A short break for a special occasion

Last Friday was our Golden Wedding Anniversary - fifty years married!  We'd been feeling the need of a break, and this seemed like the best time to take it, but it wasn't going to be a break on Kantara. We wanted to go somewhere, but if we went by slow boat, the somewheres we passed through or stopped at would be places we'd seen many times before. No, we wanted to go somewhere new to us, and we didn't want to have to travel for days to get there. So we went to the ancient Shropshire town of Ludlow. Take a look at it here.

It's a beautiful, fascinating little place, with nearly 500 listed buildings, including lots of examples of medieval and Tudor-style half-timbered buildings. The town was described by Sir John Betjeman as "Probably the loveliest town in England". Ludlow Castle is a ruined medieval fortification that stands on a promontory overlooking the town and the River Teme. It was probably founded after the Norman conquest, and was one of the first stone castles to be built in England.

There's a lot of walking to be done in and around the town, and through the hilly woodland that overlooks it. Unfortunately, the river was far too close to flooding to allow us to walk alongside it, but the rest of the strolling gave us the exercise we needed... and more!

Needless to say, we had a great time.

We left the Cliffe Hotel after breakfast on Saturday, and made our way towards Yelvertoft Marina. We'd be passing the turn-off on the M1 anyway, so it made good sense to drop in and see the poor old boat. It was but a brief visit; just the routine running of the Webasto, and another firing up of the Bubble stove, in which the oil again refused to run until the hair-dryer had adequately heated up the feed pipe - just like the last time. "Kantankerous" was her first nick-name!

Then we carried on home, with Christmas preparations looming over our heads just a week before the day. No pressure there then!

Picture gallery...

A Happy Christmas to you all,

and a very much better new year!

 

**********

Fire and frustration

Aware that we still had rusty patches on the hull that need needed scraping, sanding, de-rusting and painting, we returned to Kantara on Monday to find the marina under attack from a very strong, gusty wind. Squatting down to read the electricity meter on the pontoon, I was very nearly deposited over the edge. That was enough to tell me that the jobs were not going to get done. The rust patches I'd got as far as treating the last time we were there were okay, but still needing coats of paint. But it was most certainly not the the best weather for that.

Never mind. We'd committed to spending at least three nights there, so we resigned ourselves to frustration and made the most of it. 

One job that was outstanding (in the sense of "still to be dealt with", not of "excellent"!) was the Bubble stove. Whatever we'd tried, we'd not been able to get the oil to flow into the pot where it's burned. When we had a go this time, we failed again - unsurprisingly really, since nothing had changed since the last time we'd attempted it. In desperation, but with a flash of genius, Grace turned on the fan-heater and pointed it at the side of the stove, roughly where the fuel nozzle sits. After an hour of that, at least the boat interior was a lot warmer. 

We tried again. I turned the valve on, pointed a torch into the pot, and waited. Nothing...

Then...

A pool of diesel oil started to spread slowly out of the nozzle. All I had to do now was put a piece of  paraffin wax firelighter in the pool, light it, return the catalyzers and the flame ring, and voilà! 

Our extreme satisfaction was battered, however, when steam (or maybe smoke) started to pour out of the back of the stove. We opened the doors into the well-deck, then the openings in the cratch-cover, then some windows to cause a draught, then stood back to watch disconsolately.

We knew what was causing it. We'd had the stove disconnected from the central heating system a while back ("a while back" - have you noticed how the pandemic trashed our sense of time?) and the back boiler tank had been left in place. No doubt water was still lying in the bottom of the tank, and it was boiling dry - just how we wanted it to be. The smell was horrible, though, (anti-freeze in the water), and we kept our distance. Half an hour or so later it stopped, and we could close the doors and windows, and sit back on the sofa to enjoy the heat at last.

