Areandare has come out!

We've taken the opportunity of getting Areandare's bottom blacked before we leave Tattenhall Marina on 1st March, and Monday was the big day. It's the first time we've seen her hull, or probably anyone for a while, as we chose to have just an in-water survey before we bought her last April.

The speed and proficiency with which a very heavy hunk of steel (Barry reckons around 15 tons) is removed from the water is incredible. We were actually on board while she was being lifted - most surreal!

Last Tuesday I got a phone call from the Marina asking where we were - there'd been some sort of communication mix-up as they had last week booked and we had this week. We're thankful they chose to go with our plans in the end - the difference in weather conditions couldn't be more stark!

Yesterday the gunk was scraped off the hull, along with the remaining surface coating (and the poor fresh water mussels!). Barry scraped the part from the gunnel to the rubbing strake  - for those that don't know, that's the line that takes most of the knocks and runs all around the boat about a foot below the gunnel. Are you impressed I know that? I actually had no idea, and had to ask Barry, and then do a google check for the spelling! The boatyard only scrape and black up to the strake, so it seemed sensible to do the remainder while she's out of the water.

In the meantime, we're living firmly out of the water, on a slight but very noticeable lean as the concrete slopes! It does ensure the water drains from the shower easily - there's a positive in everything!

Ten fun and fruitful days - and a wet, windy Worcester!

It's been an interesting ten days, with two courses, two visits to the dentist (ouch!), a tick on my women's health check, three nights out, two nights with my eldest sister, catching up with lots of friends I haven't seen for years, and spending time with mum and dad whilst sorting a few things out for them. Phew!

I've succeeded in getting my mum as the main driver for their car insurance from 8th March, as my dad can no longer drive. Mum hasn't been the main driver for many years, so has no no claims bonus. When I tried to get myself on dad's insurance last year, with a company called RIAS, I was informed that as I hadn't lived in England for the past three years I was too much of a risk to be insured! Hilarious, as my dad at 93 seemed a far greater risk from my experience. Oh, and I had no claims discount for life in NZ, who'd accepted my UK no claims in 2005 when I arrived, but UK don't reciprocate. Why was I in the least surprised?

This time I took the opportunity to shop around a little, and got a great quote very quickly and simply from 'Saga' - who were quite ok with the fact that I'd been a renegade and lived in another country! RIAS quite happily let us go, without question.  When I phoned AgeUK for a quote, they said that because mum hadn't been the main driver for years, and had no no claims, they wouldn't insure her! Unbelievable! There must be loads of elderly women who haven't been the main driver for years and then need to get insurance. AgeUk are supposed to care for elderly people - it seems not in this case.

Hurrah for Saga!

Meanwhile Barry's been busy sorting things for his business on the boat. He tells me he was runner up at the shuffleboard contest last Saturday, and then again at the darts match at Scott's Bar at Tattenhall Marina on Thursday. I suspect he may've been losing on purpose, to maintain friendships! But then again …

My face painting course with 'Cases Faces' in Ormskirk, was fabulous! I've got most of the equipment I need to get started now, and I'm really looking forward to transforming children's faces magically and seeing their eyes light up when they see themselves as a tiger, a clown or maybe a butterfly? I just need to find some volunteers to paint their faces, take photos, and have a portfolio of my own creations ready.

I've always loved it when there's a face painter around at festivals, so it'll be neat to be the person painting! I've had a bit of practice on my grandson and his friends, as well as nephews, so it was good to learn more about the art of it and have a beautiful face to decorate.

 Me and Janet, from Cases Faces, with my butterfly face painted by one of the participants of the beginners workshop

My tiger - not bad I think?

I'm still working on a name for the business - does anyone have any ideas? I'm thinking of 'Magical Faces', but open to suggestions.

England is certainly turning on the charm for my first British winter since 2004 isn't it?  The memories of how long it lasts and how miserable the weather can be, is all coming flooding back to me! Excuse the pun - especially those who are marooned or suffering. Luckily in the Marina all is ok, and my family haven't been personally affected so far.

My parents are about twenty minutes drive from Worcester, and we drove there yesterday for my dad's podiatrist appointment. Fortunately it wasn't through town - we wouldn't have made it if it had been, as the main bridge was closed.

