since we've no place to go

5 degrees today and more snow, this time it fell most of the day, at times in huge marshmallow sized flakes. It's the third day in a row now we've had snow but still no ground cover. Beautiful all the same. Makes me glad we chose to stay in London for Easter rather than fly to one of it's warmer neighbouring cities, as most do.

oh the weather outside is frightful

There is no mistaking it, the weather of late has been particuarly wintery.

In Australia, each year on the 1st of September, the population rejoices for Spring has come. On that very day the air smells sweeter, plump and rich with pollen and grasses, the day is warmer and from that moment on and for the months ahead there is not a hint of winteryness to be seen or felt (at least that's how I remember it).

In Britain, the 1st of March comes along and it passes by almost unnoticed but for a sprinkling of blossom on previously barren branches, on the 1st of June what should be the start of Summer also passes by, green but by no means warmer.

And here we are, late March. Technically, almost a full month into Spring. Bitterly cold, blustery and grey. Is it just me or is there something wrong?

For three years we've dreamt of a White Christmas, but never a White Easter. This morning however we woke to a White Easter Sunday. The magical sight of soft snow swirling about in the wind, falling gently to the ground was enough to melt my heart and my resolve against the Great British Weather, at least until the next snow free 7 degree 'Spring' day.

and so begin 'the loft years'

Well we're in. In, but a long long way from comfortable. We have boxes, plastic tubs and bags littering every inch of floor space at the moment as we slowly try to find some sort of order. The flat has the potential to be amazing, but as it is a rental property it has been fitted out with the bare minimum, to fit a small budget and with the least possible taste or creativity. As we're renting we can only do so much, but in a few weeks we hope we will have transformed it somewhat from what it was.

We're absolutely loving having a bath in the flat. For a year and a half we've had to take Nate over to the bathroom at the marina facilities, which meant carting over shampoo, fresh clothes, a fresh nappy, a towel and a toddler who refused to be held and would wriggle his way out of our grasp to walk over himself with reckless disregard for time constraints. All this in the freezing cold.

We're also loving having more floorspace. Soooo much more floorspace. In this flat we have enough room for a full sized dining table which is something we've missed for so long. Eating a meal together is something that is important to us and wasn't always possible on the boat.

So, we'll keep working ... watch this space for photos.

those were the barge years my friend

I thought they’d never end ... at times anyway. At least that’s what I’m trying to remind myself in what has been a very sad week or two as we prepare to move off the boat for good.

It’s not yet been two weeks since we wrote last and it feels like months. After much searching, a few weeks ago Woz and I found a flat we liked and put the plans in motion to move out of the boat. With our safety certificate passed, hull survey done and the flat ready within two weeks we signed on the dotted line and will move in today with the new owner moving into the boat tomorrow.

The last three years have been an emotional journey. Having reduced the boat to a shell not long after buying it and slowly rebuilding it, it has been a challenge at the best of times. I remember clearly, waking up, pushing our mattress up against the wall, covering it with plastic, retrieving a suitable piece of clothing from beneath another piece of plastic, taking a shower over at the shower block, then making my way to work, leaving Woz to continue to work at making a home for us. After work I would come home and join him, turning in for the night around 11 or 12pm, with a quick flip of the mattress down to the floor and a quick brush to the soles of our feet so as not to transfer anymore dirt and grime into the bed as possible. How we didn’t look like homeless people is beyond me.

I remember months of not having a toilet, running water, or a floor to walk on. Days that were swallowed by a perpetual list of things to do, broken only by short stays of friends and family from abroad.

Those were the days my friend …

I remember the thrill of being able to take the boat out whenever we felt like it, having a completely different view out your bedroom window if you so chose, ducks and geese meandering past, showing people the home that we’d built with our bare hands, amazing parties, being able to show friends a glimpse of a London they might not otherwise see, and the locks … oh the locks!

So, as the last chapter of the Barge Years draws to an end, we begin another chapter, in a loft apartment on another wharf just around the corner and still with access to the water (although no views).

We shall call these our Loft Years.

for a short time

Our last trip on the boat. Sigh ....

We've had a very late Winter this year and been experiencing absolutely terrible weather so it was with great trepidation and lots of coats, gloves and hats that we set out on Saturday, up and back to Little Venice for the last time.

We took a group of friends along for the ride, some of them veterans, and others new to the experience. The weather was kind to us and we made it all the way through the four locks and safely to a pub for lunch without getting wet. On the way home we were met with relentless drizzle but thankfully no downpours.

Nate slept both there and back, first on my shoulder at the back of the boat, and later on Bec's lap. It would have been nice for our last trip to have been on a sun drenched day, with lush green surrounds rather than the grey winter landscape but unfortunately we've had the last of our Summer days on Papillon.

What next? A yacht on the Mediterranean? That could work.

right behind you

just the two of us

On Saturday morning Woz helped one of our neighbours, Dom, take his boat down to the local boat painter around the corner. Dom hadn't taken his boat out since last Summer so he called in Woz to help him out. We've taken our boat out too many times to count, particularly in the last few months as the end to our 'barge years' draw to a close.

The exterior of Dom's boat was in a particularly bad condition so it will be a complete transformation when it comes back ... although he's still not sure what colour. Plenty of time for that though!

busy bees

Life in our household is very busy at the moment. We have an endless list of 'to do's' which seems to be added to daily with a comparative few being ticked off. There's the boat safety certificate and everything we've had to do to make sure it's up to scratch, the hull survey, booking tickets and everything else that comes with it for our trip to South Africa and Kenya in April, trying to find a place in a nursery for Nate, and then there's finding a place to live which to date has involved countless hours of scanning the internet, as yet, in vain.


The sale of our boat is coming along nicely, well frightening close actually. We haven't agreed a date we will move out as we're yet to find a flat to rent, but with the new owner having sold her flat and staying on a friends living room floor we're obviously keen for it to happen a.s.a.p.