C.L. Peache's Blog, page 36

My fantasy trilogy is complete… Title and Cover reveal!

Click here to buy from Amazon

The day has finally come and my fantasy trilogy is complete with the publication of Battle – book 3 in the series and my 10th published story!

I hope you love the covers as much as I do. They have been created by the wonderfully talented, Nat and Rachael from @Thebooktypesetters and I couldn’t be happier with the final results.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will also see that I’ve followed the theme and book 1 : Escape & book 2 : Rescue have new covers, which I’m very excited about.

I will be attempting to promote my series over the next month so if you have a few spare minutes to share, tag friends, leave reviews or buy copies, then you will make this author very happy.

For those local to me, I will be ordering some copies this week so if you would prefer to buy them from me let me know.

Massive thanks have to go to everyone who has supported the publication of my fantasy series. I could not have managed this without you. If i could just ask one more favour… if you have time to leave a review on any of my books it would be appreciated. It helps those magical algorithms!
For those of you wondering… Tom will be making an appearance in my psychological thriller in 2023

NaNoWriMo with a twist…

I must admit when I first saw NaNoWriMo being chatted about on Twitter I didn’t have a clue what it was. For those not familiar, it is National Novel Writing Month and the aim is to write 50,000 words in a month, which equates to about 1,666 words per day. If you need some motivation or are goal driven, I can highly recommend trying it and you can network with other writers and get hints and tips, so it’s really useful.

Normally I have a goal of writing a good portion of my fantasy novels but this year my trilogy is nearly finished (hurrah!) bar some editing and another read through, so I thought I would shake up the NaNo to suit where I am at the moment. Also, I work nearly full-time so it isn’t as easy to make the time. For me NaNo should be a motivational time and not cause stress because I feel like I have to write, so I’ve broken mine down to include the following;

Writing 1,666 words a day would roughly take me 1.5-2 hrs a day so if I’m editing/proof reading/prepping to promote my books/editing my fantasy game rather than writing a new story I will count this as NaNoTime and towards my overall total. This way I’m still working towards a goal and keeping myself accountable and ultimately developing my skills. So, if I spend an hour doing something – like writing this blog, I will include it in my overall NaNo goals. It’s my NaNo and I’ve given myself the option/permission of doing whatever I want! I’ve no doubt next year I will be ready to start another big project.

I do have one writing goal which is to finish a story for a project with my writing group and I’m aiming for approx. 17,000 words – this has a deadline for the 1st draft at the end of Dec so this will give me the motivation to crack on.

Right, that’s approx. 350 words added to my NaNoMiniGoal. I’m going to try and write a blog post every few days but will see how it goes!

Good luck with NaNoWriMo if you’re joining in. Feel free to comment or share your tips/projects or find me in NaNoWorld at @clpeache or on Twitter. I’m happy to help or support where i can x 

P.S. sorry for any typos – no time for editing when it’s NaNoMonth lol

Exhilarating research for a story!

I find myself in different waters as a writer ((well you live on a boat now Peachy, so nice pun)) I mainly write fiction and the stories have always been sitting there in my mind waiting patiently for me to put them on paper/screen. I’ve had to research some bits and bobs to make sure it’s believable but I haven’t written anything where I’ve had to deal with historical facts and need to weave them into my fictional story.

The story I’m writing at the moment is part of a book for my latest project with the Fosseway Writers. Members in the group are each choosing a different building in Newark and writing a story about it. I’ve chosen St Mary Magdalene’s church, which might seem like an odd choice for someone who is not religious in any way. Interestingly I’d chosen this building before I’d moved onto a boat ((Peachy stop talking about your boat, I think everyone knows by now. It’s nice you’ve finally found an interesting fact about yourself though)) and the tower/spire is now my constant location marker as I can see it from the bow of my boat.

As part of my research, I had the opportunity to go on the roof of the church. Now in my naivety I didn’t think this would be one of the most terrifying experiences I’ve had in a long time but it was, even more terrifying than sitting on the edge of a plane waiting to jump out when I did a skydive. Even more terrifying than walking the Yorkshire Three Peaks in one day.

