Michael Tyler

The day after I arrived at the last village, Nether Heyford, I received an email from Canal and River Trust informing me; ‘due to Covid, you won’t be required to move your boat until 14th April at the earliest‘.

All leisure boaters have been instructed not to visit marinas, or take their boats out.

All in all, that makes for a pretty quite canal….

Moored in Flore

I moved the boat down to somewhere called Flore. With it’s views across the valley, magnanimous phone and TV signals, and ample parking, it’s truly a boaters delight.

When I get down there, I’m shocked to find just one other boat moored! The rest are at Weedon waterpoint 1/2 mile down the road, between the sewage farm, A5 and railway. Ideal really. Silly me…

Their loss is my gain…

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Time for the next edition of my bi-weekly journal.

Effects of Covid virus

1. No more work: Yep, work is cancelled. Walking around different parts of the East Midlands knocking on doors…. bit of a no-no.
2. Panic buying: Lot’s of products have sold out in the stores. Both big and small stores. At different times, I’ve not been able to buy; milk, biscuits, nan-bread, toilet roll, hand wash, porridge oats. Porridge oats are like gold dust.
3. My plans have all been cancelled. I was planning on moving the boat to a new area, which would require the help of a crew, (to make it less boring, easier and fun). As a direct result of the virus, many of my crew members I can’t expect to attend.

Apart from that. Life is continuing pretty normally.

On my last day of work. I met about 2 ppl who claimed to be self-isolating out of about 100 addresses. Around the 2% mark.

They’ve been very slow to roll-out the tests in the UK. I heard on the radio today, tests take 48 hours to come back from the lab.

Slow to act

In China, they had those hand-held scanners and the HAZMAT suit clad medics trying to analyse the spread of the virus. It the UK we have nothing, at least that doesn’t involve a laboratory.

Perhaps if Donald Trump had been less belligerent toward the Chinese, they would be more willing to share their expertise and knowledge in reducing their domestic cases to 0.

Those days are gone I guess.

Western governments seem to be doing their own thing. Mostly due to the relative sizes of the health sectors and the power of the governments in motivating policy decisions.

Breaking the rules

Apparently, the Parisians were still frolicking on the banks of the Seine, and the Italians deliberating over the wordings of terms like ‘exercise‘ and ‘essential‘ when the public place bans were brought in in those countries.

Today, on the first day of the spring equinox, marking the first day of spring, UK residents were packing out the UK parks and markets, and taking trips to the Scottish Highlands with campers full of supermarket horded goods to self isolate.

The Yellow Jackets of France are still holding their demonstrations on the streets of the capital.

All in all, it seems like a much more unruly mob to control than in China, where a) the government wields real power b) people are genuinely scared of those powers.

In the UK, they’re even talking about mounting a legal case against the government for late action against the virus.

I don’t think you’d see that happening in China.

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Sort of between Gayton and Rothersthorpe in the wilds of the Northamptonshire countryside.

Covid?

Close to the Evergreens Equestrian center. No doubt they will be feeling the effects the covid virus in the course of time. Usually, there’s parties of kids who learn to ride the horses in the gymkhana behind the boat.

Can’t see demand being that high whilst the specter of DISEASE stalks the British isles.

There’s hosses in the field right opposite and canada geese and swans that overnight in the field next to the bridge.

Generally lot’s of wildlife around here, which I’ve noticed before.

Choice spots

I suppose this is one of my chosen spots on the way out toward my new home.

This year, I’ve decided to move. This time in a northerly direction. I won’t be taking in every mooring stop and doing 14 days in each, just the choice spots on the route between Blisworth and Rugby.

Choice spot no.1

Today, it’s the first choice spot. Gayton in the fields.

I moved here today at about 7am.

I’ve been here a few times.

There are low hedges, and fairly good broadband, parking. Very peaceful. About 1 mile from Gayton and a mile from Rothersthorpe.

Get’s sunshine all day. When there’s sun to be seen.

Good for painting as the bank is fairly low allowing you to access the sides and hull without problem.

Also, being a 45fter, I can push it round with poles here.
Ta-da!

Here’s a picture or two.

The Bonnie Lady

I’m trying to get round to adding the name to the boat, but it’s taking a long time.

I did a bit of bevel painting around the stickers we added last year.

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