Thursday 27 February 2014

Normality is Restored

Daffodils at Spade Oak
It's taken quite a while, but things are slowly returning to normal, for this time of year. The water is going down, and the quaggy mud, drying out. Ducks, Swans and Coots have reappeared. And we can now get out for a walk, without having to clomp about in waders.

Who, me?
His first chance to run around offlead like an idiot, since christmas. Promptly dived in the river, and then rolled in everything that could be rolled in. He looked especially chuffed with himself when I took this.

The path to Wooburn Green
The river is still flowing quite strongly. but it looks much less angry than it's been for months. I'm hoping to be able to turn the boat around next week, so that I can give some overdue attention to a couple of rough spots. That's the side that bears the brunt of the bad weather through winter. So, it was to be expected. I managed to slap a coat of blacking on the starboard side when the river was up. So, bar a quick hose down, that side is good to go. Happy to report that our £30 swimming pool roofpaint still seems to be holding up. No obvious flaking or signs of rust.

Hanging over us this year, is our insurer's insistence on a surveyor's hull report before they will renew our cover. It's been 5 years now. We were resigned to doing it anyway, but we're thinking of switching to SAGA, who will (allegedly) insure boats for the lifetime of the vessel. It's about time that dogma came out (for inspection and a blacking below the waterline). It's just eye poppingly expensive. Which is a drag. When we'd rather be cruising.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Quite Wet


Bourne End Reach

Sunday 9 February 2014

Oh, look, it's raining..

It just keeps on coming. Big gusts of wind too. Already up to the level of the previous flooding, and it's showing no sign of abating. No complaints here though. Sumo is snoring on the couch, the stove is glowing, and we've topped up the watertank. Sorted.





Friday 7 February 2014

Ahoy Maffi!

http://narrowboater.blogspot.com/
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Cheers..

I am 50

Sorry I haven't updated for a while. As you've probably guessed, we got flooded in again. Our small inconvenience at having to plank it to shore, is nothing compared to what half of the country is currently going through. Even if it stopped raining tomorrow (unlikely), it will take a month for the flood water to go down, and for the river to return to being safely navigable.

So we've just been getting on with it. Glad that we've got a 'River only' licence this year. And counting our blessings that our home floats, because local residents are standing by with their sandbags.

On the plus side, Sheena is here with me, and enjoying a "nice sit down". We still have some unchopped logs, and enough bags of coal to see us through.

Oh, and I'm now 50. :)