Don't Panic

Don't Panic
My home!

Thursday, 30 July 2009

quote of the day



This is a picture of a neighbour of mine. He is a begger and will lean in my window for food. He is pretty obsessive about it, even though several other boats also feed him. I thought he would be a fitting subject to sit alongside a quote I have just taken to heart. It is from Richard Byrd (no pun intended) a polar explorer:

"No man can be completely free who lingers within the reach of familiar habits and urgencies".

Wednesday, 29 July 2009

freedom seeker?

No photo of Bonny yet - I couldn't get her to stay still long enough to take one! Maybe on my next visit.
Somebody has asked what I meant when I said I was a freedom seeker (in my profile) and since it is a very good question, I shall try to explain myself.
I have been reading an excellent book by Tom Hodgkinson called 'How to be Free' and he asserts that we are all free already, the only reason we do not exercise our freedom is because of our 'mind forg'd manacles'. In other words, we are free to do and be whatever we choose and the only things that stop us are the voices inside our own heads.
So I had a listen to some of my voices. Some are disguised to sound like my parents, some sound like the government and some like the Church. An example from the recent past: 'You can't throw in your job and go live on a boat - it's not the adult thing to do, it's not as if you are 20 anymore and how will you afford it? You can't expect anybody to bail you out if you get into trouble. It's not safe on your own, what if you fall in, get attacked, sink. How selfish of you to follow your own desires - it shouldn't be about what you want.' (I'm sure you can work out for yourselves which voice is which, although of course, they were all my voices!)
What all these statements have in common is that they have fear at their core; fear of how I will look to other people, fear for my own safety, fear of being seen to be selfish or foolhardy, and fear of being monetarily poor.
But I then had a choice - do I let my fear stand in the way of my dreams (to quote an advert)? Do I let fear be my 'mind forg'd manacle', imprisoning me in a life that was slowly strangling me to death? Or do I acknowledge the fear, but do it anyway? On this occasion, I followed the scent of freedom, yes in fear and trembling, but I took the leap into the unknown.
Now before you label me either a hero or a boastful fool, I have recognised since then, that this move was only the first of many manacles to be cast off in my quest to be free. I still feel trapped by many things - by debt, by what people think of me, by expectations I lay on myself, and of course by the whole weight of should's and ought's that I took with me from the Church. But I now recognise that these things that make us feel trapped are phantoms - only real in our own minds, and so can be overcome. And that is how I am seeking to be free; I am confronting, one by one, my inner voices as well as, when necessary the outer forces that seek to enslave me (like the bank at present - usurers all - they are hell bound!)
I share this (if anybody actually reads my blog!) because I suspect I am not the only one who has felt trapped or powerless or fearful. If anybody wants to leave a comment about the above, or about their own experience / wisdom, then feel free. You just click on the 'comment' green button.

Monday, 27 July 2009

Leading or Coincidence?

Having just decided on the breed of dog I wanted, I happened to bump into a friend from another boat who has a Boxer dog. He walks around the lake every morning and has got to know other dog walkers. When I mentioned I had decided on a Cairn Terrier, he said he knew someone who walks around the lake who knows a breeder of Cairns. He said that she walks her Border Terrier each morning and that I should recognise her because her terrier swims round the lake on the end of her lead! I thanked him and decided to have a stroll. Since it was 3pm I didn't expect any dog walkers around as they all tend to walk early mornings or evenings.


But yes, just as I rounded the end of the lake, there was a little terrier swimming towards me, on her lead. I spoke to the lady and yes, she was Jane and yes, she knew a woman who breeds Cairns just up the road. She also knew that she currently has a litter ready to go but was pretty sure they were all reserved for buyers. She helped me memorize the breeder's phone number and I raced back to the boat before I forgot it. I got hold of the breeder and yes, she had a litter and although they were all reserved, a buyer had just dropped out, leaving one female pup available!


Two nights later I visited the breeder who turned out to be a lovely lady who also rescues both Cairn Terriers and Tortoises! I then met the canine family - Dad, Mum, Grandma and six lively ten week old puppies. They were all gorgeous! All the puppies were healthy and happy and both their parents were lovely. The puppy's forebears were long lived (Great Grandma lived till 18!) and several have been champions. The bitch available is a brindle colour with a little black face. Not surprisingly it was love at first sight! So I'm going to have her. She still needs one more injection and because I haven't anywhere private to exercise her, we have decided that she will stay with the breeder for another 2 weeks, so any danger of catching something nasty from strange dogs will be well past. Meanwhile I can visit her to get to know her and the breeder has offered to bring her to the boat so we can see how she reacts and also to give any advice I need. She has also said that if I need any advice she will be happy to help any time. So, it couldn't have worked out better. Yes, she is expensive to purchase, but I am going to sell my car so I'll have the money and anyway, for me, having a healthy, happy pup to love is priceless!


