I was walking around the back streets of Melksham with morning and I passed a house with a steel narrow boat on the drive; covered in tarpaulins and with some green algae / moss growing on what had been, I'm sure, pristine black paint work at one time. Grass was growing up through the flagstones around the boat, and an old car and motor bike were lying around too.
A twinge of sadness; I shared a narrow boat - Blyth Spirit - with the family for 20 years. We bought her when son Chris was a toddler, and sold her after he got married. Chris and Kimberly (born after we bought 'the boat') could crew and drive her as if she was a part of them. Many, many good times on board - and some interesting and eventful days that we look back at and smile at through the rosy tinted spectacles of time. I can remember waking in the middle of the night to a drunken group of 20 using the boat as a table for their beer bottles (and just me and Kimberly, then around 11, on board). And waiting for Lisa at Hatton station with Chris, friend Hugh and other sufficiently bored to be spitting on the platform and trying to make patterns in their spit. Rosy spectacles.
A year or so back, we sold Blyth Spirit. Increasingly busy times, and a boat that needed a little more TLC as she got older, meant that we used her less than was practical and kept me awake at night worrying about when I was next going to get to the boat yard to keep her running. Increasing bureaucracy - the equivalent of a boat MOT scheme that changes and set tighter and retrospective standards as time went on, Chris married and away, Kimberly off too. Time to move on.
So - a twinge of sadness when I saw someone's aspirations lying on their drive this morning, but a confirmation that we had done the right thing to acknowledge the need for change. Doesn't mean that we're getting old and slowing down - oh no, we're on to appropriate new and exciting projects - in fact the
Well House Manor project is an exciting new future - not just an aspiration as it will be so much more. If you follow the link in the sentence above as I write this article , you'll find it's just a place holder. Come back to the archive in a week or two, and you'll read much more.
(written 2006-01-18, updated 2006-06-09)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Z800 - Whimsy [24] Impossible terms - (2004-08-22)
[39] A Change is as good as a rest - (2004-09-05)
[44] Serious subject - (2004-09-10)
[69] John Toner - (2004-10-01)
[94] Special change - (2004-10-20)
[151] Coffee Standards - (2004-12-14)
[156] Signage - (2004-12-18)
[300] Dentist's Waiting Room Syndrome - (2005-05-04)
[331] 08:45 is a difficult time - (2005-05-31)
[346] No Smoking Pubs - (2005-06-13)
[395] Making Orangutangs - (2005-07-28)
[520] Three life changing comments - (2005-12-07)
[547] Taking the dog for a walk - (2005-12-29)
[610] Need a hankie - (2006-02-16)
[661] Dressed up for a phone call - (2006-03-29)
[689] The call of nature - (2006-04-18)
[701] Minature Cyclists only - limited headroom - (2006-04-27)
[758] Very good for woodlice - (2006-06-12)
[761] Great new inventions - (2006-06-14)
[784] Which way to turn? - (2006-06-28)
[807] Telling large from small - (2006-07-18)
[850] Lighter moments - (2006-08-31)
[892] A pattern in change - (2006-10-12)
[973] Too much used to Skype - (2006-12-08)
[1075] I'm not the father - (2007-02-11)
[1167] Leaning tower of Cheeser - (2007-04-28)
[1171] Traffic light control for horses - (2007-05-01)
[1241] If I say 'I am fine', what do I mean? - (2007-06-23)
[1440] Useful command or messy screen? - (2007-11-21)
[1604] M25 / South Mimms Service Area - (2008-04-07)
[1662] Westonbirt Arboretum Postcode - (2008-05-31)
[1886] Keys to friendless churches - (2008-11-15)
[1952] Small Print - (2008-12-19)
[1977] Going round the block - (2009-01-04)
[1980] Michelle - (2009-01-06)
[1988] Melksham, Wiltshire. Town Crier Competition, 2009 - (2009-01-11)
[2009] The Royal Mail Receipt - (2009-01-26)
[2028] Things people say on the phone - (2009-02-06)
[2050] Why the Pony Tail? - (2009-02-21)
[2089] The Longest Day - Wednesday, 28th September - (2009-03-18)
[2108] Funny Amusing, Funny Amazing and The Smarts - (2009-03-29)
[2127] Call in the professionals! - (2009-04-12)
[2131] Patterns in street names - (2009-04-17)
[2138] Ski bore ... train bore ... dog bore - (2009-04-24)
[2143] Throughout the year, around the world - (2009-04-27)
[2152] My four feet! - (2009-05-01)
[2157] From the 51773 family - (2009-05-04)
[2180] Patterns in numbers - room occupancy - (2009-05-13)
[2250] Bluegrass comes to Melksham - (2009-06-19)
[2251] Over a third of numbers start with the digit 1 - (2009-06-19)
[2256] Is it Python past cheetah already? - (2009-06-24)
[2397] Signwriting is dead. Long live the sign. - (2009-09-06)
[2496] A better design of mouth - (2009-11-07)
[2542] My armpit was like a zebra crossing - (2009-12-19)
[2626] On Malachite Green - (2010-02-06)
[2676] Changing Times - (2010-03-13)
[2945] Last, final, etc - (2010-09-04)
[3030] Liquorice allsorts and Dolly Mixtures - (2010-11-05)
[3203] Melksham Town Council announces ... - (2011-03-16)
[3215] Solution looking for problem - (2011-03-27)
[3223] Answering at my earliest convenience - (2011-03-29)
[3226] A busy morning for railway announcements - (2011-04-01)
[3288] Random Questions ... - (2011-05-14)
[3369] Local Council leads bans on many activities - (2011-07-24)
[3462] Hangers, luggage and possessions - (2011-10-01)
[3738] Adoptive homes sought for abandoned babies - (2012-05-20)
[3851] Who is this? Picture Puzzle - (2012-08-28)
[3868] How to make an ohno cake - (2012-09-23)
[3912] Sand to Arabia, Coals to Newcastle or Woodburners to Russia - (2012-11-04)
[3922] Twerp - A person regarded as insignificant and contemptible - (2012-11-12)
[4067] The woman, the television, the bullock and Darlington - (2013-04-23)
[4329] Does Santa Claus need a CRB check? - (2014-11-25)
[4392] Interview conditions,and other instructions to staff - (2015-01-12)
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