14th Week (w/e 11/7/2016)

We have had a quiet week onboard Captain Hastings this week, most of it at Debdale Wharf Marina, hooked up to electric and enjoying no cruising for a few days. This marina will be our boat ‘home’ from October, so it has been good to get to know some of the staff and other people that moor there.

So how has it gone this week……????

Tuesday we awoke on the boat with a heavy agenda in front of us. Emily our daughter was keen for us to meet up with her as she was not at school. Being a member of the teachers Union meant she was on strike, a good cause to try and get the government to fund schools more for the education of children. Rather than waste the day it was decided for us that we would paint her bedroom and help her get the children’s nursery ready for when she gives birth to our first grandchild in October. So for most of the day (except for a break of coffee and cake and a trip to a town to pick up a cot mattress!) all three of us got on with the tasks. It was a welcome change for Sandra and I and we really enjoyed the day and the evening family night together, along with Elliott our son in law. Needless to say when we returned to our boat we went straight to bed and both of us slept well.


Wednesday we left the boat early and headed for Stamford for me to attend a hospital appointment. This ended up being a total waste of time as our local doctor had made an error and this particular hospital was inappropriate. We both headed back realising that the NHS can sometimes be its own worst enemy in regards to managing financial resources and glad it wasn’t anything serious I needed attention with. Rather than going back to the boat we realised we still had most of the afternoon spare, so we stopped off at Corby the old steel town we had visited the day before. This town has had a real facelift and it was good to see the place vibrant and busy. We visited our favourite shop there ‘Home Bargains’ to buy soda crystals and a few dozen citronella candles to help keep the mosquitoes out of the boat and then exchanged the mattress we had purchased the day before, this time ensuring it was the right size!. We then headed off to Kettering where we took advantage of two tickets for the price of one deal (compare the market promotion) and we spent the rest of the afternoon watching a great film ‘Now you see me 2’. Afterwards we headed off to see Emily only to find the mattress was still wrong - too big this time! We chilled out with Emily who had just returned back from work after having a horrendous day with the teenage kids she teaches. We then returned back to our boat exhausted and already looking forward to the start of our next long trip to Oxford and beyond. We opened a bottle of wine and relaxed.

Thursday, we returned to Emily’s and finished off the painting the bedroom. I also decided to cut the mattress to fit, rather than take another journey to Corby which was quite a trek. It was a success and when Emily returned she was very happy with the result and really pleased with her and Elliot’s bedroom which was now finished in her desired colour. I also visited B and Q to try and get a perfect match for touching up the yellow on the cabin of our boat. All boats paint bleach in the sun and the spare paint I had was now too dark; I needed a slightly lighter yellow. Fortunately they were able to mix and match a Litre of external metal paint (gloss) to exactly the shade I needed, although costly at £27, well worth it, the little scratches and the small rust spots here and there would soon be history on the boat! Sandra and I felt really happy with ourselves and were soon back on the boat finishing off the previous nights bottle of wine. We don’t think ourselves as drinkers, but we do enjoy a glass of wine most nights – or gin and tonic, or a beer, or a larger – anything alcoholic really!


Friday ended up a frustrating day, we found that Debdale Wharf’s new marina in North Kilworth, which we were going to moor at, had decided to classify us as ‘heavy users’ and therefore we would have to pay two ‘service charges’ they levy. This made the new marina very expensive and as we intend to only be mooring there for around five months of the year in total, and then not ‘living’ on the boat 100% of the time whilst there, we felt this was a bit of a liberty. I sent an email to the owner and Manager highlighting our disappointment. We then met up with another person who moors at Debdale Wharf and they helped us make up our mind to remain at where we are from October on a ‘permanent basis’. This may seem to a lot of people a waste of money, especially as we will be cruising for most of the boating season, but Sandra and I just want to be able to keep close contact with Emily and Elliott and the new baby, and also to have a ‘home’ for our boat. Later I received an email from the management of the new marina basically telling me they may have made a mistake and could I meet with them to discuss the situation further. I replied back, we had made our decision! In the afternoon I tried out the new yellow paint – perfect match. Later on we drove to Emily’s to leave our car at the house in readiness for our forthcoming cruise down the Oxford and beyond. Emily and Elliott then drove us to a super little Indian Restaurant in the village of Fleckney (we had enjoyed a takeaway from there the previous week) and all four of us enjoyed a good curry, in fact we ‘pigged’ out and felt so full! They then dropped us back at the marina and we said our goodbyes.