The way things worked out made me think about coincidence /fate /God. A lot of Christians believe that God is concerned and active in our every day lives, even to the extent of arranging for me to find a puppy. I've met some who even believe that if they pray, God will find them a parking space! Others believe that if something is meant to be, it will happen; either because I was moving in the right direction to merge with the flow of the universe and so it was all going to work out, or that it was fated. Others believe in coincidences; that each event just happened to dovetail with the next, but it could just as easily not have worked out.


I am not convinced that God intervenes when I need a parking space or even when I need a puppy. In fact, I wonder now how much God intervenes with the natural order of things at all? I wonder if it is not more that when we are moving in the flow of the Spirit of God, then things will work out as they should, but when we have stepped out of that flow, or are actively fighting against it, then things go awry? Either way, I am very grateful for the opportunity to care for a living creature again and to love. When I visit the pup, who I am almost sure I am going to call Bonny or Bonny Lass again, I will get a photo to share on this blog.

Thursday, 23 July 2009

Brandy


The idea of getting a new dog has made me feel a bit guilty - as if I am forgetting my last beautiful boy. So I thought I'd post a picture of him...

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

decisions

I am trying to strike a balance between living sensibly and living well. Obviously I don't have money to waste on anything non essential and I have to see where I can make cutbacks. So in that light, I have decided to sell my car. It sits in the carpark for six days out of seven and I just can't justify the expense. However, I have not been without a car for the last 30 years! I find it gives a great sense of both security and independence to know that I can just get in and go wherever I want.

Sensibly...
I used to love driving, just for driving's sake, but now that enjoyment is gone. The roads are so crowded and everybody else seem to be in such a hurry and so angry! And it is infectious. If someone makes a minor error in driving near me, I find myself raging at them, and yet in any other sphere of life, I would just let it go. I suspect most drivers aren't so much angry as terrified! How did we all get to live such hurried and fearful lives? Why is getting somewhere quickly more important than being courteous and forgiving or even safe? This has helped me in my decision to sell the car. I don't like the person I become behind the wheel but I do like the person I am when I have a tiller in my hand! I also like the people I meet on the towpath and on the canal much more than those on our highways. People smile and wave. They have time to say 'good morning' and if I make a mistake, other boaters just smile or comment that they also have made mistakes and not to worry about it. There is a courtesy and friendliness on the cut (canal) that I thought was only confined these days to tiny rural hamlets.


Having made the decision, I went straight out and bought a folding bike. I need something to go to the shops with and to carry my shopping home, but also I had forgotten what fun cycling can be. It also feels like it fits this new life; connected to the environment in a way that driving in a metal box can never be. I don't have to worry about parking or getting petrol and the running costs are almost nothing.

Well...
My second decision is to do with the living well rather than economically; in fact sensible people will almost certainly scold me for it. It is 7 months since my beloved labrador died and there is a hole in my heart. I feel I've got all this love to give and nobody to lavish it on, so I'm going to buy a dog. My last two dogs were of the rescue variety and although I loved them both, my regret was that I never knew either of them as puppies. I am also aware that bringing a dog onto a boat has its challenges and it will be a lot easier for both of us if the dog is trained to it from the beginning. I have been researching breeds for a while - although I loved both my Collie and Labrador, I have decided a smaller dog will fit better into my smaller living space. Finally I have narrowed the choice down to a Cairn Terrier. Now I just need to find one. I will use what I get for the car to pay for both the bike and the dog. Here ( I hope) is a picture of a Cairn terrier...
Isn't he gorgeous? Hopefully mine will be too.

Monday, 20 July 2009

jobs or lack thereof

I have never been on the open job market. I have only had two careers in my life and both I just walked into. In my arrogance I assumed that, when I left the Church, as long as I was prepared to do anything and accept minimum wage, I would easily find a job. I hadn't bargained on two things; the recession and my CV.

