Tuesday, April 27, 2010

When I say ‘barge’ I mean ‘narrowboat’

Apr 10 2nd Llangollen barge holiday 194

I promised not to show you any more holiday snaps but the one above is illustrative. That’s my excuse.

Dave and I have been ogling narrowboats (oh, it takes so much longer to type!) on the net with a list of what we would want ours to have – if we took the plunge, and launched into buying one. There are certain must-haves – comfortable beds, windows (not portholes) in the living quarters, and a solid fuel stove (recommended by all the narrowboat dwellers we met on the canal.)  It’s amazing what some  boats provide. We came across one with a dishwasher.

It’s interesting to me what people want from narrowboat life. Part of the charm for me is the stripped down, back to basics kind of living. When I got home last Saturday, the things I looked on with joy were my computer, my saxophone, and our comfy bed. It was also a huge luxury to wake up in the morning in a warm house so that a trip to the loo in pyjamas did not feel like a polar expedition that one had to summon up all one’s reserves of determination to complete. I can see that if you’re living on the boat for three weeks, a washing machine would come in handy, but a dishwasher???

No comments: