# 180 Prepping for a Big Storm and How I Earn a Living on My Narrowboat

we're stuck between two lock closures without services in the icy grip of an Arctic blast subzero temperatures have frozen out air vents and window sills but have also made the canal a winter wonderland of beauty this Vlog is all about how I prepare for stor isa's Mighty winds and how I managed to earn a living whilst floating around on my [Music] [Music] boat oh the kindness the kindness of Dave the boa on Naro an has just dropped off some heat logs and some dog treats that is so kind se's already had a dog treat that is so kind of him this is the way we measure our water we don't have a gauge some boats have proper gauges so you can actually see um on a little screen but we have a stick and it works really well I'm now going to measure the water and see how much we've got and then I'm going to measure to see how much fuel we've got as well as our 500 L water tank we have gotten a additional 240 L Aqua rolls this one is frozen slightly hopefully that will defrost soon and that's to help us get through this time where we can't reach a service Point yeah there's a big bit of ice but there's much more water than there was [Music] before okay right on the bottom and there you can see just under half a tank of water if I'm thinking Common Sense wise in one week I've used half tank and that should mean that I can get through this week now this is the fuel gauge so you can see that that's on full that's that Mark means half a tank and with the fuel because we're not going very far you might think oh we're not using any fuel but we are using fuel every time we put the heating on our heating system a w basto heating system every time we put that on in the morning which normally I do for about an hour every morning that is using up fuel so let's have a look how much fuel we've got dip that off wow got almost a full tank that's good news because we can't get through this loot closure for another 5 days and today storm Isa is heading our way can hear the ice [Applause] [Music] cracking right now I'm going to go out and get the boat prepared so nothing blows off and when we are bashing against the size it doesn't make a sound cuz this storm is going to be quite strong I think the wind's 50 60 MPH right this is when the big fenders come out we don't normally use them on a canal we don't use them but they are going to really soften the blow I [Music] think I've put the big fenders down I have secured the internet pole I've tightened the solar panel brackets and I have made sure our ropes are secure and now I'm just making sure the chimney hat stays [Music] on the winds are strong enough to BL the camera over that is quite I hope that's okay the good thing about being stuck at this moing is that I'm actually between two post boxes one's in a post office in biston and the other one is in Wedgewood where they make the beautiful pottery so I'm going to take you and show you around there [Music] now I'm posting copies of my 2022 and 2023 journal and I just like to thank my amazing new printer mark from hullbridge design for his super quick turnaround of printing my new book and I'm so pleased for the quality and thank you so much if you've gone on to my Etsy shop and bought my new book already let me show you around Wedgwood the museum is free and it's amazing the father of English Potters Josiah Wedgewood came from a family of 12 older siblings all of which including their parents were [Music] Potters he founded his Ceramics business in 1759 in buram STO on Trent but he didn't move to this barston Factory until [Music] 1950 I really love loved reading from this memory Board of all people who visit the museum that used to work for Wedgewood so for example there is a Wedgewood designer from Longton here who used to design for the top hotels even Concord Robert bulock who packed the pottery for Concord Q2 and NATO headquarters Matt Riley who worked on the Masterpiece collection for the Japanese Market there's a lady here who used to be a cup Handler who worked her way up to supervisor and then her daughter followed in her footsteps and worked for Wedgewood but this one really tickled me I have no idea what Wedgewood is but maybe I'll ask my [Music] dad here you can see what influence fashion had on Wedgewood designs let me get those patterns how they were packed in these barrels and straw to keep them secure knowing what an asset the canal would be to his business Wedgewood did not only Champion the Trenton Mery Canal he made the first cut this oh my goodness he had a journal Wedgewood helped Thomas Clark's and Granville sharp found the society for the abolition of the slave trade and he made clay medals to reflect this so I'm just imagining this on the dinette all set for tea just before we go through a lock hit the side 75% of it more pieces it's nice [Music] though hem Heath woods and this is wedge [Music] Woods two JS s even though it's too early for the nesting season it looks like this Jack door is checking out this tree hole as a potential nesting site they are the only corvid that will nest in tree holes they do love a chimney pot as well [Music] though it's so lovely to see this Ren because of all the ice we've had they're normally the first bird to perish in freezing conditions but here it is looking out for little insects in the [Music] bark [Music] I thought it would be good for me to talk to you about how I earn a living on an Arab boat just in case you're thinking of doing the same thing and you're thinking can I transfer my work onto an araro and continuously cruise I used LinkedIn to help me set