Hard to believe this is the same city we moored up at in June (see the post here). They're experiencing the worst flooding in history, with levels rising above the devastation of 2007. Mother nature can be very cruel.

Tomorrow I'm dropping in on Andy and Helen from Wand'ring Bark  - their land home not boating one. Just for a cuppa, a catch up, and to return a few DVDs they kindly loaned us. Then it's off to Ashbourne to stay with a friend I've not seen since 2009. Marvellous.

On Monday it's back to the lovely Barry, and AreandAre. By the time I get there she'll be out of the water and getting ready to have her bottom blacked before we venture back out onto the cut - two weeks from today!

Leaving Barry to fend for himself again ...

Tomorrow I'm off the boat for ten days, doing a number of lovely things, including:

1. A Facepainting workshop in Ormskirk
2. A visit to the dentist I've recently registered with close to my parents in Ombersley
3. A night out with some 'old' (maybe previous would be a better word?!) school friends in Sutton Coldfield - I think a pub crawl was mentioned which could get messy remembering some of our antics in years gone by ...
4. A night out with some ex-midwifery colleagues in Mere Green - catching up with some people I haven't seen since I left Good Hope in October 2001 after 14 years
5. A ladies screening test (no need to mention which bodily part is involved I feel!)
6. A two-day NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) course in Birmingham
7. A couple of nights staying with my eldest sister Katherine in Lichfield
8. A night out at a Tapas bar in Lichfield with Kath (due to a great deal via Amazon)
9. Lots of days and nights with my mum and dad
10. Taking dad to his chiropodist appointment in Worcester
11. Visiting another ex-colleague, this time from my time at The Royal Free, in Ashbourne in the beautiful Derbyshire Dales

So I'm packing quite a bit in over a short time! It'll be my last hire car booking with Enterprise Wrexham for a while.

Barry will remain on board, he's not so good with being away from the boat - and he has plenty to keep him occupied!

We're in the process of setting up our new 'Wordpress' blog which will replace this one, ready to launch our new businesses. Our Trading Insurance and Public Liability is sorted, we've got the go-ahead from CRT, and now just need to get the license to trade (it involves printing and photocopying which I'll do tomorrow night). We've been accepted to join the Roving Canal Traders Association (thank you Michael!), and we're booking into lots of lovely boating festivals around the midlands and north west of England from Easter to the end of September.

It's a little scary at times, this living differently malarky, but we feel as though the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle we've been working towards for the past few years are starting to fit together and take shape.

Life is short, follow your dreams - don't wait until it's too late to start living is our motto.

Why reading a mesmerising book on a bus isn't such a good idea ...

Since we've been moored at Tattenhall Marina, I've been fortunate to spend lots of time with my eldest daughter, Lisa, and her two delightful sons. Not having our own transport, this has meant a return thirty minute return bus trip each time. I often use this time as a great reason to read on my Kindle.

Last night was no exception. I'd begun reading 'Narrow Margins' (how ridiculous is it that you can buy a book for Kindle for 39 pence?) on the bus ride to Malpas yesterday morning, and was really enjoying Marie Browne's writing style and her tale of their business crashing when Rover went bust and subsequent search for a suitable narrowboat to live on after being forced to sell their beautiful four-bedroomed detached home. Quite a stark contrast as you can imagine!

I was engrossed in the story of how they eventually bought (for a song) an ex-hotel boat, then realised neither of them had ever driven a narrowboat before - seems oddly unbelievable, but she somehow convinced me! 

I was thinking of Sue's comments on a recent blog post about some people's narrow-mindedness regarding those of us who live aboard, as Marie described some rather stuck up young people's conversation on a floating cafe (The Gongoozler) Marie bought her bacon sandwiches from ("I can't believe people actually live on these things"), and imagining what I may've said to them had it been me listening. She admitted to herself that a year previously she may have been thinking the same thing.

I'd reached Chapter nine, where they'd just began their journey from the marina at Braunston to their new mooring in Cambridge, after a day's instruction with Willow Wren Training. I do recall looking up briefly and seeing a building that wasn't totally familiar, but I thought it was just because of the darkness.

Then I saw the lights of the 'One Stop' convenience store I'd visited a couple of times on our way back from one of Barry's badminton trips to Christleton, and the reality hit me with a bang that I'd completely missed my stop! Only by ten minutes - but that ten minutes by bus is an awful long way by foot!

