A couple of days ago I wrote about new visitors near our mooring bubble. I mentioned the recently appeared cows across the canal but didn’t talk about the pirate boat. Heidi and Jakki have been following the CRT lockdown guidance, moving only for essential supplies. However, rather than moving for water or groceries and returning to where they’d been moored, as we’ve been doing for over six weeks, they’ve continued in one direction. We’re rather spoilt here, as we’ve all consciously chosen to moor in the countryside, not too far from facilities, on a lock-free stretch with sufficient winding holes. Not every liveaboard boater is so blessed.

Of course, they’re not able to trade at canal festivals as ‘The Pirate Boat‘, because they’ve all been cancelled (or postponed). They can however still function as ‘Badges On Board’ and have had many NHS badge orders. Check out their website – there are heaps of inspirational designs, or you could make up your own – https://badgesonboard.com

It’s brilliant to see them both again. Barry and I last spent time with them in the ‘busman’s holiday’ in February. Naturally, we’re all maintaining the COVID-19 physical distancing rule of two metres.

Time For Ancestor Tracing

Last night I started a new WordPress website, inspired by a reader who liked a post. I checked out her site which was extensive, all about her family history with pages for many different surnames. What a fabulous idea – I wrote up a short version of my parent’s whakapapa in 2002, but only on a word processor. To have it all online, for posterity, and to be able to dig down into dates and facts about my relatives, has appealed to me for many years. I’ve decided now is the opportune time to take this forward. I signed up to ancestry.co.uk, initially for a two-week free trial. But I have no doubt I’ll be continuing. Oh my! I’m already obsessed. It’s incredible. I’ll need to be very mindful of taking it slowly – or I’ll get nothing else done!

What a blessing this lockdown is for me.

I’ve spent about three hours on the ancestry site today, and I’m riveted. I’ve also spent a few hours working – so not a bad balance really 😉

COVID-19 Symptom Tracker

Another day of reporting no symptoms. There are now 2,973,967 people reporting across the UK. Surely tomorrow they’ll have over 3 million reporting? Yay!