Iced up and frozen solid

What a week – snow, ice, frozen ropes, rain, fieldfares, owls, kingfishers and fantastic community spirit. Living afloat on England’s inland waterways makes us much more aware of that archetypal English conversation staple – the weather. We live in it much more than we did amid bricks and mortar. Winds buffet the boat, sometimes gently,Continue reading “Iced up and frozen solid”

Tuning in

Living afloat brings so many dimensions to life. Some are expected – like being able to move on when you don’t fancy the location (or the neighbours), or you feel you’ve explored everything you can in that place, but some are totally unexpected. The sensory scope of each place is remarkable, and unless you areContinue reading “Tuning in”

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 wasContinue reading “Silver linings and a reminder of what really matters”

Winter’s coming so we’re planning and ham-ming it up!

The first frost arrived this week hard on the heels of the clock change, and a need to have the fire lit more often now to keep us cosy. The frost caught me by surprise meaning the early exit the dog and I make through the stern hatch turned into farce. The hatch was frozenContinue reading “Winter’s coming so we’re planning and ham-ming it up!”

A memorable week – was yours?

Last week for us was yet another crammed with memorable moments. It makes me realise that it’s not possessions or work but people and events that make most of our important memories. What memories will you keep from last week? We came to London to run a marathon and that’s just what Steve did. WeContinue reading “A memorable week – was yours?”

Our slowlife 5-day week – how does yours compare?

This is a week designed to get Steve to the start line of the London Marathon for Sunday morning. Unlike others taking trains or cars, we’re going by narrowboat and starting this leg of the journey from Leighton Buzzard. Monday – Set off from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire in steady rain accompanied by a strongContinue reading “Our slowlife 5-day week – how does yours compare?”

Come spend a week afloat

“So what do you do all day?” people often ask when they hear we live on a narrowboat? Working and living afloat as continuous cruisers is different from having a holiday so here’s how the last week has looked to us. It is an unusual week in that we had the car for part ofContinue reading “Come spend a week afloat”

Climbing staircases with a narrowboat

Join us on the stage as bit part actors for the delight of the gongoozlers at Foxton. We ascended this time after the Bank Holiday had whimpered its less than sunny way towards September and the return of the Leicestershire schools, thinking it would be a quiet climb, necessary to get us underway again. FoxtonContinue reading “Climbing staircases with a narrowboat”

Mouse on board!

In mid August on a balmy morning walk with the dog, a small person (aged 3) picked up a number of pink granite stones from a path. The stones are quarried nearby to where we were then moored and where we used to live, in the pleasant riverside Leicestershire village of Mountsorrel. We used theContinue reading “Mouse on board!”

Sharing enriches and reinforces life

For so much of the past year we’ve been unable to share our lives, our experiences with others in person. It’s one thing to write about life and work afloat, another to experience it. This week we’ve been in the company of three groups of delightful people – learning from them, sharing with them howContinue reading “Sharing enriches and reinforces life”