Tesco’s in Leighton Buzzard is massive and a favourite stop for boaters to stock up. Our fridge was empty, so we were really glad to hop over to shop until we dropped. Food and beverages, that is. And cat food. We got rid of our recycling and rubbish too, that piles up quickly on a barge. The food packaging of goods from the supermarket is astonishing. Back in the days when we had the veggie box scheme from Riverford we produced much less rubbish. On a barge it is much more noticeable what waste we humans make. Food for thought really.

Once we were back we had to move on just a bit further to right at the top of Leighton Lock No. 27 to spend the night. We opened the door and not long Sava hopped out and not to be seen for a few hours. The nature was stunning around there. Were we not as tired as we were, we could have gone for a walk but it was dinner time and soon after bed time. We had to move on early the next morning.

It was a long and hard day, not distance wise but we had to finish the ascend of the western part of the Chiltern Hills. Then came the descend, a total of 22 locks was a bit much in one day. The difference in altitude, between Hemel Hempsted where we started and Marsworth where the cruise ended was only about 32 Meters, but for Natascha working the locks it felt like hundreds of meters.

One the way we saw this barge:

An Ovaltine barge? Wander Ltd.? Ovaltine, in German called ‘Ovomaltine’ was originally from Nat’s home town Bern in Switzerland! It turns out that Ovaltine was hugely popular in the UK and a factory was opened in Kings Langley in the early 20th century. We really didn’t know about this all until we saw this barge. Click here to read more about the history of Ovaltine in the UK.

A proud boater and a traffic jam on the cut:

During the descend we encountered a problem on the cut. Fellow boaters tried to work a lock from the bottom approach, thinking it is properly closed, but it just wouldn’t fill up. Instead the canal would loose water from the top and the whole exercise had to come to an halt. The CRT had to be called. Then our cat escaped from the boat – brilliant. Perfect timing. Anyway, we all moored up, talked with fellow boaters, we got loads of compliments for Quintessence – but look at her! A stunning beauty. People always asked us from where we were and they were amazed that we are actually living on a narrow boat.

The cat came back sooner than anticipated, and the CRT technician managed to get a rather large log out from the bottom of the lock. This log prevented the lock from closing properly. He said this happens often during the busy summer time when water is moving much more and pieces of wood get moving. Off we go, we were second in line to pass through the lock.

We were cruising more than 8 hours, it was a beautiful day and the sun came out, finally. This also meant, that inside the boat it was way above 30 degree, we have a boiler in the middle of the boat and while the engine runs the water is heated up. We kept all the windows open but had to keep the side hatch and door closed, we never knew what our cat was capable off, considering how much she dislikes the cruising.

Sometimes we team up with fellow boaters to work the locks, it’s easier obviously and the Grand Union has wide locks and some of the gates were so heavy Natascha simply couldn’t open or close them. She has to work the locks, we have a clear separation of tasks due to the fact that she claims not to be talented enough to be on the tiller.

On the way we met a couple holidaying on their boat, they figured out straight away that we are not from this isle. They were really sad about the outcome of the Brexit vote and when we parted way they said, they hope we won’t be kicked out of the UK. How crazy is that? There were cracks opening up in crust of the British society and it was hard to imagine what will await us in the Midlands.

Approaching the swing bridge.

Adnan the proud owner of the beautiful Quintessence passing through the swing bridge.

Our mooring for the night

Out of the wet dock, Quintessence in her new glory! Ian did a fantastic paint job – battle ship grey, with a white roof and some black with a white bow flash. We love it! It was worth all the work and worry, “Quinnie” looks like a new barge. There wasn’t much time to ponder, we had a cruise planned up to Ricki, aka Rickmansworth. Good Bye London – we’re heading to the Midlands…

Out of the wet dock, Quintessence in her new glory! Ian did a fantastic paint job – battle ship grey, with a white roof and some black with a white bow flash. We love it! It was worth all the work and worry, “Quinnie” looks like a new barge. There wasn’t much time to ponder, we had a cruise planned up to Ricki, aka Rickmansworth. Good Bye London – we’re heading to the Midlands…

It’s End of June, Quintessence is back where we bought her. This time she’s in the wet dock, ready to be painted. Time is now for a new color, battle ship grey, as Ian the man in charge said.

The roof had to be cleared of all the stuff we had on top, but also the engine room as Adnan had a major to do list for the engine room too. Most of the stuff from the living room area, inside the boat, went to the back as all the windows will be taken out as well. We were told that the windows will be sealed with plastic and there is no need to worry for the new solid wooden floor… Anyway, we did as told and we moved back in with Lennaart in Finsbury Park for another three weeks.

23 June 2016 belongs to the past and the Brexit vote result is out. Britain voted for it. The morning of the 23 June was a bleak one, waking up has seldom felt so distorted. The seemingly impossible has become real. Driving up to Uxbridge felt like a betrayal, Natascha didn’t wanted to set foot on Boris Johnson’s constituency. What on earth has crossed their minds? The Empire is long gone, it will not be resurrected, ever, and the UK can’t sail on it’s own in the murky waters of global economy and politics. The UK of 2016 is part of Europe. Period. Yes, many things within the EU are not right but jumping off the cliff seems significantly more pointless than staying part of it and trying to bring change about it in a meaningful way. All that talk of ‘red tape’ and restrictions. What about all the EU regional funds that flowed in to UK communities to make people’s lives better? Will the money now come from Westminster? We often have the impression the cash stays within the M25, will it change with exiting the EU? We particularly felt sorry for the younger generation of the UK, the prospects of being able to study in Europe or live there have been significantly reduced. And there will be a mountain of admin work to be processed, taking away the focus on other pertinent issues in the country. Like housing?!

