Foxglove Narrowboat

No I am not about to have a baby but we have got one more day to get everything sorted in Foxglove that needs doing before the flooring goes down. One more bit of skirting to fit and all the  radiators need to be filled, pressurised and tested for leaks. It all hinges on this now cause then if all goes o.k then Foxglove will be transformed by Saturday. This is the part I am really excited about but also very nervous about. All the flooring and carpets will be down, furniture, dining furniture, mattress will arrive so I can finally make up the bed and put on my new bedspread that I bought  6 or 7 weeks ago and then I can start to make it look like home. Please, please, please let everything match. With a bit of luck we should finally be able to stay the night if all goes to plan.

We are learning quite a lot about the traditional boatmans cabin now that we have Foxglove. Apparently it is traditional to have brass bed knobs inside the boatmans cabin on the port side. When a family moved onto a boat  years ago they used to decorate it with personal items taken from their home. Bed knobs were the most popular item. Roy is currently bidding on e bay for 4 brass knobs. Oh I could make so many jokes but I aren’t going to cause I am not that rude. We will find out on Wednesday if he will win them on
e-bay or not.

E- bay is really good as we also bid for some ribbon plates that we want. The boatman’s cabin is going to look very traditional. I am going to leave that area to Roy and he is going to surprise me when it is all done. Exciting!!

When we bought Foxglove we were given a CD of the build, starting from the basic drawing, which was spray paint on the floor right up to the finished result. Roy has also found the original photos of the Gardner engine being rebuilt by Tony Redshaw. The engine was originally built in 1957. Roy is in progress of uploading some of the pictures. He said he is going to start writing on the blog when it comes to the technical specification!! Just to let you know I am the one who has written the blog so far and Roy is the one who does all the pictures and the clever stuff, so it has been great doing it together so far. Roy has already started adding the photos. Check out the menu bar on the home page. He will be adding more pictures every day so keep watching!

Fascinating finding out that the 2 people who commissioned Foxglove were musicians, so are Roy and myself. This is the first coincidence. The couple were called Duncan & Clare, this is the second coincidence as this is my name also (Clare, not Duncan)surprisingly spelt the same way. They also owned a black & white collie dog, just like our dog Wish.  Three coincidences so far. We are wondering what else we will find out when we search more into the history of Foxglove.

What a wonderful sight I saw at the marina today, 2 adult swans with their 5 signets. They have grown so much. They crossed straight in front of my car as I was leaving today all in a straight line, following one by one. I love the wildlife that we get to see at the marina and on the canals. It beats the hustle and bustle of driving around town any day.

Talking of wildlife I also found out today that some of the crackled paint on the roof of Foxglove has been caused by bird poop. We have been told that as soon as see you see any on your boat you should always wash it straight off because the paint absorbs it. Depends on what the bird has eaten. There is a saying “muck for luck” but I guess not if it lands on your paintwork. That leads me nicely into telling all you readers out there that the new skirting has been put down this week due to having the proper radiators installed so Roy has been busy painting them. A guy called Howard has also been over and lay the screed on the kitchen floor ready for the flooring on Thursday. Few more days to get a everywhere cleaned up. Starting to look good. Can’t wait until Friday evening and see the finished result. Hope everything matches!

I feel like the last few weeks I have counted the days down to so many different significant events happening.

Countdown to the survey day, then countdown till the boat was going to be moved, then the countdown till the boat arrived at the marina etc etc.

Anyway, we are on the last count down for a while now as in one more week most of the work will be finished inside. By next Friday all the flooring/ carpets will be down and Foxglove will start to become home.

Rob Shone, who is a professional boat fitter has been working on Foxglove all week and he has made a tremendous difference to the boat. We are really thankful for everything he has done for us and especially because he has done all the work that has enabled us to get all the flooring put down on time. Rob you are a star!

Early start in the morning as it will be the last weekend we have to get all the jobs out the way.

Still excited. Like a big kid at Christmas. Just loving Foxglove!!

