What a difference a year makes

This time last year we were worrying whether there would be enough water to go anywhere.  Now look at it!  I thought those folk who headed down to the rivers last spring had got the right idea.  Now some of them are still stuck on the fenland rivers.  Now much as I like the fens, I do sympathise with anyone trapped over there for so long and waiting to get back to the good old canals.

Now we’re looking at this year’s itinerary and wondering if we’ll get on any rivers at all.  I’d love this year  to go down the Soar and then up to Nottingham, but I imagine it might be a while before it is safe to do that.  Does anyone out there know? Then there’s the upper Thames that we failed to get onto last autumn.  A good job we didn’t or we might still be there!

I don’t know how much longer we’ll stay at our Crick mooring after the coming year, splendid though it is.  We do miss the ease with which we used to take the boat into London for a few days when we were based near Slough.  So this year I’d like to get as much of the south /east midlands done while we are still up that way.  The change has done us the world of good and the places we have been able to reach have all been good, but do you know what?  I still reckon the southern GU is as nice as anywhere.

We are hoping to get out to Herbie for a few days R&R later this week.  We might have gone earlier but Kath has developed a mystery spontaneous crippling pain in her hip.  Yesterday she was completely immobile.   Thankfully she is a bit better today.  I’m keen to bring Herbie back to life after a too long winter hibernation.  Also I have jobs to do.  Fit our solar panel ammeter.  Try out our new WiFi gubbins.  Get and fit a new radio – one that has an auxiliary socket so we can play music form our ipads on it.  Sounds like quite a screwdrivery few days.