The Big One (5-1)

Sunday 29th of April 2012.

Good morning.

Rain, Hail and a Full Blown Gale in the Willows. Just remind me as the rain comes once more to beat down on the roof. That like Toad, I believe that there is nothing, simply nothing, worth doing as much as messing around in boats.

08:00 We are moored up on a floating pontoon with the makings of a grand old gale slowly brewing up. The usually calm water in the marina has a bit of a chop on it. The wind is on our port and is gently rolling us up against the pontoon. Its in the cold windy weather like this that you find all those places where drafts emanate from. The Memsahib has just made up some of those lacy curtains that cover the bottom half of the windows below the vents. As a defence against nosey people walking along the towpath.

09:00 So with three split logs that I have just added to the fire. The half filled kettle placed on top, I am waiting for the kettle to start to sing. (This is one of our little LPG fuel saving tricks that we do) The curious thing is that the Kettle will heat up the water to just below boiling point and seem to stay there no matter how hard the stove is working. So the kettle is pretty well always sat on the stove. The Memsahib also cooks whole meals or the parts of other meals that need to be slow cooked on the stove as well.

The kettle begins to sing, so it's time to make the first brew of the day.

£2.49 for 50 tea bags.

We usually start with a cup of welcoming Chai tea. We were first introduced to Chai in India. Chai is a mildly spiced tea. It is generally made up of black tea and various mild spices. The spices used can vary and the most common are cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pepper. Twinings also do a very acceptable version of Chai in tea bags.

By varying the length of time you leave Chai to brew (we use a cafetière for loose leaf Chai) you can adjust the taste to your own preference. Top up the cafetière once again with hot water and leave a little longer for a difficult to resist second cup.

For our loose leaf Chai tea, we use Whittard of Chelsea Spice Imperial. This is as good as it gets. There are also lots of recipes for Chai on the Internet.  As well as in good Indian cook books if you want to make up your own from fresh ingredients.  Chai It is not everyone's cup of ... (sorry) but even the dogs love it!

10:00 In a fit of foolishness I take the dogs out for a walk. We are all kitted up in our wets. Poppy loves to run for a ball no matter the weather. Abbey on the other hand loathes rain. So whilst one is eager to keep traipsing, the other wants to go back to the boat and her toasty warm bed. As I begin to loose feeling in my hands, I side with Abbey and we head for the boat.

11:00 I am finally warm and dry again. The Memsahib is doing another batch of washing. It should soon be time for the sports news on TV. The marina is deserted not a soul to be seen anywhere. But lots of smoking chimney's tell their own story.

I'm finding it increasingly more and more bizarre. On the news its reported that  ground to air missiles are to be deployed in London. An east London estate, where 700 people live, has received leaflets saying a "Higher Velocity Missile system" could be placed on a water tower. Just for a grand sporting event.  I wonder if the government will deploy submarines on the Thames for Madge's pageant. If not why not, maybe the U Narrowboat could be deployed.

Daily Total
Miles: 0
Locks: 0
Swing / Lift Bridges: 0

Tunnels: 0

Pump Outs: 0

Engine Hours: 5.0

Accumulated Totals

Miles: 628.8

Locks: 645

Swing / Lift Bridges: 104

Tunnels: 6

Pump Outs: 8

Engine Hours: 2083.1

Later....