Cruisin Into 2014!!

It is really nice to be moored up in Stone (The Centre of the Canal Universe).  Yesterday we nipped over to the Co-Op to buy a few bits and bobs for New Years Eve as we are having pre pub nibblies on board the good ship Caxton.

Yesterday I met up with the hardcore Aston Marina drinkers boaters for early doors at The Exchange and tonight we will be back at The  Exchange to see in the New Year.

Talking of the New Year, what lies ahead for the mighty NB Caxton......?

Well she will be out cruising again soon but before we head back out on the cut we shall head south in the motorhome to Spain and the South of France for some sunshine.  The plan is that once we are out on the canal system we will put the motorhome in storage then every few weeks take a break from the boat and see different parts of the UK and Scotland from a different perspective etc.  We are both very happy with this plan as we will get the best of both worlds, plus having bought a property back in Oz we feel secure that we won't get left out of the property explosion back there.  We know one day that we will return down under but we are not ready to go just yet.

We don't know where we will store the motorhome yet in between trips ... any suggestions would be welcome, or if any one has a spare piece of land or garden to rent or swap for motorhome usage would also be most welcome!!

So here is looking forward to a prosperous and healthy 2014 and once again I thank the people that read my twaddle, of course this is the real reason to carry on cruising ... so I can carry on blogging!

I love youz all xxxxx

Finally a few random pics from the last year ...

... phew !  Too many pics, so little space !  That's it!   See you next year xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Short Cruise To Stone

We decided to take the boat to Stone for a few days so we wouldn't have far to walk after celebrating New Years Eve.

What a perfect rip snorter of a winter's day to cruise in ...


First lock of the day is Aston Lock, this young couple were taking their cat for a walk, so we didn't let the dogs off !  Even though they have 3 of their own, they take great delight in chasing others !

The dogs were dressed in their winter finery ...

Bombo sunbathed in the winter sun ...

We got a prime position in the centre of Stone ...

We took the dogs for a walk when we noticed the boys from NB Chance flying over the top, on their way to New York!  We waved at them but were not sure that they spotted us ...

Then they had a near miss.....wouldn't that just ruin your holiday!

Then Elaine's phone rang - it was Dot and Gordon (NB Ewn Ha Cul) who were in Stone and heading to the exchange for early doors.  Would we like to join then they asked!  Five minutes later we were in the exchange having a pint or two of Steerage with them :)

Next stop was the Swan where we were joined by Diane (NB Ferndale) and Mike the chippy.  After a couple of pints of Guinness Elaine and myself made our way up to the Stone 'spoons for more Guinness and a lovely Sunday roast.

So there you have it, we went to go to the shops for a bit of shopping and ended up in three different pubs ... no contest!

What A Lovely English Christmas We Had

It's nearly midnight on Friday, so I will do  a quick Christmas roundup post.

We had an interesting drive down to Kent on 23rd Dec - high winds and lots of rain!!  On the way we met up with a couple of old Aussie friends at some Services, where we had a quick catch up of the last two years!  They also, very kindly, furnished us with a supply of Tim Tams to keep us going!

We arrived late on 23rd, so called it a day after a long day travelling in harsh elements!

The next morning ... our campsite was virtually deserted ...



 On Christmas eve day we caught up with Elaine's Sister, Brother in Law and one of her neices, Josie and had a lovely cruisy day with them.


This is Elaine's sister, Julie feeding the boys.  Sammie doesn't do tricks.

Posing dogs ...

On Christmas morning it was all hands to deck and so here I am wrapping those pigs in blankets ...

Elaine having a hug with niece, Josie ...

I have a fat gut so she has to hug my neck!

The girls in the kitchen ...

Josie, brother in law, Paul and myself nipped down the pub at noon on Christmas day for a swift one and a bit. Good to see that dogs were welcome on Christmas Day ...

Then it was back to the house where we were joined by Elaine's other niece, Leyna, hubby Bill and lovely little great nieces, Connie and Evie ...

It was a bit hectic for the boys so they had a kip ...

Sammie chillin' with the girls ...

Time to carve up that big bird ...

Yum yum.....poor old Elaine, I ate so many Brussels ...

Elaine with great niece, Connie and little Sammie ...

On Boxing day we went for a walk around Mote park, which was just at the end of the road.

Santa was driving one of the miniature steam trains ...

Smoke gets in your eyes ...

Strollin in the park ...

Sisters ...

Sisters feeding very tame swans ...

Mote Hall ...

There had been a massive amount of rain in Kent over the last few days, but it wasn't going to stop this lot from enjoying their day out in the park ...

So that was Christmas, and it was so delightfully English.  Many thanks to Elaine's sister Julie and hubby Paul for inviting us to their lovely Granary for Christmas, we loved every bit of it.

We left Kent on Friday morning to head back to the boat.  We stopped off to see my Mum, who was staying with my sister in Luton.  A good thing that we discovered on this visit was that the motorhome fitted in her driveway, so we will go down again for an extended visit taking the menagerie with us!

We were going to stop off at Milton Keynes, but the traffic was horrendous on the M1.  In the end we turned off the motorway and went up the A roads ... we got back to the boat eventually!!  The boat always looks huge after we have been out in the motorhome!  

Tomorrow we will finish upacking, washing and cleaning etc after our trip away ... things get messy with us and five animals on board !!