Christmas 2022 and a bucket list item sorted …..

It’s been a social month at the cottage. So for the record of past Christmas’s to reflect on hopefully in the future here are some pictures and words . 

We hosted our friends from America in mid December -  Charlotte and Dave. It was a lovely few days of catching up and general chatting and reminiscing. Planning for the future and missing loved ones. Sharing common hard family journeys with mutual support. 

A few days before Christmas I took my mum over to my next sister up from me Linda  ( I’ve four sisters who I love dearly ) 

Christmas Day was us and my youngest sister Trisha , nice to have some quieter chat and reflection time as well as a few card games.

Boxing Day was with the grandkids at their canal side cottage in Ilkeston on the Erewash canal.  More than likely the last time there as they are moving in the New Year. 

On the 27th we had 15 souls here and a dog as we hosted Rachel's family… she has three sisters and a brother. Food  and drink a plenty which was all consumed over much chat and laughter. 

Work for Rachel and Blood bike shift for me introduced a bit of normality before a visit to my mums on Saturday. 

Sunday will be another hosting of our smaller family but all the same it’ll be fun as there are the grandkids to play with. We don’t do big unwrapping presents, hampers of nice food and this year it’s our turn to book and pay for a holiday, so we are going back to Wales in July this year as Teddy is now at school. Aberystwyth…. Teddy’s list was a place with a hot tub, a place with a pool and in Wales….. we’ve somehow managed to accommodate all those requests so hopefully he’ll have a nice holiday. 

Into 2023 if this is my last post of 2022 will see an interesting first post …. I’m doing something I’ve never done before and it’s been in my bucket list for a loooog time !

Missing Leia

We’ve recently had a Collie visitor at the cottage and I’ve seen a bit of my sisters two little companions of late. Each time it’s a real tug of the heart strings as it’s our first Christmas in many without Leia. It was bitter sweet to have a memory pop up of Leia charging around the woods near Standstead House on the south coast. It was 8 years ago I took her there no doubt while Rachel was working in between Christmas and the New Year at the QA in Portsmouth. 

She was so active loving her life in the South Downs and I was living back on the boat in winter 2016. She then got doggie heaven as we moved to the cottage and the lovely walks and woods from our back gate for the next 8 years which I’m pleased to reflect was for more than half of her life. 

Nothing lasts forever so enjoy it now and cherish it while it’s happening…. Don’t take anything for granted as at some point it won’t be there anymore. 

Here is the video - for my future reflection. 

Some boater say it's expensive living on a boat

All of the posts about the respective costs of living on a boat v's a house are very much based on personal circumstances and preferences. Marina v's online v's continuous cruising. 40 foot v's 70 foot. Single/couple/family.... they all impact, and that's before you  look geographically as well as if you like a 24c boat/house temperature or 18c.

I can say it IS categorically cheaper living on the boat 'v the cottage - notwithstanding we have both to pay for right now.  I base this purely on the fact we pay community charge and water rates that far outstrip the cost of mooring and boat license - even in a marina ! A few boaters have raised the unfairness of the energy rebate not been given to them, but they have not seen the steller rise in electric and gas - ok maybe a bit on Calor and coal but nothing like the standing charge rise and the unit cost rate rise homeowners have had to face - but if you are struggling or on limited income I get it hurts.

The reason for this post is we've just had our oil tank filled up. In the last three years our oil use has been pretty much the same 

This is the costs for the last 5 years  - columns are:

Year

Total ordered

Total cost

Comparison on cost to previous year

Average cost per litre 

You can see what the pandemic did to oil costs - shame we didn't have a 5,000 litre storage container that year !

Of course this is just for heating and hot water - electric is another scary statistic. I'm not posting for sympathy, we could live in a much more insulated and sensible home but we love the cottage - but it comes at a cost. Posting to put living on a boat  - in my world into perspective.

But we are doing something about it - the Rayburn now does not run on oil rather 100% renewable electric, we have an induction hob and air fryer. Many boaters harvest the sun and wood. I do the latter if there is windfall wood on my walk it has been own to come home with me - I was burning some last night  - yes coal in not included in our running costs....  and I am beavering away on a self install house battery and solar system - that will run part of the house on cheap and free electric. 

We are doing our bit we could all do more but if everyone did their bit so much the better. For perspective Katie Price is in the papers saying she is spending £3,000 anonth on oil for her 19 room farmhouse  - and she's fighting bankruptcy (unsurprisingly). It does depress me sometimes the vast variation not only in wealth but attitudes to climate and the planet that wealth seems to trump. Again I'm no saint but even to have an awareness of waste has to be good ? 

 

Trying for the boat

One of the nice things about the blog is the record of Christmas’s past. Our earlier Christmas’s  that pre dated blogging were big family affairs. I’m from a family of 5 kids and so it Rachel . In the past I’ve hosted a Christmas dinner for over 20….  Great memories.

