Covid has sent us to the…ducks…

It seemed a remarkably easy decision to make after 6 months of working flat out through lockdown – give up the job, house and car. Move onto a 50ft 31-year old narrowboat to live a simpler, ecological more friendly life and see if it is more satisfying, more fulfilling with just ducks for neighbours. Idealistic or idiotic? Only one way to find out…

A particularly friendly neighbour

So 3 weeks ago the three of us, husband, self and spaniel moved to our floating home. It was a quick decision to make but it took some months to realise.

We had a big advantage – we had a boat, not in a condition to live on full time but then perhaps it’s a bit like having a child – are you ever ready or if you wait until you think you are, is it going to be too late or will you ever do it?

So other major things needed sorting to make our dream a reality…

  • I had to give 3 months notice from my job in UK higher education
  • The contents of a 4-bedroomed house won’t fit into space of 50ft long by arms length width so I turned to eBay and Facebook market place, making some sentimentally tough decisions and meeting some delightful people in the process
  • We needed to refit parts of the boat for full time living…
  • …to dispose of a car…
  • …and decide what to do with a house – rent or sell because we needed the money so we couldn’t leave it empty

In the main we have managed these tasks and in the past 3 weeks onboard we have learned some valuable life lessons; rescued one crew member from murky depths; supported another crew member to complete the London Marathon; and we’ve been trapped by rising flood waters… All will be explored in next week’s blog together with answers to some of the many questions we are being asked by friends, family and those we have met on this journey.

Thanks Covid for giving us the push – the now or never realisation. Things are up in the air already for us all anyway. Will this move work? Is it inspiring or idiotic? Can we survive? Should fear or doubt stop us trying? Will Covid in the end stop us realising our dream? Join us on this journey of a lifetime to find out.