Back on the bank

[Ange]

My last thread on "living afloat"!

 

I've shied away from making a big deal of our decision to return to land but after a trawl though old threads I remember how I used to share stuff so, with glass of rum & coke in hand (probably influencing my decision!), I decided to share.

 

We fell in love with boating in 1985 when we went on a hire holiday with friends (Clubline Cruisers hired on the Coventry arm). It was many years before we could afford it again but when we did we fell in love again - we hired in 2003, 2005 and 2007. In 2007 I was flying high in my career but developed a skin condition called hidradonitis suppurativa which is a progressive incurable condition which can eventually lead to permanent disability, so we decided to suck the most out of life while we could, chucked in our jobs, let out the house and bought our boat.

 

Over 7 years we've travelled widely and had a fantastic time. I can never put into words how great it is to have met so many wonderful people - our circle of "proper" (as opposed to virtual) friends has increased beyond imagining and I'm hoping these people will be our friends for life.

 

Alas the inevitable happened - my HS has progressed to the point where I can't lockwheel any more. Anyone who knows me will understand how devastating that has been - I was the lock queen, walking up to the lock and locking all the boats in front of us before our turn. Many times Dave & I have walked up or down flights before banters and locked boats up or down.

 

It would have made perfect sense for me to then take over steering and let Dave do the locks. But. I don't like steering. I hate it. I did try - I did a course last year to try to get over it, but no - I can do it but I hate it. If I could lock wheel and steer, maybe. But just steering, no. Then Dave & I thought it'd be nice to get ourselves a van (not a caravan!) and explore on 4 wheels, get to places a bit quicker and get to more places. So we can still suck the joy out of life, just not on a boat any more. When things don't work out as you hope you need to spin the variables and find something else that works for you - we're very excited about the new chapter in our lives.

 

So there you go, we've bought ourselves a house in Stoke where I have regular work and Dave's prettying Iona up for sale. We're enjoying the benefits of land living but there's a lot of sadness still there. In the future we're thinking a nice little tupperware that we can trailer on and off the canal - who knows? You might even see us joining the BCN Challenge on a rubber dinghy We'll certainly be keeping an eye out for banters, though we won't be able to bring our own accommodation with us. There's always Tawny Owl - we need to get first dibs with Millie as our persuader. Unkle Richard has a soft spot for Millie the fearsome wolf

 

We've had an amazing time and been privileged to be part of a unique community - thank you for all those that have made it so pleasurable. I'm not leaving the forum - even though we're not boaters any more I still have loads of experience to share and of course the accounts to do.

 

Hope that wasn't too personal - I do have a tendency to spill all late at night after a few rums

Edited May 21, 2016 by Ange

[Laurie Booth]

Well, what a great post, all the best for your new way of life.

[Ange]

Well, what a great post, all the best for your new way of life.

Thank you Laurie Can't make the BCN Challenge this year to share a beer with you but there will be future beers to share

[boat fan]

Have to agree with Laurie , great post.

 

Thank you for the email Ange , I replied but the instant I pressed " send " everything went and vaporized , including your original email ....I have no explanation as to why ....

 

The good news is I received your great photo of your boat , which now resides on my desk top.

 

Best of luck to you , thanks for sharing.

[Ange]

Have to agree with Laurie , great post.

 

Thank you for the email Ange , I replied but the instant I pressed " send " everything went and vaporized , including your original email ....I have no explanation as to why ....

 

The good news is I received your great photo of your boat , which now resides on my desk top.

 

Best of luck to you , thanks for sharing.

Thank you

 

I know I waffled a tad in my e mail - it's lovely that a moment of our amazing experience captured by a dear friend is on your desktop.

 

Anyways - not seen any updates from you recently matey - time to update your thread?

[Ange]

Thank you for the email Ange , I replied but the instant I pressed " send " everything went and vaporized , including your original email ....I have no explanation as to why ..

Tis dark magic my friend - just enjoy it when it works

[sueb]

I know exactly where you are coming from. We had to do that 3 years ago. Our campervan is our salvation plus our bungalow is like a widebeam. Wishing you all the best

[Phil Ambrose]

Loved your thread Ange, but the downside was realising that given my age (70) and Chris's health issues it may soon be our turn, but.........reading your post made me realise that it's not necessarily the end, so I perked up and now am looking forward to whatever presents itself.

