Joining the 'wimped out' gang

We are definitely 'liveaboards' - see definitions of boaters on http://pickles-no2.blogspot.com/ .  Ice on the water two days runnings means we run for cover!  We've learned our lesson from last year - 6 weeks frozen in up the top end of the Ashby, 2 miles from the nearest tap.  This time it's different!  We have sought refuge at the top of the Atherstone locks, within smelling distance of the elsan point - and here we will stay until Shifali the weather girl tells us it's ok to proceed.  We wimped out of going to see the 'Pantimime horse grand national' in Birmingham today - sorry Graham & Gill - if we'd known you were going we would have made more of an effort to attend, however, as we've 'wimped out' we were running out of wood, and as we were moored in the town, we couldn't forage for wood, so - to our shame - we had a load of logs delivered.  This added to the contentment - we were too comfortable in the warm on board to go out into minus seven temperature.  The reason .....  our new coal/wood burning stove we installed in the back (after last winter!)  HUGE barrel stove, on which we can also put the cast iron pot, and merrily stew away.  So we've got the diesel stove in the front and the log burner at the back, toasty.

In my defence, I had made a brief visit to mum's in Chirk so had spent quite alot of time on trains over the past couple of days - 5 trains one way, but only 3 trains return - after I paid a supplement of £8.  Train travel - I could write a whole page on different rates - don't worry - I won't!