The holiday of a lifetime - The Ambulance

 The holiday of a lifetime - The Ambulance

In 1971 I was still working at Smithfield Market, and in my travels I came across an ex-ambulance on my way home from work. It was amongst a lot of other secondhand vehicles on some waste ground, near to Clapham South underground station. I had a brief look at it, the body work seemed sound, as were the tyres. I enquired about its price, which seemed reasonable. It still had the white livery of an ambulance, along with the ‘Ambulance’ sign above the cab, which I knew our children would find cool. I thought of it as a project and also to use it for holidays in the future.
(Apart from a few DIY jobs around the home, I had no experiences to guide me with most things that I did. My father or my brothers never passed any of these skills on to me, if they had any, so I was working in the dark. Any skills that I had were picked up on my way through life. I had some knowledge of mechanics but no practical experience)  


 

 

Photo: Claire, Mark and John, with Sandy in the background

When I got home that day I mentioned seeing the ambulance to Sandy, and we made arrangements to visit on the following Saturday. The children got very excited by the fact we had seven seats in the back. There was a wide single back door with a drop-down step; this would become very handy later.

I think we paid the princely sum of £250 for the vehicle, it had been checked over earlier in the week. We then became the proud owners of the ambulance a week later. Taking it back home was fun, a couple of times people waved out to us to stop, obviously waiting for a ‘real’ ambulance to turn up. This often happened until we painted out the ambulance sign, replacing it with the Union Jack and changing the body colour to purple and white. The painting was suggested by the children.
Over the next few months a transformation took place with the ambulance. First, we took out the seven passenger seats. They were bolted from underneath and this meant jacking up the front and one of us lying underneath holding on to a spanner whilst the other undid the bolts from inside. Sandy chose to be underneath. This did not take long to do but we had to dispose of some of the seats. I made a bench seat with four of them, bolting them together on a stand and for a short while I used it in my work van at the weekend - this was before we could use the van properly. We were very fortunate that the interior lining was plastic, which meant it was easy to keep clean. Another good point about the vehicle was that the bodywork was made of aluminium so there was little or no rusting and it was also lighter. After taking the seats out we now had a complete open area inside the van in which to plan the layout. (I will call it a van from now on as it was no longer an ambulance) 
We had to decide how the sleeping arrangements would be; we would need space for a double bed for us and then single spaces for the children. The handrail as you came in was ideal to secure bunk beds, there was a pole fixed from floor to ceiling and this would be a good anchoring point. I was able to tailor  some old bunk beds to fit, given by a friend, which I secured to the pole and brackets screwed to the floor. I then made seating on either side of the van; I measured it so the seats and space in the middle were all equal. This would then enable me to fit a board in the middle to sleep on. The covered foam cushions formed the seat and back. They could then be used to sleep on. We now had sleeping arrangements for the four of us. Mark, who was then only 2 years old, would sleep in a hammock which was fixed across the front of the van, just above the driver. This arrangement lasted until he was too big to sleep up there; I replaced the hammock with a  fitted board and a foam mattress for him to sleep on in a sleeping bag.
Now came the tricky part. What to do about the cooking and washing arrangements. The seating on either side was about 20/24 inches wide; both seats were about 6ft long so at the end of the seats I made units on either side. On the right-hand side (as you look in from the back) was a full cooker with cupboard space at the side. On the left-hand side was a unit with a sink and a tap, and a foot pump for water provided by a barrel fixed underneath the sink and cupboard space. The gas supply bottle was hidden away under the drop-down step that I mentioned earlier.