((I suggest you make yourself a cuppa before you settle in for this story. Peachy is never lost for words that is for sure))

So, one Monday lunchtime I escaped from work to head to the church to meet my friend, as I was waiting inside for my friend to arrive, I suddenly saw the Church Warden running through the church, I thought surely this is not how they treat a non-believer, sure he was going to chase me out of the place where anyone should be welcome. It turns out he was actually chasing a squirrel out of the church! I might add he did an excellent job as well. Apparently, it’s not good when they climb up things in a church.

Anyway, friend met and the lovely church warden now giving us his full attention, we were taken to the stone steps which would lead us to the roof. We were given some instructions which amounted to be careful when ascending the very narrow and winding stone steps in the dark with a rope to hold which only reaches part way up. Off we went and I must admit it was slightly worrying thinking that if you missed a step in these conditions there would be painful consequences. But anything in the name of proper research.

We reach the roof and wow, absolutely stunning views of Newark, the gardens, marketplace and surrounding buildings. Amazing to be up close and personal with the various carved stones. Interesting fact, which does make sense, one side is more open to the weather than the other so the carving are more worn. I’ve included some pictures below – some very interesting ones! I think there must have been some stone masons with a great sense of humour!

The church warden was an excellent guide and told us so much about the building including the fact that it costs approx £500 per day to maintain etc. I thought at this point, all very enjoyable and useful for my story but then we were asked did we want to go up onto the next part of the church which involved climbing up a very shaky metal ladders which was not made for short legs and when you get to the top and the stone gullies dip about a foot – but hey ho, it’s go over or go down. This latest terrifying experience over, we look again at the wonderfully carved stone faces and various other interesting metal footprints (see pics) and then we are asked if we want to look at the other side. ((At this point Peachy I would have thought you would have answered no thank you but…)) yes, I (we) said yes alright!

So, it was swing the short legs over another very high, shaky and dodgy ladder and onto another roof. I did wave at an ant – which was actually a human being but we were very high up but then decided maybe that wasn’t a good idea. The stained glass windows were stunning and I think I could have spent all day looking at them but since I only had my lunch hour for this amazing and terrifying experience we moved on. You guessed it – up the high, shaky, dodgy ladder, walk over the roof and back down the high, shaky, dodgy ladder, over the roof and then halfway down the dodgy, small, stone, dark staircase and onto another roof. Yes, he did ask us if we wanted to go on top of the part, I cannot remember the name of and we said yes! ((I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking this Peachy but maybe you should avoid writing anything which involves research!))

Finally, back on firm ground we look at a few more windows and the church warden points out some more very useful facts and stories. We look at a stone carved mermaid and then it’s time for me to head back to work with rather dusty leggings, shaking legs and a big grin because life is sometimes about making yourself scared.

All in all, a brilliant experience and I’m looking forward to going back. My story is coming along nicely and I just need some more time for writing and research.

I’ve made great progress on my fantasy novel book 3 and it’s nearly ready to upload for the first proof copy. I’m also waiting on some new covers for the trilogy so that’s very exciting! It’s a lot harder to fit everything in now I’m working 4.5 days a week and we are still renovating the boat.

Right, that’s me signing off until next time. I’m hoping to do NaNo next month so find me on there if you want a NaNo Buddy ((I love your optimism at doing NaNo Peachy. Bordering on stupid but I love it.)) 

Take care and keep writing x

Writing update…

Hello folks, and a big hello to all the new people who have followed my blog lately. Welcome aboard and please feel free to comment and ask questions. ((Just be aware… if she doesn’t know the answer she will make it up!))

Well, going back to work was a shock to the system after 6.5 weeks off I can tell you ((Ohhh, we feel so sorry for you Peachy. What a hard life you have! Never fear, one day you might actually sell some books and be able to afford to go boating and write full time!)) To be honest that would be amazing Brackets, but I do like where I work and since I’ve moved onto a boat and had to get rid of loads of books, where better to spend my days than surrounded by books! I work as a library assistant for those that don’t know ((Even if they did Peachy, you change jobs more often than Microsoft does updates, so forgive them if they cannot keep up!)) I haven’t changed that much and I’ve returned to my old job so that makes it a bit easier for people to keep track, you’re so dramatic Brackets!

