Saturday 21st
January to Thursday 9th February 2017
The flight back from Australia
was relatively uneventful as it usually is – this time however I had to take
the flight that stopped in Singapore
on its way to Dubai rather than the 14hr
straight through flight from Melbourne direct to
Dubai
Landing back in Birmingham
Train back to Rugby and then taxi to
Barby Marina and I was back on board a little bit over 2 hours after landing.
The boat was naturally quite cold – having sat there for the last 7
weeks, but happily it was nice and dry.
After getting the diesel running again, the reflecs was lit and pretty
soon the boat was starting to lose it’s chill – getting warm took a bit longer.
Before we left it, apart from the usual winterising that we do, we also
had moved a great many things inside the boat; set the mattress on it’s side to
air and there was a general upheaval of a great many things.
All-in-all it took a few hours to get it all back into shape and
everything more or less in their correct places – by which time the boat was
now warm.
That wasn’t half as bad as the fact that we had cleared the fridge out
and anything else that was likely to go off, so there was very little in the
way of food that could easily be made into something – but managed to scratch
something together – also no milk or bread – that would be for tomorrow.
First morning back and the canal had frozen over, but the sun was out and
very bright – the ice was starting to melt by late morning so I figured it was
time to move along; with the knowledge of the marina staff, I untied Ferndale
and gently eased her out through the ice – it is always difficult to manoeuvre
around turns but after an hour we were out through the entrance and heading in
a straight line northwards.
I didn’t want to go too far and so I moored just above the Hillmorton
Locks and was able to do some much needed shopping up on the main road – just
the basics really.
Next morning and the ice had cleared and I cleared off, heading down to Rugby to do a proper replenishment,
The time between then and now has been spent in Rugby and cruising up to
Hawkesbury Junction, into Coventry
She has been with her Mum and Dad in Queensland to see how they have been
since she had last seen them before Xmas – she has noticed some changes even in
that short time and her Dad has had some problems which will means loss of some
past functions – most notably, not being able to drive anymore.
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| Diane had spent many hours on the cross-stitch and then having it framed for their anniversary next year |
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| A good day - able to be out and about |
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| Still looking pretty good |
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| Not sure about the selfies in the car - shouldn't you be driving |
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| Swimming costume for the new season |
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| Not so much the water-baby - just the water-babe |
We are concerned about their general health and there are some specific
problems that each has which are also of concern – we will just have to see how
they progress over the next few months and the next year - this will have big impact on our overall
plans, but we were prepared for this type of thing coming along.
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| Trying out the new scooter to give more freedom..... |
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| ....at least until it is nap time |
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| Sneaking out for a coffee |
It is worrying for them just as much as it is worrying for us – two very
wonderful people in our lives who have done so very much for us when we were
first starting out and we would like to be closer to them but equally we want
to finish what we have started here – the time-frame will need to be shortened.
Having bad news such as this on the homefront has been of concern to us;
the news of our dear friend Frank (as I had mentioned in the last blog);
terrible news about Lauren (a second stroke for someone so young – just 30
years old); but the additional news that we have had of late with the passing
of Les (nb Valerie) and now Fiona (nb Epihany) has been a blow to us.
We had the pleasure of meeting and enjoying Fiona’s company (with her
husband John) a few years ago and given her medical history and recent health
it was still a shock to hear of her passing.
We only spoke to Les (and Jacquie) in passing them outside Napton Marina
last year, but we had followed their exploits with interest like so many others
in the boating world and beyond.
We pass our deepest condolences to both John and Jacquie and wish the
very best for both for the future, whatever it may bring.
Sorry to end on such a sad note but most of what we have been doing for
the past two months has been tinged with a great deal of sadness, but we also
have to remain positive about things getting better for the rest of the time
that we all have.