There was a small opaque lift-up fanlight in the roof, which gave some light and ventilation; the lighting was already installed so there was very little to do with the electrical side of things. Another good point about the van was that it had sliding windows on either side; these were in aluminium frames and therefore rustproof. The last thing to do with the interior was to fix a seat next to the driver. I made an oblong wooden box with a padded covered lid which was bolted to the floor. It was big enough for two children or one adult to comfortably sit on as we travelled. We did not have  seat belts because this was before wearing a seat belt was made compulsory. The seat also doubled up as a tool box, where I could put useful things in like a jack, foot pump and various spanners and spares that may be required when away on trips. One of the sad things about transforming the ambulance into a mobile home/campervan, was that we only took one picture; no pictures of us working on it or painting it.  Once the van was converted and suitable to travel in, our first trips were mainly to the Isle of Sheppey to see Sandy’s parents, sister Jacquie and brother John. We would sometimes go for the weekend, leaving after tea on the Friday evening and getting there about 19.00, and by this time Claire, John and Mark might have been asleep. We would park at the back of the house on a hard standing; once we made sure the children were okay, we would sometimes sleep inside the house; the children always knew where we were and would often come inside to use the toilet. Other times we would just go down for the day, leaving mid-morning, put a chicken in the oven and by the time we arrived it would be cooked. We could smell the chicken as we drove along, I am sure other drivers would wonder where the smell of roast chicken came from as we passed them on the motorway!
We did quite a few local trips; Sandy normally took the children to school in the van and was soon known as ‘the lady with the ambulance’. During its lifetime with us the colour changed twice; first it was purple/white when the Union flag was painted in the slot above the driver, then secondly it became a cream/brown livery. I quite liked this colour combination, as it gave the van a bit of class.The two things that the van did not possess were a bath/shower or toilet facilities. The latter item was not really a problem when the children were smaller, a porta potty sufficed then. We made our own arrangements, we managed.
Our European Trip
On John’s birthday that year, he was given a box of Lego; on the back was an advert saying ‘Come to Legoland’. We had no idea where Legoland was, not even the country, but John thought it would be ‘a good idea’ to go there. We later found out that Legoland was in Denmark.
This would obviously take some planning, after finding out where it was to begin with, how long would it take, how we would cope with food, washing and so on, not forgetting the language and the different monies? 
Some older readers may remember that the AA offered a map service, if you told them where you  were going, which countries we wanted to pass through and the shortest route, they in turn would work out the mileage and breakdown services for you. The map was the same size as a conventional OS map except it was like a flip-chart, turning each map over until you reached your destination. It gave the mileage between each town and other bits of information. On the return journey all you had to do was turn the flip map over and work back again. Not so useful if you changed your mind about which way you made the return journey but we managed.
So we booked our time off from work, sorted out the insurance and the green card, and our passage on the ferry. On the day the holiday started, I got home from work as soon as l could; Sandy had previously loaded the van up with clothing, food and just as important games and books for the children. Recently, when talking to Claire and John about the facts of our trip, they reminded us of the dehydrated food that we took with us. Previously l had seen in some caravan books about vegetables that could be re-hydrated after they had been freeze-dried. When I think back now, the food was quite revolting, there were peas, cabbage and carrots, reduced in size which saved space and were also light in weight. I think we only used them a couple of times when we got short. Not at all appetising! 
On our trip to Legoland we stayed overnight at Sandy’s parents; who lived in Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey in Kent. We parked the van on the hard stand at the back of their house. Early next morning it was a case of washing, having breakfast in the house then collecting any belongings, and into the van.
We were driving down to Ramsgate for the ferry to Ostend; this was really the start of our holiday. We were not just going to Legoland but also to visit a friend of Sandy’s, called Elke who lived in Munster, Westphalia, Germany. Elke came to England to learn English, Sandy also met Judith Fox, they worked together with Elke  in a children’s home called The Yarrow Home, in Broadstairs. When it closed Sandy and Judy went to work in Swanley, before she left to take up her nursing career in London.