I called out in anguish and the lovely bus driver stopped. How foolish did I feel? "Sorry love, this is the last bus" was all he could muster in response to my "Oh goodness! What will I do?" I suspect that if I'd been the only person on board he would've turned around and taken me back to Tattenhall, but as there were another three people looking sympathetically back at me, that wasn't a possibility.

I got off the bus without a clue initially as to what I'd do. With a sudden realisation I was actually only a short walk from the canal, I felt a strange sense of relief that I could get 'home', albeit a lot later than anticipated! I phoned Barry, who'd already began to wonder where I was. Luckily by this time I was seeing the funny side of the situation.

So off I walked in the pitch black, the four or so miles along the towpath, with just an occasional light from a moored narrowboat. I decided against using the 'Map My Walk' app to record the exact length of the evening's exercise, thinking I'd be better off keeping the charge on my phone in case I needed to summon emergency assistance (I wasn't sure what that could've entailed, but I was very much out of my 'comfort zone'!).

My wonderful husband walked from the opposite direction and met me after just over an hour. I'd fortunately packed our torch, so was at least able to see where I was putting my feet - Barry used his keen photographer's eyesight to find his way in the dark, only stumbling a few times. 

He did however have his new walking boots on!

So we win again!

Barry's been getting to know our neighbours in the Marina over the past few weeks, and yesterday invited them to Scott's Bar for the quiz night. Their response was that they were rather good at quizzes, and they didn't disappoint - thank you Liz and Andy, our current affairs knowledge is rather sparse but you definitely made up for it!

We won the quiz, with 40 and a half points (I think the closest to us was around 35), though admittedly Barry and I probably only contributed less than 4 of those points! When we got the answers, I realised I'd said out loud one of them but not written it down, so I could've contributed another point!

Here's the question, no googling, what film is the pub 'The Slaughtered Lamb' in? Heaven knows where my brain had it hard-wired from, but strangely it knew …

That's three wins on a Saturday night, out of about a dozen - so they're definitely threatening to eject us from the Marina and possibly contacting the visa authorities. But only in jest, they're lovely people and we'll miss the camaraderie of the boating community here.

Many people who we chat to who live 'on land', look at us in astonishment when we say we live on a narrowboat. If you've never done it it can be challenging to understand what the appeal could be. Those of us who have, or do, know that this way of living differently, and more simply, can bring a lot of joy into every day life. But admittedly it's not for everyone.

We do love Tattenhall Marina, and will miss it when we leave - less than four weeks left now of our winter mooring.

A recent calm day at the marina, with Beeston Castle in the background

So many different shapes and sizes of boats

A flock of seagulls recently visited us

How do they not bump into each other? Incredibile

More views of Sheffield - this time from the master's lens

A rare treat today, I can post some of Barry's photography.

Sadly Barry left his camera in Fred's car when we walked around the town, so the only shots we have of the centre are the few I took on my iPhone previously posted. 

We do however have lots of delightful waterway-related images to share - appropriate really for a boating blog!

Firstly though, there's an image specially for Gavin - can you pick out which are the three pub stops on the way from the bus station?

'Pub stops of Sheffield' T-shirt that Fred produced for Barry on the morning of our departure - what a treasure he is

Fred and Sarah's gorgeous home, on the edge of the Peak District National Park

Kelham Island Quarter and Kelham Island Museum

The rain graciously relented last Sunday afternoon for a few hours, so we were able to explore the area around the River Don and Sheffield Canal Basin.

An old warehouse opposite Kelham Island Museum - sure to be renovated at some point in the future and converted into housing

A huge 'Bessemer converter', England's largest, which was used to produce steel by blowing air through molten iron

A 'Yorkshire' dart board in the museum pub 'The Millowner's Arms', contains no trebles - we've seen a similar one called a 'Manchester' log-end board - and there's also a 'London Fives' variation - click here for a bit of dart board history

Sarah, Fred and Sandra all wrapped up in their down jackets - and Sandra's newly bought furry hat to keep her ears warm and snug!

The River Don and Victoria Quays

The 'Great Sheffield Flood' occurred on 11 March 1864, following the collapse of the 'Dale Dike Dam', destroying 800 houses, as well as destroying or damming most of the Don bridges upstream of Lady's Bridge, and killing 270 people. There's been a more recent catastrophe invoking the river, more of that later …

Water can be a formidable force, as unfortunately we're discovering again in Somerset, following the wettest January for more than quarter of a century.

