It's A Hit!

One of the first things you get asked when it's discovered you live on a boat is: "Is it cold?"
From now on I'm going to answer: "Only if you don't put the heating on."

For the record, it can be very cold. And very damp. We are surrounded by fairly cold water after all. The two in conjunction, and they always go hand in hand on boats, can make for a pretty miserable experience. Remember I have about an inch of timber and paint between me and the outside world. That's why boats have heating, just like those funny things you normal folks live in have.

Most of us have some form of solid fuel burning stove; try heating a boat off the electrics and you'd better be a very rich bunny. I, like many of the boats on the mooring, have a little Morso Squirrel; a cast iron box with levers and dials. I feed her coal and she feeds me heat. I love her and look after her and she looks after me. It is a mutually beneficial relationship.

I say all this because I came back to a very cold home this morning. It's pretty hard to do anything when you're using all your energy to keep warm. Turn the rads off for a day and see how much you get done that doesn't involve the remote control. Last winter when I was Squirel-less I was going to bed fully clothed, in a dressing gown, in a sleeping bag, under the duvet. And that was on a normal winter's night.

But it's toasty now.

I got to meet the baby Jessica yesterday. I think that the sound of a baby laughing is the sound of complete freedom. People who can't smile at this have no business wasting their time on this planet, and need to look for a way off pretty damn pronto.


Tunes: Rilo Kiley: More Adventurous