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| Sunday Morning Snooze |
We're tied up for the winter now. The works at Cookham lock have been postponed indefinitely. Something to do with them having the 'wrong sort' of control panel. Which means, river willing, we may still be able to get ourselves down to Cliveden woods over the new year.
People seemed genuinely happy to see us back. Our Labrador friend Archie (and his owner Dawn) brought us a large bag of kindling. Our friends Anthony and Patricia brought us a bag of apples from their garden. It is nice being in a small village. I sometimes think people feel sorry for us, living on a boat. I imagine they think it must be horrible in winter. When in fact, it is the best time. The stove is always glowing, and we have the time to spend on luxurious slow cooked casseroles and long dog walks. Sure, having to don waterproof clothing, and then bring it back onboard isn't a bundle of fun. But, there isn't the hustle and summer stress of a river full of boats. And in the evening, when everybody has gone home.... it is as quiet as can be.
This winter's task, is to get Olly used to people. And trains. We often like to moor in the middle of nowhere, where there aren't any people barbecuing, drunkenly arguing, or running their generators. Consequently, when he does see people, he tends to go a bit nuts and jump up. Our job is to teach him that's unacceptable. He doesn't seem to mind the noise of trains, from a distance. But we're hoping to get him on one soon. Maybe a little journey to Marlow or Cookham, where we can walk back from. The station with it's noise and abundance of people will be a good experience for him. At some point, we will have to get both of them across Reading station. So it's good to start small, I guess.
Boatwise, everything is still fine. The textured swimming pool paint on the roof is standing up well, and only needs minor touching up. Things in the engine bay are looking a little 'tired'. We had to push the engine extraordinarily hard this year, and it could do with some love, when it stops raining. It's also time to investigate what's going on inside the water tank. A job I've been putting off. Still no sign of rust in the water pump, or through the taps, but I am kindof dreading what I will discover down there when the hatch is unscrewed. Oh, and the ball valve on the bog is sticking. Which means oiking the toilet off and investigating. Not a particularly bad job. But a bit of a whiffy one, in such a cramped space.
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