As we age sadly we loose loved ones and it’s only at later gatherings or events such as Christmas you wish for one more hug, one more daft present and one more conversation. So now with the benefit of life lived you … or we should and do make the most of such events, helped greatly by photos and this year we hosted my sister and had a great Christmas dinner and played a few games afterwards. Relatively quite. Tomorrow it’s grandchildren time and that is the essence of Christmas for me kids. Wednesday Rachel has her facility here so that’ll be in excess of 15 to feed and entertain.

Then the NHS get the benefit of our focus with Rachel back to work in the community and me running a blood bike shift….

So if you have those loved ones still with you give them a hug 

We did have plans to get to the boat … maybe over the New Year even if it’s just a Cruise to Ingestre or Wolsey Bridge.  

SAD best day of the year and remembering Charles

Today is one of my best days of the year, I'll take it over Christmas day, New Years Eve and my birthday (easy) as it represents the furthest tilting of the earth from the sun and from tomorrow onwards we in the northern hemisphere start our gradual tilt back to longer daylight hours and warmer temperatures as we tilt back to the sun - lovely.

For SAD people like me it is a relief to know the days of sunlight  will get a little longer slowly but surely. Nothing grand happens other than in my head and soul as I make my own thanks for a climate that brings these changes that slow us down and speed us up... I start looking forward to plans and opportunities. I reflect what I achieved this year and what plans I have to realise into 2023. 

Winter is necessary and beautiful... the shots below were taken when I was going to Chinley to Callum's house - looking over the Roches and towards Buxton as well as the Cheshire plain 

So I will raise a glass tonight to whoever or whatever put me here and hope I and my loved ones have a future that is safe and warm and bright. 

I will also raise a glass to my late father in law Charles Lambert. It would have been his 86th birthday today.  He was one of a kind and we do miss him. He was very 'proper' in an old English sort of way. He liked a drink and he liked his food. I knew him for many years as Rachel and I met very young. Not sure he immediately approved, I was very working class and he was very much middle class as could be identified in my youth, but over time we had a mutual respect and fondness despite him drinking most of my beer and wine when on the boat and even pinching our bed one time ! The time before when we put him on the dinette he demonstrated his disapproval but getting ready for bed early and sitting in his underpants while we all made our way to our own beds ( early) 

Happy Birthday Charles & Happy Winter Solstice 

Teaching an old dog new tricks

I'm always interested in learning new things that are practical. My go to TV is Youtube and I've used it for many tutorials that have helped me in my day to day DIY, Boat stuff and bike stuff as well as a loads of other 'things'. 

For the record (my record) as per the last post I swapped my bikes (again - so many bikes so little time) I don't buy brand new bikes or cars preferring someone else to take the hit on brand new depreciation and hopefully they put all the expensive bits on I would like. This was the case with my latest bike  - the only issue was there were boot marks on the tops of the panniers where either the previous rider or pillion had dragged their boots when mounting or dismounting the bike. I was hoping to polish them out but that was not to be.

I gave some consideration to how I might improve the look while removing the scuff marks. The panniers  are an angled top so wrapping was going to be a challenge. I saw people on Youtube cutting templates for BMW RT panniers and in the comment someone mentioned no knife tape ... further research on Youtube came up with some good tutorials on this 'no knife tape' material I've never heard of. So I ordered 5m of the tape and some vinyl offcuts plus a smoother from Ebay !

 

I've just done both panniers and am pleased with the result. The vinyl can take and  needs heat. It helped to minimise the amount of free vinyl and leave enough of the magic tape to enable the release of the twine in the tape that makes the cut. In fact that was the hardest thing once I understood how much heat I could apply to the vinyl ( quite a bit) - releasing the twine was a PITA but once running cut the vinyl like cheese wire. 

 

Very pleased with the result, no creases or air bubbles on some strange angles and nice clean edges to the cut vinyl. I've enough  vinyl and no knife tape to do the tops again but I'm hoping I'll be more careful of the pannier tops and the vinyl will be hard wearing.

 

A process and materials to be recommended  - all in about 15 quid, as above with spare to do it again.

So this old dog has another new trick learnt. Very satisfying to pick up these new tricks and new processes - the no knife tape is a genius idea for vinyl wrapping. 

I'm about ready to start my next winter project that is a variation on my solar install on the boat that has been on there 10 plus years now, with a few adjustments over time. This is the same but bigger voltages bigger batteries and bigger solar array as I add this to the workshop that is being converted into a home office... hopefully powered by a combination of the sun and cheap overnight electricity.

Life on the down slope

We all have half a day with the undertakers - it's a good thing especially if yours is a number of years away or you are just worn out and tired of your life adventure.