The recession really started to hit before I left Devon. But by the time I seriously started to look for something, the job situation in the West Midlands had become dire. I only really woke up to this when I applied for a washing up job and got knocked back in favour of someone else and then heard about a cleaning job being advertised and 200 people applying for it!

I thought my CV would help as I have worked with the public all my life and have been in responsible, leadership roles where I have had to use my own initiative. But no! Apparantly my cv scared employers off. The idea of employing an ex detective sergeant and an ex evangelist was just too much for them!

But, just as I was starting to really worry, I was offered a 'part time casual' job in the marina. It sounded great. I was to 'show out' hire boats to clients - in other words, explain how everything worked and then take them through a lock and give them basic instruction. Then when the boats returned, I was to clean them and ready them for the next guests. I was told the job wouldn't start until the season did, which would be just before Easter, but I didn't mind. I had savings still and as long as I worked 4 days a week - as promised, everything would be fine. So I didn't look for anything else, but just enjoyed the leisure time up till Easter.

To begin with it all went swimmingly. I loved working on the boats and the two men I worked with were lovely. However, within a month it became clear that the boss had over estimated the amount of work available. He gave me less and less hours, but didn't explain why. Finally, he started giving the hours that there were to someone else without telling me or explaining why. Eventually I took the hint and reluctantly returned to the souless hell that is the job centre.

Again, in my naivity, I thought the job centre was there to help you find work. No, it's there to make sure you tick the right boxes so they can hand over the pitifully small sum you are expected to live on and sneer at you while they do it.
I was running out of savings fast. The upside to that was, for the first time in my life, I really had to count the pennies and choose what to spend them on. Being broke really does sort out your priorities! Then, in June a new garden centre opened up right opposite my boat in an empty unit in the marina. A friend from another boat (fascinating 75 year old who lives on his boat and won a bronze medal in the Olympics for fast walking) went in while they were still putting the shop together, ascertained they needed staff and dragged me over there one evening, without telling me what for! He presented me to them and said "here you are then, you can employ her; she needs a job" It was hard to know who was more taken aback - me or the employer. But a couple of days later he and a couple of others interviewed me on my boat and I got the job. Only 3 days a week unfortunately, but at least it is regular money coming in.
So, I have been working there for 6 weeks and have been learning what it is like to run a shop. For 2 of my 3 days a week I'm on my own and I haven't really been taught anything - I just pick things up as I go along. I am surprised how much I enjoy it - particularly the plants. I also love the fact that, when I lock up and go home, that's it. I don't have to think about it again until my next days work. I have never had a job like that before. I also love only working three days a week. There is something very satisfying about having more days to yourself than as a wage slave! However, I'm still spending more than I'm earning (the boat loan taking a huge chunk). So that's primarily why I set up The Narrow Way. Although the idea of helping people slow down and connect with their God and themselves on a boat has been a dream for a while before I got 'Don't Panic', the need for some income has certainly spurred me on. The bad news is that I have yet to receive my first booking! Ah well, I guess these things take time.

Saturday, 18 July 2009

single handed cruising




I had two priorities in these first months -to learn how to handle my boat single handed and to find a job. Economically, these priorities should be reversed, but the boat came first for me. My first tentative trips out were pretty scary! I knew how to operate locks (grew up on boats and have also done a narrowboat helmsman course), but I was always with others and so the jobs got shared out. Now I had to moor the boat, prepare the lock, bring her in, operate the lock, take her out and then go back and close the gates. To begin with, the complication of it all nearly defeated me. For instance, how do you get the boat to stay in one place once you are in the lock? With two people, one stays at the tiller and uses the engine to keep her still while the other operates the paddles of the lock. I had to do both. Initially I tried to hold her with a rope whilst winding, but all that happened was that I was constantly tripping over the rope, or, because it was a centre rope, catching it up in my boat hook or pole, depositing both in the water more than once!

Then I learnt not to use any ropes in the lock. Instead I bring her in, leave the engine on tickover, with my tiller held in a central position with tiller strings. That holds her up against the front gate, and as long as I'm careful how quickly the water comes in, she will pretty much stay there. Going downhill, I leave her in neutral, because the water flowing out keeps her at the front gate. When the water levels equalise, she magically backs off the gate all on her own! Of course this works in narrow locks, I haven't braved wide locks as yet.

