I’m interrupting the series of blogs about our recent adventure to Les Deux Alpes. Mainly because I’m not going to have time to complete the final post until next week. I’ll explain later why time is sparse from today till next Monday (yep, you guessed it, more adventures this week!) …

You may recall in early November we welcomed Anna-Marie and Kath (from ‘Narrowboat Experience‘) on board Areandare, whilst we descended the locks onto the Montgomery Canal? I alluded to there being more to the visit than a friendly chat? And that I’d let you know when our appearance on one of their brilliant ‘Vlogs’ (a video blog for anyone who hasn’t heard the term previously) went ‘live’?

Well they let us know on Sunday that it was being posted.

And here it is!

Us.

Being honest.

About OUR experiences as Roving Canal Traders, and what we’ve seen over the almost seven years we’ve been trading and continuously cruising.

There’s lots of lovely comments already on the YouTube channel video, and over 12,500 views! Wow! Anna-Marie and Kath have followers around the globe. What a clever couple they are.

Thanks both for allowing us to share our thoughts, and home, with so many folks interested in our ‘living a life less ordinary’ experiences 😉

Inspirational Women

I’ve met many inspirational women in my sixty years on this planet. These two are truly amazing. Honest, friendly, supportive and adventurous.

Anna-Marie is originally from Australia, and endured a similar UK spousal sponsored visa application process as Barry. However on the final stage they were wiser than us, and fast-tracked their application at the same time as Barry’s went in. Thankfully Anna-Marie’s was approved, and they received the news within a couple of weeks. Not five flipping months later!!

If you want to read more about Anne-Marie’s journey, she’s written a fascinating Kindle book which you can order through this link (* note this is an affiliate link)

(Note – If you aren’t in UK you may not see the link above – Anna-Marie’s Kindle book is called ‘Search for Freedom;The Narrowboat Experience’, by Anna Hopkins)

They’ve both worked hard and have been focussed to achieve the lifestyle they now enjoy. As we discuss in the video-blog, one of the main things about living and sustaining yourselves in this parallel universe is trying different things to sustain being ‘off grid’. Anna-Marie is a talented artist. Kath’s skills are in IT – hence the excellently produced and edited Vlogs.

Don’t Be Put Off!

We don’t want to discourage anyone from living their dream. So many people have said to us over the years “I’d love to do what you’re doing!”. Generally we feel they could. However … It’s not a panacea. You can’t just ditch the job, buy a boat, and live happily ever after!

BUT – most people have far too much ‘stuff‘. Needless stuff. Holding on to stuff. Feeling they must get a new car. The latest phone/gadget. The best kitchen/lounge suite, whatever. They watch TV and are sucked into the marketing (says she whose job is now in Google Ads!!) that compels them to work and work, to earn money to buy more stuff!

You have to let go to gain more.

Experiences. Not stuff 😉

Do get in touch if you want to chat more about our trading experiences, or just ways of living a life less ordinary.