Well it’s in; we now have a 59ft narrow boat in the garden.

7.30am - The day started after about 4 hours of sleep. Paul still had to sort out the electrics to the workshop so that the outside camera would be working and I put the kettle on for coffee and put the sausages in the oven.

8am - The crane arrived (it was enormous 100 ton) and they started setting the pads up whilst having coffee and bacon and egg rolls. At this stage Paul kept wandering up and down checking the sleepers and telegraph poles and wondering if this going to work and getting more nervous by the minute and the realisation that we must be totally off our tree for doing this. Between making tea & coffee, I kept running in and out of the house to take pictures.

8.30am - Paul got a call from the lorry driver to let us know where he was (about ½ hour away) and to make sure that everything our end was going to plan.

9am – The lorry arrived; it was the most amazing sight seeing the lorry with our narrow boat on it turning the corner into our road, I have to confess I started to cry. Words cannot express the feelings of joy and wonder that we experienced at that moment. The crane people, the lorry driver and Paul all got together at this point to discuss the plan of action. The strops were positioned, the crane was cranked up and everyone (family, friends and neighbours) was waiting with baited breath for the lift.

9.15am – Much to Paul’s amazement he was given the bow line and the proceedings started, when the boat was first lifted it lurched forward and you could have heard a pin drop – I’m sure everyone stopped breathing for a second. Then it started to go higher and higher and to swing round, it sailed over the top of our neighbours garage/bar missing the chimney to their log burner by about an inch, then floated over towards Paul’s workshop and just seemed to sit on the wall behind it. It gradually got moved into the 8ft gap where it was to settle, the house on one-side and neighbours garages and sheds on the other, the crane was inching the boat forward when there was a loud crack from the front of the house where the pavement had moved and caused one of the mats to crack, so at this point the boat slowly descended narrowly missing the house (it did touch very lightly a couple times) until gently resting on the telegraph poles and sleepers. The weight of the boat was still being supported by the crane at this point, then suddenly we heard this groaning noise as the boat settled on the telegraph poles and sleepers – would they hold – yes, it was brilliant, the boat had landed.

At this point the stern was sticking out the front of the house onto the public highways area so we needed to move it forward. The telegraph pole roller system was going to be put to the test. They removed the strops from the middle of the boat and put one on the stern end in order to lift the boat and push it forward. I was standing at the bow end when this was going on and it was quite a shock when it starting moving, Paul was running and jumping around making sure that the rollers (telegraph poles) were all ok and supporting the boat, I yelled its working and a friend at the stern also shouted ‘Its working Spoons’. It was one hell of a sight. They did this another couple of times until it was positioned ok; the last thing was to push the stern end nearer the house.

10am – All done. Whilst the crane people packed up and the lorry driver got ready to go I produced more coffee and breakfast rolls, everyone involved in this lift was absolutely amazing – a wonderful bunch of people.

After clearing up I went off to get some of the pictures printed and to finish my Christmas shopping and left Paul at home to play.

That evening Paul and I (still in a daze really) popped out for a quick drink and picked up some more pictures from a friend who had been round earlier, then went home to watch the videos. The camera that Paul had set up was brilliant it got all those little moments that you never remember and all the quirky bits because nobody realises that they are being filmed. Over the Christmas period Paul is going to compile all the videos and pictures taken of the lift, if anyone is contemplating putting a narrow boat in their garden or just wants to take a look see, email us your address and we will send a copy when it is done.

I must admit it is an amazing thing, looking out of the window and seeing a narrow boat, especially when you are 60 miles away from the nearest canal.