A new lifestyle

Having    purchased    the    narrowboat    Alkeny     in    January    2021    it    took    until Saturday   9th   January   2021   to   prepare   the   narrowboat   for   living   aboard   and eventually   move   her   to   Mercia   Marina.   When   the   weather   improved   I   would commence   cruising   the   rivers   and   canals   of   England.   Much   of   the   work   to prepare   Alkeny    and   to   move   her   to   Derbyshire   was   delayed   by   the   third Covid-19   English   national   lockdown   that   was   introduced   on   6th   January 2021.   The   work   also   took   much   longer   than   expected,   with   delays   brought about   by   other   work   in   the   boatyard,   the   weather   and   the   late   supply   of equipment and components. It   was   planned   to   rename   the   boat   “Tradewinds   IV”   (TW4),   in   sucession   of my   previous   boats   of   the   same   name,   but   that   was   a   long   way   down   my   list of priorities. To be continued ………  

Why?

I    am    a    European    and    before Brexit     came     along     I     had     a passport   that   woud   allow   me   to travel   anywhere   in   Europe   for   as long     as     I     wanted.     Until     1st January    2021    I    was    spending about    11    months    of    each    year split   between   Greece   and   Spain   - that   was   my   life   and   my   choice, and    then    suddenly    it    all    was taken    away    from    me!   And    so    I needed   to   find   somewhere   to   live in   the   UK   during   the   6   months   I’ll not   be   unable   to   travel   to   where   I want    to    be    in    Europe!    Having spent   36   years   in   the   Royal   Navy and     most     years     since     living aboard   yachts,   it   was   natural   that I    should    want    to    live    aboard somewhere                    somehow! Narrowboats    were    the    obvious choice,   not   only   for   the   lifestyle but   also   for   the   comradeship   of other    boaters.    My    new    lifestyle was opening up ahead of me!