At this point the details of the journey get a bit hazy as we can’t pinpoint exactly how we went; was it to Elke’s first then onto Billund, Denmark or the other way round? I am going to make an editor’s choice and say we went to Billund in Denmark first, and then on our way back we called in to see Elke and her family. Looking at a modern map, I have come to believe that we came back from Elke’s home. We found the road network very good, there were plenty of places to park overnight; some had washing/toilet facilities which were very handy. We had set out with enough food for a few days, but obviously we would need to restock as we went along, not forgetting the good old dehydrated vegetables stored in plastic containers! It wasn't too bad getting food in the shops, all one had to do was choose or point at an item, show them some money they in turn would take the money for the goods. We never got cheated, which said a lot for the shopkeepers with us foreigners. We also learnt a few foreign words to help us get by.
One time on the trip we were running low on green vegetables; I noticed there were many places where vast fields of green produce were growing. We had stopped in a picnic/overnight stop area, alongside one of these fields, I took a chance of lifting what I thought would be a turnip or swede, (who is going to miss one vegetable, I thought) however after cutting the green stuff off the top, cutting and dicing it and cooking it, as we ate it we realised it was neither turnip or swede but sugar beet. Not really as pleasant as it sounds with the other meat and vegetables on the plate, a salutary lesson was learned. Don’t take things, certainly when you don’t know what they are!
We had a great time in Legoland, walking around the miniature towns and villages created by Lego bricks, like giants. All the various landmarks of the world were there, London, Paris, New York, Moscow and many others all depicted by  their specific sights, like the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace to name but a few. We had noticed a small airfield as we came into the car park, which offered flights over Legoland for a reasonable fee. I took Claire and John with me whilst Sandy looked after Mark, who was too small to go up in the plane. The plane was a fairly basic 4 seater which felt like an old car as we drove down the runway and finally took off and banked suddenly round to the left as we swung over Legoland. The pilot did a few more twists and turns, climbing quite high so that we could have a better view. It seemed that no sooner we were taking off than we were heading down to a bumpy landing, or so it seemed. I managed to get some good 35mm slides, with my camera and later some photos.
We now started our return journey back home via Elke’s parents. We had a few overnight stops in the designated parking areas. One day we came across a town called Cromvoirt which had a man-made lake with white sandy beaches; it was here with the children that we struck up a 

relationship with an older couple who were on holiday as well, they acted like grandparents to the children, which was nice. Later that evening we were invited for a drink in the bar, after the children were settled for the night. The children knew where we were. The couple were obviously regulars as they introduced us to some of the locals, which was nice. We spent a pleasant evening with them and exchanged addresses and kept in touch for a few years.
After leaving Cromvoirt, we made our way south, but en route we had a problem with the water pump. We didn’t want to get stuck abroad with our van, so I tried to find a garage to have it repaired. I checked the AA map which gave us some details of garages that were nearby. We found a place called Nijmegen; I pronounced it Nidgemegan, as in Midge. I asked a few people where it was but I had a vacant look given each time I asked. Eventually one person asked to look at my map, at which point the person laughed and said ‘you mean Nihmegen’ the J being pronounced as an H. We found the garage and the repair was done, we also learned a new way of pronouncing ‘water pump’, it was pronounced ‘vasser pumpen! How quaint.
We arrived at Elke’s parent’s home where we received a warm welcome from her mother and father and met her brothers. We were given a nice meal, then, after the children were put to bed in the van, we had a social evening with the family. I think we stayed there for a few days, Elke took us into Munster and other local towns sightseeing, which was nice.  One of the places I did enjoy was a church in Munster that had a clock that struck to hours and minutes with animated figures that moved in time with the chimes, it was a wonder to watch. After a few wonderful days with Elke and her family we started to make our way back home.

Continuing our journey south, we went through various towns and villages. As we were approaching Haderslev on one of the main roads, we were following a person on motorcycle/scooter (a bit of an odd vehicle) when for some reason he careered off the road into a ditch. We stopped to see if we could help, but we were not the only ones who witnessed the mishap. Having got him out of the ditch and back on the road, an ambulance was called by one of those assisting, we had no idea how to do this and of course we did not have a phone. What transpired next was quite funny; there were 4 people assisting, ourselves, a German, a Frenchman and a local person who I think was Danish. So there were us speaking English, the Dane was speaking a bit of English, the German speaking a bit of French but no Danish or English and the Frenchman speaking a bit of each. Hilarious!