Anyway, it’s been a bloody fabulous summer getting to know our canal boat and having lots of adventures. I just thought I would give you a bit of an update on where I am with my writing journey, as to be fair, even I get confused so… ((oh, the joy. I might go and clean up my cookies))

Book Three in my fantasy series; Festival of Time – this is with my editor friend and I’m hoping to publish end of October all being well. I think I’ve settled on a title. I’m also waiting to get a quote on the covers as I really would like to have three separate designs which are more in style with the fantasy digital art commonly seen on books – mainly because these will then compete with the books which are selling well on the Amazon market. But, as with everything, it all comes down to cost. If anyone knows any fantasy digital artists then do let me know.The two books i’ve written for my digital publisher Saga are in the editing stages but unlikely to be published until next year, so more on them as I know the dates. I’ve completed the short story for an anthology they are publishing; I believe later this year, again will update once I know more. I’ve been getting some great reviews for Power of Nature so please do check it out on Amazon or click on ‘My Books’ page for the link. Those who follow me on Insta and Facebook will know I’ve made a start on the story I’m writing for my writing group anthology for 2023. This is going to require a lot of research into the history of the church which my story is based on. Hopefully this will start with a tour up the spire! ((Hope it’s not too windy up there!)) I think I’m going to have to be very careful that I don’t get carried away and write too many words! This will be published next year, so a work in progress but I wanted to get a head start.I think I’ve said somewhere that I was about to start on my psychological thrillers which are the first novel I wrote back in 2018. I really couldn’t decide if I should keep them as 1st person or change to 3rd. My beta readers are so far preferring 1st but some like 3rd, so I’m going to have to decide soon what I want to do, as I don’t want to re-write them again and I’m being nagged to get these published so I better get on with it. I really cannot wait to get stuck back into these.

That’s it for the old writing update. I am going to try and do some promotion on my books as my sales are very, very dire. The problem is, once I’ve written a book I want to move onto the next story but as I’ve explained in previous blogs, it’s not cheap to self-publish a book and I could really do with some sales to at least make enough money to publish book 3 in my fantasy series, so if you fabulous people wouldn’t mind sharing or tagging people who you think would like my books as I share, that would be great. I promise not to do the hard… sell, sell, sell!

Now I’ve started my new job I finish at lunchtime on a Friday so I’m hoping Friday afternoons will be full of writing, research and all things book related ((Yeah, yeah. Next minute we will see a picture of a glass of prosecco even though you have said you’re going work on your summer prosecco pouch – that brings to mind a kangaroo who hold their baby in their pouch and now I’m laughing to myself.)) Rude! Brackets. Leave my prosecco pouch out of it. I’m a serious writer and will be found in one my local pubs  cafes doing serious writing things on a Friday afternoon!

Right, that’s it from me. Have a fab month everyone and hopefully I will be able to update you on book 3 and the other bits and bobs next month!

X

P.S. I know this blog is slightly late but first week back at work and all that – I was shattered and I had to do some boaty stuff Friday afternoon like filling up our water tank. A friend suggested filling it with prosecco! Genius!

Day Eighteen: The end of the adventure…

We get up early and fill up with water whilst we wait for the lockie to arrive. I was going to do the lock myself – I have a key, but I don’t know, for some reason I didn’t want to do it. Even though I have operated one of the larger locks before. Anyway, I’m glad I waited for the lockie as there were some other CRT staff smacking something with a hammer and they only opened one gate to let us and another solo boater into the lock so I’m glad I didn’t try. It’s quite daunting operating these larger locks because they are all slightly different and with the current problems with the water i don’t want to either flood an area or break it so people cannot cruise!

It’s a lovely cruise back. It always seems to take so long to get from Farndon to Newark. Just when you think you’re home you have to make another cup of coffee and enjoy the views.

We feel a bit nervous coming back through the familiar route. I ring the lockie when we cruise past Newark Marina so we can have the lock set in our favour and don’t have to wait. As soon as we spot the St Mary Magdalene Church we know we are nearly home. ((Funny that this has become an important landmark when you’re writing a story about it for the next Fosseway Writing group project Peachy)) I know, I also had a wave of creativity and rushed into the boat to write it down as my pre-meri brain ain’t gonna remember that one!

