Jump to content

Can You Spend A Better Afternoon Than On A Boat ?


Parahandy

Featured Posts

Just nudging over 40 years afloat and most of these Years as a live aboard . I have to admit that Winter is my favourite time to be aboard , there is just something special about sitting with a Good Book or perhaps listening to a good Drama on Radio 4 with the Fire ablaze and the Jack Russel stretched out on the Sofa . I especially love those occasions when I catch a Traffic Report and its chaos on the M25 or some obscure Road " oop North " , what would these People give to be in our position as they sit with gritted teeth in some Traffic Jam .

Anyway I can here the Kettle whistling and Graham has just turned up with a Marks and Spencer Madeira Cake which is my hint to make the Tea . I dont think you can spend a better afternoon than on a Boat ?

 

  • Greenie 2
  • Happy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Simply messing...about in boats -- or with boats... In or out of 'em it doesn't matter. Nothing seems to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."

  • Happy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The winds of change in the willows

 

The mole pushed his head out of his hole, blinked in the sun and peered around his meadow. Gosh!, that sun was hot for the time of year, thought mole, looks like being the hottest day in March since records began.

 

Newsflash.  Sorry, but we interrupt this post for this announcement from the White House……

President Trump has just announced that the scientists at Fox News have just discovered that we have been measuring temperature ‘bigley wrong’ for years. They say that the temperature is really10 degrees cooler than some so called experts and scientists have been claiming and Trump has said that from now on ‘ damned hot’ will be known as ‘quite mild’ and wildfires in California are caused by ‘hippie environmentalists smoking dope’ Trump goes on to say that he will be scrapping ‘all that climate change bullshit planning and emissions crap as well as taking the US out of the Paris climate agreement

 

Back to the riverbank.

 

The rat was nearby, cooling off in the shade of a tree.  ‘Hullo’, said mole, ‘Haven’t seen you for a while’, ‘I’ve moved’. said Ratty,’ I’m living in a shopping trolley on the Slough arm of the Grand Union canal, couldn’t afford the rent at Cookham. Got evicted.  Had to sell the boat. Couldn’t afford the mooring fees any more’. ‘That’s terrible’ said Mole. ‘It gets worse’, said the rat, ‘Remember the wild wood?’ ‘Where badger used to live before he was culled?’ ‘Well now its a Persimmon housing estate’. Oh dear, said Mole, ‘whatever happened to all the animals?’. ‘Oh them’ said the rat, ‘They fled to the hundred acre wood but Tigger and Eeyore and all those animals built a big wall around it and kept them out, said they were economic migrants, much good it did them anyway. Turns out the wood was owned by Toad. He grubbed up the whole lot. Its an Amazon warehouse now’. ‘Toad!’ Said mole, ‘After all we did for him!’ ‘Yeah well, won’t make that mistake again’ said rat. ‘Never see him now anyway. Lives in a big penthouse in Canary Wharf, smokes cigars, drinks champagne with all his city friends, can’t stand the sight of him now’. ‘Haven’t you got a seafaring cousin’? Asked Mole, Can’t you stay with him instead of living in that horrid canal? ‘Yeah’, said Rat, ‘He’s retired, lives in  Marseilles, can’t live with him though. They’ve banned freedom of movement’. Mole sighed and went back underground. The Rat shuffled off staring at the ground hoping to find a few pence for some white lightning cider or maybe scoring some crack from the weasels.

  • Greenie 1
  • Happy 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

'tis indeed most lovely. My 'cruising' boat (as opposed to my 'floating flat' boat) has a viewing tomorrow and, as I know I will sell it, I am sad. 

 

NYD we had the most lovely cruise. No particular destination, family aboard, few others moving, but plenty of well-wishers on the cut... Blissful. 

 

Although I have to say... Our terrirorists do not really 'stretch' in any meaningful way... 'snuggle' is more the  thing :-) 

Edited by TheMenagerieAfloat
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BilgePump said:

My boat is a tuppeny h'apeny grp cruiser on a nice mooring The geese and horses wouldn't change if it was a shiny shiny. Breakfast, afternoon or night. Everything seems better on the water.

what make & size is your boat? is it not cold or do you have good insulation?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Parahandy said:

I especially love those occasions when I catch a Traffic Report and its chaos on the M25 or some obscure Road " oop North " , what would these People give to be in our position as they sit with gritted teeth in some Traffic Jam .

 

One of my early boating memories is of descending Perry Barr locks on probably the hottest day of the year, and all the while traffic on the M6 below us was absolutely stationary on both carriageways!

  • Love 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Parahandy said:

Just nudging over 40 years afloat and most of these Years as a live aboard . I have to admit that Winter is my favourite time to be aboard , there is just something special about sitting with a Good Book or perhaps listening to a good Drama on Radio 4 with the Fire ablaze and the Jack Russel stretched out on the Sofa . I especially love those occasions when I catch a Traffic Report and its chaos on the M25 or some obscure Road " oop North " , what would these People give to be in our position as they sit with gritted teeth in some Traffic Jam .

Anyway I can here the Kettle whistling and Graham has just turned up with a Marks and Spencer Madeira Cake which is my hint to make the Tea . I dont think you can spend a better afternoon than on a Boat ?

 

I seem to remember that you certainly can (with a bit of luck) but probably not at my age!

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, David Mack said:

 

One of my early boating memories is of descending Perry Barr locks on probably the hottest day of the year, and all the while traffic on the M6 below us was absolutely stationary on both carriageways!

I had a similar incident mid-summer, leaving Buckby bottom lock, and the M1 was stationary - some of the truck drivers were sounding their air horns and waving - I think I may have waved one or two fingers back!!!

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer the alternative version of the famous Kenneth Grahame quote -

 

"There is nothing, absolute nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing around in pools of money" 

 

Always good to be realistic !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.