Whilst waiting for the ambulance and the others having a conversation with the injured person, we did the only practical thing that the English are good at! We made a cup of tea! There we were passing teas, coffees and biscuits out of the back of our ambulance just like the war time. I won’t try and explain how the conversations went as it will be too complicated, but very funny! The ambulance duly arrived and took the injured man away, then the other parties began to leave, we said our farewells and packed away our cups and everything. The Dane, who we seemed to spend most time with, gave us his business card, saying 'if you need anything whilst in the area, call me’. We thought this was very generous, little did we know how useful that would be.
The following morning we were boiling the kettle for the washing up when the gas ran out. We were using the small blue Camping Gaz bottles, fortunately they were quite popular on the continent so they would be easy to acquire. We found the nearest town, which happened to be Haderslev and it had a hardware store. We parked in their car park but there were signs about parking which we couldn’t understand, so we just took a chance and parked. We got the Gaz in the store but as came out and approached the van we saw a notice stuck under the windscreen wipers, a parking ticket we thought. But no, it was a business card with name of the store on it, on the back was writing which said in phonetic English “ow abaht a nice cuppa tea”? It was an invitation from the Dane that we met at the accident, who was the director of the store. We returned to the store and asked to see the name of the man on the card; he came down and invited us to his sumptuous board room for tea. He then phoned his wife, who in turn asked us to call in later that afternoon for tea, which we thought was pleasant. We spent the rest of the day looking around the town before later calling in to see them at their rather palatial house. They provided us with a very nice tea and cakes and told us a bit about the family. We left them in the early evening, in time to put the children to bed and for me to travel for a while before pulling into a lay by to stop for the night. The next morning after breakfast we set off for the coast and our boat trip home. Although we had an exciting time driving through towns like, Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven, Brussels and finally Calais, we did not have any more adventures, just taking in the sights and sounds when shopping.
I think we had to wait overnight for the ferry and boarded the following morning for Ramsgate. We arrived in Ramsgate mid-morning I think and then we made our way back to Sandy’s parents for some dinner, then back home in time for tea and bed for the children. We went to bed soon after, very tired but very happy. We will have to do this again sometime!
On our return home we made a few alterations in the van as we had found a few things that needed doing. It was mainly due to storage and also removing the hammock over the driver’s seat, fitting a piece of chipboard and a covered foam mattress for Mark. We had weekends away, going to spend time at Queenborough with Sandy’s parents, whilst there we were able to meet up and introduce the children to uncles and aunts and many cousins on Sandy’s side of the family. We also made a visit to our friends John and Brenda, who had moved to Basingstoke from Islington, north London. John had become a bus driver and chose to move there. We also took the opportunity to visit other friends of Sandy’s, which had families with children of a similar age to our own.
When I met Sandy she was just coming to the end of her training as a nurse; along with a small group of nurses. Some of them had married and some had children by the time we had our ambulance/van, so we planned to visit sometime soon. We were often asked by family and friends ‘when are you coming to visit us in your ambulance?’ Even these people couldn’t forget the origins of our little home from home, we didn’t mind as it was unique to us.
Our next big holiday was to be ‘Our UK Trip’ in 1972 
Before going into General Nursing, Sandy worked in a children’s nursing home in Broadstairs, Kent. It was here where she met her long-time friend Judy, where they spent some time working together. I met Judy and her boyfriend Ewart, through Sandy. They became long time family friends.
