of stopping again as it was so thick, and praying for warmer weather the next day, we saw a boat, and a boatyard, so pressed on. Hallelujah! The ICE FREE Grand Union.

We carried on up to Cowley, where we are now, moored, and having a day of rest.

Happy New Year to all in case I don't update this before then - and dear GOD may the canal stay ice free!

Baby it's cold outside

2009-12-22T05:03:00.000-08:00

Well, we arrived to NB Friendship on Friday, and carried on our move. That night, our neighbour said "how long are you staying here"? We were planning on moving on the 26th - probably a few pounds heavier - but the weather seems to have other ideas. We are entirely surrounded by ice now - it started forming Friday night, and has gotten thicker each day. Yesterday it looked like it might melt a bit - this morning I left when it was still dark for my last day of work in London so didn't get a good look - but I am hoping on my return to see a noticeable change for the better.

We're on the Slough Branch of the GU canal - so not much traffic - and hence no one to follow who might act as icebreaker for us novices.

Pray for sun and warm weather - no white Christmas for me please!!

2009-12-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

Narrowboat Friendship - our new home! (Don't look too closely at the doors - they need repainting - and we've already sorted out the rain hat for the chimney!)

Where did we get all this stuff????

2009-12-17T01:56:00.000-08:00

Bank statements going back until 1999 - old wallpaper samples, lots of beautiful pictures, and what seems like thousands of books! All stuff which is "up for eviction" as we go into "Narrowboat -1" day.

We've been pretty good. All the furniture has been sold on eBay, we've chucked out loads of stuff we don't need, and a fair bit of stuff we like, but realise we won't be able to fit in our new home.

I think everyone should have to reduce their lives to "Narrowboat size" every few years. It really makes you think about why you have hung on to so much stuff! Sentimentality, fear of what will happen if you throw it away, and in most cases, a (sometimes mistaken) belief that "that will come in handy one day". I've been quite surprised at the stuff I have been brave enough to throw away - and the stuff that I've not been able to bear parting with.

Tomorrow is our last day in our flat - we make one more run up the M4 to Ivor after work, and then have an "everything else" run planned for Saturday - and that's it. Our first night on the boat is tomorrow.

Can I also say, it's great to see some people are following this blog! I thought I would keep it going even if no one followed as it would make a nice record of our move and time on the boat - but seeing as there are now people following the blog - and, hey, I had to sell my TV so I have a lot more time on my hands now - I will be updating this blog much more regularly.

Now .... where the hell did I put my.....?

We've done it!

2009-12-03T11:17:00.000-08:00

Andrew and I are now the proud owners of NB Friendship - a 52' narrowboat currently moored in Iver, Bucks. Over the past few weeks we've negotiated the minefield of borrowing a huge amount of money, buying a boat, and are now setting it up so we can live on it from 18 December.

Now that we have a boat, this blog will be updated much more regularly! Watch for updates on where we are so that, if we are in your area, you can pop round for a cup of tea or something stronger!

NB Friendship - may God bless her and all who sail in her!

Which boat for us?

2009-10-05T04:59:00.000-07:00

Well, from a not terribly productive trip to Gloucester to a very productive trip to the midlands - Nuneaton and Hinkley to be precise. Armed with a few addresses and photos, we blasted up the M1 (after crawling through London as per the usual) to, firstly, a marina in Hinkley where we looked at many boats - settling on one as a strong possibility - the small but perfectly formed Little Witch - and a few other "maybes" - the larger but more tatty Alexandra (ex-rental) and the Anchilla - a good size, but without BSC. Then, off to Trinity Marina outside Nuneaton to view the Lone Wolf - an excellent layout, but quickly not a candidate as Andrew could not stand up inside it!

Finally, we went to Nuneaton proper to view Om Shanti - currently on hard standing and being blacked. This boat ticked lots of boxes - decent size, recent survey and safety certificate, and, though needing some cosmetic work and a calorifier installed (boatyard had already quoted this for the current owner, so we know what we are getting in for) Om Shanti is a good possibility as well.

Plowing on - and still looking.

Unproductive trip to Gloucester

2009-09-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

Andrew and I are back from a trip to Gloucester and Hereford - Andrew had shows in Hereford yesterday- and no closer to our quest for a boat! We didn't have lots of time to look, and aside from checking out the docks at Gloucester, we really didn't spend much time looking at all.

Instead, we are planning a few days trip in October to properly hunt for boats - but on advice from a narrowboat online chat group, we are also going to start hunting pretty hard for a mooring. I'd love advice from any narrowboaters who might follow this blog in the future - but from what we gather, finding a boat is the easy bit (!) but finding a mooring is much more difficult.

We are still planning to be live-aboards, so require a residential mooring. So far, we've identified 2 near Wolverhampton that we are interested in checking out.

We are realistic, though, and know we will need to be flexible. We don't really need to moor in any particular place - just somewhere in the midlands - any ideas welcome!