We have the mooring nailed and once close enough to the pontoon, we get off and use the ropes to pull the boat in. We have found it works better this way when you haven’t got fancy bow thrusters to correct you when that random gust of wind catches you.

We are home and what an adventure it has been. We have learned a lot about the boating life and met some lovely people. We have also been very fortunate with the weather and the river/canal we are on, with their being so many stoppages across the network because of low water levels.

As we arrived into the Marina we had a call to say the engineer was here to fix the engine so that was crackingly good timing. So that’s all been fixed – although still a bit leaky at the moment so we will see if we need to call them out again! We went out for another 3 day cruise just to Hazelford lock since this adventure and as we were cruising the electrics did their usual tantrum and then ‘stop’ button ‘stopped’ working so the only way we could switch off the engine is to go into the engine bay and disconnect it ((She means the royal ‘we’)) So another problem but we are realising that is boating life! We have some guys coming to look some other jobs we need doing so hopefully they can shed some light on the problem.

I’m going to probably get back to my normal monthly blogs now. We are planning another little cruise but it won’t be on a different section of water and I’ve written approximately 14,000 over these last few weeks for the blog so think I need to crack on with my latest novel whilst I wait for the other two to be edited. So, it’s goodbye from me and Brackets for a couple of weeks. We hope you’ve enjoyed this canal and river journey. There will be many more to come as we get used to boating life. If there is anything specific you would like to know, then pop it in the messages and I will do my best to answer.

P.S.

If you don’t like spiders then don’t buy a boat – they currently own 78.5% of the boat!

Nearly homeNewark Town LockHome Newark Town Lock – going up…

Day Seventeen – Illegal mooring and we have to crank it!

It’s an early morning cruise as the battery is on 51% and when we use the coffee machine it uses about 2-3% of the battery… ((wait you mean you started the day without a coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????? Why didn’t you call the emergency coffee line… I’m sure Mick would have delivered one)) I doubt it Brackets – I know exactly what he would have said!

I took a break from updating this to be ‘brolly girl’ it’s so hot today and getting hotter this week. The sun was scorching so I tried to offer as much shade as possible.

We quickly got to the dreaded Cranfleet Lock – this is the one which I had trouble with on the way up as I hadn’t fully lowered the paddle so it wouldn’t fill up. ((let’s face it. It’s easier to tell people which one you haven’t had trouble with – I don’t know why you enjoy doing them so much!)) I noticed they have fitted something since we were last here which stops the locking pin from stopping the mechanism – I know there is a name for this but my mind has gone blank. ((Sorry Peachy this sun has fried my chips)) Anyway, it’s sort of reassuring as I don’t like making mistakes or wasting water. The whole paddle/lock mechanism obviously needs a little bit of attention. We share the lock with a solo boater who is also heading to Holme Lock so we will probably meet him a few times along the way.

Arriving into Beeston Lock we meet him again and share this lock, it always seems a little bit pointless on this lock as the water level barely changes here, especially with the water levels being so low. There are facilities here which we didn’t realise but we are going to wait until Holme lock. This is the lock where the paddles are attached and you have to leave the red ones open.

We’ve just had an email from Canal and River Rescue to say they are coming to do the stern gland fix on Wednesday so that’s all worked out really well as we need to sort the storage unit out, although looking at the temperatures it is not going to be pleasant in the metal storage unit!

Right, it’s on to Nottingham where we will have a lunch stop and hopefully top up of food in Sainsburys. We see a boat having a tricky time getting out of Castle Marina so we decide to moor up on the nice little spot just before, we have a trip to Sainsburys and are eating our butties watching Narrowboat Will when there is a knock on the door. The chap from Castle marina come to tell us we have parked illegally – we couldn’t see the sign saying it was private. Either the sunstroke or tiny writing which seems to be a general theme across the boating world. Anyway, since we are actually customers of Aquavista who own the marina strictly speaking we can stop on their visitor moorings but normally you would just notify them. The chap is absolutely fine about it and we finish our lunch stop and crack on.

