Late March to mid April 2025 – what we got up to!
We popped down to Fareham to see our Grandson and to celebrate our son George’s birthday. His actual age makes me feel even more ancient, so we’ll gloss over that! It was great to see our grandson – they change so quickly, and even though we speak pretty much daily on video, his new skills are more evident in the flesh.
The first weekend, we visited the Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway, which was a real treat and it’s perfect with small kids, as there is a good play area at the terminus, which we made good use of. And the great thing is that dogs are really made welcome at the railway. They are allowed everywhere, including the cafe and also travel free on the trains. There are also some nice walks on site too and you can always feed the many ducks! It’s a great day out.
It was a sunny, but quite chilly day and we were all hoping for a cuppa when we got back to the station but we left it too late. Very disappointing but not the end of the world. We all had a great time anyway – although Chester was a bit wary of the train, initially.
In the evening we met friends Kate & Paul Hansford for dinner at Truffles in the HIgh Street – we’ve never been before, despite living about 200 yards away! But we all thoroughly enjoyed the food – with Paul H pronouncing it one of the best meals he has ever had! It was a convivial evening too, with conversation and laughter flowing freely, as it does with really good old friends. I have known Kate about 45 years!
The week passed with more visits to see old friends and old friends’ parents, a couple of medical appointments (one cancelled, much to our annoyance!) a quiz night, packing winter stuff away, a stained glass workshop (for me) and culminated in us looking after Chester (now 20 months old) while his lovely Ma and Pa went out to celebrate G’s birthday with their friends. What an honour!
We took him to Lee on the Solent , to throw stones on the beach, then grabbed some fish and chips and mushy peas (one of Chester’s favourites!) and had a picnic on the beach at Stokes Bay. He was as good as gold and we returned to the flat to warm up and have stories before bed.
Just to say a little more about my stained glass course – it was in Portchester, which was very handy. The company is called Crafted Colours and the courses are run by the owner, Caroline Frankland, a very knowledgeable lady and a good and patient teacher, to boot! I’ve always fancied having a go and thoroughly enjoyed my session. I’m also pretty chuffed with the piece that I made. I’d highly recommend having a go if it appeals to you.
We drove home to the boat the next morning and unpacked all our summer gear. It’s a bit chilly yet, but it won’t be too long before the shorts go on until the Autumn! Whoop!
We welcomed our first guests of the year on the last weekend of March – Nick and Sarah Holmes, just back from an amazing holiday in Brazil. I think they must have brought the weather back with them, as it was sunny and bright for the entire weekend. They arrived around 18:30 on the Friday evening and we settled down to a delicious Chinese takeaway and an evening of games. Unfortunately, I was not on top form as I had a rotten head cold. My whole head and face ached and I could not breathe through my nose.
We left the Marina at about 10:30 on Saturday morning in bright sunshine but with a biting wind. As our guests were going home on Sunday pm, we could not venture very far. We had earmarked the winding hole a little above Hillmorton 3 as the potential turnaround point and that proved to be about right. We winded, retraced our steps and moored just above the locks, ready to tackle them on the return leg the next morning. We all fancied a quick snooze – I think this is a measure of our advancing years – although, as you know, I am never one to turn down the opportunity for a quick beepy! I love ’em!
Restored by our snooze we settled down to a few drinks (as they had just returned from Brazil, it had to be Caipirinhas*) and games. As I was still feeling a bit ropey, Paul very kindly offered to cook our dinner and it was delicious! Conscious that we were about to lose an hour (transitioning to BST) we retired at a reasonably sensible hour.
*a lethal mix of Cachaça – which is made from fermented sugarcane juice, muddled limes/sugar and ice. In cocktail-making, “muddling” refers to the technique of gently crushing or mashing ingredients like fruits, herbs, or spices to release their flavors and oils into the drink, enhancing the overall taste and aroma.
The next day was Mother’s Day and I was very spoilt by my lovely George. A cozy throw and some choccies, plus some lovely cards. It was another sunny day but again, with a stiff, chilly wind. When Paul took the boys for their morning walk, he noticed that the pound below the top lock was very low, so he flushed down a few lockfuls of water. Luckily, the pound above the top lock is a very long one, so there was plenty of water.
After a hearty breakfast, we set off and finally arrived back at the Marina about 2pm. We had a quick lunch and then it was time for Nick and Sarah to go home to Portchester. We quickly made our bed after they’d gone and it simply looked so inviting we could not resist a quick beepy!. We’d had a lovely time with our guests and the icing on the cake (for me!) was that Paul cooked me a delicious Mother’s Day dinner AND washed up. Lucky me!
On the first weekend in April, we had a lot of odd jobs we wanted to do before we go off for the season – mainly touching up paintwork, which seems to be a constant battle on a narrowboat – despite how careful you are! It was also the weekend of the second Brinklow Waterside and Marina Artisan Market, which we were looking forward to.
The sun seems to have shone daily for a couple of weeks now, always accompanied by that biting wind, sadly. This weekend was no exception and the sun shone brightly on the many stalls and boats who were showing their crafts. We popped down at lunchtime to support the show and maybe buy a couple of things. First on the list was a beer and some food. A lovely fresh cheese batch (which is what they call a roll in these parts) for me and an “Indian Savoury Selection” for Paul, which he very much enjoyed.
We had a potter round the stalls and a catch up with friends and then it was back to work for us. My job was polishing the accessible side of the boat. I was trying something new – a product called “Showroom Shine” from a company called “Greased Lightning”. It is a waterless wash and wax. Apply with one cloth, buff with another. I was pretty pleased with the results. We won’t use it every time, as there is no substitute for the proper job, but for quick results, it’s just the ticket.
Meanwhile, Paul was busy spotting and sanding all the “dinks”, then applying Red Oxide, undercoat and top coat. We are also – section by section – planning to replace the red stripe along the handrail as it has gone very matte in the sun. We used T-Cut last year, but the results did not last. Luckily, drying conditions were great and he managed to get the stern area done. The following day, he tackled the deck well and we are now starting to look very smart again. There is more to do next weekend. And we were so busy, we forgot to take any photos, so I only have after shots!
I got my sewing machine out to start on a new project and the prototype was almost finished when the darned thing started to play up! I reckon I was perhaps 10 minutes away from finishing. SO frustrating. But in some ways it did me a favour as I was able to nip it over to SewFix in Hillmorton (whom I’d highly recommend). I had had it serviced there a few months back and had used it extensively since. And it was running fine – until it wasn’t! I tried all the tricks I knew – rethread top and bottom, new needle – I even took off the needle plate and gave the innards a good defuzz. But it was no good. A trip to Dr Liv was required. BUT – imagine if it had broken down a week after we had left? I’d have been royally stuffed! So I’m kinda glad it went wrong when it did.
The final weekend before “the off” saw us finishing off the remainder of the external jobs – apart from the roof, which needs cleaning again as it is so dry and dusty. Which brings in another slight issue. We are starting to hear about problems with lack of water already, which is a little worrying,this early in the season. We absolutely have to get back to Brinklow for early July as we need accommodation for the build up to Electrika on the 11th/12th. As you know, we’ve been boating for many years, and this is the first time I can recall setting off with no real confidence in being able to get where we want to go – and back. What with structure failures, breaches and a lack of water it might be a challenging summer. But we’ll try to follow Robert Louis Stevenson’s advice, which was “To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive”. The next time you hear from me we will have left the Marina, with our friends and frequent “flyers “Anne & Gray Robertson aboard, and be on our way towards Stoke on Trent. We really do know how to live!
| Period | Miles | Locks |
| 28- 30th March | 14 | 6 |
| Cumulative | 42 | 12 |