Foxglove Narrowboat

Okay now here goes….I will let you all into a secret tonight as this was, and I mean WAS my idea of the the new colour scheme. Anyone seen the Flying Scotsman steam train? Well it is gorgeous. The colours are truly amazing. Dark green and black and gold lettering and a splash of bright red I thought would look quite amazing on the boat. What do you think?

Anyway, to cut a long story short Roy was “Googling” on the internet last night and it seems that Foxglove already has a connection with steam trains and because of what we found out it would be such a shame to change the current colour scheme because of the history that we found. The facts are truly amazing………

When the London Midland & Scottish Railway was formed in 1923 it inherited a considerable canal network including boats from several existing canal carrying companies.
The boats took on the famous LMS Maroon livery.

NB Mecca Day Boat (1928)

NB Mecca (1928) Conversion to Motorboat (1996)

One LMS boat, (MECCA) was built as a
69′ 11″ open iron day boat in 1928.
In 1948 all LMS boats were passed into the ownership of British Railways until 1954 when ownership passed to British Waterways.

In 1990 BW sold MECCA into private ownership where it was converted into a 60ft motorboat by Five Towns Boatbuilding (Roger Fuller) and later lengthened to 70ft.

Was this the inspiration
behind Foxglove’s colour scheme?

What do you think?

NB Foxglove (2005)

I have sent the fuel gauge off today to see if it can be repaired or replaced. It would be so useful if we could get it working instead of playing guess work and using a dipstick. We have a gauge on the water and it is fantastic because not only can you see how much water you have but when you use the washing machine, dishwasher or even when you fill the bath you can find out exactly how much water you are using so then you can work out how many days you have  left before filling up again. On our old boats we never had this facility so it was a case of ensuring it was topped up every day when we were on holiday. I never

wanted to get caught short of water.

Back to work today and I mentioned to someone the idea of the colour scheme I have for the boat. I really want to go for the idea I have but I am worried sick if it won’t look right. I know that I still want it to look traditional to compliment the style of the boat. It could either look fantastic or end up a big disaster. Only 2 months though until I take a week off work so we can take the boat to be painted. I am already getting excited because I used to love polishing our last boat, it was very relaxing and therapeutic. Trying to polish up Foxglove as it is at the moment would just be like facing a losing battle.

Any ideas for the colour scheme would be appreciated. The name stays though. I quite like “Foxglove”. Thanks goodness we aren’t choosing another name……I am already getting on Roy’s nerves keeping asking about the colours. He is colour blind so he is of no use what so ever! I have told him about the idea that I have had though and I think he is going to take some pictures of the boat then change the colours on his computer program. Might have a go at some  wacky ideas just for a joke. Who knows?!! Keep watching 😉

Oh my goodness, what a rubbish few weeks it has been. With being so poorly I have not been out for the last 2 weekends and it has just been work and sleep. Still not 100% but I felt a better enough to go out on the boat for a few hours. The sun was shining and it wasn’t cold and the water was calm………perfect day for boating. We arrived at the marina with Wish and it was idyllic so we started the engine and off we went.

We only went down to Sandon and turned around then moored up. It was so good to finally get out of the house and away from work. Just the sun being out makes such a difference to the way you feel. Only a few boats past us but the most hilarious thing happened……..only hilarious because there was no disasters…….anyway, I was saying the funniest thing happened…..a boat went past us so fast that we banged against the moorings quite hard. I could not believe they didn’t slow down. Anyway a few minutes later Roy shouted out “look where the boat is!” the other boat had gone past us so fast that it had pulled one end of the boat away from its mooring hooks and the whole of the boat was on an angle across the canal with the front end still tied in. Super Hero to the rescue (Roy) went and got the back ropes, walked to the front with them, jumped off and pulled her back in. It was funny! Thank goodness no other boats were going past.

I decided to “drive” back to the marina as I need to get used to the controls for after the boat is painted otherwise it will be coming back with more scratches than what it went with. Anyway, into the marina I went, slowly but perfectly (ha ha Roy) and then it was time for me to go into the mooring spot. We have moved places at the marina and this is the first time I have had to get into a mooring spot with another boat next to us……….not a bump, nothing, I just slowly did it, lined her up and much to Roy’s gob smacked face I drove her in perfectly. I acted very calm but inside I was thinking ha ha showed you I could do it, not being competitive or anything like that 😉

We were only out for a few hours but it was so good to get back out in the fresh air again.

Anyway, back home we went, out for a Chinese meal and then back home again and watched “Skyfall”. All in all a good day.