The River Don, embraced by a variety of old and new buildings - the water levels were noticeably high

Very fine tile-work on this building along our walk ...

… spoilt somewhat by the advertising! 

Marvellous mosaic work in the canal basin

Private moorings in the basin, and a few retail outlets

The Straddle Warehouse, built across the water for extra storage when there was no other room to expand

The Terminal (or grain) Warehouse - now converted into flats, and with a resident craft workshop narrowboat 'Crafts Afloat'

Panorama of the terminus of the Sheffield and Tinsley Canal, dating from 1814

The 'Merchant's Crescent', a very quaint row of terraced houses which are now offices

We ended the afternoon with a pint at the infamous 'The Fat Cat' (sadly we forgot the photo!), winner of numerous awards and frequented by many TV and sports personalities, and a marvellous olde worlde public house that's fortunately resisted the lure of modernisation. It's not owned by the big breweries, preferring it's own brewery - hurrah for 'home' brew! In the more recent flood of 25th June 2007 (two months after Barry and I were in England and blessed with the hottest April since records began), the River Don burst it's banks due to the excessive rain which caused extensive flooding to the building. This time the raging water took two human lives, far less than 19th century event but sad nonetheless.  Not on the same scale of importance of course, but the Fat Cat lost 40,000 pints of beer! 

A fine city indeed Gavin, Fred, Sarah and everyone else who can proudly call it their 'home' town.

The wonders of the blogosphere

It never ceases to amaze me, since we began our boating blogging in April 2009, how wondrous  blogging can be. 

Through my ramblings, and Barry's incredible photography, we've met some fabulous people that I'd mention individually, but I know if I did it's highly likely I'd miss someone out - so I won't as I'd hate to offend anyone! But those reading who've met or been in touch with us, know who they are. We're blessed to have you as a part of lives, thank you for getting in touch, or shouting a 'hello' as we pass, and for sharing our journeys and magical memories.

And thank you to those who haven't yet been in contact, or commented on any posts - we hope one day to hear from or meet you.

I posted yesterday about Barry's unusual feet, which it appears are not so unique. The lovely 'Mich' commented to say she too has challenges to get shoes to fit, and has passed on a website for 'Pavers', which we'll check out for future reference - and it turns out they have a shop in Chester, a twenty minute bus ride away from us! Well fancy that! This morning a woman at the Marina who I go to Zumba Gold with each week, says her son has a similar problem. Sharing is most definitely caring!

When we posted about our hire car dilemma, Andy and Elly kindly offered information on annual hire car insurance that we took up, which gives us peace of mind rather than paying silly amounts to Enterprise each time (though they are wonderful in most other ways!).

A successful shop in Sheffield - and a visit to our suppliers!

On Monday evening we returned to AreandAre from a wonderful weekend in Sheffield visiting Fred and Sarah (with intermittent sightings of their two teenage sons!), friends of Barry's (and mine since 2007) who spent a year living and working in Gisborne in the early 1990s, long before Barry and I met.

The journey to their amazing home entailed driving in the dark and wet along Snake Pass, the main route from Manchester to Sheffield, which resembles said reptile with its preponderance of twists and turns - as well as hills and adverse cambers (sloped bits!). It was hair-raising motoring for me, due to the number of vehicles 'needing' (needlessly!) to race along at way faster than the 50mph limit. It reminded me of the 'main' road north-west out of Gisborne, called 'The Waioeka Gorge'. Another drive I wouldn't relish on a miserable winter's night!

Boots for Barry

Since we've been in England, I've often despaired at Barry wearing the badminton trainers, bought as a birthday present a couple of years ago, for general walking. Now the ground is so soggy and muddy, I'm concerned they'll be ruined if he continues.

So why not just buy some walking boots you may ask?  Good question! It's not about money, because I'd rather he had some instead of destroying his sports shoes. You'll have little idea how challenging it can be to source a pair of shoes, never mind walking boots, that will fit Barry's feet - everyone except his son Tom who has a similar problem! He has what are affectionately known as 'Hobbit' feet, which he could've capitalised on for a (walk-on!) part in The Lord of the Rings - with no need for cosmetic enhancement. I'm not sure if the photo adequately shows the predicament …

Barry's 'Hobbit' feet, photographed at his birthday party December 2012 - the hair was a guest's add-on feature!