up my online teaching business and I found my pupils this way I set up a YouTube channel which obviously you know about with very kind patrons and coffees support which helps that to grow and finally I set up an Etsy shop where I sell my journals when you're working online then and remotely the most important thing is your internet because it's basically going to enable you to your job properly now on this Scaro we have ha Hawaii I just never know how to pronounce it but it's a box with that name and it comes from the three Network and we have a pole on top of the Naro roof which is probably going to fall off tonight in this wind and um that serves us well but when we go to an area and the three network is not so good what we often find is if you put our phones in the window which are gift Gaff and that's O2 then the signal can run perfectly well from that thing you have to think about is equipment so my job for the equipment that I have for my job might be very different to the equipment that you're doing for your job particularly if you need tools and all sorts of materials like that so the equipment that I use and need is a scanner and I use a thermal printer to print off address labels I charge up my devices like my cameras and my laptop and my phone all those things when the solar is good or when I run the engine for an hour in the evening hours the strongest of the Winds across its Southern flank affecting most of the UK this is a very widespread Amber warning it's a very wild night to come of those damaging winds continuing up until 6:00 a.m. in the morning so that's my equipment really plus the cameras and things like that the equipment that I have there needs storing because I have things like my books that I'm selling so I have stock plus the scanner and the thermal printer that I've spoken to you about and I've got a tripod which I hardly ever use but all of that equipment needs storing so on a narrow you'll often find that storage doubles up as something else and this is where all of my work stuff lives in this cupboard with a broom and a mop and the outdoor coats and even though I am working seven days a week now because literally I do work every day I'm doing something work related every day it doesn't feel like work and I absolutely love it I hope that's helped you but if you do have any questions please just drop them in the comments box because or write me an email because yeah I'd love to be able to help you in any way or answer any questions if have left something out hopefully I'll see you in the morning right it's the morning after stormish I didn't get any sleep stormish was not happy and did not want anyone to get any sleep I don't think last night she wanted us to stay up and party all night with her honestly but it's not a bad thing because I woke up must I must have had about an hour and and I wrote a poem so I write that my journal today Isa has inspired me right let's see along the canal oh okay Z let's see along the canal if there's any damage I hope there isn't did you get any sleep last night SE yeah you look like you got loads of energy well we've got hardly any ice left the Canada geese are in the farfield I heard them this morning everything oh look I haven't got a chimney hat oh no oh God I was worried about that should have taken it off shouldn't I right so we're going to have our eyes peeled for you Mr Chimney hat ZF you got to find the chimney [Music] hat believe it or not there's another storm on the way today called Joselin so I don't think I'm going to get much sleep either [Music] [Music] tonight just Clos one stor we've got another one on the way hav we is that what you're singing me that's my very first beginnings of snow drops there I've [Music] seen so I've just been waiting at the level Crossing for about half an hour the wind has set the sensor off and it won't come up so I'm going to have to take a really long walk around to get to the canal but then it looks like it actually might be opening again so I start running back to try and catch the level crossing even though the barriers have shot up the siren keeps going off so they're not allowed to let anyone cross I'm going to try this way instead I start walking a very long and wide way around to get to my boat but I kept looking back thinking maybe they've fixed it maybe they have sorted it and I'll just turn around don't know what to do I'm stuck in limbo cars are still waiting there so I'm committing now I'm committing to this walk there's Alice Alice Gray so near and yet so so far I know I said I was committed I really want to go my boat's just there let's go back let's go back Z let's try let's try I'm hopeful this timeing oh it works sorry oh it was lovely to be able to just walk 5 minutes back to the boat instead of walking another 50 minutes on top of the hour and a half I'd already walk this morning oh God that is a relief come here come [Music] on oo stop the pen stay Isa descends as 61 renss huddle or ruffled in a cave of a tree she Wells Gusty gals her tears fall like nails as they Ting off the ice on the Trent of Mery hammering her Roars on the windows and doors shaking the boats with a listen to me inside listeners hide and hope they are tied tight enough that Isa does not pull them free clouds like race horses ride fiercely in forces their Main's Flames flying ferociously and Within Walls of still every cry I can feel like the Rens huddled ruffled in the cave of their [Music] tree [Music]

Channel: The Mindful Narrowboat

Views: 234,650

Keywords:

Id: DbrTgWt2VYI

Length: 21min 15sec (1275 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 26 2024