Carrie

I've belatedly noticed the further replies to this topic - thank you! Sorry I didn't see them....

ah of course - Cowroast! I'll give them a ring, thanks Tim.

Hi all, I'm currently approaching Marsworth, having been disappointed to find Pitstone boatyard is no longer doing engine work. (I had my boat blacked at Bates boatyard at Marsworth in the past but I don't think they do engine maintenance/repairs do they) I'm heading south and finding many services no longer operating - at least my Nicholson Guide is well out of date! Thanks for any suggestions.

After 11 years, I've finally gotten around to building a full-sized double bed. I always felt squashed in the 190 x 120cm fitted bed when there's two of us aboard, but worried a bigger bed would restrict access. I like fold-away beds but I'm 1) not clever enough to build one and 2) too lazy to deal with the getting out and putting away of it. In the end, it only encroaches a little into the aisle space so I'm happy with that. All the wood is salvaged though the mattress is new and I might get around to making a more elegant headboard in another 11 years time!

only just seen this... At Brentford there's always room just past the basin if it's full today (coming up from the Thames, I mean). The moorings go right under the old warehouse cover on the left and if full, there's moorings just past the rail bridge and up to and beyond the A4 bridge. I don't think the boater facilites washing-machine is working at the moment but there's an excellent laundrette near the canal basin, opposite the Magpie & Crown pub, which is a nice laid-back pub to while away the washing/drying cycle :-)

Glad Luca is doing well. Such a handsome fella. Has he had his front legs operated on yet? Soli has had one back leg sorted out now (a hollow made in his femur so his tibia could stay put, instead of flopping about when he ran - Yuk!) and the other leg isn't bad enough to need an op - hurray! He's a lovely boat companion and I'm lucky he found me.

And Compton has a fantastic charity shop!

It's worth covering them but if they're on your roof, I'd stack them on a slatted rack or pallet to protect your roof and let air under the logs. I was once moored where CRT were cutting lots of ash trees back and waited til they'd finished cutting. Another boat moored next to me (a certain widely-read boat blogger) went and took ALL the cut wood for themselves, covering the entirety of their roof. They watched me picking up remaining sticks without offering any logs. Pff..hope their stove smoked!

Ok thanks - a slick would definitely have been noticed in Market Harborough basin. And I can't see or smell diesel in the bilges.. I wonder if it got nicked when I left it for a week near Whilton. Hey ho. I'd rather that than have a leak. I'm belatedly getting a lock on the diesel cap. I know - Horse & stable-door!

Sorry about your problem Jo. I have the same mystery today... Having left my boat for a few months at Market Harborough basin (seems fairly secure & overlooked) while I went abroad, I'm off travelling again. I knew I had plenty of diesel but called into a boatyard tiday to top up - only to find my tank was almost empty :-( Either it's been nicked or i've got a serious leak.

This is my new crew member - Soli. He too had a rough start in life, but from severe malnutrition rather than harsh treatment. He needs an operation on his leg/s when he's finished growing but is turning into a wonderful little companion. And he's training me up beautifully too. (Sorry, can't seem to rotate the photo!)

Beautiful dog! Glad he found you.

Yes, I expect there may have been some extra flavouring in my cooking. Apologies to anyone I've fed over the years! I'll try to fit some plastic collar in all the vents - maybe I can make them from water bottles?

My claim to fame is that Nigel Farage once described me as 'mad as a box of frogs' in the Guardian. Made me very happy.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1906433 Chios island, Greece. Voulamandis house.. the air is heavy with orange blossom, the island fragrant with wild flowers, the cobbled streets, the warm welcome. You can have meals at Voulamandis House too - fantastic food. I only had breakfasts - home-made brioche bread & cakes, local honey and yoghurt, delicate home-made rice-puddings, peaches, egg, cheese & ham if I'd wanted, tea and coffee - far too much! Lovely family, speaking good english.

My last boat safety inspection reccomended I clean the 'cobwebs' fro the vent above the cooker . I'd had a mouse/mice living in the gap between the roof and the ceiling for a while and they seem to have spent their time chewing up the polystyrene insulation and bringing in nesting material. It/they disappeared as suddenly as they arrived but the vent was full of chewings!

Hey - I inspired that film!

Same. I didn't do this once when the boat went in for blacking. They turned off the batteries while welding new anodes but the panels kept supplying energy to the solar controller which then died. Now I'm more careful!

Chewbacka, you're probably right. I guess what I dislike is the assumption that I SHOULD feel afraid, the implication being 'without a protecting male'. Women are always getting this guff, we're brought up with it, we scare and confine each other with it and it leads to the attitude of "why was she out walking there alone in the first place, she was asking for it". Another female boater told me she kept a large pair of men's boots on her roof to deter would-be attackers. I just don't want to be a person who doesn't just hide behind a man, but his boots!

Nice story tatguy. I drew my own tattoos (they're simple lines, no shading) so the tat artists only needed to trace the design. Probably a bit frustrating for them but I knew what I wanted!

Yes Starry, that all sounds familiar. I remember mooring up a long way from any town, people or boats, just enjoying the countryside as I like to do. I went walking with my dog and met another boater, also moored out in the sticks and with his own dog. He said 'Lucky you've got a dog to protect you, moored alone out here'. He was a solo boater with a dog. I was a solo boater with a dog. As far as I was concerned, the only difference was that he had a penis. Short of hitting an attacker over the head with that, I didn't see I was any more vulnerable than he was!

I've got 3 tattoos so far, done at long-apart intervals in my life and they mark different points in my life journey - if that doesn't sound too naff! I personally don't see tattoos as 'mutilation', more as my own story.

Don't blame you Bunny, that house sounds like a lovely alternative to boat life and you've certainly made the most of your years afloat.

Once the paraffin lamp and candles are lit, spiders start abseiling down from the ceiling or curtains. It used to freak me out but I must have grown used to them as I no longer leap off my seat!