Sunday 31st December Day 162
And just like that it’s New Years Eve. My dad would have been 81 today. It’s 23 years since we lost him which is just bonkers. NYE was always a big party night in our house growing up due to it being his birthday and the shouts of Oggy Oggy Oggy, Oi Oi Oi bring back fond memories. It’s also a friend’s birthday so it’s nice to still celebrate although going out and getting drunk in a throng of people is something from the past now and to honest i don’t think we could afford it with the cost of drinks and food.
It’s extremely windy again today as another storm batters the Island as well as the UK. I’ve been sent pictures of the flooding which has hid the East Midlands where I used to live very badly and much of the UK has some flooding. Must be so devastating for people. Also i’ve seen pictures of narrowboats overturned which of course makes us worry about our boat, which we hope is tied up safely in a marina on a canal which will fair better than one on a river or so we hope. ((Me too Peachy!)) I think they recorded 67mph winds at the airport here. We nip out to get some shopping and are nearly blown off our feet.
Some friends on the Island ((Friends of your friends who you just add to your friendship list. Make no wonder you have so many ‘friends’ It doesn’t sound like they have much of a choice!)) invited us for New Years Eve drinks and nibbles so we have a fab time with them having a good old gossip before deciding to walk back to the apartment at about 11.20pm. The wind has died down a little so it’s a cold but pleasant walk home which takes us through the tunnel which is where book 2 in my psychological thriller starts. So, once again this is great research for how it feels walking through at night. Just as we arrive on the other side to the sound of fireworks, it turns midnight! What a wonderful way to start what will hopefully be an amazing year of exploring.
I know when you’re reading this we will be well into January so I hope it’s been a fabulous start for you. We cannot wait to start our first full year cruising the canal network. We are going to aim to leave the marina end of February or before, if we’ve got all our jobs done and the weather is kind. We will see!
Until tomorrow or next week. xx
C.L. Peache 