Saturday we paid for our temporary moorings and double checked we had sufficient food stocks for the next few months, which did have. We then had a lovely full ‘English’ breakfast and then headed off for Foxton, one of our favourite places. We moored up and were pleased to be joined by Emily and Elliott and their friend in the afternoon, the weather was gorgeous. Late afternoon after they had left we ventured to ‘Bridge 61’ the boater’s pub at Foxton, which was surprisingly quiet, except for a birthday party which had booked Sam’s (the owner of the pub) trip boat. When they returned and the party goers exited, Sam asked me to get on the boat where he showed me his latest gadget – strips of LED lights which changed colours, ideal for a part boat. Afterwards we headed back to Captain Hastings excited for Sunday, when we would be heading up the locks and onwards.


Sunday was bright and sunny, we filled up with water and then booked our place to go up the locks, and we were pleased to be joined by Jason (Sandra’s brother) and Glenda his wife, who helped us through the locks. At the top we pulled in, not before the wind had pushed me across the canal, fortunately the bow thrusters enabled me to get the boat back on track. We were also happy when Emily and Elliott also joined us, just to say goodbye. We had an ice cream and Emily gave me my Birthday present for me to open next week on my 57th birthday. We felt quite emotional as we waved goodbye, but then realised that Emily and Elliott were joining us next week to show off their brand new car and for an evening meal in a canalside pub, and in the worse scenario we would only be an hour or so away as we head southwards! We left Foxton around 1.00pm and spent the next two hours really enjoying the beautiful Leicestershire and Northamptonshire countryside made amazing by the lovely sunshine. We went through the Bosworth tunnel without any issues and we were soon at North Kilworth Wharf, where we had arranged for a pump out and a fill up with diesel. This is the place we moored our first ever boat some 20 years ago, so it was very much like going home. Now under new ownership, we were more than happy with the superb service. We filled up our domestic tank of diesel (we have two on board one for propulsion and one for heating and cooking etc) and were surprised it took 173 litres. We decided to moor up just past the Welford Arm, the weather was still good, and so we touched up the black and decided that tomorrow we would give the boat a good wash and polish. Great, time for a BBQ and wine!


Monday was another bright and sunny day, Sandra did a spring clean inside the boat and I washed and polished the boat. The finished job was stunning, but how long would it look like this, especially with the Watford locks ahead of us! We decided not to rush and we took a very slow cruise down the lock free canal until we came to Yelvertoft, where we moored just before the marina. We managed to find a position in between two boats. We set up the TV aerial and searched for the signal and just as we were about to settle down for the evening we were knocked by a fellow boater, who asked whether we could tow his boat into the slip way of the marina. It was the boat directly behind us and of course we agreed to this. We then had fun and games pulling him the half-mile or so. Soon he was clear of our boat and being pulled up the slipway ready for the marine engineer to visit the following day. About an hour later he knocked on the boat again, a bottle of wine in hand thanking us for helping him, I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted. Sandra re-tuned the TV only to find that due to the new location we could not pick up channels – no Emmerdale, not a happy person. We decided to watch a DVD and enjoy the wine!


So, an unusual week over and now back on our boating adventure. Next week we head down towards Oxford and join our friends Colin and Heather, with their boat Miss Lemon, for a couple of weeks.

13th Week (w/e 4/7/2016)

We have had another great week on Captain Hastings travelling from Foxton to Kilby Bridge and back again. The weather has been good for boating and we have really enjoyed ourselves – as usual!

So, what have we been up to this week?

On Tuesday after arranging the previous night to share the double locks with Helen and Peter we headed off around 9.30am with six locks ahead of us on route to Kilby Bridge our destination. We were pleased we had met up them the night before and it was great to meet people you have chatted to regularly on Facebook. The next three hours went really fast as we laughed and chatted going through the various double locks. Helen also gave us a pack of gram flour for us to use when making Indian snacks. We were very grateful for this and as with most boaters; they did it from kindness and refused to take any money for it. Peter showed us a technique for turning a boat on the spot without the use of bow thrusters etc – which was great. On arrival at Kilby Bridge we turned the boat around and then had our last chat before our friends continued their journey through Leicester and onwards to Nottingham. Sandra and I settled down for lunch, just in time before some really heavy rain came down. It was funny reminiscing over the two previous times we had moored up in exactly the same position, not far from the pub. The first time was an absolute disaster as Sandra slipped off the boat into the canal and ended up breaking her arm on the side of the boat as she went in, the second, we had to call out River and Canal Rescue as we had a leak in the engine bay, and fortunately this was from the heating system. We decided to stay on board, keep our fingers crossed and think positive!



