Saturday 28th June to Sunday 6th July 2008

What do you want to do on your birthday, she asked. A quiet day, just the two of us and a bottle of fizzy, I said.

What about the kids, they might want to come up for your birthday, OK just the four of us.

How about Ter and Claire for a meal? Of course, just the six of us then. And your niece Mary? OK, that will be fine, a boat full, and still a relatively quiet day.

But it didn’t stay that way, I had mislaid the captain’s hat and it was V’s turn to wield its magic power. Saturday turned into Sunday and the doors burst open and people after people poured through to wish me a happy 60th and bring presents, the like of which I haven’t seen for years.

John and Jean called in from way down south and from these parts came Mike and Jo, Graham, Paul and Dawn, Mark and Mike and Alison to mention a few. The bar stayed open all day, the galley was still feeding faces until well after dark and I was well chuffed. Sorry Graham tried to poison you Sue, we missed you on Sunday. I swear by kaolin and morphine or a tumbler of rum, depends on whether you’re driving.

The strength ball did my wrist in, the 60’s drinking glasses worried me sick in case I broke one and the Cradle-to-Boat photo album reduced me to tears. Together with the elderflower cordial the Bombay’s refreshment will keep me going for months if not years, two battery fan’s should make sure I remain a cool 60 year old and the inflatable Spiderman ring has reached its third page of uses. “Narrow Dog to Indian River” will save running the TV for two or three evenings this week but the electronics book will keep me occupied for many years to come. Probably the most antisocial present was (no not the tennis finals - yeuk) a Ted Nugent music CD. Now I know she loves me, not that I ever doubted.
The desk flip-over “daily quote” never ceases to amuse me with its simple truths, here’s one – “It’s hard to be nostalgic when you can’t remember anything”.

Spread over three days my birthday saw me through to Monday night and, after a pleasant cruise, to a quiet spot overlooking Wistow’s vanished village. Monday was quiet, just V and me with my captain’s hat where it belongs. You can be the captain and I’ll be the admiral, she said.

The phone vibrated all day with texts and phone calls wishing me another 60 years (not sure the NHS could cope with that) but the Wistow postman didn’t stop at our boat. Thank you every one of you for your kind words by card, internet, text and phone, well spoilt I am.

Our weather settled down and the barbeque came out of retirement. With no appointments on the calendar I caught up with jobs or just hung over the taff rail watching nature which was mostly in the form of grass a mile high until the contractor’s strimmer plastered it up the side of the boat.

Tuesday saw us socialising again, this time it was Dot and Derek on Gypsy Rover. Paired up with a fellow traveller they are on their way north up the Leicester Line but we managed to delay them a couple of hours and caught up on their news.

It’s been a while since we saw D&D and could be a while before the next time judging by our travel plans. See you over the winter?

The rest of the week saw boats thrashing up and down the Leicester Line, mostly around mid day which left us to enjoy the evenings in peace. Beautiful sunsets, some after rain, reminded me that we are very temporary on this planet, and what we admire in the evening sky has been admired by countless generations before us.

But one thing they won’t have seen is a balloon coming down behind the woods next door. Come to think of it, we rarely see these nowadays. Used to be a common sight in Bristol back in the 70’s and 80’s.

Saturday saw me at Leamington with Mike (Sarah-Kate) for the RBOA AGM.
If anyone is thinking of joining the RBOA I would suggest you do it pronto, not just for the protection offered to liveaboards but also for a chance to hear Beryl’s working boat stories. There ain’t much you can add to Beryl’s experience when it comes to knowing the whys, hows and whos of canals and living or working on them. It’s that kind of knowledge that puts the RBOA in a strong position when representing liveaboards at meetings with mooring owners, BW/EA and local or central government.

Am I recruiting? Not ‘arf.