From Rural Idyll to "The Big Smoke"

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!