Comparing feet - Barry and Tom's 'stand' out somewhat!

Fred was fairly confident we'd find some boots at a new store from France, called 'Decathlon', which had recently opened in Sheffield, stocking a large range of outdoor clothing and shoes at discount prices. After trying on around a dozen possibilities, and seeking assistance for our plight, alas it was not to be. 

Next stop was 'Go Outdoors', where Fred felt certain we'd find success. Once again though, despite trying many different boots, and having a modicum of success with getting help from the overworked assistants, none came close and there was just a "Ouch, no, they hurt" every time from Barry.

Finally we visited Clarks, who have an amazingly efficient customer service, and eventually he put a pair of size 11G waterproof black leather GORE-TEX  boots on and said "They're not too bad"! The young female assistant probably wished she'd had a boisterous five-year-old rather than a 58 year old, plus supporters, eager desperate to find something to fit!

Of course the 11H would have been even better, but sadly there was no stock of them anywhere in the country - maybe they've all sold out, though the more likely scenario is Barry's feet are rather unusual and there just isn't a call for such a wide fitting!

Barry finds shoes that fit - hurrah!

Burns Night

We were invited to accompany Fred and Sarah to celebrate 'Burns Night', at a friend's home on Saturday 25th January - the Scottish poet Robert Burn's actually birth day! Apparently there's recently been a big surge in acknowledging this occasion in UK - and in Dunedin in New Zealand it's quite a big thing too. I was sat next to a cardiologist who'd lived there for a year during his internship. 

A fun evening, no photos sadly, but it included incomprehensible renderings of Scottish poetry, the welcoming of the haggis and eating of such (it was delicious!), Scottish salmon, and copious quantities of a variety of whiskies. I'm not a whisky drinker, in fact even the smell makes me nauseated - Barry's the same, but being a bloke he felt obliged to try it and did so twice! He says he still dislikes it, but it felt like the proper thing to do at such an event - bless him!

Sheffield

Sadly the weather wasn't kind enough to us to allow a bracing walk in the Peak District on Sunday, despite us both finally having suitable footwear! 

My youngest daughter did her psychology degree in Sheffield, during 2002 to 2005, so I've visited the city of steel many times in the past.  Barry and I made a short visit in 2007, but he'd never been into the town before. As well as Sheffield Steel production, it's also known for the movies 'The Full Monty', 'Brassed Off', and sadly the Hillsborough disaster. 

We enjoyed a stroll around town on Saturday, visiting Kelham Island and the Sheffield Canal Basin (Victoria Quays) on Sunday. We hope to moor up in the basin at some point on our meanderings, but it's one of those canals with a long route just to the town, then you have to turn around and go back - so it'll depend upon timings.  

Barry took some photos which will be far superior to mine, and hopefully he'll get from his camera in the next day or two so I can post them! In the meantime, here's a couple from me ...

The Town Hall in Sheffield with a couple of dodgy geezers in front ...

… and looking towards the train station

Suppliers of the future

On Monday we visited the two suppliers of our new business venture, in Chesterfield, and even collected some stock! We have the go-ahead from CRT now to trade from the boat, so it's full steam ahead!

Sadly, or fortuitously depending on how you look at it, Barry suddenly realised he'd left his new boots in Sheffield while we were in Chesterfield - so we detoured and returned to collect them, and enjoyed a very different Snake Pass experience in the fading daylight.

We used a hire can once again from Enterprise - it's fascinating driving a different car each time. This journey was in a Honda Civic - very nice to drive. After returning the car on Tuesday morning, and filling up with petrol, I worked out that using public transport would've only saved us £22.77! Not having the hassle of getting a bus to the station, carrying bags, changing trains half way, having to be collected and then taken back to the station, is worth way more than that!

Thanks again Enterprise Wrexham, they're such a friendly and helpful group of people, it's a pleasure to hire cars with them and be ferried from and back to the Marina each time. What an amazing service. If only it wasn't an extra £10 a day to insure Barry to drive too.

There'll be more about our plans in the coming posts, which may or may not be on Wordpress by then, watch this space ...