Things are back on track today. All jobs should be finished in time for the flooring to be put down. Everyone keep your fingers crossed. Going to be another busy weekend to ensure everything is cleaned up in time ready for the following week, flooring, mattress, furniture etc. I am sooooo excited.

The radiators we bought should look lovely. We bought the old fashioned style radiator, can’t think what they are called, like the old Victorian style, think they will be more in-keeping with the boat. At least we will be able to dry our washing on there. Always a positive side to these minor glitches! 🙂

There is a very famous saying from Walt Disney’s Bambi, ” if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.” I am trying to keep that in mind when writing tonights blog…..count to 10, breathe in deep…..think positive. Had a bit of a shock tonight when visiting the boat, still breathing and I think I have counted to 50 so far….

Toilets in – Hurray!!
New cratch plank done …..very nice.
Fresh sealant put in where required.
Door access made for the spare cassettes for the toilet……

Oooohhh and forgot to mention……all radiator skirting (that have just been painted) have been all ripped off due to leak from the pipe……trip to B&Q to buy proper radiators in keeping with the boat…..cost a bloody fortune!! Ooopps…..counting to 100 by now……very nice radiators, will look lovely.

Tiny, weeny, glitch today…….WE ARE ON A TIMESCALE!!!!!………..but hopefully all will be resolved.

Going to be a very quick blog tonight as far too tired which is kind of funny because I have ordered the mattress today. It will arrive at the marina on Saturday 24th so hopefully we will get to have the whole weekend on Foxglove as planned. Obviously with thinking about the bed so much has made me want to sleep. So so so tired. Zzzzzz goodnight😴

I cannot wait to start living on Foxglove. We think if everything is in there in a couple of weeks time we might just take the plunge and do it. To try and run a house,a full time job and Roy has his own business and looking after a narrowboat is just too much. We decided this months ago and that’s why we shall be renting the house out. The holidays we have had on Marpessa 2 were fabulous. Just an easy ,relaxed way of living. Christmas will be lovely on there especially if the canals are not frozen and we can get to go out for a cruise on Christmas Day. The narrowboat has given Roy and I far more quality time together and in the busy, hectic lives that we both lead it is a welcome relief. I would recommend narrowboating to everyone. Dreaming of the day when we can finally live aboard. Mmmmm 🙂

Roy was being nosy today and looked outside one of the porthole windows to see what was going on outside as there was lots of movement on the marina, so much so our boat started to rock. It was just another boat coming in, a bit too much revs I think. Looked like we were on the sea, all the waves rippling everywhere. Anyway, Roy came up to me and said ” I think I have cut my head”. Oh my goodness, yes he had. He had cut it on the brass oil lamp that we had bought that was right by the window. He hates the sight of blood. I told him it was pouring with blood and that he was going to need stitches. He started to panic and stated he was not going the hospital for any stitches. It wasn’t that bad, and it only bled for a couple of minutes. It was funny to see his reaction especially when I showed him the picture of the cut. He almost fainted a few years ago when I had to have a lump removed out of my arm under local anesthetic. There was me lying on the bed with a big cut in my arm and the bloody nurse and doctor had to go to Roy as he almost fainted! Hilarious. I mean oh dear, what a shame. Anyway, he is all o.k now. He is being very brave. Ha ha ha!!!

Done lots today on Foxglove and we were also invited for a cup of tea on someone else’s boat on the marina, Chris & Ann. First time we had seen their boat inside and it was lovely to see it as they had fitted theirs out themselves and painted the outside also. Chris was trying to convince Roy to paint all the outside of Foxglove ourselves. So hard to do this though when we are both working full-time and we just want to relax come weekends. We have done it before but I think Foxglove needs proper care and attention that she deserves. Inside is really coming along nicely. One more weekend to go before the flooring is put down. Getting a bit worried. I just hope all the colours that I have chosen go well together. It should make such a difference to the boat. Worried but very excited.

Measured up for a new mattress today so that is the next thing we need to get before we can move in. It is all going to come together in a matter of days. How exciting!!