February 2026 – Pete's Blog

We have had our first couple of trips out on Narrowboat Thuis this week. Dodging the hail and rain we found a couple of days of sunshine and pootled along the Trent & Mersey.

It was very beautiful and brought home to me why we love boating. But as you can see from the photo, it was very chilly and after a couple of hours at the tiller, I felt so very cold. Fortunately, inside the boat it is not cold. We get heating from the engine, heating from our Webasto central heating, and when needed, heating from our “bubble stove”. So one of the things I have enjoyed most this week has been watching Yellowstone of an evening, in my T Shirt, while the sleet fell outside.

But I have concluded that maybe February is just a little too early to be boating. It is too wet, too windy or too cold. So we are heading back to the house for a couple more weeks, catching up with a few appointments and then heading out properly in early March for our first big trip, down to Oxford. The good news is that we have proved over the past fortnight that everything is working well. Our newly serviced engine is chugging along nicely. Nothing serious has broken inside the boat during the winter. I have even sprayed the algae that had grown on my gunwhales. It is all going well.

You can of course expect a post from me in a couple of months complaining that it is too dry and too hot. Narrowboaters like to complain. But we also really love it, and seeing the countryside at 3mph this week has reminded me of that. There were a few early lambs in the fields, geese and swans giving me evils for disturbing their canal, even a few crocuses edging out of the ground.

Just a bit cold.

Mandy and I have been married for nearly forty years and we get on with each other very well. This is a bit surprising because in many ways we are very different. For instance she really doesn’t like change. When we have been living on Narrowboat Thuis for a while, she does not want to leave and return to the house. When we have been living in bricks and mortar over the winter, she does not want to come down to the boat. On the other hand I am always planning the next thing to do instead of enjoying the moment.

Narrowboat Thuis, settled in Aston Marina this week.

We are back on the boat for the first time this year and Mandy is now in her happy place. She has done her jobs and is spending her time cross-stitching a picture of a narrowboat and watching an American series called “Castle”. I have done most of my jobs needed at the start of the season. The water tank has been disinfected. The engine bay has been cleaned. Our new central heating controller has been set up. The store cupboard staples have been bought and put away. The floor has been steam cleaned.

So now I just want to get back out on the cut. There are advantages staying in the marina. It means we have access to the car. there is water literally on tap. And mains electricity because at this time of year there is not enough solar to keep the batteries topped up. However, since we retired we have travelled all over the country and nothing beats waking up each morning with a new view and pootling along the canals and rivers.

The problem is that it is really too early in the year to get out and about. There are still a lot of winter works going on, and after all the rain there are flood warnings on many of the navigations. And frankly it is not much fun steering a narrowboat in the wet.

So we have compromised. Saturday weather looks cold and dry, so we hope to get the boat out. But we will spend most of next week staying in the marina. Then we will go back to the house for a couple of weeks before starting a big trip down to Oxford starting in March.

I like a plan.

We drove down to Sussex last weekend to see Rob and Alessa, our son and soon to be daughter in law. As always, it was great to see them but there was a special reason for this visit. They were performing in a pantomime.

The village they live in has a thriving amateur dramatic society and this year’s performance was “Sleeping Beauty”. Rob and Alessa played the romantic leads and both were real stars. I can even forgive Rob’s dodgy Welsh accent because both their acting and singing were outstanding.

I love to watch an amateur pantomime. Why was it at the end of January? Because everyone is busy coming up to Christmas. Does an occasional mistake matter? No, in a pantomime mistakes make it even better. For instance when the curtains opened towards the end of the last act to show the bed in the tower where Sleeping Beauty was meant to be lying, there was no princess! The curtains swiftly closed and opened again and there she was, ready for her prince to kiss and wake her from a hundred year slumber.

There was a colourful dame, an over the top evil fairy, and audience participation with Mandy being dragged on stage. It was just such a good evening.

So what have I learnt? That community matters. That enthusiasm can get you a very long way. And that things don’t have to be perfect to be perfect. I’d even be tempted to join a troupe myself if we weren’t away so much.

Thanks Robbie. Thanks Alessa. We had a wonderful time.

Month: February 2026

Is it too cold to go boating?

Back at the boat. What’s next?

I love a pantomime. Oh yes I do.