Phil

[Ray T]

Ange, Dave, thank you for sharing your experiences. Life has a knack of getting in the way at times with the plans we have. I know it's a clichéd old saying but, "When one door closes, another opens".

 

Glad you are not leaving the forum, you would have been missed.

 

After various times in my life when plans went awry I adopted the slogan "Don't make plans any more, have dreams instead.

May you dreams be in glorious technicolor.

 

Best wishes

Judith & Ray

Edited May 21, 2016 by Ray T

[BlueStringPudding]

[patty-ann]

Lovely post..thank you for sharing.

Our pathway through life rarely smooth but we cope as best as we can...decisions made are ours to make based on our life events. You have those years on your boat to look back on and the future to look forward to..enjoy wherever your route now takes you.

Patty.

[cuthound]

Thanks for sharing this Ange, it probably wasn't an easy decision to make.

 

We met briefly at last year's Bluebell banter.

 

Have a greenie for your excellent post. Stoke isn't too far from us, so if you need a boating fix, drop us a PM and we will take you out on DQ for a day.

[junior]

Sad to hear that Ange. You'll never be far from the canal living in Stoke and as you know, I'm through there regularly. If you miss boating you're all welcome to jump on board for a few hours when I'm passing through!

[Laurie Booth]

Thank you Laurie Can't make the BCN Challenge this year to share a beer with you but there will be future beers to share

I'll always have a candle to light your way.

[cuthound]

I'll always have a candle to light your way.

Batteries flat again Laurie?

[Bettie Boo]

Ange, Dave, thank you for sharing your experiences. Life has a knack of getting in the way at times with the plans we have. I know it's a clichéd old saying but, "When one door closes, another opens".

 

Glad you are not leaving the forum, you would have been missed.

 

After various times in my life when plans went awry I adopted the slogan "Don't make plans any more, have dreams instead.

May you dreams be in glorious technicolor.

 

Best wishes

Judith & Ray

 

What Ray said ^^

 

It was a lovely post Ange, and I do wish you all the best with the campervan - Dave & I enjoyed many years "glamping" in camping POD's before moving onto the boat

 

Enjoy the next chapter in your lives

 

B~

[Laurie Booth]

Batteries flat again Laurie?

[W+T]

Look at it this way, Ange has dome what a lot of folk ream of and dare to do, jack in the bank side life and travel while they can, i was given a health issue a few years back and i intend to similar while i can.

 

All best to you with your new life on land, at least you can still get out and about so keep making what you can of life.

 

 

xxxxx

[chazzy]

All the best Ange and Dave, if you ever want a few days away on a boat you are both welcome to come and join myself and Rene.

[LoneWolf]

 

^ what she said

[Ange]

Thanks folks - what a lovely bunch of replies. And thank you for the boating offers - we know who to call on when we need a fix (and I'm sure we will!)

 

Dave & I are by nature optimists - I really do think that makes it easier to deal with set backs in life.

 

So who's going to organise the next banter then? I feel the need for a group hug

[W+T]

Thanks folks - what a lovely bunch of replies. And thank you for the boating offers - we know who to call on when we need a fix (and I'm sure we will!)

 

Dave & I are by nature optimists - I really do think that makes it easier to deal with set backs in life.

 

So who's going to organise the next banter then? I feel the need for a group hug

 

 

Good idea,i can arrange a boat painting party, and filling and fibre glassing......hell why not push the boat out and a fit out party ( not exactly a push the boat out as it will sink at the minute )

[Ange]

Good idea,i can arrange a boat painting party, and filling and fibre glassing......hell why not push the boat out and a fit out party ( not exactly a push the boat out as it will sink at the minute )

Tee hee ever the opportunist

[Richard T]

Sad to see you leaving Iona and living on the bank again. So you will be well placed to organise a banter in Stoke, maybe the Christmas onr could be there rather than Loughborough.

You will be welcome on board Tyto anytime. Hopefully we will be passing through Stoke later in the year so will be in touch.

All the best

Margaret and Richard

[peterboat]

Far better to have cruised and lost than never had cruised at all.

Hope you enjoy your van good luck with the future