Six weeks left - and counting ...

… well at least Barry is! That's how long we've got left at Tattenhall Marina, sitting (mostly) still, with an electric hook-up, a water point a few feet away, a pump out and diesel across the water, a great bus route a few minutes walk away, weekly events/games night at the Marina Bar, etc. 

So we currently have such luxuries available as:

• diesel heated radiators on whenever we want (sadly no solid field stove in our lounge/dining area, only in the Boatman's Cabin at the moment) 
• the electric cooker and washing machine whenever we need them rather than only when the boats moving or with the engine running
• the luxury of long hot showers anytime (well almost, but I'll come to that!) as we have a calorifier for water heating, and 
• power on tap to charge all our gadgets!

I never imagined I'd like love being in a Marina, rather than moving around the system most days. But I am okay to admit that I do - and shall miss it.

However, much of that may have to do with the cold, dark and damp of a British winter - though admittedly it's not been too bad so far (at least that's what I'm told, it's been pretty yuck compared to what I've been used to in NZ for the past nine years!).

So by the time we leave, the evenings will be lighter, the daffodils will be sprouting, there'll be buds on the leaves of the trees, and people (including me!) will begin to 'feel' happier.

Signs of spring are beginning to appear

Our festive season

It's been a few weeks since I last posted a blog - Xmas Eve in fact - apologies readers! 

We had a busy but fun-filled festive season, travelling almost 900 miles around England visiting family - very different to last year when I was in Bali with my daughter Kim. So blogging hasn't been my top priority - I'm aiming to post more regularly in future so the posts aren't so long.

Here's a selection of a few magical moments ...

Kim saw mummy kissing Santa Claus Barry at Scott's Bar on Xmas Eve

Bucks Fizz for breakfast on Xmas Day? Don't mind if I do

How many cracker hats and reindeer horns can I fit on my head?!

A day trip to Port Issac, Cornwall, where (much to the annoyance of many residents apparently)  they film the UK TV programme Doc Martin, starring Martin Clunes

The Doc's house is to the right of Barry

From Devon and Cornwall to Brighton - strong winds and high seas this year for Kim's birthday in early January

A variety of fabulous venues were visited for Kim's birth day - here Kim and Barry are feeling a little cheeky at a quaint coffee shop called 'Marwood' where they say they do 'Kick Ass Coffee and Life Changing Cake' - love that description!

 And here we are at 'The Office' a Gin Bar, serving a selection of over 30 different types of gin. Barry was in his element, but seems a little overshadowed by Kim and I!

Back to the Marina

We returned to AreandAre on 7th January, and it was a relief to unpack and get sorted after so many different stops. 

Luckily we'd had an upgrade in our hire car. In fact, strange as it may sound, I changed the type of car a couple of weeks before we picked it up, and it cost 70 pounds LESS to get a Class D than a Class B that I'd booked in September - and then they upgraded again for some reason.  I have no idea how it happened. Maybe it's because I booked early initially, and they hadn't had as many bookings as they'd thought they would for Xmas? Or because we've been regular hirers recently. Who knows, but somehow we received a Vauxhall 'Insignia', which had a huge boot that we turned into a mobile wardrobe! 

Our unexpected Xmas present from Enterprise!

Shower challenge and another win

Just before Xmas Barry decided to take our shower apart (not the best timing!), as the seals weren't so fabulous at the bottom, and there'd been some leakage. It meant we had no working shower from a week or so before Xmas, until last week. Fortunately there's a walk in wet room type shower in the Marina, but it's a few minutes walk away, in the cold, so the usual daily shower went awry. Once again, thank goodness for being here.

However, we may be asked to leave before long if we don't watch out. We went to the bar the Saturday we got back, where there was a darts match on a recently fitted board. By some incredible stroke of luck (on my part, not Barry's, his was through sheer skill), the final players were a couple of kiwis which didn't go down too well! So taking the money home was then a forgone conclusion - obviously I had to let him win (!) as I'd already had my first place a few weeks before in 'Play Your Cards Right'.

Barry plays his darts right

Almost ready to launch

We're now just waiting for CRT to agree to our proposal for our businesses before we can apply for a Trading License, and then we can announce what we'll be doing on the blog.