The "before" photo

The marina was very quiet. Very few boats were out on the cut, and those that weren't were deserted. We had the place to ourselves, it seemed. We did all the things that one is supposed to do to keep the boat going through a period of little or no use - checking oil levels, water levels, bilges, voltages, things to be tightened, things that need greasing, things that need to be cleaned. Who said boating's easy?

Feeling cheated by the weather, but nonetheless glad to have been there for a while, we returned to our house on Wednesday. We had some Nina-sitting to do the next day!

Post Covid

Well, that didn't last long. Grace took a test when her symptoms had gone, and it came up negative. Mine was positive, but I had no apparent symptoms apart from fatigue. Five more days, and all was well. We were able to go to Nina's second birthday party!

At home, of course, there were things to do. No garden lies still when it's left alone for as long as ours had been. And we were not going simply to cut back and cut down. Ohhh no! Grace had long had a greater plan than that in her head, and this required a bog garden next to the pond and a new bed of mixed plants next to that. Oh, and new slated areas and paths around them. There's more to come...

Well, we've made a good start on that, but right now we're back on Kantara. She was due for her annual engine service. I say "was" because the man from RCR has just finished and left. So has Colin, our regular engineer who came to see why our water pump continued pumping long after the tap/taps had been closed. He's probably fixed it, so we're at the "wait and see" stage now. 

On Thursday we'll be visiting my sister, Jill, and her husband, Rod, whom we haven't seen for years. The thought of doing a bit of cruising while we were here has been crushed by an unfavourable weather forecast and the inescapable fact that there's still a lot of gardening to do if we're to avoid inclement late autumn and winter. After the visit, then, we'll be going back home. I might just get the time to wash the flipping boat roof yet again before we leave!

Well darn!!

Grace and I have always shared everything. Today, on my 72nd birthday, she shared Covid with me! I've just tested positive. In fairness, it just had to happen, didn't it? We've not kept apart, so it was not a case of "will I catch it?", but "when will I?" But our symptoms are pretty mild, so we don't expect it to last long. The worst thing about it is having to keep away from others as much as  possible.

But I'm reminded that this might have happened to us while we were cruising and we hadn't had to return to the marina to get new batteries installed. Isn't it amazing how bad situations can sometimes turn out to be good? We're thankful.

Good timing, or what?

A week after we retuned to the house, Grace went down with some kind of virus; sore throat, cough, headache, fatigue. Covid? Nah. Where had she been, that she could contract that? In the Co-Op? In the boat with an infected electrician the previous week? Nah. He was healthy enough. We had no idea, but then there's no knowing what bugs you're exposed to when you're out and about is there?

She went to bed, head-achy, fatigued, tickly-throated and coughing. Covid? She took a test. Positive! Her symptoms aren't too bad. The worst thing is the tiredness. She's not had Covid before. Nor have I, but I seem to be immune. We're still sharing a bed at night, and I'm with her often during the day, but I feel fine.

But hey! How awful it would have been if this had happened when we were on the cruise we planned to do! Good timing, or what?

Kantara, you and the cruise can wait!

To cruise or not to cruise?

That was the question. It's been quite a while since I last posted on this blog, largely because our lives have been necessarily focused on our house and family, and our connection with Kantara has simply been an occasional quick visit to make sure she's okay. But I did say in that post that we had booked time provisionally for a cruise in September, and last week was the time we chose. The weather was extremely hot, the occasional rain was extreme, but we're boaters! Real boaters don't care about the weather, do they! Off we go then...

The day we arrived, we stepped off the pontoon down onto the well-deck, under the cratch cover. The thermometer there told us that the maximum temperature had been 56.4℃, and it was currently 31.9. Down in the cabin, the max was 35.8 and currently it was 23.7. Tolerable, but we opened doors front, back and centre, and allowed the gentle breeze of the through-draft to cool us. Time to look around to see what needed to be done.

The outside was the worst. Leaves, spiders alive and dead, and spider webs also full of leaves and spiders alive and dead were to be found in every nook and cranny. The roof was filthy.  When was the last time I'd washed it? July! It looked just the way I found it back then; sooty on top of stickiness. I feared for the condition of the paintwork under it.