We’ve just had another message from the Canal and River Rescue saying they can only come tomorrow now – honestly they are a bit hit and miss with the old timings/communication. I think when we renew our insurance/cover we will look elsewhere to see if anyone is better. They did offer to come to us but with us being on the River Trent I don’t think there is an easy place for them to get to us really, so we are now having to crank it as far as we can today to hopefully just to a little stint in the morning.

The locks in Nottingham all go well. I’ve sort of got used to people watching now. I suppose you have to and some days it will go like clockwork like today, and some days it won’t.

I’m writing this whilst sitting in Holme lock on our way down. Lovely lockie here, I will have to find out his name. Very helpful chap and a nice bit of banter whilst we wait for another boat to join us. We are aiming to get to Hazelford lock if we can today, will see how we goes…

We made it to Hazelford lock! What a long and very very hot day! I think we set off at about 8.15am, we had that stop in Nottingham for maybe 45mins and arrived here at 5.30pm.

Time for tea and then up early to go home!!

finally got my coffeelovely River Trent

Day Sixteen… egg butties, ice-cream and fizz..

We make it as far as Trent Lock before deciding to moor for lunch. Egg butties – cannot beat them! We watch a bit of MotoGP before heading to the pub for a little drink – someone has to keep the hospitality industry going, especially with all this talk of a recession – although there isn’t evidence of this here. The pubs and tea rooms are full, the ice-cream van is loitering – might have had a sneaky 99 ((That’s ice-cream in a cone with a flake)) It’s nice to see everywhere so busy and back to normal.

We make an executive decision to stay where we are for the day. It means the batteries end up going a little close to the 50% mark come tomorrow morning but we spend a pleasant and productive few hours faffing on the boat. The Captain discovers that the water tank/boiler thing has the part attached to it he thought was missing, which means we only need to buy an element for it and we can have hot water when in the marina – hurrah. So, I don’t really understand all this stuff but when we are cruising and have the engine on this is heating the water in the tank so happy days we can have hot showers etc but in the marina when the engine isn’t running, we don’t. We thought it was going to cost us quite a bit of cash to get it sorted but hopefully we can get the element part and the Captain can work his magic and it’s another thing fixed on the boat!

On route to our current mooring we share the locks with a boat and three people. Turns out this boat is off to help another boat as they have been grounded ((this is when a boat is stuck and cannot move under its own steam)) the river has lowered since we came through a few weeks ago so I’m not surprised boats are finding themselves having problems. We also go past the boaters who were moored in our marina and have a very quick chat and hello on our way past. When we get to the next lock, we wait for the boaters, unfortunately they didn’t manage to get the other boater ‘unbeached’ which is terrible as the lady also had to take her boat to Willington to be blacked ((That’s when the boats are taking out of the water and a bitumen is painted onto the hull to protect it from the water corrosion and water-based bugs!)) Ours doesn’t need blacking but after talking to a few people I think we are going to email or ring and book ours in for Oct 2023 to be on the safe side.

Also, by the power of communication we have sold a few more bits from the house which were in storage and we are hoping when we return to clear the rest of the storage unit. I don’t feel like we have ‘officially’ made the transition until the storage unit has gone. We still have the bunker on the marina site but that would be easy to fit on the boat for the time when we cruise the network. ((The bunker is basically a shed in the marina grounds which Peachy’s mother named the bunker!))

In the afternoon we decide to treat ourselves to another visit to the pub. What is better on a Sunday afternoon to sit in a pub garden, basking in the glorious sunshine. Simply perfect. We finally head back for a pizza before settling on the stern with a glass of water ((yeah right!)) enjoying the sun go down and the rather large moon arching its way over the top of the cooling towers of the Power station. I know some people don’t like to look at industrial buildings but I think they add something to a landscape, same as the windfarms. I think they look majestic. ((I think you’ve had too much water today – you like everything!)) the sun sets on another lovely day.

Alien!Ice-creamThe Moondon’t look at the rust – the job is on the list! Cool moon in the distance

Day Fifteen – lots of locks

We have a bit of a lazy start after possibly one or two drinks the night before – i blame my mates. I take a little morning wander up to the co-op in Willington for the essentials like butter we forgot yesterday – I nearly fainted in the cool aisle when I looked at the price – I decided against our usual Lurpak because I refuse to pay £5.20. shocking! Also when I’m walking back I spot a café canal boat and treat myself to a cappuccino so the savings on the butter were a good idea to fund other essential addictions.

