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Tuesday 2nd March: Bilsborrow

Yes, another new month, a day on. Nick has gone south for a meeting. Yesterday Angela took him to get oil as he had checked his log and found that we were due an oil change. So that took the morning and after supper we went over to the cottage to see some TV, particularly the first of a 5-part BBC drama that was excellent. This morning Angela and I walked up the River Brock - a beautiful walk on a beautiful morning, with swathes of snowdrops, shining in the sun at regular intervals on both banks. We must try to do it again before we leave. Rather like Hungerford you can be in the loveliest countryside, leaving railway, the A6 and the M6 behind you. On my return to the boat I made a stab at Borscht, albeit with organic golden beetroot (Lancaster market last week!)  It was my version ( I'm never one to follow recipes to the letter), with the ingredients I happened to have on board  but it was delicious, filling and, I hope will help with my plan to lose weight, shamed by Angela's efforts! Will go over to hers later for supper and to watch TV.

Wednesday 5th March: Garstang

A mammoth night of TV and such good television! Angela and I watched Julie Walters', 'Mo'. A truly brilliant piece of TV which Angela had recorded: it was worth the saving! That was followed by the second instalment of 'Five Days' - another exceptional piece of BBC drama - an abandoned baby, a body on the line (suicide or murder?) and a complex interweaving of brilliant characters and topical themes. Angela and I are hooked! On Wednesday we went to see Angela's mum (mummy), Jean (lovely lady) and sister (our Susan) and her husband Don, where we were kindly treated to a touch of lunch. It's great to meet the family, both of whom have been so unstintingly generous, financially and emotionally, in Angela's present financial predicament. Curses on faithless men! A quick visit to B&Q on our return to Bilsborrow whereupon I returned to the boat and wrestled it across the cut. It was a bit of a struggle getting off the bank and when I finally succeeded, discovered Caspar had leapt off, so had to get back in, screaming at him to get back on and STAY ON. Finally did it and moored up safely outside the rear of Ring the Hill Cottage, with a little help from Quackers crew. Angela and I were so excited by the prospect of a fish finger butty (never one of Nick's choice dishes) - lovely seeded bread with lettuce, mayo, red onion, tomato. Yum! To save Nick an hour's wait in Preston, Angela kindly picked him up and we were all able to watch the third part of the BBC drama. That was followed by a repeat of a drama we hadn't seen before, 'The Canterbury Tales', Last week was a modern version of The Miller's Tale and this week it was the Wife of Bath's Tale, both with brilliant casts and raunchy! There was Julie Walters, yet again ... another great performance.

Saturday 6th March: Ratcliffe Wharf

On Thursday we finally moved on, in beautiful sunshine. It was wall to wall from dawn to dusk! Angela came with us to Garstang and we have a picture of her on the helm all by herself! We were delighted to moor next to Farthings Hook and Caspar and Jamie were reunited. We dog sat for the afternoon while Alan and Lynn were working. Angela elected to walk back after we'd finished off my effort at borsht. Quite a way! It was good to be on the go again. On Friday we went up to the sanitary station to sort all services and then on north to Ratcliffe Wharf where Nick seems keen to stay for a day or two - no internet connection but at least a good TV  signal which allowed us to watch the end of the 'Five Days' which kept us gripped to the very end; not all sweetness and happy-ever-after, not by any means, but nevertheless, an impressive piece of drama addressing issues such as the integration of the Muslim community and the issue of a potential terrorist in a family and the heartbreaking consequences; fostering (even male fostering of the babe) and the primary call of the biological parent; current family issues - broken marriages with a particularly sympathetic picture of the difficulties for the father's involvement; prostitution and drug dependency; and finally the issue of dementia in a parent, this allied to how adult children cope with a parent's new relationship. I'm not certain whether that covers it all but all these themes were dealt with so sympathetically. 

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