It was a busy evening with a visit to an off-grid sheep shack built to a high standard with reused materials, than a trip on the canals with a day in the life of the coal boat. This is a pair of old working boats from the 1930’s restored to fine operating condition complete with two cylinder Lister diesel to push it down the cut making very traditional sounds. Quite modern as there was a reverse gear!
They cruise in tandem when delivering to customers then the motor goes ahead on longer lock-free sections as it’s more efficient. The couple deliver diesel, coal, wood and gas to their customers who are dotted along the cut. There’s a mixture of old and new technology as the customers place orders by various text services and pay from their online bank accounts via bank transfer. The husband and wife couple say they enjoy the work which is quite physically demanding as the sacks are 25kg. They make a living and provide a valuable service to their grateful customers.
Still on the canal theme, a guy went back to see his former boat purchased by a disabled man who decided to have it adapted to better meet his needs as he likes to cruise alone.
The new owner had more solar panels fitted, LFP batteries and an electric motor to replace the diesel. There were other modifications to the layout to help him get around. He was taking the boat on a trial run so the former owner went along too so was able to compare the difference of having an electric motor to the diesel. Both agreed that the boat was more responsive with the electric motor especially when reversing as well as a lot quieter as there was barely a sound.
I had a quick run from Cambridge to Huntingdon following the route of the old roads and visiting places of interest in the presenter’s 1923 map and guidebook. The trip ended at RAF Duxford to look at the museum.
The next trip was from Stockholm to Luleå in Swedish Lapland. The original terminus was Narvik but there had been a derailment at Clapham Junction hence the change. It was amusing to compare the differences between travelling between Euston and Stockholm central railway station which was festooned with Christmas lights even though it was the beginning of January. Euston looked very dismal by comparison.
The train was not very modern but hauled by two huge diesel electrics. His accommodation was in first class where he had a bathroom complete with hot and cold water, also a toilet and hairdryer. He said the beds were very comfortable and wide for a sleeper car. Heating was not a problem as he was forced to leave the window open despite the snow and freezing conditions outside. The journey lasts fourteen hours passing some very attractive scenery. Not that much of it was visible at night which comes early in Lapland in January.
Skinny wanted to pee at 04:00 so I let him out. Sasha went out to join him and Maya came in to get warm. I feel she’s becoming a bit of a softie.
Our walks were under a starry sky which made it very pleasant. It was cooler and there was the slightest of breezes. Crossing the river was still easy as there’s even less water than the trickle.
The second walk was with Skinny as chaperone and involved a second trip to Azzuro.
I rode over Panorama with a detour to the post office to send a package. It was getting windier with a coldish northeasterly wind. I stopped for bread and at Petrakis as I needed carrots for the DDs and something for myself as the fridge was quite bare.
I delivered bread to Lucia and then returned to feed the dogs and finish off the DDs.
There was a little IT job to check on as I’d set Caroline’s computer to backup her mail to an archive folder. It didn’t work due to an ‘unknown error’ – very helpful! I moved some messages but it’s painfully slow as the mailbox is jammed full of stuff.
I amused myself with Lucia’s laptop where I copied her recently-culled password list to NordPass which is now her prime password manager. I’ve set up a login password on her laptop and made other configuration changes to enhance her security. I noted that her PayPal account used the same insecure password used by seventy-odd other websites in her password list. Not accounting for other locations.
I went to put on a wash for Nina who gave me some paper to print out some documents she’s been working on for their tourism project. They are trying to get Slovenians to come to Crete to see the sites whilst enjoying other experiences.
I collected some money from the Spanish, gave some Hell to Bona after opening the laundry room door. I returned to process the DDs and eventually feed the dogs.
It’s still light but chilly outside so we’re inside with the heating on. It’s not my imagination as the AC also thinks it quite chilly. It’s blustery outside so I expect both Maya and Sasha will be inside tonight. Isabella is conked out next to me with Skinny and Luis sharing the other bench. Oskar is at my feet and Obi is lurking at the front as he prefers it cool too.
