I haven’t been on board much the past week or so: I have been away a few times and after a weekend visit from a goth who enjoyed the futon and the local hostelries, have spend a lot of time round at the part-time shipmate’s house.

That I enjoy being with her and the part-time dog is one reason, the other is the cold, rain and flooding that Oxford along with the rest of the UK has been facing. Luckily this canal, or canals in general I don’t know, isn’t prone to rise too much. The nearby rivers have broken their banks and roads around town have been closed, and travel has been some sort of carbon generating lottery. So, unlike boaters on the thames that have had to batten down the hatches, my place has been okay.

The temperature is more of a problem, it’s really not easy to keep a fire going all night and that it’s so far from the bed means waking up is like having slept a bit rough. I either need to get better at this or invest in some cardboard. The leaks continue too, it’s not altogether homely.

An unexpected result of the cold is this that I found on my return tonight:

It seems olive oil, and washing up liquid go all thick. Oo-er.

Days at sea: 50

Rations: Veggie sausages.

Stowed: Skimmed milk powder, after what happened to the olive oil and the washing up liquid.