Sunday morning (today) , I was shattered. Had to get up though as I planned to go and get Roy’s Valentines present, a bit late but with me being ill it did not matter. Off to Evelyn Booth’s at Lockside Antiques. I had planned to get him a three belled terret for the boat. It is really nice. We got a little carried away and ended up buying some rosettes on horse buckles and a ribbon plate also. Roy has spent the afternoon putting some of them up but my camera went flat so I did not get to take any pictures. Anyway, we had a lovely time at Evelyn’s. We met her husband Graham and it was like meeting 2 celebrities. We have heard and read so much about them both and their boat ROME, we found them both fascinating. Evelyn makes me laugh with one of her famous sayings although I promised not to publish it. RHS…..and no it does not stand for Royal Horticultural Society. It is Evelyn’s & mine secret code 😉

They both showed us around their boat ROME. It was amazing! It was the nicest boatman’s cabin I have ever seen in real life. Out came the camera. Evelyn and I talked about the different canalware and Graham & Roy were talking about engines. It was fascinating to see. Graham had done the complete fit out himself 20 years ago. It was something to feel very proud of. We had only gone to collect the terret but we felt we had a day out. Coffee and great company and lots of talk about the canals, looking at all the antique canal ware and then the guided tour of the boat, it was fascinating.

I would have paid for a day out like this. Many thanks Evelyn & Graham for your hospitality. You made us feel very welcome.

All in all this weekend has done us both good. Lovely to get back onto Foxglove.

We left the boat tonight looking out across the marina thinking I wonder what colour we should have her painted. I have got a few ideas! It would mean a complete colour change for Foxglove………big risk to take. We shall see!

As I was once a music teacher I just can’t resist song titles as my blog titles but as it is Valentines today love is really in the air. No romantic meal out though tonight as I am still coughing. I have been quite poorly for almost 3 weeks now and after still trying push myself at work I am finally having a day off tomorrow. It has been a bad few weeks and I am really glad of some time off. Fingers crossed we will be at Foxglove this weekend. Roy bought some vintage signs which are really great and I am looking forward to finding a place for them all.

Hopefully I will finally be able to take some photographs this weekend. Hoping for some sun and some fresh air and most of all a good weekend.

I will be back blogging again now I am on the mend so keep reading!

Still looking for ideas for the re-paint. Saw a great idea on “Diary of a Boat Woman” as Jo had taken a photo of the back of someone’s boat which had a great big red heart on it. I collect anything to do with hearts and I thought the big red heart was a great idea…..don’t think Roy thinks the same! He will be convinced during the next 2 months…. I will get my hearts somewhere on the boat!!

💕💖💞💘💗💞💕💖💘💓💘💞💖💕💓💖💕💞💘💕💞💕💘

Not blogged for almost a week now as I have had and still got a severe cough and cold. Stayed in bed for 3 days yet it still has not shifted it. Roy has caught it also and of course his is far worse than mine ( not). Anyway I have blogged as quite a few people have asked if everything is ok and are we still alive….. Yes we are…. Just about!! Lets hope we both are fighting fit again by the weekend. Looking at Roy at the moment I am not convinced!! His is Man Flu. 😉

Thank goodness the ice has now melted so come rain or shine we will be off this weekend on Foxglove. 3 days to go. I am planning on baking a cake…..that will be good for the diet I started yesterday and failed on today. The boss bought some miniature bounties……oh my goodness they were yum! I could not stop eating them. Medicinal purposes though as I have a bad cough……thought the coconut would help…….well at least that is what I tried convince myself. This week will go very quick as it is the end of the month at work so I am really looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Most people who know me will know I like to keep things clean. I could tell you all about the different mops out there, hovers, cleaning products , the lot. I am sure I would do well on programmes like QVC as I actually do get enthusiastic about some of the ” stuff” out there. Another big thing are mats, door mats, rugs etc. Well tonight a great opportunity came my way and Roy didn’t take much convincing….. Well perhaps a little. Anyone who has coal fire on their boat will surely understand where I am coming from. What a mess they make. Doesn’t matter how careful you are you can guarantee some black will get on your floor. We have carpet down…… Arghhhh! Even put something down at the time but there is always one tiny little black speck that spreads and smears all over the place. Little bit of an exaggeration but it is just do annoying. Anyway, I am waffling now….. We went over to BHS tonight hoping to find some retro signs: pictures that I mentioned but no luck. Anyway I found the most fabulous bath mat that is black and looks just like a rag rug, if you hold it at a distance with one eye shut 😉 Anyway I think it will do just the job as our new rug/ mat for by the fire. Told you, even Roy was convinced 😁

That is basically what happened with the weather this weekend. The snow was so bad Friday night that we decided to stay at home as first thing Saturday morning we had planned to Wish to the groomers early so we thought it was best leaving from home. Oh my! The snow had come down so bad during the night that we could not get out. The roads were terrible. There was no way I was risking driving out in the snow as the roads were completely white. I could not believe though what a difference the next few hours made. The sun came out and cars started to use the road and by midday the roads were looking a lot better. Really annoying though because we could not even get over to the boat because of the weather this morning but by 2 pm we had made our way over to Foxglove.