"Hey!" I told myself. "At least she's still afloat!"

There were very few folk in the marina, and not many of the boats out on the cut. We put that down to the weather, and people still on holiday. The ducks and swans came to visit with their offspring, all of them almost ready to leave the family. I was surprised to see so many swallows fly-fishing as they swept low over the water. I would have thought that they'd be gone by now.

We were back and ready to cruise.

The heat continued through the day, and bed-time was uncomfortable, too. The early morning was rather cooler, however, and we hurried off to the local Co-op for provisions for our trip.

After the usual engine-check, and the checking of the diesel fuel for stickiness or diesel bug (all was well), we set off.

Cruising again after such a long time was brilliant. There were very few others on the water, the air wasn't too hot, and the canal was beautiful, as always. What a day we were having!

Until the bowthruster stopped working. And then the horn. We pulled over and moored to look into the problems. It didn't take us very long to decide that we had no idea why these failures had occurred. We could carry on without the bowthruster, though there's no denying that it can be very useful at times, but the horn was a different matter. They can be essential on bends or approaching bridges, and, equally importantly, it's illegal not to have one.

We turned around, skipper Grace demonstrating how to do that without a bowthruster, and we moored shortly afterwards. There was only one other boat on this lovely stretch of mooring, and we had a silent night there.

After a boaters' breakfast (fried egg, bacon and tomato sandwich) early the next morning, we set off again under a much cooler sky. We were in no hurry, we just soaked up the beauty of the scenery we were gliding through. Again, were were pretty much alone.

Back on our mooring, I phoned Simon, the guy who last dealt with our bowthruster battery some years ago, and told him our problems. He said he could look at it the following Tuesday.

Our own further investigations found that the horn was not working at all. It was defunct. A quick visit to Midland Chandlers resulted in a replacement, and we fitted it. We're legal now!

Then the battery monitoring system started to sound an alarm and show a red light, advising us of low voltage. The boat has six lead acid batteries. Which was/were faulty?? The 12v domestic devices - water pump, toilet flush, TV, shower pump, central heating, lights and fridge - were all working fine, so we just turned the alarm off and ignored the warning. There was nothing we could do about it, but the problem surely had to be the bowthruster battery.

To cut a long story short, Simon came on Tuesday afternoon and found that, indeed, the battery was dead; it was old, we'd had it right from the very start of our Kantara adventure. Then, when I started the engine for him to test a circuit, the starter battery died, too! Simon left with a promise to return within two weeks to replace the batteries. We're unlikely to be there at the time, so he'll do it in our absence.

The rain had poured heavily while Simon was with us, and carried on afterwards for hours. The next morning, I had a pleasant surprise. It had washed the roof clean for me!

We're back in the house now, looking at the garden and hoping the temperature falls soon. It'd be good to get all of these jobs done quickly enough to return to Kantara and do that cruise!

*******

Just a quickie...

I'm very pleased to say I now have permission to tell you that the writer of "Beggars' Dust" is actually Grace, my wife. C G Maskell is her pseudonym. So, go take a look on Amazon, https://tinyurl.com/33jsa8nd read the sample, and buy the book for just £3.99. It's available for Kindle Readers or any device, using the free Kindle app. I've never read anything quite like it!

"A story of gods and their people. Or of people and their gods.

When history is suppressed or rewritten, when the stories of how-things-came-to-be are twisted or forgotten, then the people have no defence when events begin to repeat themselves.

A thousand years ago, a being of ancient evil was trapped, bound, and buried by the Elders of the Nerehin, the ruling class of that age.

Now, in a new era, where history has become the stuff of myth, the Nerehin forgotten, tales of good and evil consigned to children's stories; now, that old evil is stirring, waking, ready to begin spreading corruption and discord once more.