Learning to moor, particularly in windy conditions, was another challenge. But gradually, as I kept going out for a day or two at a time, my confidence increased. each journey brought new challenges and new skills learnt. By June, I was confident enough to take her out for a whole week and explore places that were new to me. I loved it! Somehow the boat only really makes sense when she's out of the marina, on the canal. I still find it amazing that, in order to move my home, I just disconnect the line to the electricity, undo 2 ropes and I'm free!

I also find myself in a new spiritual place when I'm cruising. It's hard to explain but I feel connected to my boat, to the water, to the wildlife - in fact connected to everything. I feel God is in all and is all - a Spirit which flows through and energises everything. I also find it possible to truly live in the present moment. I still need to concentrate when I'm steering and so my mind focuses on that and on the experience of the moment, rather than dwelling constantly on either the past or the future. And once I truly exist in the present moment, then all the worries, all the needs, all the should's and ought's disappear and I am content.

This experience has also released a creative spirit in me. I experiment with crafts, with writing and with photography. But again, it only flows when I am out with the boat. Somehow, when I connect back into the marina, I feel disconnected from the flow. If I could do anything, it would be to go on a long voyage - perhaps a forever voyage and not call anywhere other than my boat home. However, everyday life intrudes and the need to reverse the flow of money out of my account was becoming really pressing - the subject of my next blog!

Friday, 17 July 2009

Starting life at Barton

Barton Marina
At last the boat was my own. I was hugely grateful to those who had helped me, housed me and allowed me to use their washing machines and baths, but it was only now that I felt I was actually starting this new life. What I hadn't bargained for was how much mental and emotional energy it takes to redesign a life!
lack of should's and ought's: I spent the first 16 years of my working life as a police officer, I then lived on community in a Christian holiday centre (Lee Abbey) and then I went into the Church as a minister. Everyone of these jobs / ways of life carries with it a huge amount of, what I call, should's and ought's. 'You should work very hard all the time.' 'You should have a very clear idea of what is right and what is wrong.' You should have a quiet time every day.' You ought to exercise every day, eat less, drink less, earn money immediately, stay safe, go to church etc etc etc.
Here I was, for the first time in my life, in a position where there was absolutely nobody telling me what to do or not to do. There was no 'usual routine' and more worryingly, there was no job. Having worked all my adult life, I found it actually quite hard to have days and days where I didn't have to do anything. I also found myself battling guilt , particularly on Sundays. I had experienced a bit of a savaging in my last post, and as a result I really needed a break from Church, for the sake of my soul! I knew this, and yet when the church bells rang on a Sunday, I felt like a naughty schoolgirl skipping class!
I did cautiously check out one church but the result of that visit was enough to convince me that God was fine with the idea of my taking a holiday from corporate worship!
Worry, worry, worry: I found within only a few weeks, that I was failing to appreciate the beauty around me and the freedom given to me, because I was filling my head with worries; how was I going to find a job? Did people like me here? How am I going to learn everything I need to know about my boat? How am I going to manage single handed? I believe now that had I had absolutely nothing to worry about, I would have worried about not having anything to worry about! Fortunately I had a good friend and counsellor who reassured me that whatever I was feeling was normal. Making massive life changes will stir up all sorts of feelings and reactions and I needed to be gentle with myself.
So I walked a lot; there is a beautiful lake here with lots of wildlife around. I took up cross stitch and eventually stopped feeling like I was 'wasting time'. Then I started looking for a job.

Wednesday, 15 July 2009

finally moving...

Unfortunately Nigel and Jacquie weren't available to help me in February, so some equally good friends - Roger and Shirley-Ann Andrews made the journey from Devon. This time I had checked the stoppages and checked the canal was clear of ice. When they arrived we celebrated by going off to a lovely little pub in Crick. A merry evening passed and when we eventually wandered back to the boat, I did notice the temperature had dropped and there was a little snow in the air. But as we crossed the bridge to the marina the water was well, still water, so I didn't worry.
The next morning we woke to find that the country was blanketed in the thickest layer of snow that had fallen in the last 18 years. Worst still, the canal had frozen overnight and yet again, I was stuck! (to have a look at just how snowy it was, scroll down to my second post and you'll see a picture of my boat the morning after the snow started falling)
We waited for a several days but the ice just got thicker, the tank to my toilet got full and I couldn't move the boat to get it pumped out. One night, the toilet overflowed - I won't go into detail, but suffice to say, the next day Roger and Shirley-Ann took me off the boat and made the fairly hazardous journey back to Devon.
They put me up there for a long and frustrating week. We followed the weather forecast on an almost a minute by minute basis. I prayed daily that if I could just get out of purgatory I would be a good girl forever!
Eventually the whole country had thawed and so we returned to Crick. I always thought purgatory would be very hot, but in Crick's case it was the opposite - ice still lay thick upon the canal. We passed a day or two bashing it with sticks to try and break it up! Much more effectively, a British Waterways work boat came through and finally, on 14th February, Don't Panic left Crick Marina and dashed (if 4mph can be described as dashing) up to Barton, on the Trent and Mersey, before the weather turned once again or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse arrived! On 17th February, 6 weeks after my first attempt, I finally cruised into the heaven that was Barton Marina.