We had to give some thought about the forthcoming trip to see all of these friends on our travels; making sure that they were going to be there would help! Just to give you a taste of our journey, this was our itinerary. We would first travel to York to meet Jo and Geoff Wright, then on to Scotland to stay with Judy, Ewart and family. After a short while with them we would head south to Bath, where Sybil Jones lived. Our final destination was to Newport, Wales where we would spend some time with Evie and her Welsh husband, Roger.

So we set off on Saturday the 19th of July 1972, making our way to York, not before making doubly sure that we both had the time off and the children didn’t have any surprises like sleepovers arranged. The van was checked and re- checked, I was fortunate to have a mechanic around for the penultimate week before we set off. This was the time of making sure that even when you went on a short trip it was more like a service. On this trip it had to be two of everything, just in case. We had spare spark plugs, bulbs and fuses, spare windscreen wiper blades, a jack and a foot pump. When I was checking this story for mistakes, I suddenly realised the one thing we forgot to take was a petrol can. Just in case! Apart from taking a mechanic in the boot, I think we were okay.
We were all set with provisions, Sandy having shopped the previous day; it was just a case of making sure we had enough spare clothes. We would be able to do ‘smalls’ but bigger items would need a friendly friend, if you know what I mean. I had filled up with petrol the night before, so we were ready for the off. It’s funny how people get all teary eyed when you are leaving, even though it’s only for a couple of weeks, Sandy and our good neighbour Mary were no exception as they had a few tears as we drove out of the cul-de-sac.
So we are on our way, I can’t say I was excited as I was when we went to Billund, but then it’s a different thing AND we all speak the same language, of sorts. Having got out of London we made our way up the M1, stopping for toilet breaks on the way, heading for York. We had just come off the motorway when the starter motor began causing a problem. I had had a bit of a problem with it starting after a toilet break but managed to keep it going (fortunately I had a little understanding of car mechanics). As soon as we get to Jo and Geoff’s I would take a look at it. As it turned out, Geoff took a look at it after hearing of the problems. We had a lovely meal with them first, introducing them to our family and explaining where we were going. It was a lovely evening, rounded off by Geoff saying in his bluff Yorkshire accent ‘let’s have a look at this thing’. We were very fortunate that Geoff was an engineer by trade. We had the engine cover off in no time, nuts undone and the offending starter motor out. I was surprised by his ingenuity once he found out the problem. A brass bush had worn out, causing the spindle to ‘wobble’ giving an intermittent spark. He found a piece of 15 mm copper pipe, which he cut to the correct length, then shaped it to fit. Once this was done and greased, the starter motor was back in its housing, nuts tightened and with a quick flourish with a greasy he cloth said I could try to start the engine. Wonderful, it kicked off the first time and continued giving a good service for the rest of the time that I had the vehicle. I think we spent a couple of days with Jo and Geoff; Geoff would have been working so we saw him later in the evening. We travelled into York to take in the sights and sounds, although I think the children were a little young to appreciate it all, still it was nice. We set off sometime later, with a few extra goodies provided by Jo as we left; now making our way north towards bonny Scotland!
After leaving York we made our way up through the cotton and iron industries, seeing all the old workings, even by this time it was still quite smoky. It was quite interesting seeing the old names of towns and cities as we passed through on our way north. It was a good education for the children and of course ourselves. (We had some fun with the children by making out that we had forgotten our passports, so we made a quick dash as we got to the border sign, which read ' Welcome to Scotland'. What annoying parents!)
We are both not sure when we arrived in Pitcorthie, where Judy and Ewart lived with their young daughter Jo and newly born son, Mathew. We do know that we caused a bit of a stir when we parked our home in their front garden. We became a sight of interest to the neighbours, much to our amusement. 
We seemed to have spent a long time with Judy and Ewart, but all too soon we were on our way again, this time heading south to Bath. We were going to visit Sybil Jones, another of Sandy’s nursing friends. I think that we were able to park outside her flat/apartment on the outskirts of Bath, so it was an easy ride into town. Of course at this time there were very few restrictions like no yellow lines or parking zones, if they were they were limited. We visited all of the tourist places with Sybil, being our personal guide to the town. We had a good time with Sybil. 