Rainy Day in London Town

2009-09-15T04:03:00.000-07:00

The rain is falling, the skies are grey - I'm thinking lots about boats today!

We're off to a puppet show this weekend and scanning narrow boat sites online to see if we can, as in previous weekends, combine a puppet show with a bit of boat hunting. We're going up to Hertfordshire - with some potential stops along the way.

Not much news to report on the narrow boat front, though - still looking, still hoping. We've decided to increase our budget to hopefully find something a bit better suited to our needs - but still, we are hunting for a bargain as neither me nor my partner have lots of money tucked away, and the purchase will require a loan.

That said, I'm watching a few other Narrow Boat Bloggers jealously as I see their pictures and updates. I wonder whether cabin fever will set in, though, as winter and bad weather approaches...

An educational first attempt at narrowboat buying!

2009-09-08T03:12:00.001-07:00

Option 1 - not a winner, but a good learning experience!

My husband and I (wow - that sounds regal!) were in the midlands last weekend and decided that, before heading off to his puppet show performance, we would go to Norbury Junction (http://www.norburywharfltd.co.uk/) to check out a narrowboat we had seen on their website that was for sale for the bargain (we thought) price of £7,500.

Well, we learned that, as with most things, you get what you pay for and for £7,500 you don't get a hell of a lot.

The whole process of finding, buying, and living on a narrowboat will be a huge learning curve for us both - and neither of us have any pretense that we know much about what makes a good boat and what makes the nautical equivalent of a Ford Edsel! I do, though, know a tiny little bit about engines, and before our visit to Norbury Junction, we spent some time looking into what one should ask and look for when buying a narrowboat.

The boat had been advertised as having been adapted by an "undiscovered inventor". I read that as "lots of weird gadgets and perhaps dodgy wiring!". When we got there, we found that there weren't that many weird gadgets (aside from an electric rising bed) but the circuit board looked like a piece of modern art with wires of all colours springing out - taped, glued, and even blu-tacked together. The engine, though clean looking, sat in filthy bilge water and featured the odd wire hanging directly into the water. All very bad signs that even amateurs like us could spot!

We quickly decided that this was not the boat for us, and checked out a few others that were on offer, but out of our price range. This was useful as it gave us an idea of what a good boat should look like, and also gave me a chance to see properly how an engine should be fitted.

We left the boatyard a bit wiser and with a better idea of how much money we might need to spend, a clearer idea of what we want from our boat in terms of layout, equiptment, and design, and still excited about the prospect of becoming liveaboards in the near future.

Really? A Narrowboat?

2009-09-01T07:39:00.001-07:00

Well, perhaps, really! We've thought about it and have decided that there is no harm in going to inspect one while we are in Shropshire - so we've made an appointment and will be visiting Norbury Junction to check out a little 36' Narrowboat. I've spent the afternoon online looking up questions I should ask and the answers I should get when inspecting the boat. Hopefully I won't make a stupid mistake and ask a question which very clearly shows that I have no idea what I am talking about.

So far, aside from the obvious, I've investigated the engine type online - it's a Lister SR2 from - I think - 1975 - and tried to see what people say. Folks are generally positive about it, with a few people complaining that it overheats and others that oil gets in the sump....

Putting aside money for a good survey will obviously be important - should we decide we can actually downsize from a small (but not 36'!!) London flat into a Narrowboat. Aside from that, I think we'll just have to look, ask, and wonder when we visit the boatyard this Saturday.

Peter - who he? what do? and why?

2009-08-25T04:19:00.001-07:00

Who he?

32 y/o Canadian transplanted to the UK 10 years ago. In those 10 years, he's been a Care Worker, Manager, and Personal Banker. Now he works part time as a Care Worker and Administrator for his husband's puppet company. He's the eldest of 7 children. His favourite dwarf is bashful.

What do?

He works with his husband. In his spare time, he likes to follow current affairs, keep in touch with family and friends both in the UK and overseas, and generally crash out in front of a TV.

Why?

He's not quite sure why. It's just what he does and who he is.

2009-08-25T04:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog!

Why start a blog now? Well, my husband and I are on the verge of making some pretty life changing decisions - and weighing up the pros and cons of leaving our life in London to try out living in rural shropshire - or even on a canal boat!

It's a big move for both of us! It means re-establishing my husband's puppet company in a new part of the UK - and leaving behind some good friends here in London.

We know it's time to go, though. London is a great city - but it's got its problems! It takes forever to get anywhere, it costs a fortune to live, and, as someone who has been the victim of crime 3 times in the past 4 years, it can be scary too!

So, I hope to use this blog to keep a record of this coming year - which will be a memorable one!

Aside from the move, I also hope to blog about things in the media that interest me, and my own feelings about what's going on around me. More about my particular interests, beliefs, and that sort of thing soon.

In the meantime, enjoy reading this - whoever might find this blog tucked away in my little corner of cyberspace - and enjoy the last few days of British summer!