On Wednesday the weather was still damp and to be honest a little chilly. We decided to crank up ‘Big Bertha’ the nickname we have given the AGA. Soon we were warm and Sandra decided to do a clothes wash on board, especially as they would dry quickly. At lunchtime we had arranged to meet Elaine and Robert Sandra’s sister and husband. We always enjoying meeting up with these and it usually ends up with us in deep discussion of some sort on a popular topic, the referendum result was today’s topic. At the pub we had a super meal which was very good value, Sandra had Burger and I had faggots – both presented well and both tasted great. We left to a little better weather and by 6.00pm the sun was out and the boat ‘toasty’ hot. Time for wine!



Thursday we moved the boat over to the other side of the canal and we filled up with water and wiped the boat down whilst waiting for the tank to fill. We noticed another boat further down and when they disposed of some rubbish they were pleased that we suggested going up the 12 locks together. So for the next five hours we boated with Bob and Jan heading back to Foxton. A little stressful at times as their boat was only month’s old, but still fun, really nice company. We were soon leaving the last lock with the Fleckney tunnel ahead of us. I suggested that Bob go first, which he agreed to do. That was the last time we saw them as we decided to moor up a few miles before Foxton. It was a good rural mooring, weather hot and we chilled with a bottle of wine.


Friday we decided to touch up the paintwork around the rubbing strips. We like doing this regularly so the boat always looks good. I painted the pole which I had wanted to do for a while and after lunch we headed a short journey to Foxton. We thought we would fill up with water, but yet again we found an owner boater had decided to moor up – at a water point –so inconsiderate, and getting more regular. We moored further down and decided we would fill up the following day. Emily our daughter had arranged to meet us after school (she is a teacher) and it was fantastic to meet her at the ‘posh’ pub at Foxton for a chat. When she left us, Sandra suggested we have a beer at our favourite pub ‘Bridge 61’ a proper boater’s hangout. We had a beer sitting outside and soon headed back to the boat to enjoy a great curry we had prepared earlier.

Saturday the weather was amazing, sunny and very hot. We went for a good walk with the dog, passing the water point where the inconsiderate boater was still moored! We returned back to the boat and decided to give it a good spring clean inside and out. I also checked the oil etc and all was good. When teatime arrived we decided to prepare a salad and sandwiches for later and headed off to the pub. We met some amazing boaters two of them Richard and his wife who moor at the marina we were heading for on Monday (Debdale Wharf Marina). When they left we carried on drinking and met a whole lot of other folk in the bar area. We left around 11.30pm and wobbled back to the boat!!

Sunday was a blurry day for us both, we still couldn’t fill up with water, so we decided to head for the marina (Debdale) and moor up there which we did. When we arrived we visited our new ‘friends’ from the night before and was blown away by their 30ft Springer which they had almost completed renovating from a shell. The boat was absolutely stunning. In the afternoon we chilled and rested our eyes! In the evening we drove to Fleckney as we had heard the Indian Restaurant there was excellent. We decided to have a take-away and it was indeed one of the best we have had. We decided to have an early night as we were still a little fragile – when will we learn!!

Monday was another lovely sunny day; in fact we were awoken around 4.30am by birdsong. Mooring in a marina means there is little risk of any security issues, so we had slept with all windows and doors open. Today we spent shopping in preparation for our next long trip which will last around three months as we head towards Oxford in a week’s time. We stocked up our main stores, filled the freezer with meats and decided we would wait until the end of the week to buy fresh produce. When we returned to the boat we added an extension to the hose pipe (we borrowed one last time we moored here as our hose wasn’t long enough to reach the water point) and then filled up the tank – finally!. In the evening we chilled on the boat – again with no alcohol!

So another week over, this coming week we will be moored at the marina before starting the next leg of our big journey.