Driven by dreams and premonitions, one man, the last remaining scholar of long hidden Nerehin writings, conceives a desperate plan. Using the mystical 'amhrazine', stones that once were said to encapsulate the spirits of the Elders, he will recreate those heroes in children yet to be born, and when they are grown, they will come to him to learn of their task - their destiny.

But he is old, and the evil one is already moving to infiltrate and control the highest in the land, to thwart any who would oppose him, to wipe out any last vestige of the Nerehin race...

The scholar's death comes too soon; he is still unknown to his chosen children. Without him, can they ever discover what has been done to them? Or will the evil one succeed in crushing and vanquishing them before they have the chance to realize their true purpose and fulfil the task for which they were created?"

********

Enough of being negative!

Too much, in fact. I apologise for the recent whingeing. I sort of wish I'd stopped blogging when I said I would back in August last year. We really have nothing to complain about. If government cutbacks, sticky diesel and water weeds stop us from boating, then we will be eternally thankful that we had thirteen years of living on Kantara and enjoying so many adventures. That had been our dream and determination for decades, and we were very blessed to see them come into being. When we do stop, for whatever reason, we'll have very many fond memories - and this blog to remind us, too.

Being back at our house has  meant that we have seen our family so much more, and were present to welcome our grand-daughter into the world, and to see her often, watch her grow. We've been able to tame our garden and re-design it (not yet finished, but very enjoyable), and to visit numerous National Trust and Heritage gardens the like of which we never came close to when we were cruising.

We've not entirely ruled out cruising, but we do know that there may be risks in doing so. We've booked time provisionally in September for that, and we'll be going back to Kantara occasionally before then, too, to wash her neglected paintwork, test the diesel for infection, and generally prepare for the jaunt. We're looking forward to it.

So there will be no more griping in this blog. Things change. That's the way things are. We're changing, too. I'll be 72 next month, and Grace isn't far behind me. But one of the things for which we thank God is that our age isn't one of  the factors keeping us from boating. We're still fit and well, and confident of our abilities.

Bring it on!

The future of our canals - do they have one?

I want you all to know that I am generally an optimist, a happy man who likes to look on the bright side of life. That said, I have to confess that a number of my posts over the past twelve years have borne negative elements, particularly when things have gone wrong for us. (I did say that I am generally an optimist. I didn't say always) Current events have taken me over the edge of optimism, however.

First of all, so-called sticky diesel, which I've already written about here on the blog. The number of victims is rising, and it seems that no-one has a solution to the problem yet.

Secondly, we've learned that the Canal and River Trust's financial support from DEFRA  (Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs) has been slashed, and our canals need considerable work to be done to satisfy the daily demands of the boats, bicycles. anglers and walkers who use them.

Most recently, I've read warnings about Japanese knotweed. Quoting CRT, "It has no natural predators, enabling it to grow rapidly, up to 2cm a day and three metres high overall. It can grow through tarmac and concrete, breaking the surface open, so it can cause serious damage to our structures. The plant is common throughout Britain but cannot be cut or manually removed because of its ability to grow from tiny fragments, smaller than a one penny piece. We have to spray it with a herbicide, which is a slow, expensive process. We spend nearly £100,000 per year controlling giant hogweed and Japanese knotweed" (another invasive species).

£100,000 a year, just to keep the canal network free of these plants!

Fortunately, there are hundreds thousands of volunteers across the country who work to keep the canals clear for boats and other users, but there aren't enough of them to replace those companies who charge huge sums of money to do work on the canals. And our dear government is cutting their funding..

 To quote CRT again, "We are issuing a stark warning that government funding cuts mean our much-loved canal network is at risk of closures."

They could, of course, raise the cost of boat licenses, but that won't go down well with the vociferous boaters who complain that CRT's failing to do its job as it is, and are already charging too much. It might even drive some off the canals; those who already find the costs too high.

Is there a future for our beloved canals? I'm beginning to think not.

