Canal holiday 1983 and 2010

Just got a negative scanner and the first thing I've done is scan some pictures of a canal boat holiday my parents took my sister and me on in 1983. Although I was only 3 years old, I really remember the holiday well. Indeed, it was memories of that holiday that prompted my to buy a boat in 2009.

Last week we took our first proper holiday on the boat. We made it to Goring (about 9 hours away) before the drive plate gave up and we had to emergency moor at the end of the sweeping lawn of a large house. We managed to avoid the electric fence, although I did fall in the river whilst trying to moor and simultaneously avoid the rotten fence poles sticking menacingly out of the water.

Despite all the problems, we had a brilliant time. It is so magical to make your breakfast in your own kitchen and then come outside to eat it in the morning sun and realise that you are somewhere completely new.

Here is a picture of the 1983 holiday (and here are the rest)

Gnashing and wailing

Can't believe I've got toothache. Again. In the tooth next to the root canal one.

Learned my lesson and got a dentist appointment next week.

Boooo.

In other better news, I'm going to the boat this weekend where my dad and F are going to finally help me fit the new doors! Can't wait!

Got straight back on that horse....after 6 months

After our January crash, we were a bit scared to take the boat out. Every time we thought we might, the river seemed a bit high, or it seemed a bit windy, and I'm sorry to admit we got a bit scaredy.

Yesterday we took ourselves in hand, gave ourselves a stern talking to, and took the boat down the river. It was brilliant of course, particuarly thanks to F's handling skills. Getting it back in its mooring (between two fibreglass boats, moored at an angle with their bows touching the banks) was a bit tricky, but we did it the second time.

We're having a family outing on the boat for my dad's birthday in a month, so by then I have to figure out how to work a lock. My 8 and 5 year old nephews will be on board. Luckily we have life jackets.

Boat painting

Got a good farmer's tan working on the boat on Sunday. The weather was absolutely fantastic - we've skipped spring and gone straight to summer!

Mine and F's hands are a little the worse for wear after a lot of sanding, but we're on the way to a more beautiful boat.

Now I'm thinking about how I'm going to repaint the boat's name. I want to rename it 68b (or Sixty Eight B) in honour of my mum's family home, the sale of which enabled me to buy the boat. But I'm growing fonder of the name Pinny and it seems churlish to change it.

Here is a picture of the current boat name, taken last summer before the ravages of winter.

Advice on smoking needed please!

Can anyone advise on my solid fule stove problems?

I can manage to get the fire going fine, but whenever I open the door to give the fire a poke or somesuch, the whole cabin fills with choking smoke.

Smoke also seems to be coming out of the chimney, so I don't think it's that. What can I do? Help!

A winter weekend

Got new doors for the boat!! Martin Kedian is as good as Mortimer Bones said in her post a while back . All I need to do now is paint, varnish and fit them. I chose to pay less and fit them myself, but Martin very kindly explained how to do it, provided sealant, screws etc and said he would help me if I got stuck.

The new curtains also look great in the bedroom (see picture below). I've still got to finish the curtains for the saloon and the blind for the galley, but at least I feel reasonably confident that they might actually look reasonable.

We had a lovely walk around Hambleden yesterday afternoon. Went to a jumble sale in the village hall and bought a shirt. Saw lots of pretty snowdrops, some inquisitive bullocks and farmers spraying steaming manure on fields. Much more interesting and picturesque than it sounds...

Then we had a few pints in the Flowerpot. Frank watched Ireland get thrashed by France in the rugby and I played with a huge ridgeback and some tiny excited puppies by the roaring coal fire. Lovely!
The bedroom:

The cows:


The manure on the fields:

Snowdrops:

The Thames at dusk:

Money for nothing (except my soul)

Got paid £45 yesterday for spending an hour telling a woman what I thought about lipstick.

It was one of those interviews where companies pay people to tell them how they can better advertise their wares. I had been chosen after answering many questions about how much makeup I wear, what sorts, how much money I earn, which magazines I read etc...

Felt slightly guilty about taking part (do I really want to let Chanel know how they can better snare people into paying £20 for a lipstick?), but still did it for the money. So much for my morals.

The woman from the company opened the interview by asking me to tell her a bit about myself. I looked blank as I always do when people ask me that, so she prompted me by asking a few more questions: "what do you get up to in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?" she asked.

I think she was a bit taken aback when I told her that I have a narrowboat I'm doing up. Not the usual Vogue-reader's pastime perhaps?

Geffrye Museum, arts and crafts

I seem to be constantly thinking about how I will decorate the boat, when I'm not panicking about how much it is costing and how little money I have that is. Managed to get some lovely material that I have made into curtains (see pic below) and a beautiful patchwork quilt, both from my favourite shop (called "The Shop") on Cheshire St, near Brick Lane (n.b. just found out it's also "East London Local"'s favourite shop).

Took some inspiration from the Geffrye Museum, which we visited yesterday, and which is thankfully free. F suggested we go there to check out their Eco Home exhibition, which, despite being small, was excellent. There were some very beautiful pieces of furniture made from recycled/reused materials including a chest of drawers and footstool by Zoe Murphy. Also the exhibit where you turned a handle to see how much energy it takes to make a normal incandescent lightbulb, an LED, and an energy-saving lightbulb work made me resolve to use only the latter two.

I absolutely loved their 20th century house exhibition - particularly the 1900-1914 house, which really reminded me of 68 Grand Drive, my mum's family home. Sadly it had to be sold, but I hope I have honoured its memory by using some of the money I got from the sale to buy the boat.

There was also a thought-provoking and beautiful series of photos by Zoe Barker about what makes a home a home. She had photographed the house of an old man (the fantastically-named Hrolf Trump) just after he died, then after it was emptied, and then after a new family had moved in and redecorated.

I've developed a virus this weekend (snotty and dizzy - yum), but I'm going to watch Eastenders on iPlayer, drink a hot chocolate with cardamom & cinnamon, and make my own patchwork something or other from the fabric cut offs.

Snowhere fast (ho ho)

The boat seemed OK on our visit today. My dad acheived what no man or woman had previously - fixed the stove so it no longer completely fills the cabin with smoke. Wohooo! Thanks dad. And this despite a load of snow sliding down the back of his neck as he clambered into the boat via the front doors. We also managed to get the tools in to some kind of shape, ready for when they are needed, which is frequently. Above is a pic he took on his phone (pre snow-down-neck incident).

Also, here is an horrifying story forwarded to me by a friend. I suppose this is one of the things newbies are not supposed to do. Do like the headline though. Those boys and gals at the Sun write a goodun.

Virginal anxieties

Have just read a thread on Just Canals about the mistakes made by newcomers to boating . Scarily, I don't even understand what most of them mean...

Feeling slightly anxious about making lots of stupid mistakes and ending up with a sunk boat like this Springer (nb no rude remarks about Springers please!).

East London

Went for a walk in Victoria Park. The lake was partially frozen with birds sliding around on the surface. A joker had changed the warning sign (see below). From there we walked along Regent's Canal all the way to Limehouse, Canary Wharf and the Thames. It was freezing - literally. We saw a huge dead fish caught in the ice of the canal (see pic), as well as lots of exciting narrowboats.
It was quite amazing to get to the Thames, which was at high tide and splashing up and over the walls on to the pavement. I love London!