We have a draft travelling route for 2014 on paper, which is still subject to change, but nevertheless feels very exciting - even though it'll mean moving back onto the cut.  I know I'll love it once we're out, it'll just be odd not being close to my daughter and grandchildren for a while again, and all the 'luxurious' amenities.

I'm also seriously re-considering starting a new blog with 'AreandAre' in the url, and moving to 'Wordpress', as we're both using that for our business websites and it seems to have more features and support than Blogger.

So there's lots to keep us out of too much mischief in the coming days, weeks and months ...

Seasons greetings everyone

Happy Xmas!

This will be our final post for 2013, as we're leaving the boat until 7th January, visiting family. Christmas Day will be spent half at my daughter's home in Malpas with her family and my younger daughter who's come up from Brighton, and in the afternoon we'll travel to Ombersley to be with my parents. On Boxing Day we'll drive up to Lichfield to see my eldest sister and her children and grandchildren.

On 28th December we'll set off again, this time onto the M5 to Exeter, to see my youngest sister for a New Year, leaving there for my next sister down in Southampton on 2nd January.

On 3rd January it's a short drive to Brighton to celebrate my youngest daughter's birthday, then back to my parents for a night or two before heading back to Tattenhall.

Phew! How lucky are people who have family all living within a short distance of each other! I often question how we came to be so far apart. It wasn't always like this. For many years we all lived in Sutton Coldfield, and spent Xmas and New Year together. I guess it's just how it is nowadays for many families.

We were really touched on Saturday night, when we went for our weekly night out at the Marina Bar (Scotty's), and were told we had a couple of letters and a parcel. As we weren't expecting anything, we were curious as to who had sent us what! 

One of the envelopes contained a Xmas card from Angie and Dave, from NB Lady Esther, the couple we met at Market Harborough (we blogged about the synchronicity of meting them in April). They'd sent us a wedding card to the Dog and Doublet in September 2009, after following our blog. We were really touched they'd taken the time and trouble to get in touch again - thanks guys, hope to catch you again in 2014.

Seeing the package I wondered if I'd ordered something and forgotten - what a delightful surprise it turned out to be. A Marks and Spencer's Hamper of delectable goodies from our friends in Sheffield, Sarah and Fred. Now gifts like this we can handle, they're not bringing unnecessary 'stuff' into the world. Yum!

And so this is Christmas, and what have we done? Well we've had an amazingly adventurous 2013, which included memorable and magical things such as: 

• Saying a sad 'Haere Ra', farewell for now, to family and friends in Gisborne and other places in New Zealand
• Moving from New Zealand to England in March, returning to the Inland Waterways in April after buying NB 'Areandare' 
• Welcoming on board zillions hordes of vivacious visitors from England and even six New Zealand friends on separate occasions who've made room in their holiday itineraries to spend time with us
• Catching up with fellow narrowboaters who we'd met in 2009 and 2010, as well as getting to know lots of lovely new kindred boating souls
• Barry returning to NZ in August, successfully selling his 'Home Brew Supplies' shop 'Ezimade', AND obtaining stage 1 of his UK residency visa
• Experiencing life in a Marina for the first time, meeting some great people, and being just a short bus ride away from my eldest daughter and grandsons - bliss!
• Barry returned to UK late October - for the foreseeable future ;-)
• Two articles published in the Gisborne Herald Weekender supplement about our 2009 and 2010 travels
• Appearing in Waterways World twice (one was in the January 2014 edition, but it was published in December so we can count it!)
• About to spend my first Xmas in England for nine years, and Barry's first since his one and only other  in 1976

Mesmerised by the glitter and tinsel of the Xmas shop in Chester

How many baubles can you fit on one Xmas tree?!

When we drive back to Tattenhall on 7th January, all the colourful lights brightening up the dark nights during December will have been taken down which is a shame. Wouldn't it be lovely if people left them up until spring?

Happy Christmas everyone, and we wish a peaceful and prosperous New Year to you all. Thank you for reading our stories and sharing our trials, tribulations and thrills.

We look forward to connecting once again in 2014, as we embark on our year of making it happen - focussing as always on enjoying time with family and friends, whilst vitally next year taking forward ways of earning sufficient funds to sustain a minimalistic lifestyle living aboard our narrowboat, whilst continuously cruising the Inland Waterways - from 1st March 2014.

It's going to be interesting!