12th Week (w/e 27/6/2016)

Well this week hasn’t been a typical ‘continuous cruise’ experience, mainly due to the fact that we have been moored up at Debdale Wharf Marina for most of the time. This is the marina we will be using as a permanent base from October this year, until the new marina at North Kilworth is completed, then we will move our boat there. We will still continue to cruise, there isn’t a chance that Sandra and I could cope week in and week out restricted to a berth in a marina, we might as well return home if we had to do this. What we will be doing is mooring through the winter and then going off for three to four week cruises and then returning to base. We want to do this, rather than continually cruise, for two reasons, firstly we like the idea of having a ‘home’ for the boat to return to and secondly our daughter Emily is having our first grandchild and no way do we not want to see the grandchild on a regular basis. Already we are booked up babysitting for Christmas and New Years Eve!

So how did this week go…….?

On the Tuesday we awoke to glorious sunny weather and the sound of bird song around 6.30 am. It was great to switch on the electric toaster and electric kettle without a worry in the world about running the batteries low by doing so. A clear advantage for a marina mooring! We decided to make use of our car – which was already at the marina and we went off visiting family. It was weird driving the car and Sandra had to remind me to increase speed a little as I was only going 20 miles per hour on the main road! We arrived back on the boat at tea time and had a chill out evening with of course a nice glass of red wine!

On the Wednesday we packed our overnight bags and headed for our daughters place all of 20 minutes away. Today we would be staying with her and Elliott (husband) overnight catching up with the gossip. We both had a great time and also caught up with some rubbish TV and ended the night watching a great film ‘Dead Pool’ which was funny – if nothing else.

Thursday we hung around the house, and then did a little shopping before returning to the boat. It’s funny we both look forward to being back on ‘dry land’ and catching up with our daughter, family and friends but still look forward to getting back to our boat – our home! Later in the afternoon we met up with Sandra’s sister and brother in law – Rob and Elaine two recently retired people and laughed how things had changed and how all four of us were coping with no longer working, The answer to this was ‘dead easy!’. Later we visited a nice pub in Market Harborough before trying a new restaurant (for us) called Avatar – a Nepalese Indian Restaurant. We had heard mixed reviews, like you do these days with social media – but were very pleased with the service, quality of food and the price which was a good 25% cheaper than the other Indian Restaurants in the town which are clearly in a cartel as they all charge exactly the same price – give or take a penny or two. We ate reasonably late and mine was particularly hot (I like a curry that way), so I wasn’t surprised when I ended up with indigestion – I hate eating late.

Friday I awoke at 5.00am, I just couldn’t resist looking at my smart phone to see what the results were regarding the referendum of whether to leave or stay within the European Union. It was quite a surprise to find we were actually going to leave. Sandra rose around 8.00am and both of us chatted and watched the news for the next few hours. When I looked at Facebook I realised that many people were becoming quite vile amongst each other. I couldn’t really understand this, we live in a democracy and the people who voted to leave had won. Simple as that, I posted saying we should now all work together for a common strong country – but the negativity coming back was astounding. Later in the day we carried on shopping, getting stocked a little more ready for our Oxford cruise in a few weeks. Whilst on our travels we had a call from our daughter relaying her concerns that the doctor had told her to go to hospital as he couldn’t find a heart beat from the baby she was carrying. This sent Sandra and I into a total panic, so we went off to Emily’s house and waited for further instructions from her. Fortunately it was nothing to be worried about the hospital staff found a heart beat straight away and soon she was back with us along with Elliott who had left work early to support her. We all gave each other a hug and all of us commented how real life is not about referendums – it was all about family. Sandra and I left soon after and headed back to the boat relieved, relaxed and in need of a few glasses of wine!


Saturday was a cloudier and cooler day than it had been. We had to pick up a parcel from the mail offices, so we headed off around 8.30am to do this. We decided we would call at our regular haunt for a cooked breakfast. Unfortunately we ordered the wrong one (well I did – so Sandra keeps reminding me!) and ended up with a very greasy ‘sizzler’ breakfast. We still ate it all – so it couldn’t have been that bad. The parcel was a pressure cooker, small and absolutely ideal for use on the boat and only £11.99 – a bargain! When we returned back to Debdale Wharf Marina, we went to the office to pay (£45) for the week and also arranged for a pump out. Mike the owner took control of this and didn’t he do a great job, flushing the tank out, rocking the boat and so on. Well worth the £15. Soon we were heading towards Foxton Locks again, our favourite haunt around these parts. We found a mooring spot easily; the £25 fine for staying over two days really does seem to be working. My brother Tony and his new partner Rachael (we have known her for many years) came to visit for the first time. My brother couldn’t believe how luxurious the boat was and commented on the granite work surfaces, AGA and the lovely bathroom we enjoy. He could now quite clearly see why we like travelling and living on the boat for most of the year. As he left we agreed to arrange an overnight stay on the boat in the near future. As soon as they had left we got changed and headed for our favourite boater’s pub ‘Bridge 61’ at Foxton just next to the bottom locks. We were soon joined by Sandra’s sister Elaine and Robert and her Brother Jason and his wife Genda and daughter. We had a few drinks in the garden as the weather had really picked up and we laughed and laughed. Later we went into the pub and when Sandra’s family had all left we stayed longer and joined some of the regular boaters. The topic of conversation was the referendum and quite clearly they had all voted to leave. We left the pub after drinking far too much, to be honest, we were quite merry and when we got back we were soon tucked up in bed.