We decide to head off as I notice that the facilities mooring is free, so off we go to sort all that out before heading out onto the cut once more. Willington is a fabulous place to stop, great amenities and it has a train service/bus service as well as close to Mercia Marina if you need anything from the chandlers etc. Also apparently a fab Indian restaurant which we still haven’t managed to go to yet.

The first stop is Stenson lock and it’s back to the big double locks ((by double locks it means you can fit two canal boats in side by side or one widebeam boat)) It takes a long time as the boaters are new and someone is teaching them how to control the boat and what to do so there is quite a queue of boats waiting to go down. I say good on them. If you’re in a rush you probably shouldn’t be boating and having a bit of patience goes a long way in this world and it gives me chance to chat to loads of people and two ladies stop to ask me questions. If only CRT had given me that job I went for! ((How dare they pass you up Peachy – their loss I say!)) thanks Brackets. It’s all worked out well though as I’m back to my library job which I love and term time, so I can do fabulous boating holidays and blog about it ((Oh the excitement Peachy – i can barely contain my code)). We share this lock and the next one with a nice couple who have been cruising for a while. Nice to get some hints and tips off people who have being cruising the cut for a few years.

We moor up after cruising through the stunning countryside and knock up a massive veggie breakie; waffles, veggie sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, scrambled egg and toast followed by a lovely cappuccino. We then watch some more MotoGP qualifying before giving up and having a power nap which is interrupted by lots of boats speeding past. You can tell the ones who know they are going too fast as they look away when going past – not sure why they do it. Nought as weird as folk.

After a broken snooze, we head of and arriving at the next lock at Swarkestone and I get chatting to a guy doing the locks and find out they have travelled up the River Soar. This was the one we turned around because of the lock taking ages. He confirmed it took ages to fill but obviously they got through. He said it’s a fab stretch, so one day we will go down there. It’s really made us want to go continuously cruising but that’s not going to happen for a while. As they leave, another boat is coming up and they offer to do the lock for us once I’ve closed the gate. Result. Lovely family enjoying the canal – it’s nice to see.

We are on our own for the next few locks. These are the ones I struggled with on the way up because I was poorly. It’s always so much easier going down a lock so other than the Captain having to jump off and help me open/close some of the gates as they are so heavy and I’ve said before the mechanisms are just so hard to turn – even with my full Yorkshire Strength returned, I still struggle. I deffo need a ratcheting windlass.

We moor near Shardlow for the night and you guessed it, watched the rest of Moto GP qualifying and I enjoyed a lovely time watching some dragonflies playing as the sunset. Beautiful.

((just to update you on book news, Peachy has nearly finished the final read through before she sends to the editor))

cafe boatdragonflieswindlass

Day Fourteen – Cleaning day…

We are moored in a slightly remote area so we decide to start the day with a clean of the roof, bow and stern and the side of the boat we can reach from the bank. There is something quite satisfying about taking everything off ((I think i should clarify that Peachy means taking stuff off the roof and not stripping to clean the boat!!)) BRACKETS! and giving it a good old clean. We have two large water sprayers which we use normally to clean the motorbike. It would be better with a hosepipe but we are not near a waterpoint and the way the water shortages are going we cannot justify cleaning the boat like that but our sprayers were already full of water so they did the job.

After the outside was done we had a break to watch MotoGP practice but the signal wasn’t all that good so eventually we tootled off the small distance to Willington where we are going to meet friends later. We manage to get in more of less where we were last time so it’s a quick trip to the co-op for supplies and then start on cleaning the inside. It’s also so much better using the mooring screws rather than pins. Highly recommend them to anyone who only has the pins and a hammer. They have kept the boat sturdy since with no mooring pins being pulled out.

We still have quite a bit of stuff to sort in our storage container but even some of the personal items/trinkets/knick-knacks just don’t look right on the boat. Also we brought 3 of our lamps from home but again they don’t look right and the lighting is so good on the boat we really don’t need them so they will be being sold when we get back. The less clutter the better as far as we are concerned.  