So many we know, who are from the European mainland, who also couldn’t vote, felt the same. We all felt betrayed.

But now back to Quintessence, some unsettling news from that end too. Ian started sanding the steel and it turned out that the roof was full of rust. One of the previous owner must have just painted over it, to disguise the rust, used some cheap paint that let the water through. Ian said that this means it isn’t a paint job, as initially agreed, but a restoration job. He needs an extra helper, meaning more money for us to pay.

It also meant more work for us helping Ian. For two days Natascha was hammering off rust of Quintessence with a chisel. It occurred to her that she was also quite often hammering on her thumb, seemingly not being very good at it. Then came the revelation, she wasn’t that bad a it, but when people work on a boat sitting in water, it moves, which is a rather natural thing. Hitting the chisel can be a challenge, all of a sudden.

There was absolutely no time to make a single photo during the restoration, sadly. We were so stressed with the workload and panicked occasionally that we won’t finish on time. On top Natascha still had to work on the pay job too, three days a week. It wasn’t an easy time physically and mentally. We had some serious arguments, but maybe that is part of the process. Furthermore we have this rather long cruising trip ahead of us. We had to get to Coventry, climbing over the Chiltren Hills and back down again. Hundreds of locks to work…

We had H1 Reber from the Graphic Design Studio Buro Destruct in Bern designing a new boat writing for Quintessence and we envisaged something more contemporary. Ian the boat painter recommended us a sign writer, with whom he often works, and this chap came by for a quick chat. Well, he wouldn’t do that modern stuff, his idea was more scrolls and an old school writing. No sign writing then until we could find somebody who could do such a writing.

These were the variations:

Uxbridge is a funny place, it turned out to be a Brexiteers heaven, of course. Could it be because it is the constituency of Boris Johnson, the chieftain of the Leave campaign?

The referendum was ahead of us and most of London seemed against Brexit. Not in Uxbridge though, which isn’t Central London, but still, it’s Greater London. A lot of boaters had Brexit support posters on their windows or showing other paraphernalia related to it. There was quite a profound anti Europe sentiment in the air.

Brussels was the nemesis of the moment. The pesky foreigners were invading the UK and this had to be stopped. The term ‘red tape’ was used again and again.

As foreigners, these sentiments seemed strange, unfamiliar and we felt a bit uneasy about it. The UK felt like a pressure cooker under too much pressure and that the lid will blast off any moment. We did not want to get in trouble and refrained from making photos of those ‘Brexit boats’, nor did we want to get involved in any discussion. Weird times.

Instead we enjoyed the canal around Uxbridge and focused on the natural beauty. We also had a major project ahead of us – Quintessence was about to receive a new color. She was about to be painted and Ian Prince, the boat painter, came to see us in Uxbridge.

Green Uxbridge, it’s so green and lush, a constituency predestined for the Green Party UK?

Quintessence still with her old paint.

Adnan waiting in anticipation, where is Ian?

That’s one way to hang the washing, quite a good one, actually. One to copy?

Little Venice is a rather posh, but also pretty mooring. Upon arriving, we double moored with another boat, it turned out that our neighbours, Ben & Charlotte had a problem with their engine – it wouldn’t start. It all pointed at ‘dead’ start-up batteries. The good news was: we had the generator and it could finally be put into action! We managed to get the engine going so at least they had hot water for a shower. It turned out as well, that in a few days time it’ll be their wedding and now, beforehand they had to get new batteries… such is the boater life sometimes. Batteries arrived and were installed on time.

And here we go, not quite ‘just married’, but soon to be married: Ben & Charlotte

Natascha went to Switzerland for a short trip and Oliver from Berlin came over to visit Adnan for a few days. They also had to move the boat as in the meantime the seven days were up and we had to move on.

Our next stop was the lovely Meanwhile Community Gardens. The ‘boys’ moored more or less below Trellick Tower, a brutalist style tower block. Natascha once knew somebody who lived there, nowadays it’s a fancy place to live and the flats are sought after properties. During the time we stayed there we kept thinking how it must be to live in the upper part of the building, the view must be breathtaking, the sunsets divine.

But here we are, at the bottom of it, behind the tower and the trees, where the sun soon disappears. Still, it’s a good place to be, soon we have to move on to Uxbridge. The next chapter is ahead of us, Quintessence will soon be taken out of water to have the hull blackened again, then she will get a new lick of paint.

Then the news broke of Adnan having found a fix mooring in Coventry. Not really the most attractive place to live in the UK. But Adnan worked there. So, we thought to give it a go. Better than continuing with cruising every two weeks. This meant though after the paint job we had to cruise up to the Midlands during July.

The soon to be fixed mooring/home.

It was a really nice cruising day, we passed Crazy Camden Town first, then London Zoo, beautiful Little Venice, turned right into Paddington Basin and there we were. Right in the midst of it! It is indeed a very special place to moor up, so central and right next to St. Mary’s Hospital. When we had the door and windows open we could hear the beeping of the various life support machines…

Paddington Station is also just a stone’s throw away, hence it’s rather easy to go to work for once. It was easy to do food shopping, of course and a good launderette was around the corner too. Shame only that the mooring there is another 7 days one only.

If Battle Bridge Basin was swanky, what is Paddington Basin mooring? Futuristic? That is how it looks on a sunny day:

And that on an overcast day (the building on the right being St. Mary’s Hospital):

Mirza, the cousin of Adnan, came to visit us, he was on a business trip to London. He was quite amazed about the location, less about the size of the boat though.