In the final quarter of this year we have travelled more continuously (despite the global pandemic) than ever. At 3-4mph it’s been slow going, but we have happily cruised 143 miles, six and a half furlongs (no, I honestly have no idea how long they are) and worked 77 locks. We have taken in one river (the Soar), two arms (Market Harborough and Welford), a line (Leicester), and six canals (Grand Union, Oxford, Ashby, Coventry, Birmingham & Fazeley and the Trent & Mersey).
The move to a 50ft narrowboat was the direct result of Covid-19. We realised with internet access we could work from anywhere, and were aware our frenetic work life seemed to be taking more and more of our precious time. As Ernest Hemingway put it in The Sun Also Rises: “I can’t stand it, to think life is going so fast and I’m not really living it.” I quit my job and went freelance. Steve moved his work onto the boat, we let our home and as a result have enjoyed three whole months, a quarter of 2020 having irreplaceable experiences and learning invaluable lessons – including (a) how to live in very close proximity with your other half, (b) how to survive living in a small space, and how to enjoy life given (a) and (b).
Here, in no particular order, are our top 30 observations from the past 3 months which we hope you’ll appreciate and which are a partial response to the many questions we’ve received. We’ve learned a lot, about ourselves and the world around us, the world which is on our doorstep!
- Living with a spaniel on a boat you never have enough dog towels or cheese.
- It is easier than you think to have no food waste. In 3 months I have thrown away only onion and garlic peel. Using leftovers is easy with websites that allow you to type in the ingredients you have left.
- Winter provides additional free fridge space if you move carefully. All sorts of groceries keep well on outside ledges if you don’t rock the boat too much and knock them into the water!
- You are bound to meet the only moving boat of the day at the one bridge on a blind bend.
- Put things back where you got them from – ideally where they live. If you don’t you will waste time trying to find them again… Losing things through carelessness or laziness can create friction that no one needs. I have now lost a total of 6 gloves and heaven knows where they can have gone in a space this small!
- Don’t panic – all sorts of things will happen and 99% work out fine. We are still imagining there might be that 1% but haven’t found it yet…
- Life’s richness exists in the little positives: the kingfisher with his flash of vivid blue in a fleeting moment of flight alongside the boat; shared amusement over a greedy cob swan tapping away as he nibbles weed off the boat…
- Ditch the little irritations – realise their unimportance. In the moment it takes to draw a deep breath recall instead the reasons you appreciate your partner, and remember honestly the irritating things you do which they generously don’t remind you about… In my case those take so long to list I forget the original irritant.
- Going slow isn’t something to be ashamed of or to avoid. It saves time and accidents. A whirling dervish imitation (particularly on a boat) isn’t going to win prizes and can lead to a cold dip or worse. We have passed too many poignant waterside memorials to people to know how dangerous boating can be.
- Ropes freeze on metal and can skin your hands if you (a) lose your gloves and (b) are in too much of a hurry.
- If things don’t go according to plan they can lead to better things – a sticking gear cable led to a moment of worry at one of the locks at Fradley Junction. I had the lock ready thanks to the support of a 3-year-old in sparkly unicorn wellies, and wondered why Steve wasn’t bringing the boat in. We ended up walking the boat like a large blue dog, back to a mooring on a rope! There was nothing I could usefully do (apart from get out of the way) so the dog and I had a delightful unexpected walk/swim round the nature reserve (see later pictures for proof). It was something we might never have discovered otherwise. When we got back, all was resolved and we carried on where we left off.
- Leave each other space and peace to do what you do best (related to the last point – had I been hovering asking questions and adding to the stress of the situation the repair could have taken so much longer and built irritation in us both…).
- Even when things are going well, we all need time to ourselves.
- Learn from everything – particular highlights have been the discovery of Mabel Stark (a diminutive nurse turned tiger trainer of the 1920s), reed mace (the real name for what I have called bulrushes for years), that tempus vernum means Springtime as well as being an Enya number, and ducks do morning Pilates (leg stretches one after the other, wing stretches, and neck extensions too…)
- If you have the chance to do something today – do it. Emptying bins and toilets or filling up with water comes in this lesson. If you leave it the next available places may be frozen, shut or out of order.
- Being distant doesn’t mean being remote. I love the fact we have technology for the important things. We may be physically away from family because of the pandemic or travel but we can stay in touch with them and share moments without interfering with their day but whatsapp messages or a photo letthem know we are thinking of them. Daily December video calls enable a helpful 3-year old to practice his numbers and show Cola the right window to open on his doggy advent calendar!
- As a boater you can manage a thorough shower, including washing and conditioning your hair, treading your underwear clean in a bucket in the shower tray at the same time all in four minutes and and four litres of water.
- Upon hearing ‘man overboard!’ you reach for the camera first, and the life ring second.
- Your ability to navigate a lock smoothly is inversely proportional to the number of spectators.
- Walkers on the towpath believe you hate each other without realising you are actually yelling at Alexa… though this may indicate her to be a 21st century marriage-guidance device enabling the venting of frustrations…
- Don’t be so wrapped up in your journey that you miss things on the way. This week we took time to visit the National Memorial Arboretum. It’s a 150-acre site of 30,000 maturing trees in tribute to those who have served our nation, servicemen, civilians, emergency services, animals and also a poignant woodland dedicated to children lost too soon. The torrential rain for our first visit masked our tears. So much death, sacrifice and suffering is recorded here. Why have we not learned the lessons wrought at such cost? There was humour too and it was often that which brought tears. There is so much to see and it will be so different at every season, we both look forward to going back.
- One of you has obsessed about water in the bilges and has to keep checking.
- You both get paranoid about the loo indicator at bedtime just in case nocturnal trips turn the bathroom into a red light district (red= full cassette) necessitating a cassette change at 2am.
- One of you can reel off to anyone whether listening or not, details for how much diesel and coal you get through and how long a toilet cassette lasts (it’s all on a spread sheet – 100 litres in 3 months, a bag a week, and 2 days if there are only 2 of you, in case you wanted to know!).
- You take it in turns to do the fun things – steering a 10-15 ton boat, and foraging, as well as the less fun things – emptying said toilet cassette.
- Recognising there is always a real need for a small treat on deck – a biscuit, a mince pie, with a hot cuppa when its wet, windy, or cold.
- Look for the good things that make you feel good. Nit picking and finding fault will only make you feel mean and nasty.
- Daily exercise is essential and fun.
- You are never too old to be excited by a visit from Santa on his sleigh – well done Round Tables across the country!
- Warmth is vital – internal, and external. Care, hugs, layers of clothing and a roaring fire along with a steaming bowl of soup or a cup of coffee are essentials as well as treats.
Coming up in the next few weeks to take us all into a new and hopeful year we’ll take a look at some requested topics. If you’ve any to add, just let us know via the comments:
- Downsizing without pain
- Stress-less living in a small space
- Something for nothing – foraging for fun
- The tools of journey planning with a narrowboat
- Stories from others about why and how they live on England’s inland waterways
- More living for less outgoing
Pickingupducks 