Super Trooper

 Morning All

The Chandlers are most definitely afloat again and I’m feeling joyous as I perch in my usual place on the sofa.  I have a mug of coffee and that virtuous feeling that comes with resisting the temptation to have a biscuit with it.  18 months of comfort eating has taken its toll and this week I have felt the effects of lugging around the lockdown baking in the form of an extra roll around my middle.  I had achy joints and a stiff back requiring Ibruprofen for a few days (pained expression emoji) but after a week of moaning and groaning, the joints have eased and the back pain has disappeared.   By the time we got to Alrewas, I'd had a chance to get back up to my previous racing greyhound fitness (you must be kidding emoji) and we are just 6 narrow locks from our mooring at  Egginton - hardly a marathon!  

Peek -a-boo 

The Lady Aberlour was looking very sorry for herself when we arrived back on Tuesday morning.  Sand in the cratch, green algae on the cover, bird poop on the windows, a tear drop black stain of water damage from a leaky window in the cabin and curtains that look like the spiders held their own version of Glastonbury in there and left their ablutions behind.  After several days of elbow grease we are almost ship-shape, the fridge is stocked and I’ve reacquainted myself with the little foibles of boating life.  Foibles - isn’t that a delicious word!  Foibles are remembering to shower in a tea cupful of water, needing to ask Carl to put the invertor on when I use the oven and making your pants go another day till Carl gets the generator fixed (Just joking folks).

Secret door in Alrewas

So, what have we forgotten to pack - this is always good for a conversation that starts with the words ‘Oh No!’  After several days of searching, I had to admit that neither of us had packed the deodorant, so we may well smell like the rhino house at London Zoo (an abiding childhood memory for me). I have a shopping list of things that we thought we packed but didn’t.   Daddies sauce, Weetabix (3 packets of other cereal but forgot the Weetabix), paint brushes and sugar (spare bag on board but it has solidified and will need a hammer to return it to anything resembling granulated).  I’m thankful that the bedding was packed away in vacuum bags and came out as fresh as a daisy.  The first night we snuggled down with a hot water bottle to take the chill off and had the best sleep we’d had for weeks.  The morning brought a very different tale...we didn’t mend up the stove before bed and woke to a freezing cold boat - cabin temperature 6 degrees.  Needless to say, Tricky and I huddled down under the covers and used elbows, knees and feet (Tricky) to remind Carl that it was his duty to get up and light the stove if he wanted to enjoy the rest of his day.  Remember ‘Happy Wife, Happy Life’ - the sign is hanging in our cabin, just in case anyone needs reminding (eye roll emoji). The sun was soon streaming in through the windows, the kettles gently singing on the stove and Tricky snoring in her new fluffy bed.  She seems happy to be boating again, although she cannot get on and off the boat without help, like me she is an old lady and is reluctant to tackle the steep steps that we use to get from cabin to bows or stern.  I never noticed before how very steep they are so Tricky and I have that in common, although I draw the line at asking Carl to carry me up over the bows.  

Tricky in her new fluffy bed

I can’t tell you how much we have missed boating - we have only been out for about two weeks in 18 months, our longest break since we became the very proud owners of the lovely Lady Aberlour in 2008.  We haven't made any firm plans as yet but I have a hankering for Wales and the beautiful town of Llangollen.  It has been a while since we did that cruise and although it will be busy, we have the luxury of taking our time and mooring and exploring along the way.  There are so many favourite places that we are looking forward to revisiting and sharing with you.  The beautiful town of Nantwich, the views from the Pontycysyllte Aqueduct, the lock flight at Audlem and the beauty of the countryside around Ellesmere.  We may include a side trip down the Montgomery - a beautiful, if short, canal that leads to nowhere, just our cup of tea. These are just a few of our favourite places and hopefully we'll meet up with friends old and new along the way.  

Green roof begone!

I dug out the winceyette nightie and fluffy bed socks to combat the chilly nights, but even with the wood burner going at night, it still took me several days to get acclimatised and even Tricky thought it was too chilly to venture out for her usual 2am towpath inspection. If the nights were extremely cold then the days have been doing their best to make up for it by giving us extra warmth.  I've been able to discard my two of my five layers and get the recommended dose of Vitamin D on my white, pasty arms, not a pretty sight  but no-one cares on the canals.  Boaty people are generally very friendly and this week has reinforced that opinion, we have been smiling and waving at everyone and it's a tonic to see a whole army of jabbed up pensioners beginning to live again.  

That's all from me for now - here are some urgent repairs that must be done before we can leave the car and chug off.  We can't go too far as we both have to be home for our 2nd jabs at the beginning of May then we'll be off on our travels. 

Love as Always

The Floating Chandlers

ps  Carl fitted a new light in the bathroom and it's so bright that I've nicknamed it 'the Supertrooper' -  I feel like I need to tap dance with jazz hands every time I go in there.

pps I used up half my internet allowance already! in one week!- perhaps I may have to stop zooming