After all that work we treat ourselves to cheese on toast – haven’t had that in ages – lovely. ((You eat and drink a lot on these boating holidays. Well, in general really Peachy.)) well, the problem is you need to eat as if it might be your last meal for a while, maybe like two hours, just in case you cannot get a mooring and have to keep cruising. It’s a fine balance as you need lots of fuel for the locks and stuff. ((Yeah tell me another one. You’re just greedy!))

A short blog again today as we show our mates around the boat as well as making use of the fact The Dragon pub is only a 2 min stroll away ((You should have taken your fantasy series books to sell them Peachy!)) I don’t think they would have appreciated me doing that but I did think I might start putting them on display when we moor up and sell them, like people do with the food honestly boxes.

Tomorrow we have been away for two weeks which our longest ever boating stint as the canal boating holidays we did before were only for one week. It’s gone really slow and fast as holiday sometimes feel like they do. It’s been a great adventure and we still have to go through quite a few locks, hopefully a stop in Nottingham and then onto the mighty River Trent to get home again! If you’re thinking of hiring a boat then go for it. There is a lot to learn and it’s bloomin’ hard work, ((esp when you headbutt the gunnel like you did last night – that might have been the prosecco again though!)) well, it’s not my fault they put great pubs all the way along the canal is it! Someone has to try and help keep the economy going as the stupid bloomin’ government ain’t up to the job. ((Alright, I was only saying!)) where was I? oh yeah, if you get the chance then go for it, it’s a great adventure and if you want to get closer to nature and slow life down a bit it the holiday to have. Sorry not many canal pics today! I do have our first journey when we bought the boat and at some point i will add all those videos on which also includes a tour of the boat before we renovated. I will be doing a video once we have our curtains up. Still lots we want to do but happy to show you what The Plot looks like inside and everything we have done. Those videos might be the end of August depending on what time i have.

Morning CoffeeCheese on Toast! Yum

Day Thirteen – grumpy like a heron…

This morning I wake up in a right mood. I don’t know why but I’m really pissed off. In my younger days I would have tried to find a reason for it but with age I’ve realised sometimes you can just be grumpy and be a bit pissed off for no reason and like a storm, you’re best not to fight it but just let it run its course.

It’s a shame as I was really looking forward to this stretch as it’s so beautiful. After spending a long time at a lock helping people going up and down before we head in, I sit on the bow ((front of the boat)) I just paused here to go and read a sign as the Captain couldn’t see it. Why do the CRT make some signs with tiny writing on them. By the time you can read it, you’ve pretty much arrived into the area they are warning you about and it’s not just that we are old and cannot see. Please make the signs bigger!

Where was I, oh yeah, I sit on the bow and take in the quiet lapping of the water, nature going about it’s day and think about the beautiful holiday we are on, but I’m still pissed off. Oh well, such is life and I eventually get over it.

We got up early this morning to try and get to the Willington area and to the lovely mooring and the co-op. Also, we have been trying without much success to meet up with a group of friends. You wouldn’t think it would be difficult to say a day/time to meet but it all depends on the time to do locks, today I think I ended up helping most of the boaters down the locks, I think I did each lock about 3 times. All good for the muscles and means I can enjoy that chocolate twist at Starbucks without guilt, I missed the road/canal side Starbucks when we came up the river so thought I would have a little treat.

When we arrive at Horninglow facilities we do some epic ropework if I do say so myself. The captain reversed it and when we were ready to go, we pushed out the stern as we’d already reversed stern in as it’s a really tricky place to get in and out of. Then I grabbed the centre line and bow line and pulled/steered them as the Captain turned the boat and we got it out like we knew what we were doing. No revving, no crashing, just on we go. If you use these facilities I can highly recommend using the rope technique it really is so much easier and stops that pesky gust of wind pushing you at the crucial moment.

We don’t make it as far as we find a nice mooring and we decided a firm rule for our boating is if we see a nice spot then stop and chill for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow it’s the big cleaning day!

wind in the willows!Starbucks treatstop, throw the anchorwonky bridge or too much fizz!