May 2015

The Journey Continues!

Although we do a daily "blog" on Facebook, it is a valuable exercise for us to look back over the last month and see what we have done, and where we have been! We are sorry that this month's news is coming out late, but this is down to various commitments we have had. When you are travelling at less than 4mph, everything slows down and takes longer!

April got off to a fabulous start for us. Some friends from Worthing came aboard for a day's break. They requested a cruise - with some locks. Well, being near Ealing, we were happy to oblige with the Hanwell flight of 8 locks! We did take them for an extra cruise as well, before returning to Southall. The next day, we headed off for the East End of London, stopping for one night just outside Paddington. Mooring can be a problem in the Central London area, so we had to carefully plan ahead. We found an excellent spot in Stratford (on what are soon to become Long Term Moorings). We returned to Hope Church Newham (in Stratford centre), before planning our trip south to Worthing and Bournemouth. This was to visit family and friends, as well as to support Ryan (our future Son-in-Law) who was running for Guide Dogs in the Brighton Marathon. He did extremely well, completing the course in just over 4 and a half hours. There is still time to sponsor him if you would like to: please click here.

We also received some fantastic news that Aviva, through 7Families, are funding the purchase of a "Prodigi" handheld tablet reader for Tracey. This will enable her to read magazines again, as well as read small and unclear print. It can enlarge and/or change colours so she can read on screen or, on a bad-eyes day, it can even speak the text. This will be another life-changer, and we look forward to getting this soon.

Our next venture was to head further north up the Lee Navigation, and then the River Stort, thus completing our travels on the currently navigable waterways in the London area (other than the tidal Thames, which we will save for later!). We also needed to top up with diesel. Conscious of the fact that prices in London seem to be a lot higher, we were very pleased to be told by another boater of a marina that sold diesel at a sensible price, although they do not actually advertise the fact. Even better, they were cheaper than we were told!

We moored at Waltham Cross. From here, we went to Jubilee Church in Enfield. This was a very large and lively church (held in a Cineworld Cinema complex across about 5 screens - AND two services!). We were made to feel very welcome, and part of their fellowship.

On the Monday, as part of the 7Families project, we were visited by Jeff Prestridge, Personal Finance Editor for The Mail on Sunday. He interviewed for an article he ran the following Sunday, but he has also offered to give Tracey help and advice in writing her book. We were very touched that Jeff commented on the peace that many experience when they come aboard.

Our trip up the rest of the Lee and Stort was a bit of peace and tranquillity for us - the perfect antidote to London, although our night at Harlow Mill was accompanied with several Police cars rushing around and the helicopter overhead. No sooner had we moored up at Bishop's Stortford, a fellow BCF member and local Waterways Chaplain happened along, and joined us for a cuppa. We went to the New Frontiers Church on the Sunday. Another very lively church, we were made to feel extremely welcome. As usual, of course, Oakley always seems to be the attraction! On the Monday, we enjoyed a wonderful home-cooked meal and generous hospitality from the other Waterways Chaplain in the area.

There was another boat at Bishop's Stortford that is known to two lots of friends of ours. We were told to go and say hello, but they never seemed to be around when we were. They left before us. However, as we approached Waltham Cross two days later, we passed their boat again, and the chap came towards us at the lock. He and his wife are from Australia, but have been Continuously Cruising like us for the last four years. We were chatting for ages!

The first May Bank Holiday saw us at Little Venice, to enjoy the Canalway Cavalcade again, We took part in the Boat Handling Competition and Illuminated Parade. Of course, we didn't win anything, but that really didn't matter. It was just great fun taking part and entering into the spirit of the event. We enjoyed fellowship with several BCF members, and two other couples of the Canal Ministries team.

Planning is continuing apace for the sponsored walk in July. We met with Guide Dogs staff in Reading at the end of March, and now have a proposed timetable to work on. Please take a look at the events page on Facebook. Check out the timeline - if you are able to join us for a day (or more), we would be delighted. Moral support for us (and help with the locks!) is as important as the financial support for Guide Dogs UK.