Nude Narrowboat

A busy day! As it is Twelfth Night we took down the Christmas decorations. The boat looks a bit bare now. Unfortunately this also highlighted the dust that had accumulated over the Christmas and New Year period.

So it was cleaning time - not quite a spring clean but nearly! Floors, steps, shelves, trims all have been cleaned. The one problem with a multi fuel stove is the amount of dust it creates. Mats in the stern shaken, beaten and scrubbed! We left the bows alone as the wood and coal are stored there during the winter, as is the ash bucket!

So now we are shattered! We thought about a 20 minute cruise up to the nearest pub for Sunday lunch but decided against it this weekend. If tomorrow is fine we will have to go for a walk to get some exercise. We both have excess pounds to shed after the last few weeks of indulgence.

You may have noticed that I have added a few photos to the slide show on the blog, including a photo of Twelfth Night, our previous narrowboat.

Tomorrow is Epiphany. In churches and homes around the land the wise men will arrive at the stable, bearing gifts.
They may have already been travelling down the church aisles, moving windows, from room to room, or may just have been hidden at the back of the church or room!

We used to involve the children and ask them to bring the figures to the nativity scene at the altar. The children also brought the gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh. The symbolism of these precious gifts reflecting the life of the baby they set out to find. Gold for a King, Frankincense for life and Myrrh for death.

Which brings us to look forward to Easter - a holiday, but for many it has a deeper meaning too.