Monday, 13 July 2009

Starting my new life - or at least trying to start...
As you can see from the photo accompanying the last post, things did not go smoothly once I had moved aboard. Don't Panic was moored where I bought her - at Crick Marina on the Grand Union canal, next to junction 18 of the M1. I had to get her to my new marina at Barton on the Trent and Mersey. It takes 50 minutes to drive a car between the two (I know, I did it often enough!). It takes around 4 days to do it by boat.
Since I was so inexperienced, I had asked a couple of friends from Devon to help me move her. Nigel and Jacquie had lots of experience boating and kindly agreed to try boating in January. They drove all the way over, but once they arrived, it was clear we were going nowhere - the canal had frozen solid. We tried our best; Nigel even tried moving the boat backwards by breaking the ice with a pole and then moving into the space left. We moved 9 feet in 90 minutes and then admitted defeat (with other boaters looking on and laughing!) It was obvious that the ice wasn't going to melt any time soon and so Nigel and Jacquie regretfully left to go home. I stayed on the boat to get acquainted. I certainly got acquainted with the cold as my diesal boiler refused to work and so all I had was my woodburner. That was fine during the day, but once I retired for the night, the fire died and in the morning I was scraping ice off the inside of the portholes and opening the fridge to get some warmth on the boat!
Eventually the ice melted and Nigel and Jacquie returned. We cruised out of the marina entrance with hearts full of joy and with the January sun shining down on us. At last, I was going to Barton and could finally feel I had arrived in this new life. The good mood lasted down the Watford Flight (of locks) and all the way to Norton Junction where we found an insignificant little piece of paper informing us that the canal was closed at Braunston and would be until the end of January! I couldn't believe it. I had checked stoppages on the internet and hadn't seen this one. The harbour master at Crick hadn't said anything either. I stood on the towpath and wept. Would I ever get to Barton? Would I ever be able to pick up my post or be able to start looking for a job? Or would I be stuck in what felt like purgatory forever?
Poor Nigel and Jacquie had driven the width of the country twice and still hadn't had a cruise, so we decided to go the other way for a couple of days and try and enjoy ourselves before returning to Crick.
I was really glad we did, right up to the point when the boat started to sink! Although I had had a full survey, the surveyor had failed to spot that my weedhatch had no seal and consequently when we were going along, water was leaking into the engine compartment. He also failed to spot that the float switch to the bilge pump wasn't working and so the bilge did not turn on automatically. The first I knew of trouble was when the battery alarm went off as the engine disappeared under water and electricity started to arc across the water. I ran to the stern to find my rear cabin floor was under a couple of inches of water. We stopped just in time and managed to operate the bilge by hand. I stood watching as the boat started to lift itself from the water and thought "That's enough, I want to go home". But this was home and a home that was capable of sinking. I was distraught, exhausted and frightened. We limped back to Crick and then I was on my own again, waiting for the canal to open and spending money on necessary repairs.
January passed very slowly, but at least it gave me a chance to rest.
February came and with it renewed optimism, surely this time nothing could go wrong? Ha! wait till the next episode...

Tuesday, 7 July 2009


problems to come...

