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Blogger will no longer allow me to cut and paste pictures to put in the correct locations in the blog. When I had that problem at Marilyn's, I assumed it was because she had a new version of Windows; apparently not. Once again, I am VERY frustrated. Don't know why something which is intended for dummies should be so difficult. Anyway, I will put in pictures that all appear above. I'll try to give some indication of what they are; you'll need to figure out the significance from the text. G-r-r-r-r!! I think the mish mash of pictures above is in the following order (roughly): Ely shopping area, St. Mary's Cottage ca. 1550, butcher delivering carcass in downtown Ely, the narrowboat Katie, front and stern, and my twin bedroom on the Katie.
Monday (Aug. 23) until train time I walked around Ely a bit and had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the Great River Ouse, beginning to get in the spirit of the boat journey. At the train station Marilyn’s neighbors delivered my luggage since the station had no left luggage office, and dragging s suitcase while touring didn’t seem like a fun idea. Ely is a delightful city, charming and easily walkable; I enjoyed spending some time in the Cathedral store, a wonderful bookshop and window shopping at the Charity Shops of which there a number. I passed a few historic buildings and, from the bookstore window, saw a deliveryman hauling a hunk of meat to the butcher’s. Train left at 2:52, on time. Journey was uneventful. Changed trains at Nottingham (no sheriff in sight) for a 20-minute journey to Long Eaton then a cab to Sawley Marina. Cab driver asked me where I wanted to be left, and I, of course, had no idea. A clerk in the chandlery store called the number I had for the boat company, and someone came to get me and walk me to where the Katie was moored.
The boat’s owner, and also cook for our journey, is Gillian Smith and the skipper (boat master) is Mike Chambers. While the Katie can have 6 passengers along with the two crew, there will only be three of us. The other two passengers are Gillian’s parents, Kay and Michael Nailer, so I feel I’m part of a family gathering. I made my reservations through a company in Australia; they serve as the Australian agent for Away4awhile, the company which owns the Katie. It was just happenstance apparently that their site popped up on the Internet; this year they had only made two bookings, one of which was me.
The Katie is 70 feet long, which is just short of the 72 feet maximum to fit through many locks. It’s 6’10” wide, the single beam lock width being 7 feet. Unlike most canal/hotel boats it has no corridor so one passes through each cabin to get from front to rear. The disadvantage, of course, is one gives up some privacy during the day (doors are obviously closed at night), but there are two advantages: each cabin has a bit more room since no space is lost for a passageway and passengers are able to get to the tiller position at the rear which is typically not possible. From that location one is up higher and gets a nice view over the boat and at what’s ahead.
At the front of the boat is the entry with windows looking forward where one can see but be out of the wind. Stepping down one is in a lounge area with bench seats along each side. Table tops (a large dining table and two small cocktail tables) are stored along with their metal legs and put up when needed in the middle of the lounge. There’s a coal burning stove in the corner, although it hasn’t been on/ hasn’t been needed. Cooking can keep the front part of the boat warm, and there is central heating as well. Next to the living area is a galley which is very small but seems to work well (although I’m glad I don’t have to try to cook in it). The cabin I’m in follows the galley/kitchen; it has twin beds, very narrow bunks against each side. Next in line is a bathroom with a shower to the right, taking up only ¾ of the width; the table tops are stored along the left. Then one moves into the cabin with a double bed and from there into the second double-bed cabin which has a shower on the left side and a toilet/sink on the right with a passage between them into the crew quarters with bunk beds. From the crew space one goes up a 3-step ladder to the outside steering area in the stern. It’s very compact and efficient. Because only one of the double cabins is occupied by passengers, Skipper Mike gets the middle passenger cabin. There is a layout and further description on the boat company’s web site: http://www.away4awhile.co.uk/
We were moored on the River Trent, near Sawley Marina where we stayed overnight. Had tea upon boarding and at 7:30 a lovely dinner of roast chicken and all the accompaniments. After-dinner conversation was mostly about the boat business and various problems being faced by Gillian as she tries to manage the operation. I felt more like a family or crew member than paying passenger as the discussion swirled around me; it was fun. At dinner time the skipper is responsible for washing up, which seemed a good thing and likely to keep him humble. Of course, having his boss on board also leads to the Boat Master not being overwhelmingly masterful.
The boat’s owner, and also cook for our journey, is Gillian Smith and the skipper (boat master) is Mike Chambers. While the Katie can have 6 passengers along with the two crew, there will only be three of us. The other two passengers are Gillian’s parents, Kay and Michael Nailer, so I feel I’m part of a family gathering. I made my reservations through a company in Australia; they serve as the Australian agent for Away4awhile, the company which owns the Katie. It was just happenstance apparently that their site popped up on the Internet; this year they had only made two bookings, one of which was me.
The Katie is 70 feet long, which is just short of the 72 feet maximum to fit through many locks. It’s 6’10” wide, the single beam lock width being 7 feet. Unlike most canal/hotel boats it has no corridor so one passes through each cabin to get from front to rear. The disadvantage, of course, is one gives up some privacy during the day (doors are obviously closed at night), but there are two advantages: each cabin has a bit more room since no space is lost for a passageway and passengers are able to get to the tiller position at the rear which is typically not possible. From that location one is up higher and gets a nice view over the boat and at what’s ahead.
At the front of the boat is the entry with windows looking forward where one can see but be out of the wind. Stepping down one is in a lounge area with bench seats along each side. Table tops (a large dining table and two small cocktail tables) are stored along with their metal legs and put up when needed in the middle of the lounge. There’s a coal burning stove in the corner, although it hasn’t been on/ hasn’t been needed. Cooking can keep the front part of the boat warm, and there is central heating as well. Next to the living area is a galley which is very small but seems to work well (although I’m glad I don’t have to try to cook in it). The cabin I’m in follows the galley/kitchen; it has twin beds, very narrow bunks against each side. Next in line is a bathroom with a shower to the right, taking up only ¾ of the width; the table tops are stored along the left. Then one moves into the cabin with a double bed and from there into the second double-bed cabin which has a shower on the left side and a toilet/sink on the right with a passage between them into the crew quarters with bunk beds. From the crew space one goes up a 3-step ladder to the outside steering area in the stern. It’s very compact and efficient. Because only one of the double cabins is occupied by passengers, Skipper Mike gets the middle passenger cabin. There is a layout and further description on the boat company’s web site: http://www.away4awhile.co.uk/
We were moored on the River Trent, near Sawley Marina where we stayed overnight. Had tea upon boarding and at 7:30 a lovely dinner of roast chicken and all the accompaniments. After-dinner conversation was mostly about the boat business and various problems being faced by Gillian as she tries to manage the operation. I felt more like a family or crew member than paying passenger as the discussion swirled around me; it was fun. At dinner time the skipper is responsible for washing up, which seemed a good thing and likely to keep him humble. Of course, having his boss on board also leads to the Boat Master not being overwhelmingly masterful.
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