"Annoyed" of Yelvertoft

I've just edited my last post because I forgot to tell you that my friend's book, "Beggars' Dust", is available for Kindle Readers, and mobile phones, tablet computers and PCs/Macs using the free Kindle app. And the book only costs £3.99! It's not available in paperback.  Have you looked at it yet? Read a sample first, then treat yourself to a really good read!

As for us, we've just spent a few days on Kantara. It was with some anxiety that we checked the diesel again, and we were chuffed to find it looking very clean, and smelling as it should, so we think we can safely say that there's no sticky diesel in the tank. We bought a bottle of Marine 16 to condition the diesel anyway, and wiped the sweat from our foreheads. Phew! All that we have to do now is actually cruise for a few weeks, and put it to the test. We had planned to do a short jolly this time, but a very strong wind, joined a little later by torrential rain, stopped us. Getting out of the marina would have been quite a challenge, believe me, and a very wet one, too. Another day, then. How annoying. Back to the calendar...

Oh, the paintwork wasn't green this time. We washed all that off the last time we visited. No, it's black now, as if dirty rain has deposited soot on it, which has then been glued down with the sap of nearby trees. I was most annoyed. That's on the "to do" list for next time.

To add to that grottiness, myriad spiders had spun their thickest, stickiest webs in every nook and cranny, inside and out, and deposited egg sacs in similar fashion. On the outside, the webs are covered with leaves, dead flies, struggling live flies and the floating seeds of trees and grasses. Not easy to remove. Very annoying!

I think the way forward is to pretend it's simply not there. The result of washing just doesn't last long enough. Boats are built for... well, boating!

Another annoyance is that I tore a ligament in a finger on my left hand last week - pulling a sock off! (a habit my dad used to have). I heard it rip but - unusually, I have discovered - there's no pain, numbness or swelling. After a read on the NHS website and a chat with the local pharmacist, I strapped the drooping finger between two pieces of lolly stick, and now wait for six to eight weeks for it to heal. I'm so glad I'm not left-handed! I'm only mildly annoyed about that.

**************

At last!

Well, we've finally got around to it! We actually have plans to cruise! We've been bogged down for weeks with all sorts of issues in the house and garden, been to a family wedding, helped out the "kids" in various ways, and are planning to go to a gig in a new local music venue - Jess and a friend performing under the Icelandic name "Vik". We've had a new oven fitted, and are currently awaiting the delivery of a new garden shed which we will have to erect but, after that, Kantara here we come!

We'll need to check our engine diesel for signs of stickiness. Smelling it is a good test. Sticky diesel smells of turpentine. If all is well, we'll be off. The cruise won't be long. It may well involve a stop of a couple of days while we deal with a few rust spots on the hull. Otherwise it'll simply be a lovely break. And not a day too soon!

On a different note, I told you on a previous post that an old friend of mine was publishing a novel. I'm delighted to say that it's now available on Kindle for just £3.99. It's called 'Beggars' Dust: A Spiritual Fantasy, by C G Maskell' and you can find it here. I thoroughly recommend it. Please go and take a look! Read a free sample there!

*****

A story of gods and their people. Or of people and their gods.

When history is suppressed or rewritten, when the stories of how-things-came-to-be are twisted or forgotten, then the people have no defence when events begin to repeat themselves.

A thousand years ago, a being of ancient evil was trapped, bound, and buried by the Elders of the Nerehin, the ruling class of that age.

Now, in a new era, where history has become the stuff of myth, the Nerehin forgotten, tales of good and evil consigned to children's stories; now, that old evil is stirring, waking, ready to begin spreading corruption and discord once more.

Driven by dreams and premonitions, one man, the last remaining scholar of long hidden Nerehin writings, conceives a desperate plan. Using the mystical 'amhrazine', stones that once were said to encapsulate the spirits of the Elders, he will recreate those heroes in children yet to be born, and when they are grown, they will come to him to learn of their task - their destiny.