(As I recall we did see her a few years before, when Claire was a baby and just before John was born. We had hired a Bedford Dormobile, not too dissimilar to the one we had converted, except it was modern with proper sleeping accommodation for us. We had been to the Lake District for a week's holiday and decided to visit  Sybil. Whilst there we also met up with an old neighbour from Wallington, who had twin boys.)  
The journey to Wales was pleasant, I tried the passport joke again but this time they were wise to us and it did not work. I don’t think we spent much time with Evie and Roger, mainly because he was a serving police officer and he had a busy life. We spent a couple of days with them, Sandy chatting over old times with Evie and telling her about our previous holiday and us calling in to see Jo and Sybil and how they were. It was all very pleasant to see most of Sandy’s nursing friends; the only two we did not meet on our trip was Kaye who, although she did not keep in touch, was going to be away on holiday herself when l contacted her, and Sylvia who lived quite close to London and therefore we would often see her at family gatherings with John and Brenda, because she had married Brenda's brother, Norman.


A Trip to the Lakes 
Checking back with the friends who came with us, I think it was the following year that we arranged to meet up with Pat and Noel and their two children. Obviously as we could not accommodate them with us; they were going to use a bed and breakfast for a holiday. As I recall we picked them up at the side of a motorway slip road, all very legal as I believed they were dropped there by a friend. We carried them with us  to the b/b and arranged to meet them later. Part of the holiday plan was to walk over Helvellyn from the Patterdale side; this would enable us to traverse Striding Edge. I had done this walk myself several years before and I felt it would be possible to do it with the children.
Sandy would drive round to Patterdale, drop us off  and then make her way back to the carpark at the foot of Helvellyn where myself, Pat and Noel would meet her a couple of hours later, with the children. The weather was a bit overcast with a possibility of snow but not enough to worry about as she left us at the start of the walk.
We were dressed for the walk, the children were wearing waterproof coats, gloves and wellies and we had similar waterproof clothing. So with 3 adults and four children we set off. It was a bit of a steep walk up the first part but it was manageable for the children. As we started out the weather suddenly started to close in, it became overcast with a bit of drizzle which eventually turned to light snow. We stopped for a while to decide what to do, this seemed a sensible plan of action as the weather started to ease, but as we breasted a rise about a further 200 yards or so, we had a sudden white-out (in hill walking or climbing terms, this means that the snow is so dense you can barely see more than a few feet in front of your face).
After a few minutes of standing there we looked like seven snowmen, waiting for somewhere to go. Noel and I decided to walk a little way ahead to look at the track in front of us, to see if it would be possible to continue. We got to a point where we could just about see Striding Edge but not sufficiently to make our way there. We returned to the group and for 10 minutes a somewhat-heated discussion took place as to our next move; I am glad to say common sense kicked in and it was decided that we would turn back.
Now there was a problem… We had no mobile phones back in the 1970s so how were we going to let Sandy know that we were stranded on the other side of the mountain. After a bit of head-scratching and chatting through ideas, we decided the police or mountain rescue would be the answer. There was a telephone box about 200 yards from the covered bus stop, so we all went back and I dialled 999. I eventually got through to the police; the mountain rescue idea didn’t seem practical as we weren’t up in the mountains. I explained where we were and where Sandy was and they said they would try and get someone round there. I suppose they meant if they had a car in the area.
Fortunately we could sit in the bus shelter; we did have drinks and some crisps and sweets to while away the time, which seemed like an eternity. Eventually after a couple of hours, out of the gloom came the trusty old van which then took us back to the car park, where we could decide what to do next. I think we spent the rest of the holiday visiting places of interest in the Lake District; before parting company with Pat, Noel and the children as they made their way home. 