the story continues

Panic!I had the longest 10 days in my life as my money floated about in the ether, but on the 11th day much to my relief it appeared in my home account. That experience taught me 2 important lessons; one was that it was ridiculous to take risks with all the money I had just for the sake of a few more pounds interest. The other was that money itself doesn't really exist - it's just numbers on a screen which can disappear at the stroke of a key. So it is a waste of our precious lives to spend almost all of our time chasing after it.
I say I learnt that lesson; it would be more accurate to say I recognised the truth of it, because I can still get obsessive about money, particularly as I haven't got very much now.
Anyway, back to the story:
Don't Panic My search for a boat took on an added urgency as I realised that, as banks were crashing down around my ears, I would only be safe once I had converted my cash into wood and steel. Eventually I found the right boat. She is 12 years old, 50 feet long, 6'10 wide and was built by Tim Tyler, a very well known boat builder. She had won an award for her interior (fit out) when she was built and her name seemed to fit very well! On 17th December, (with two weeks to spare before homelessness set in) after some anxious bargaining, Don't Panic was mine. All I had to do now was to downsize my possessions from fitting nicely into a 3 bedroomed house to a 50' boat.
Downsizing: If you have never gone through all the things you own and decided whether you need it or not, I would highly recommend the exercise as it feels very cleansing. I had heard that you keep nothing on your boat that isn't either useful or beautiful and so with very little available space I had to be pretty ruthless. I started easily with stuff I never used and had forgotten I had. Then it was things I liked having 'just in case'. Then it got harder with items that were useful but not absolutely necessary. The hardest were the more sentimental objects. For instance I had 15 (pre digital) photo albums and had to weed the photos to fit into one book. Finally I sold, gave away or threw away most of my possessions and all my furniture. I only kept what seemed essential and yet, 6 months on, I have a shelf of things that are waiting for a car boot sale! I haven't missed any of my stuff and I feel much lighter without them. I discovered for the first time that it is true that possessions don't make you happy - or at least they don't keep you happy!
On 10th January 2009 I moved aboard my new home, and that was when the problems really started!

Monday, 6 July 2009

how I got from house to boat

I have been asked how I got from house to boat, so here we go:
What I was going from:
I was working for the Church of England as a Church Army evangelist in Devon. The Church had given me a very nice house to live in and a good standard of living but they don't pay enough to allow you to save serious money. So when I decided that I needed to leave, I was faced with the prospect of not only being jobless but also homeless. I had some savings, but not enough for even a tiny house deposit. So I was facing the prospect of renting a flat somewhere and then looking for a job. It didn't feel like much to look forward to!
Why a boat:Then in January 2008 I saw a programme about narrowboats and was immediately attracted to the idea of living afloat. I was no stanger to boats having almost been born on one and then having every family holiday one one as I was growing up. However this time would be different as, firstly I would be living on it full time and secondly I would be operating her single handedly. So I took myself off to a boat handling course in Stourport where an RYA accredited instructer and all round good egg, Rod Fox, put me through my paces and where I earned my helmsman certificate. Having established that it was possible to handle a boat alone, I then travelled the country talking to loads of friendly and helpful boaters, and listening to their advice with regard to choosing and buying a boat.
Looking: In the February I got a fairly whopping bank loan so that from then on I was committed to doing it. Very scary but very exciting! I visited many boatyards and marinas looking for both a boat (of which there are many) and a residential mooring (of which there are few I could afford). I decided that, since I was new to all this, living in a marina to begin with would be sensible and eventually I found Barton Marina on the Trent and Mersey. They could not have been more helpful and welcoming and the price of mooring was much cheaper than any of the British Waterways tendered moorings.
Scary credit crunch: Then in the summer, the credit crunch struck. I had put all my bank loan and savings into a lovely bank that was giving me oodles of interest, a nice bank in... Iceland! As soon as I got a whiff of trouble, I moved my money to a British Bank. However the bank in Iceland crashed on the day after I asked for the money to be transferred and that day, when I checked my balance it showed nil in Kaupthing Edge and nil in my home account! I can't tell you how terrified I was - my money had disappeared.
Find out what happened next when I post again!

Friday, 3 July 2009

managed that!


Well, I managed to work out how to post a photo, so things are going well!

I started this new life in January, during the coldest and snowiest winter in 18 years. I moved onto the boat in the middle of nowhere with the heating out of action and without knowing really anything about living on a boat. I was frozen in until Feb 17th, when I finally made it to my current mooring at Barton Marina. In the first month I also nearly sunk the boat due to a leaky weedhatch, I had friends come up from Devon 3 times to try to help me move the boat, only to give up because of the weather and stoppages on the canal. I did wonder whether I had made a huge mistake! But even with this start, it was better than the life I had just left. More of that another day.

my new blog

I live on my narrowboat called 'Don't Panic'. I have just started a new venture, offering quiet days and de-stress days on my boat. See www.narrow-way.co.uk So I thought I'd start writing about what it's like to live on a narrowboat. First though I've got to figure out how to put a picture of my boat onto this site so betterget to it...