But he is old, and the evil one is already moving to infiltrate and control the highest in the land, to thwart any who would oppose him, to wipe out any last vestige of the Nerehin race...

The scholar's death comes too soon; he is still unknown to his chosen children. Without him, can they ever discover what has been done to them? Or will the evil one succeed in crushing and vanquishing them before they have the chance to realize their true purpose and fulfil the task for which they were created?

Update on the sticky-diesel bug

I hope you have all read the two sources of information about this that I gave links to in my last post. Since then, I've had conversations with River Canal Rescue, Canal and River Trust and Marine 16, to get their expert opinions. This is what I have got from it... I may be repeating myself occasionally, but I don't want to leave anything out.

Fuel additives are available, but manufacturers don't mention sticky-diesel in their sales pitches. Marine 16 tell me that RCR have for some time claimed that additives break down (in the tank and in the bottle) over time, but Marine 26 deny that theirs do, except to say that the shelf life of their products is two years. No-one denies that diesel itself deteriorates with time, and this may be the delight of the bacteria responsible for the sticky infection.

To minimise the likelihood of  falling foul of this bug, we are advised to drain or pump water from the bottom of the fuel tank on a regular basis, though no-one would explain what's meant by "regular". Kit is available to pump with a long tube reaching down to the bottom of the tank where water may lie. I'm lucky in that I have a tap from which I can run that water off.

The smell of our diesel can help us in determining if it contains the sticky substance. If the smell is like turpentine (turps),which is very different from diesel, there may be trouble ahead.

It's always been considered good practice to have our fuel "polished" once or twice a year. This involves pumping it out of the tank, through a filter, and back into the tank. Of course, it takes several hours before the diesel is completely clean. However, two guys local to Kantara's home marina, who each provide this service, tell me that the manufacturers of the filters make no claims that they remove this specific infection.

Webasto don't have a clue whether or not their fuel filter catches the sticky substance. The makers of Eberspacher and other similar diesel-burning heaters may be equally ignorant.

Most of you have at some time been told that it's a good idea to fill fuel tanks right to the very top when topping up, particularly when the boat is going to be left unattended for a longish time. Unfortunately, those who claim they know about this new bacterium say that this practice is good for the sticky-diesel bug, especially in cold temperatures.

Farmers Weekly Magazine has reported that hundreds of agricultural vehicles suffering from 'fuel problems' At the moment, most boaters have not had any of these problems, but bear in mind that RCR "have seen an uncharacteristic peak in fuel-related component breakdowns not linked to diesel bug."

I wish you well.

Bugs!

We've been back aboard again. There were a few things still remaining to be done. There still are today, as we set off home, but I set about the most important task the day we arrived.

We've been hearing a lot about  so-called "sticky diesel". This is not diesel-bug. It's worse. River Canal Rescue (The AA of the inland waterways) have been seeing increasing cases of it. Just like diesel-bug, it stops fuel getting to the engine, but the stickiness created by this bug gums up the fuel injectors, and putting that right is extremely expensive.

I won't go into more detail; some of you aren't boaters and don't need to know about it, but those of you who do can learn more here. (Sorry about the redirect you get when you click that link. I have no idea why it happens.)

Suffice it to say that my response to this was to drain the bottom of the diesel tank where water and gunk gather before dashing off into the engine to do their worst. Our engine has two filters before the injectors, but no-one has been able to tell me if these will stop this stickiness. We were once stopped by the diesel-bug which had totally blocked the first of them, thus stopping the flow of diesel.

I have the fortune of having a tap at the very bottom of the fuel tank, so draining is very easy. I took out several litres from the tank, and stopped when it was at its clearest. It was the most I could do.