Sunday was a bright and breezy day and although we both had quite ‘thick heads’ (goodness know why?) we went for a short walk and laughed as one of the couples we had met the previous night was reversing his boat – made worse as he had expressed he hated gongoozlers! We shouted out at him to ensure he knew we were looking! We had a coffee and cake at the café and returned back to the boat and basically chilled out nursing our headaches! Sandra later used the pressure cooker for the first time and made a really tasty beef casserole for the evening meal. It took only 15 minutes to cook 1kg of diced beef – amazing. We decided to watch a DVD as the TV signal was rubbish – too many trees. We picked out a DVD and thoroughly enjoyed watching three episodes of Shameless. Did we laugh!


Monday was colder than it had been for ages. The day before we had noticed some boat owner had moored on the water point (idiot) and today he was still there and we needed to fill up. Fortunately a Canal and River Trust volunteer was to hand – but as I was explaining to him that the boat shouldn’t be at the water point, the guy decided to move off, smiling as he went (typical). Soon we were filled up with water and ready for our 6 day cruise to and from Kilby Bridge. We headed off and were please to be moving again. Pleased to be proper boaters again! We were soon going through Fleckney tunnel (around 800 yards) and down the double locks. We decided, especially as the weather was beautiful and the batteries were at 92% to moor up in a lovely rural spot. Just as we sat down another boat past us with the crew member shouting out ‘How’s Mr Biddle then?” and to our surprise it was Helen and Peter – Facebook friends. They moored up just past us and soon joined us on board for a few beers! As they left it was agreed to go down the next 6 locks the following day in convoy! In fact it was also to help each other as the double locks on your own can be a right pain – to say the least!.



So the week ended well, back on our boat and moving, back being boaters

11th Week (w/e 20/6/2016)

This week has been another great week where both of us have enjoyed ourselves doing what we like doing best – boating! The only down side has been my reoccurring back pain, which was caused by lifting a generator off the boat. It just goes to show you have to be mindful of lifting things. I spoke to a nurse friend of mine who said there isn’t much you can do other than keep moving and then rest – and take tablets! So that’s what I have been doing with Sandra supporting me (in her own way).

So how has this week gone……??

On Tuesday we left our lovely rural mooring spot and started our way towards Foxton. This stretch of water is 23 miles of lock free canal and it meanders through open countryside with the odd village here and there. We moored up for lunch as we were in no hurry, we were ahead of time and it was nice to relax. In fact we did contemplate whether to stay there for the night and to be honest we should have. As we set off the heavens opened, for once the weather forecast was right – heavy rain! It rained and it rained and I got absolutely soaked, fortunately Sandra had switched on the heating, so when we finally moored at one of our favourite mooring spots which we had moored at many times before (at the junction of the Welford arm) I was able to get out of the clothes and get warm, in fact I stepped out of the clothes and straight into a hot steamy shower. On Captain Hastings we have a super double sized shower with an extra powerful shower and soon I was refreshed and warm. Sandra had draped the damp clothes around ‘Big Bertha’ (Aga) and I was soon drinking a hot coffee. We settled down for the evening, Sandra is hooked on two television programmes – Emmerdale and an American TV show – CSI Miami. Unfortunately the TV signal was terrible – so we reverted to our DVD collection of CSI Miami (2800 hours worth in fact!) only to find that the JVC combined LED TV and DVD wouldn’t work, well in fact the DVD part wouldn’t. This was not good news – Sandra was well mad! Fortunately we also have a digital TV recorder so we switched this on and watched a film – sorted!


