March Catch Up

 

This is a February/March catch up!!

The storms of February, with all their nice names, seem a long while ago. It was probably the worst wind we’ve had since we’ve lived aboard. The waves and spray were incredible.

John helped a chap re-moor his boat, while Lance and I headed back to make sure the fire was nice and hot.

Then John assisted the landlady of the Slipway pub rescue her bin from the canal. She paid us by buying us and our pals a drink.

Lance stayed for a few days. We met the rest of his family in Liverpool for a breezy wet day.

  We got a fuel delivery from Ambush.

As the weather was so dreadful, we only ventured out a few times. But we had lots to do indoors.

The boys swapped over and Magnus came for a few days. He enjoyed doing his knitting at the knit & natter session.

On going home day we had a crafty pint at ‘The Thirsty Duck’, a super mico-pub on Burscough Wharf.

We hired a car for a few days to head south for a ‘celebration of Mike’s life’. Our good pal Mike sadly died at the beginning of the year, but hadn’t wanted a funeral, as he ‘hated them’. Yvonne arranged an afternoon celebration tea with lots of wonderful photos & memories. Yvonne and I are now slipper sisters, as we loved the same ones, at Freya Jones craft shop.

While in the south we stayed at Louise & Paul’s and got to meet our niece & nephew’s new partners and one of them’s daughter. We were last at their house 4 years ago when we moored just down the hill from them for Ada’s wedding.

In addition, we spent a day in London with Edmund. We had brunch on a café boat at Paddington Basin.

 

Just had to have a tourist snap from London Bridge.

 

Had a great time at The Old Operating Theatre Museum.

Our Thursday knit & natter was disrupted by Jordan North, the radio 1 DJ, stopping there for his dinner break whilst rowing 100 miles of canal for Comic Relief.

A few pics of lovely mooring spots.

 

We were invited to have a ‘Jubilee Fibres’ stall at a ‘Wool & Wine’ evening, it would have been far too rude to say “no”.

John has put a new seal on our weed hatch. We met some people last year who had to be rescued on a river crossing because theirs was leaking. We aren’t going on any tidal rivers, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!!

 

February’s whizzing by!

 

We finally had a family get together for Nikita’s birthday, more than a month ago now. We all went for a super meal in new burger restaurant in Chorley.

I spun on the platform on our way to Chorley, it was a dreary, damp day.

The same spinning on a spring like day.

We have had some lovely weather, which has meant I could dry the washing on the line.

You can never get fed up with the glorious sun rises on an icy day.

  Or moon rises

 

Plus, sun sets that can change in colour in a second.

A new mural has appeared under one of the bridges.

We’ve not cruised very far and often moor near Burscough Wharf.

My good deed for the day, operating two swing bridges for us and two single-handed boaters.

Ada modelling her super chunky cardigan I knitted her, a belated Chrissi prezzi.

Heather got her chunky jumper I made, on her actual birthday.

Jason made her an amazing Black Forest gâteau.

We made marmalade again this year and think we’ve actually got it to set really well this time.

This is the welcome we had at the water point. Dog poo all over and around the mooring bollard. John had to hammer in a mooring pin and I cleared it all up and washed down the bollard ready for the next boater!!

These last few weeks have seen some very harsh stormy weather. This photo just about sums up how changeable it’s been, plus, look at the waves on the water!!!

Yesterday we caught the train to Southport so we could buy (not catch) kippers for breakfast today.

 

Welcome 2022

This time last year we were frozen in for new year, it was 14c warmer and beautifully sunny to welcome 2022. We cruised a short distance from Parbold, and I was able to spin as we went.

Once moored, we had the washing line up and the laundry dried. I was really pleased to be able to hang the two skeins I’d spun from my advent fibre swap in a tree to blow dry.

Once again covid has altered our festive plans, but all of our family that had it were quite well, with minor symptoms or none at all. Edmund had to cancel his pre-Christmas trip up to see us as he had covid, his first day back to work was Christmas Day.

Jason picked us up to go to Chorley on his way home Christmas Eve. Heather arranged for us all to go bowling midday. It’s a tiny bowling alley at Chorley, with just 6 lanes.

After bowling, it was home to prepare the vegetables for the next day.

We were up bright and early Christmas Day, which was to be expected.

We had Ada and Dale on a video call on the table for Christmas dinner as she had ‘it’.

We had moored right outside the Farmers Arms pub in Burscough in preparation for a family get together on the Monday. My sister, Samantha & her husband Paul, were calling in on their grand tour of visiting friends & family. However, we had to cancel 4 of the meals as Heather tested positive for covid too. Samantha & Paul saved the day & picked up the three kids as their tests were negative. 

 

 

Some people with their ponies and traps (not rhyming slang!) stopped at the pub for a pint.

New Year's Day we’d planned a family bonfire in a super spot at Lathom on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal. The area was designated a millennium initiative, now the thicket is being left to go back to nature. Again, our plans didn’t come to fruition, as by this time Dale is covid pos, Ada’s clear & Heather was still pos!!!! So John & I had a nice time with the fire pit we’d previously rescued from a skip.

We had seen someone living in the thicket at Lathom earlier in the year, it now appeared the camp hadn’t been in habited for quite some time. There was no actual litter there, however, there was a flattened tent, lots of items and wooden pallets scattered in the woods. We spent New Year's Day afternoon tidying the area. Luckily, there is a skip for boaters rubbish nearby and the pallets were perfect for our bonfire.

We were very relived this electric swing bridge was still working. It appears a rather large vehicle had hit the barrier & it’s control box. We reported it to CRT.