We have been using an additive, which does a fairly good (but not perfect, as you can see!) job of  inhibiting that muck's development, but we're now being told by some that it deteriorates with time (as does the diesel itself). When we were new to boating, we were told by a reliable source that it's good to keep the diesel tank full to the very top during the winter, so that there's no space for condensation (which would drip into the fuel.) We've now been told that the opposite is true with this new sticky diesel infection; it's best to leave the tank empty!

In desperation, I wrote to the leading manufacturer of diesel additives, basically saying "HELP!" They pointed me to an article on the subject, produced by his company. Read it here.

It will come as no surprise to you that this has all left us in something of a quandary - to cruise or not to cruise? I'll let you know in due course.

Boats and books

My post on January 6th was entitled "We'll be back!" Since then, we've visited Kantara a few times, mainly to have the Webasto heater on for an hour or so. We did that because the guy who fitted it for us last year said that "To ensure its continuing health, the system has to be run for at least an hour every month", so we've been doing that every month since. He's now told us that there's no need to be that strict about it! Now he tells us!

We're back again now for three nights. Not to run the heating  - though we have, to keep us warm in the chilly mornings and evenings - but to wash the filth off the roof; algae, and dirt brought in by the rain. I was very concerned that it would damage the paint but, after doing the job yesterday and this afternoon, I can happily say that it hasn't.

Not much had changed in the marina since we last visited. The costs of gas and electricity have gone up, and the empty berths on our pontoon now have boats for sale by ABNB, the broker through which we bought Kantara all those years ago - twelve of them!

I've not had my eye on my book sales for ages, so I was very pleased the other day to see that they've been doing well. Reviews are very good. These are for Life with our feet under water - my first book.

"Informative, funny and a very enjoyable read"

"Life with our feet under water is surely a book for boaters and non boaters alike. If you're a boater then you'll find a good deal here to laugh at, sympathise with, to identify with. You may find places you've been to yourself and places you've not. There may also be new things for you to learn, there certainly were for me. If you're not a boater, perhaps you'd like to be or perhaps your interest only goes as far as canal holidays. Either way there is a detailed picture of what it's like to buy a narrow boat to live in it and to cruise in it. Roger and Grace have their good and bad moments as there are in any way of life, but this writer faces both with a good sense of humour and laughs at himself as much as he laughs at others. The photo gallery added a lot for me. Imagining places is good but actually seeing them as they are enriched the story a great deal. There may be too many pictures for some but it's easy to move through them quickly. I enjoyed the quotes too, not essential but a quirky difference from other books of its kind. Give it a try!"

"Excellent book on the trials and tribulations of life on the canals."

"After reading Roger Distill's account of his (and his wife's) first three years on their narrowboat, Kantara, I felt that I could go cruising myself on the English canals. I loved it all, even the rainy bits. Being a barge owner myself, I know only too well how much the weather can intrude on our lives, so I was able to empathise very easily with how it influenced their day to day activities. At first, I wasn't sure about all the quotes, but I grew to like them and really enjoyed them in the end. This book had a delightful whimsy in the gentle humour and self deprecating quips. Added to all the really useful information about boating in England, it's a book that I wish I could have as a paperback!"

"Loved this account of life on a narrowboat"

"A warm, funny and informative insight into boating. A charming read that is greatly enhanced by links to photo albums pertaining to the various chapters. The inclusion of the photos really brought the book to life and makes the reader part of the boating world. A definite feel-good read!"

"Honest and entertaining."

"An enjoyable read of life on the canals whether or not you have a narrowboat. You are taken away to a more enjoyable way of life, still with it's ups and downs, they just happen slower. There is the added bonus at the end of each chapter where you can click a link to see the photographs taken by the author of what you have just read about. I am sure that many people will want to follow this way of life after reading this and purchase their own narrowboat."

Click on the cover pictures to the side of this text to take a look - and have a taster of - all of my boaty books. 

On the subject of books, I'm delighted to say that an old school friend of mine is about to publish their first novel. Nothing to do with canals, but superbly written and very well worth a read. I'll give more details when the book's launched.