Messing about in boats
What started out as "Do you remember the holidays in the Ambulance?" has now become something else. It crossed my mind as l was putting pen to paper, or in my case fingertip to keyboard, that we had also spent the past 35 years messing around with boats. The first few years were taken up with Sandy taking Claire, John and Mark on hire boat holidays, sometimes joined by Sandy’s brother John. At that time I had no interest in boating, I preferred climbing in the Lakes and north Wales with the occasional horse riding as a hobby.
As the children grew up and did their own thing, we had holidays on our own with hire boats. Except that we didn't really, as we persuaded, cajoled and offered an experience of a lifetime, to other family members and friends who were interested in joining us. Sandy's brother John was one the first to come with us, as l recall. Then there were a couple of my friends, Gill and Paul who were volunteers like me at a local Riding for the Disabled centre. I think they came with us three times. 
The first was when we were undertaking the Stourport Ring. Travelling in a 60 ft. narrow boat hired from Viking Afloat out of Worcester. It was our first trip as we travelled up through Birmingham, undertaking Tardbigge, a flight of 29 locks which had to be done in one go as there were no overnight moorings between the locks. Once we went through Birmingham we made our way to the Stourport Basin, where we then turned south out on to the River Severn. After going through two large locks, operated by lock keepers, we entered the Diglis Basin and back onto the Worcester and Birmingham canal, the completion of a 2 week holiday. Great stuff! The next trip was to Ellesmere Port to the museum, this was then followed later by a visit to Llangollen, travelling over the world famous Pontcysyllte aqueduct, spanning the River Dee, absolutely amazing being 120 feet above the river!
It was a little while later when talking to the Viking Afloat marina manager, Rob Bell at the Worcester marina, that we decided we wanted our own narrow boat. We asked him how much an end of season second hand boat would be and how much to refit it. He told us a 60 foot ex-hire boat would cost about £16,000 and to refit another £10,000 making a total of around £26,000. 
First of all we considered buying the ex-hire boat and refurbishing it, but after looking in several boat magazines we found that we could buy a bespoke one for about £30,000, similar cost of the refurbished one. It made sense if we could afford it, to go for a new boat. We managed to arrange a loan so that we could go ahead. Sandy sketched the plans for interior, the boat's dimensions and the colour scheme. Through a friend who lived in Droitwich, we located a local boat builder who came up with a deal that suited our price. We paid £200 as a deposit and they arranged to start to build the boat in June 1993, coincidentally it was Sandy's birthday. What a lovely birthday present to her from me!!
It was put in the water at Hanbury Wharf, near Droitwich in January 1994 and if I recall it was quite cold and damp. Resplendent with bright brass fittings, gleaming windows and paint work we travelled the Venice of the North's network of canals for the next 3 decades, finally succumbing to old age in September 2021. I’m talking about us and the boat, just to clarify the point!
We did, however, achieve two main goals during the years of boating. We managed to travel on the Pontcysyllte waterway, travelling 120 feet over the River Dee in Wales, in our own boat and we finally came all the way down into London in 2021. This we did with my old friend, John and his wife Brenda, turning off the Grand Union canal (the M1 of the canal system) along the Regents Canal and through the Hertford Cut to the River Lea. We left them near Tottenham where they were picked up by their son and they returned home to Welwyn Garden City. We made our way back on our own to the Paddington Arm, where we met Sandy’s brother John who helped us to return to our moorings on the Ashby Canal.
Over the past 35 years it has been great fun, we have made some wonderful and long lasting friends during this time. We have introduced newcomers to the canals from many parts of the world. The fun part has been when negotiating the locks, especially around Camden in London, where people want to know so much about the boat. From what seems a bit stupid, like “Can you sleep on it, can you cook on it and have you got a toilet?”, and of course the adventuresome too, “How does it move?” As l said, they sound somewhat stupid questions but if you don't ask, you will never know or learn anything.
I hope that you have enjoyed my ruminations, all brought about by the picture of our old ambulance and a conversation about holidays.