Silver linings and a reminder of what really matters

I know that many people working from home have found themselves viewing their home differently – some despairingly but many positively, learning about their home and community in a different way.

I’ve had a new experience of our home this week too. I don’t do ill very often – I think the last time was several years ago so I had only fleetingly wondered, and worried a bit what it would be like to be ill on the boat. This week I had the chance to find out! Not Covid fortunately but a gastric attack probably brought on by too much rich food over four indulgent birthdays in quick succession.

The result has been that in just a couple of days I have discovered even more advantages to living afloat (is there no end to the delights of floating life?). Here are my latest findings:

1. The walk (or dash) from the bedroom to the bathroom is 4 steps – nearer than most en suites!

2. Lying in bed with the curtains open allows me to watch the tops of the trees on the other side of the canal gently swaying in the breeze which is so relaxing, and something I shall consciously make a point of doing now I am recovered. I watched fluffed up grey squirrels making their way time and time again to the highest leaves that still clung on, surely just for fun because there seems no food to be had up there, and the branches are so slender they bend wildly sending the squirrels swinging and scurrying back down only to repeat the game again.

3. Watching the same trees and the same part of trees for a few days allows me to appreciate the speed of change as autumn moves apace. Colours turn from dark to light green, to yellow, before being patterned yellow with mottled brown before being blown from their living home or turning brown and falling gently down when they are ready.

4. I’ve never been in bed on the boat during daylight hours when boats are moving past before. If I found myself awake when they travelled by at tickover speed, the resulting movement of the canal gently rocked me back to sleep – so thank you to all of them – you have no idea how soothing and calming your passage along the canal was to an ailing soul! To those who passed at higher than tickover speeds, I hope you never lie abed in a boat feeling ill when others pass by at speed…

5. I’ve stepped away from any work and given myself the time to recover. Had I been working on the ubiquitous hamster wheel I would have soldiered on, and undoubtably taken longer to recover. It makes me realise that we need to look after ourselves – however and wherever we work. Our health is the most important thing.

6. Lousy internet connection and screens making me feel ill has meant even more book reading than usual and it has been a blissful change.

7. Towpaths here in the Midlands are perfect for short flat strolls through breathtaking autumn colours. Easy walks clear the head and make you feel normal again.

The latter is a really good thing as we have the 16ish mile Seagrave Wolds Challenge to complete this weekend in return for soup and crumble. It’s an amazing community event which sees around 200 people run, walk and plod a course across Leicestershire paths, fields and mud every November. The funds it raises supports a variety of charities including the Village Hall, the local church and the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. The event has been going since 2005, and our triumphant trio has completed it in all sorts of weather!

The event starts from the village hall with a 2 minute silence, a piper sending us off and is a remarkable achievement supported by villagers, runners and walkers alike. Food stops en route usually mean you can put on weight on this event despite putting in the miles! We missed those last year when it was a virtual event and we ended up calling into the boat which was moored nearby for sustenance!

I’d like to think that our collective experiences during lockdown have suited in many community events across the country, examples of how local people are supporting their communities and making a difference. They are events we can all delight in supporting. I’ve not heard of any celebratory community events being launched as people have gone back to working back in their normal workplaces, perhaps that lack itself is a mark of an unappreciated environment?

We need to appreciate what we have – this week of all weeks. This is a week in which we remember those who gave so much so that we could all be free.

Some gave their lives, others suffered life-changing mental and physical injuries in their battle for the freedom of future generations in conflicts from history to the present day; their families paid and pay a high price too for their service to their country. We owe it to all of them, to those we love, and to ourselves to look after our own health (mental and physical); to look after each other – our families and communities; to look after the precious life we have; and to look after the world in which we live.

One of the most inspiring projects on the waterways at the moment is currently taking shape here in the Midlands. It seeks to turn unwanted or abandoned narrowboats into restored floating homes for homeless service veterans. The first boat has been donated and members of the canal and river community are contributing to its renovation in many ways. Some helped move it to the yard that offered space for it to be worked on, others are working on it when they can sharing particular skills, some are donating money – and in that way, this is an invaluable life-changing project which anyone can support, wherever or however they live. Forces Vets Afloat is a remarkable project seeking to give back dignity, thanks, and a new way of life to service veterans by providing as many sound, floating homes as possible. If you or your company are looking for a worthwhile project to support this November, or this Christmas – perhaps this is one you would enjoy getting involved in. Not only is it seeking to provide homes and a new lifestyle for homeless veterans, in the process it also prevents boats being abandoned, reducing pollution, waste and has to be one of the most ambitious but inspiring recycling projects ever.