Festivis

I love and hate this time of year, firstly I usually get a few days off work but then so does every bugger else which, lets face it can be a pain in the arse if you want to go anywhere or have a normal life.

secondly I dislike it because everyone keeps wishing me merry christmas... NO, I don't want a merry christmas, I dont want to drink to excess, eat to excess or do anything to excess and be merry, I don't want to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, I don't want to waste valuable trees on pointless cards wishing other people a merry christmas too. I wish people would stop spending money on pointless crap like if they don't have it their lives may as well be over because mum/dad/brother/sister/aunty will be sooooooo disappointed.

Does this make me a scrooge? No! especially here... and here is currently Springfield on the River Lee.

I was working on Monday the 24th so the Man moved the boat up the river a bit so we could leave our boat amongst other boats while we left it for a couple of days. Springfield is right next to Stamford Hill, Europes biggest Orthodox Jewish area. Which is great because they certainly don't go ramming mindless christian festivities down my neck. In fact I can go for a walk and not see a single sign of xmas, christmas, Christ Mass anywhere.

Ho ho ho... bloomin marvelous.

Now I already had my own little celebration on the 20th, 21st and 22nd, celebrating the winter solstice and now we have turned the corner of winter and are heading towards longer lighter days, surely an excuse to celebrate if ever there is one.

So on with the loving side of this time of year, I get time off work, and so does my family and friends. Which means I get to see them for the first time in months. Catching up with a best friend is priceless, spending some time with family, talking about all sorts of things, putting the world to rights is great.
Being in a house and having a king-size bed you would image is bliss, but for me I couldn't sleep because I had too much space around me.

Back on terra-not-so-firma, we are rocking and rolling in the wind, back in the small and cosy surroundings of our metal box ( aka narrowboat)
I feel more at home than ever. although I haven't changed my mind about selling the boat it has certainly re-affirmed how much I still want to live on a boat of some description.

I have a to-do list as long as my right foot so I shall be kept occupied for the remainder of the holidays. Although I am very easily distracted and there's a strong chance that in fact sod all will get done except for some high class faffing.

Bow Locks

Bow Locks

Email this entry | Print this entry Dec 17 2007, 07:28 PM

We moved from Limehouse up the cut a bit to Bow Locks.

The more I look at the name Bow Locks.... the more it looks like bowlocks...
you can see where im going with this I imagine...

yes, puerile mind at play I admit.

So Bow locks it is for the moment. I have no idea where we will be this time next week. Perhaps a little further north? perhaps a little bit more inside London village?

I saw a gorgeous boat in Limehouse on the pontoon where we filled up with water.
I am sooooo jealous. I want one. No, I want two, one for me and one for him so he doesn't make mine all messy with his socks and shoes everywhere.


(this is not the exact boat or exact same location, you dont get palm trees in limehouse bsin)

of course, we can all dream, so come the boat show in January at Excel, Im going to be there looking at everything I couldnt possibly afford ever in my lifetime without a lottery win.

Entry Cheshunt to Limehouse Basin

Cheshunt to Limehouse Basin

Email this entry | Print this entry Dec 5 2007, 06:57 PM

After two and a bit weeks of mooring alongside a friend the time came for us to move on to pastures new.

The kind gentleman Cliff (and his frequently visiting lady friend Dianne) on his boat Axe looked after Honey Ryder while I was on holiday and kept me company while I was home alone , he even lent me his axe, labelled Axe should anyone want to know what it was or what boat it came from...

Axe has ventured north up the river lee and Honey Ryder has ventured south of Cheshunt for the first time in weeks. Heading due south we arrived at Limehouse basin six hours after we set off. The day started with a heated discussion about, I forget what now, but the inevitable parting of ways started off early as I walked off down the tow path to speak to a neighbour and turn the lock around while He took the boat up to a turning point, smoking a cigarette furiously as he went. We swiftly made friends again when we met at the lock and the day was plain cruising all the way to Limehouse. We cruised into the darkness but as we neared Londinium the light pollution made progress very easy and we moored up at the nearest convenient spot, which just happened to be a 7 day mooring spot. Hurray!

now it seems we arrived just at the right time, as the weather turned to howling banshee gales and sideways rain. We had to devise a new fendering method to stop the boat from slamming against the quay side. The slamming effect was fraying the nerves of the dog who jumped out of bed at every boom or bang as the boat bounced off the wooden pilings. At first I thought he was too nervous to poo when I took him outside to do his natural business, but in fact its just the lack of grass that's putting him off.
yes toto, we're not in kansas anymore...

the concrete urban jungle is quite a posh one around Limehouse, to rent a flat around there you are looking at a minimum of £500 a week.

despite the concrete, the citiscape is a site to behold and ive been loving the past few days of being there. with real boats to look at through the window, ones with masts, ones with big engines, ones with beautifully shaped hulls, it makes me feel like Im really boating at last. The fact we've had some harsh weather has helped too, making the boat rock constantly, which is a real source of comfort to me. I love it when the boat rocks. Except then I remember I'm on a narrowboat and remind myself that they weren't designed to rock.

I think I might write a book, they say everyone has a book in them, well, mine might be a tongue in cheek look into the world of living on a boat, "if it floats, then surely its a boat?"