Happy Old Year

To be honest, 2015 wasn't the year for cruising that I'd hoped for. Grace had been more cautious in her considerations. She always is. What travelling we did was great. The Soar and Trent trip especially. And that's not to play down the good time with had with Steve and Jess, and Michelle. But the rivers were fabulous, and Dave and Sandy's company for much of it made it even more pleasurable.

So 2015 was a happy year. Having Kantara repainted put big smiles on our faces. Then there were the several weeks on the cut, the week in The Lake District in the snow (wouldn't it be cool if the canal system went there?), days out at National Trust properties and the like, Said the Maiden gigs. Happy times!

And I can't help but mention again the publication of "Life with our feet under water" on Kindle this week. It's already started to sell quite well, with readers in touch with me on Twitter with their compliments.

(Don't forget that Kindle books can be read on any computer or other device, not just Kindle readers.)

Christmas - already a week away? - was lovely. A family affair, with all six of us, plus Eddie's dad and brother, his mum and a friend, and Michelle (of cruising fame), with fantastic food and drink, fun games, laughter and presents.

This morning, after a night of partying by part of the family (Jess was unwell, and Grace and I were happy to have a quiet night in) we welcomed in the new year with a family brunch, cooked by Naomi. This afternoon we'll be playing Munchkin, a new game to us, totally crazy and a lot of fun. It pays to be a good loser though (I should know!) because it can be very demeaning!

We went to see Kantara yesterday. The weather was beautiful first thing in the morning, and was when we arrived at the marina, but it deteriorated quickly, and a very cold, very strong wind got up, driving some heavy, sleety rain ahead of it. Not nice. Our main reason for going was for Steve to do a wiring job for us, moving our 3G router from the bow to the stern, with cable to the antenna on a mast now much better situated than ever before, and cables for our laptops at the dinette table. Steve's job involves a lot of installation of sound and video equipment in churches, cathedrals, prisons, schools, so he has all of the tools, as well as the experience and expertise. Job done invisibly in a couple of hours.

So, 2016. What lies ahead? Well, we're both agreed that this year will be a year of cruising. We need to be in Derby for a week in April, being cooks for a bunch of 12 folk musicians working collaboratively to write songs on the theme of Shakespeare. 2016 is the 400th anniversary of his death, and there will be a lot of special events across the nation throughout the year. The end result of this week together will be a tour and a recording or two. Jess is organizing this, and it promises to be a brilliant event. Despite the responsibility of doing all of the cooking (and probably the washing-up, too!), being there with these folkies is bound to be a lot of fun.

As for cruising, there are too many options to list, of course, and we'll not plan much in advance. But I'm perusing the maps!

A Happy New Year to all of you. And may all your days be bright!