We only went over for a few hours to do a few jobs and decided not to stay overnight because the marina was pretty much still frozen and we could not go anywhere so we made our way back home for a Chinese takeaway and a movie.

Woke up this morning to find out most of the snow had completely disappeared. It was unbelievable because there was so much yesterday and yet today nobody would have known. We made our way back over to Foxglove today to find flooding on the road due to the rain from last night and the melted snow. The water levels in the marina have already risen and Roy has had to slacken the ropes off as we could already see some of the other boats listing. Part of the marina is still frozen and it was quite windy today which was a shame because we hoped to fill up with diesel and perhaps even have a trip down the canal. I bet the tow paths are extremely muddy now and very squelchy. As we left the boat tonight we thought we heard a boat coming along the canal but it wasn’t, it was actually water flooding from the fields and running onto the towpath and into the canals. Everywhere looked so pretty yesterday and yet today a completely different story.

The weather is going to get warmer during the next few days and so all the ice will soon be gone and hopefully next weekend we can get to go out on Foxglove. I also worked out it is exactly 12 weeks until I have a week off work and that will be the week we take Foxglove to be repainted. I can’t believe how quickly time is going. Still not 100% sure what colour scheme to have the boat as we have seen some beautiful ones on the marina but they are more modern than ours and suit that particular boat. Who knows. We still have 3 months to decide and I am sure we will have changed our mind at least a 100 times by then.

Oh well back to work tomorrow. Got the boss coming over from Italy. Hi Stefano if you are reading! I must wish our good friend Davide good luck for tomorrow as he will be starting his new job tomorrow in Italy. We still miss you Davide! I hope you had a fantastic holiday.

We are on the look out for some retro/vintage pictures to put in the little “porch” area of Foxglove. I love the Keep Calm and Carry On signs although the people who bought our last boat from us had the most fantastic one made for them, it said “Keep Calm and Carry On Narrowboating.” I think Roy is searching the internet to see what he can find. Amazing what you find out there.

I haven’t written myself much just lately as working during the week and not being at the boat I don’t have that much to say and believe me I do not want to start writing about work!

When I started this blog I wanted to write about positive things and base it around the boat and that is how I intend to keep it.

I am really enjoying reading other people’s blogs about narrowboats and how they go about their daily lives living on a boat and I am finding them quite addictive. One of my favourites at the moment is ” Diary of a Boatwoman”. I have found this blog really interesting as it is another boat built by Roger Fuller. It is really interesting at the moment reading the different blogs because of the weather conditions and how people cope whilst living aboard. Being prepared and thinking well ahead is the best advice. I have heard we are expecting more snow tomorrow then it is the big thaw so it will be great reading the blogs as people will be on the move again. Great seeing the photos that people have taken of the different places that hopefully we will get to visit by boat during the next few years.

All this reading makes me even more determined to get out there on our boat and start living our dream. There will be plenty to talk about then. I still think about it every day and weekends are so important to us both at the moment as we are really enjoying every minute at the boat. Let’s hope for a brighter weekend so we can get to take Foxglove out.

We came to a definite decision after this weekend that we definitely do not want to be living on Foxglove whilst still in a marina. Roy will not let me write the reasons why because sometimes I can be a bit too honest. So at least some kind of decision has been made. Some more thought needs to be given how we are going to do this because of continuing with work. I am sure we will find a private mooring along the canal somewhere.  If anyone knows of any locally please let me know.

The best thing about this weekend though was Wish & Frank. Our friends Angus & Jan came over with Frank and it is always lovely to see them and this weekend the dogs got along even better. We took them for a walk in the snow and it was lovely to see them playing together. My new wellies are fantastic by the way and I would recommend them to anyone. They are called BOGS and they really do keep your feet warm without the extra need for thicker socks.

We have really settled in on the boat now and really look forward to the weekends. It took me ages to get home from work on Friday because of the snow on the roads but it did not stop us going over to the boat.

The new steps arrived last week but unfortunately  I forgot to take pictures of them this weekend. We had them made by Rob Shone who did all the other joinery work on the boat for us when we first had Foxglove. They have made getting on and off the boat, both front and the back of the boat so much safer and even more storage now.

The weekend went far too quick as per usual. Back to work today and already planning what we are going to do next weekend. Whatever it will be will be on the boat that is for sure!