On Wednesday after a good sleep, other than that Sandra had been awakened by a noise she couldn’t really describe during the night!! We headed off on our journey. We passed through the edge of North Kilworth and reminisced of the times we used to moor our boats at the small marina there. It was here that we experienced boating for the first time some 20 years ago! We also marvelled at the new marina being developed to on the left – opposite. It is here where we have secured a permanent mooring which we will have sometime in 2017. It is owned by Mike Goole who we have known for years and who also owns and operates the Debdale Wharf Marina complex. Soon we were entering North Kilworth tunnel, and just as we entered another boat was coming out, no problem we were experts!! After the tunnel we had another few miles of meandering canal, really enjoyable with weather not too hot, but nice – ideal boating weather. We arrived at Foxton locks around lunchtime, there were lots of reserved signs for trading boats etc, in readiness for the festival scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday, Sandra commented that she thought it was not necessary to stop all mooring so early in the week. We passed a couple of old working boats and moored up ready to go down, one boat in front – or so we thought! A couple came by and told us quite directly that they were before us, to which we replied – no problem, we are not in a hurry! I think the Lockkeeper heard and soon he was chatting to us, laughing at the colour of our boat and also quizzing us about the canopy – as he had just ordered one similar for his own boat. He told us the wait would be 45 minutes – which was fine with us. Sandra cooked us a small brunch of Bacon, eggs and black pudding and just as we had finished the Lockkeeper came back to us and said we could go down, so long as we didn’t mind stopping in the pontoon half way down, he said this was quicker. We said we were happy with this, he then followed us down the locks and we chatted. He retold me a number of stories of some of the nice boaters he has met whilst working at Foxton and also some of the ‘not so nice’ people!! We were soon down the locks and to our amazement found a superb two day mooring (£25 for every day thereafter) just past the first bridge (bridge 61) on the right. There is a great boaters pub at Bridge 61 – in fact we know the father and son who opened this up when they had a row with the then British Waterways and had to leave the leased pub across from this (which is now a typical eating establishment!!!!) we were pleased they were making such a great success of this, and as we passed we could see they had now developed the outside space to cater for more customers. We decided to visit the pub, one of my dear old school friends known locally as ‘Bob the Log’ (he used to cut trees down for logs and sell them to fellow boaters) lives on a boat at Foxton and we were hoping to see him. Around teatime we left for the pub, Sandra had already prepared a salad (salad – my worse food) for when we got back. Unfortunately, Bob had already left the pub after having started his daily intake of beers at lunchtime! We sat outside and watched the last few boats come out of the bottom gates of the locks. It was so relaxing and as usual we were soon chatting to other boaters and it wasn’t long before there was a group of us. As it was getting colder we went indoors only to be joined by a group of folk singers and musicians. We had an amazing night and left for the boat around 11pm – wrecked!! We both couldn’t remember eating the salad.

On Thursday we awoke a little later than usual and thought it might be better is we head towards Debdale Wharf Marina - as this was where we were going to moor for a week, to allow us to meet up with friends and family. On route we decided to go past the marina and turn at the turning point a few miles further down, just before Saddington tunnel near to Fleckney. As we went along I saw an amazing mooring spot, really rural, probably the most rural we had ever seen, and still in walking distance to Debdale. So we turned the boat around and soon we had secured the boat. We decided to have a walk to the marina to pick up our car, which friends had dropped off a few days earlier. It was weird sitting in a car and driving at such speed – Sandra told me I would have to go faster as I was only going 20 miles an hour!! We drove to Market Harborough where we had lived for 20+ years and did some shopping in Sainsbury’s and Argos, where we purchased a small DVD player – Sandra was missing her CSI Miami!! On our return we settled down for a cosy night, I set up the DVD whilst Sandra prepared the Indian meal we had purchased – needless to say, after the night before, alcohol was off the agenda!

