Follow that boater!!

I follow a number of fellow boaters on Twitter, and read a number of narrowboat blogs, as well. It's fascinating to follow their exploits, and I learn a lot from them, too. One such tweeter, newly started, is David on NB Wreyland. He also produces an excellent vlog (video log) of his new life on board. The videos are extremely well produced, and the story they tell is a good one. I recommend it, especially for newcomers to canal life, or those considering it, but it's really good entertainment for all. Visit David's vlog at cruisingthecut.co.uk, and follow him on Twitter @CruisingThe Cut

NB Wreyland

I'm not going to single out just one or two boating bloggers to recommend, because there are far too many of them and I wouldn't want to try to rank them, but there's a fairly comprehensive list to be found at Boaters' Blogs.

I was chuffed yesterday to receive an email from Odette Myall, the Digital Content Editor for Canal & River Trust, asking me if I'd contribute to the guest blogs on the their website. She's given me a few subjects to choose from, but she's only allowing me 400 words (!!!) and you know how verbose I can be!! I told her the discipline might do me good...

Feeling restless

I'm getting twitchy. Some days, the weather's dreadful, and I'm happy to be here in the marina. But some days, or some parts of some days at least, the sun's out, the sky's blue, and I'm wishing we were out on the cut. I've washed the boat, tidied the engine room, painted the chimney cowl, been for walks. And felt restless. RCR engineers will be servicing the engine next week, and I'm paying for an additional 20-point inspection this year, too. A bit like the MoT for the car, but without the legal requirement. I'm looking forward to having that done.

Writing this, I'm sitting at the table, opposite Grace, who's copy-editing and proofreading my book. It's quite unnerving! She's silent, though she does manage the occasional smile. She's laughed, too. And she makes notes from time to time, things she'll bring to me later for my consideration, correction, re-writing or deletion. It's important to me that she does this, and I'm very grateful to her, but it is an anxious time! I'm hoping to publish the book on Kindle (I've dropped the idea of Lulu) in about four weeks.

On the subject of my book, don't forget "A Friendly Guide to Exam Success", written for GCSE students, and already available on Kindle. And do remember that you don't have to have a Kindle reader to access these books. An app is available on the Kindle Store, for PCs, tablets and smartphones.

I went for a stroll along the canal the other day. I know this stretch so well, but I never cease to enjoy its simple beauty, especially in the autumn.

I mentioned a while back the arrival of NB Wreyland in the berth next to us. It turns out that new owner, first-time boater David is @CrusingTheCut I've been chatting with on Twitter for some weeks. He never said anything which suggested he was going to come to Yelvertoft, and it was purely by chance that he moored next to us. A strange coincidence! He's just announced that he'll be spending winter here. He had intended to go to another marina. He's out on his first, short solo trip at the moment, thoroughly enjoying himself! And he will, for years to come, I'm sure.