A Panto and the pub........ what more can we want.

Thursday 22nd January.

We got up to a wet morning, with a gusty wind. Because of all the overnight rain, the field by us was beginning to flood, a lot of the problem is the stream that runs alongside the field is clogged up with fallen trees and leaves, so the water overflows into the field, because its normal path is blocked. I suspect this is the case with a lot of flooding that takes place all over the country. Paddy did not hang around when on his walk, so once back onboard, we had breakfast and a cuppa, before I set about doing a job, I had been putting off. You know what its like, you keep looking at something, which you know needs doing, and it gets put off until you can no longer look at it. Well for me this was the washing of the back cabin curtains and cabin lace. Since lighting the stove back in October the curtains and cabin lace have been gathering dust, and today I could look at them no longer. I stripped the cabin and piled it all into the washing machine. Whilst that was on its cycle, I washed down the ribbon plates and woodwork to get rid of some of the dust. Coal dust is an occupational hazard when burning house coal on a stove, it just means that the curtains etc, need washing more often to keep them clean and the dust down. I am in the process of making a new pair of curtains, but I want to save them until we go to the festivals this year.
1.30pm and we met Keith’s sister Wendy at the Jolly Boatman for lunch. Now since the last time we were in Thrupp the Jolly Boatman has had two new owners. This new owner has made the pub into a more of a wine bar, restaurant type of place, which really does not suit it, but that is just my opinion. The food when we ate their last time was excellent; it was to a very high standard, the same cannot be said about the foods this time. I had cod cooked in beer batter and hand cut chips. The fish was ok, but the chips looked like they had been deep fried to within an inch of their lives and with it came a small finger bowl of peas. For £8.75 I really expected a higher standard of cooking. Keith had the Steak and Ale Pie and said it was ok and Wendy had the Chilli, which she said was alright, but the portion was small. After lunch we came back to Hadar for a coffee and a chat before Wendy drove us to her house and then on to the Panto which she is performing in at the Corn Exchange, Witney. Wendy is part of the Witney Dramatic Society and their Panto this year is Dick Whittington. We had a fabulous time; the Panto was really very well done with excellent performances by the dancers from the Jill Stew Dance School. There was plenty of laughter and audience participation, making for a very enjoyable evening. Wendy played one of King Rat’s henchmen, and looked very evil in her red wig and makeup. It was late by the time we got back to the boat, but we were hungry, so I made us some toast and a cuppa whilst we watched the end of Wyatt Earp, after which we headed off to bed.

Friday 23rd January.

Nothing much to report, we had a nice quiet day just chilling out. During the afternoon Bones and Maffi came calling, so we sat onboard eating cake, drinking coffee and chatting about all things boating. Later on we walked up to The Boat Inn for an evening of chatter with Bones, Maffi, Steve (PJ) and friends of Bones and Maffi; it was an excellent evening of laughter.