As you get older you start to notice aspects of life that are the precursors to the tipping point where you accept you are getting too old to do certain things that are central to your life. I'm not talking about the odd grey pubic hair or maybe even retirement form a career that can be the springboard for another life... maybe sometimes with increasing challenges you are happy to accept. No this step change is something that triggers an awareness and acceptance you are on life's down slope.

Such a trigger happened to me last week. My reason d'entree ( not counting family  - everyone's "reason for being" ) is/has been motorbikes. I've had them every since I could legally ride one, always had one since then and even had motorbikes and sidecars when the kids were little and no one else had such transport ! Of course my journey mirrors life in that there is a pursuance of better and sometimes bigger (not in wife terms of course) and so it was I got my ultimate motorcycle  - the best touring motorcycle I believe to be made YMMV as they say. Not only did I get this machine but I also took it on a personal pilgrimage to the mecca of speed   - the German Autobahns. This as an aside was also part of another life goal to visit Colditz Castle a piece of my childhood enjoyed via the TV series in the 70's as were my action men of the 60's (I've still got the Bulldog !)  As part of the Germans trip we also visited the dams of the Ruhr valley  - another childhood memory and a fantasy I'd ever visit them as was Colditz. 

I also took the bike or the previous model ( I had two as that is what I'm like - my wife might say greedy, I might say aspirational) to the North Coast 500 roads in northern Scotland - a mecca for motorcyclists. 

But as you (I ) get older compromises have to be made. That bike weighed in at nearly 290kg, add 20 odd kilos of luggage and a lightweight wife and you are man handling and balancing some weight on old joint. So it's gone the BMW R1250RT . Replaced by what in my youth was a superbike cubic capacity  - a Honda 750. Back to Honda hopefully reliability - something the BMW's didn't have a good reputation for.

So I've gone over the hill in a motorcycling metaphor. Something I'm relaxed at doing but it does come with some reflection, a bit of sadness and lots of excitement. 

There is an acceptance, maybe sector age driven or financial or environmental  - or maybe a cocktail of all three that large capacity over technical overweight touring motorcycles have had their day. In that category I've owned two Honda ST1300's  ( V4 turbine smooth power) and two BMW RT's ... so have the T shirt as they say. 

Something quite instrumental in my decision making was the purchase and ownership of my 411cc single cylinder Royal Enfield Himalayan. This little ( in cc terms) bike has taken me all over mainland Britain in the last 2 years. Lands End to John O'Groats St Davids to Ness Point. Many small roads, very few motorways the sense of adventure makes me feel like I did when I got my first proper push bike and me and some mates rode to Dovedale and back, one mate fixed a leaking inner tube valve with a chewed fruit salad - hard core adventurers we were ! 

My new Honda 750 will take those roads and hopefully carry me and Rachel on them so I can show her the wonders of Northern Scotland, or the Outer Hebrides. Maybe the Isle of Man and southern Ireland to think of a few.... the day trips or overnighters on a whim into her beloved Wales will happen - I'll make them happen. We will make memories.

So a bike change that is also a reflection on life moving you in a direction but making that direction work for you and those you love. 

When life gives you Lemons ...... sell your touring bike and buy an adventure bike and have adventures !

As to boats which is why some or all of you read my minds secretions  - let's see what 2023 delivers, you might be as surprised as I could be  ?

More fettling Percy, motorbikes and Fradley Junction

I returned to Percy to complete the 2nd stage of the gas locker TLC. I washed down the dried Fertan and dried it off before giving the inside a coat of Hammerite black.  Not sure if it'll need a second coat, I'll return when this period of very wet weather passes and make that decision. 

My aim is to black over the Hammerite on the basis that's what we use to protect the hull in the water. I'll protect the blacking from the metal cylinders by making a very small wooden platform for the gas cylinders that will sit on some rubber door stops so the surface area in contact with the new blacked floor is minimal with limited mechanical wear and maximum air flow for drying the inevitable water that gets in there due to the drain holes in case there is a gas leak.

In other news we've been walking and cycling  and I've been tackling the workshop - a fine winter project that will get it's own blog post. 

We lit big bertha at the cottage the other day to give the chimney an air. We've also cleared out the third bedroom ( two days of shredding Rachels saved paperwork ) so we now for the first time in nearly 6 years of living here got three bedrooms with beds in them  ! 

Today I took myself off to the NEC for the motorbike show.... a real treat to sit on so many bikes, chat to complete strangers all with a common passion. Some of the bikes that caught my eye.... and bike news for those couple who have an interest who may catch up with my bike swapping news - Friday is (another) new bike day for me ! 

The new BSA  -not a fan 

Electric bikes are here 

My favourite  - the Hunter 350 from Royal Enfield 

On the way back I diverted off the motorway and stuck my nose into Fradley Junction, It always looks so tranquil in the winter time with boat smoke and low sun.  had many good year on three boats at Fradley.