Our holiday planning started as most people’s does. The 5Ws and an H or two come into play. When… what can we afford …where shall we go…how shall we travel…what do we need to pack…etc. Like so many people we are thinking of a holiday for the first time since Covid struck the world. ItContinue reading “First holiday prep”
Author Archives: pickingupducks
WiFi hot spots and an alarmingly hotdog
Living afloat in the UK, as some have found living on land, has been testing this past week as the highest temperatures were recorded – 40.3 degrees Centigrade in Lincolnshire. Summer heat comes as no surprise to many narrowboat dwellers. Living as we do in steel boxes we do tend to expect summers to beContinue reading “WiFi hot spots and an alarmingly hotdog”
Waste not – want not – a valid mantra for today
We’ve been working flat out this past week off the boat (well as flat out as you can with Covid although both of us have now finally tested negative) refurbishing a rental house as one tenant left for another to move in. It’s been a salutary time of ups and downs. The tenant who leftContinue reading “Waste not – want not – a valid mantra for today”
Covid, violent colours and discarded underwear – our life this week
Covid seems to have left one us bu is clinging to the other according to lateral flow test. We are now both sounding as if we have colds and coughing has been reduced mainly to the evenings. It’s a good thing that we are out of bed at least as one of our tenants gaveContinue reading “Covid, violent colours and discarded underwear – our life this week”
Is it a conspiracy or are we doomed?
After years of being told that we really should cruise the Erewash Canal which ambles between Nottingham and Derby, this week we’ve made it onto Erewash waters but it now looks as if we won’t be able to complete the navigation. The River Soar took us to its junction with the mighty River Trent inContinue reading “Is it a conspiracy or are we doomed?”
Seeing our life through the eyes of a child
When you live and work in a different way to the norm – when your commute is a stroll along a 50ft boat, when your office desk is your dining table set under the gunwales, when glancing up from your computer you see calming ripples on water, swans bringing their new family along for aContinue reading “Seeing our life through the eyes of a child”
Living and working your dream? Why not?
I’ve lost count of the number of times this past week when I’ve heard “Oh you’re so lucky to live and work on a boat.” Invariably it’s followed by a wistful “I’d love to do that.” Why is it that we don’t follow our dreams, why don’t we cast off and make our lives workContinue reading “Living and working your dream? Why not?”
FUEL FOR FREE
Prices are rocketing, costs are escalating, and the impact is being felt among us all. Anything we can get for free is becoming not only a bonus but a necessity. This week anyone working with me has had a taste of my brand of free fuelling for a taste of feel-better times. We all needContinue reading “FUEL FOR FREE”
Long service rewards for all
We may be narrowboat nomads but that doesn’t mean we’ve missed the opportunity to join in Jubilee celebrations. It’s just means we’ve joined them in several places! Whatever your thoughts on monarchies, 70 years in the same job these days is nothing short of remarkable. It is something to be celebrated, something we know neitherContinue reading “Long service rewards for all”
Where creativity and individualism flourish
Individualism has a stronghold on the inland waterways today but I’d argue it always has had. Even in the days when homogonised corporate commercial barges plied their trade, the roses and castles adorning cabins and water cans made individual statements about the people on board and their desire to make their home/workplaces more attractive. Today’sContinue reading “Where creativity and individualism flourish”
Pickingupducks 