On Friday, we decided to return to Foxton, to give the boat a run, we passed Debdale Wharf marina which is only 15 minutes boating from Foxton. As we came into Foxton, yet again we were amazed to find excellent mooring just passed the water point, so we turned the boat around and decided to have another day at Foxton. When we were settled we went for a little walk, my back was giving me a great deal of pain, so we took it steady. We stopped at ‘Bridge 61’, not for a beer, but for an ice cream as the weather was glorious. We sat down and did what we like doing best, boat and people watching. Yet again it wasn’t long before we were chatting to the ‘Dragon Fly’ woman, a name we had christened her as she had a trading boat called the same. She was a continuous cruiser, trying to make a living from selling T shirts and knitwear. We headed back for late afternoon, and I had to, for the first time give into the back pain and had a lay down. After which the pain subsided somewhat. We decided to stay on the boat that night and not be tempted by Bridge 61, especially as we had Emily (our daughter) and Elliott (son in law) visiting us the following day for the Foxton Festival along with two of their friends. At 6.00pm Sandra’s brother Jason and his wife Glenda called in to see us as they only live a short distance from Foxton. It was great to see them both, especially Jason who was looking so well after completing his sixth session of chemotherapy. He told us the future looked good and that the prognosis was positive. We enjoyed a good night – drinking tea and coffee. No alcohol again – was this a sign of us becoming boring?

On Saturday we got prepared for family and friends, Sandra did her catering bit! And soon we were joined by Emily and all. They had a few beers (Emily did not as she is expecting our first grandchild in October) and all six of us had a really good laugh. We had already arranged to move from Foxton to Debdale Wharf Marina that day, as it was the first time Emily’s friends had experienced a narrow boat. We boated to the marina and soon we were moored, where our boat would be for the next seven days. We connected electricity, turned off the inverter and all headed for the car (fortunately a 7 seater) and off to the Festival. The festival was great, lots of old boats and trading boats and a field full of various attraction and events, dog show, singing competition and so on. There was also a fun fair and two large areas (one indoors) for live bands to perform. It was a well organised event and were pleased to be joined by other friends and family. We lasted until around 6.30pm and decided to say our goodbyes. We got in the car and both of us decided we could do with a beer! It was our first alcoholic drink for a few days. We headed for Market Harborough where not only did we have a beer, but also picked up an Indian take-away, from quite seriously our most favourite restaurant (and we have travelled a lot – including having many holidays in India). We walked in and was greeted by our first names from the owner –soon we were back on the boat eating a delicious meal – Lamb Tikka Dansak vindaloo hot for me and chicken Tikka Bhuna for Sandra. We enjoyed another drink and were both in bed for 10.00pm.


Sunday we awoke to birdsong early in the morning which was not a good thing as both of us had not had very good nights sleep – eating a heavy spicy meal late on in the evening is not a good. I had suffered from indigestion and me getting out of bed at 2.00am to find a Rennie – had disturbed Sandra and once this happens she cannot get back into her deep sleep pattern. We busied ourselves during the day, Sandra cleaning and getting the washing sorted and I arranged for us to go to a great Steak Restaurant in a place called Western by Welland. A pub we have been to before. As it was Fathers Day, Emily was also coming along – with Elliot going off to be with his father. When we got to the pub we realised that going to a popular eating place on father’s day isn’t the best of decisions. It took us a while to get a seat and then we had to wait for nearly an hour to receive our food! Fortunately we were in no hurry and we chatted and chatted. The meal was thrown together, but to be honest it was incredibly good – I had a real succulent 12oz steak – faultless.

On Monday we decided to have a day off the boat, so we went off to Market Harborough and did a little shopping and couldn’t believe how much the town had changed. We had previously lived here for nearly 20 years, and before moving north for a decade or so, Market Harborough had been our home. It now very much resembled a London suburb, lots of designer shops, coffee shops and more. We looked through the window of an estate agent and were surprised how costly houses were becoming – being 55 minutes from London by train has a distinct advantage. We were pleased that when we moved from the north last year that we had purchased a house only 4 miles away from this town, a little cheaper than Harborough – but like all places close enough to the ‘hot spot’ resulting hopefully in a house that should increase in value substantially. Mind you, living on our boat as we do and enjoying it so much, the thought of returning back to bricks and mortar – being the last thing on our minds. Later we returned back to the boat and had a lovely walk around the marina. Debdale Wharf is an unusual place, it’s a real working boat yard where they fix manufacture and stretch boats as well as maintain and repaint boats – it feels as if the moored boats are an ‘add on’, but already we had witnessed a real community amongst moorers. We nipped into the office and picked up a book and also 'The Canal Times' monthly free newspaper, which is really popular by boaters - and were really pleased to see that Sandra and I along with our boating history were in it on a two page feature, also including our Blog!! Pleased with this we treated ourselves to a lovely meal and a nice bottle of wine (wine time again - I can hear you say!) and retired early, ready for the week ahead.

Next week, how do we survive being marina based for a week?