I have been Blogging furiously for the past few days trying to get down events/ people/ places/ faces. Just facts and figures, making observations and recommendations but not writing. I am relieved that I have at least got some of it down. I am so grateful to be able to sit here tonight and let the words take me where they want to .
I won't talk about our journey home but I will tell you about trying to regain my land legs. If anyone had been on board The Patricia Helen, they would realise that a gentle rocking would sometimes morph into a lurch or a lurch into a full on tilt. I probably spent more time on board than anyone. I was fine travelling home but waking up the next morning, my whole world was rocking gently. I meandered through the house, bouncing off walls and struggling with even the simplest of tasks. How will I take the washing downstairs without pinging off the banister? Would I be able to shower without fear of a Barge passing my bathroom at more than three miles per hour! Honestly I had a couple of very strange days where I staggered around as though I had drunk two bottles of vino which I hadn't as I was trying to give my complaining liver a rest. On the fourth day I surfaced, feeling better and thought I had go through the worst. The next day the 'Rocking World' was back - what is that about? I understand that your inner ear is disturbed by motion but it took me days to be able to stand up straight!
The other thing I am finding rather strange is being within four walls. I felt constricted and claustrophobic for the first few days at home. I know that my great- great grandmother on my mothers side had some Gypsy connections but this is ridiculous. Returning home from a holiday, usually means you dump your bags, eye the washing machine with malice and look forward to your own bed. Not this time! Lets face it we had absolutely beautiful weather, no rain and even though we were tired, we had some pretty magical moments out there on the water. If you reversed the situation - cold noses, pushing through locks in heavy downpours and stuck inside the barge, perhaps it might have been different.....
Nah - she says, bloody impossible. For a start The Patricia Helen was crewed by two ex Military Men and a Donut Child. We KNOW how to survive in these conditions! Firstly we would have built an awning so that we could still sit outside and enjoy the scenery. Hot coffee and muffins would have been on tap and July rain isn't exactly cold. The Git would have been his element, getting soaked at every lock. Think of the water we would have saved by not having to shower....
We were so lucky, honoured, impassioned and delighted in the people that we met en route. Perhaps I am such a romantic that I do not see the practicalities but I am very able to deal with them when they hit me. I was always a forward thinker in my youth, I still am but it is more of a 'What If?' situation with me. The Dutchman is different to me. He retains his F/T brain ( forward thinking) and when all the little dances he has been doing in his head come together, he does not panic, just pulls the net in, carrying us all through to a terrific ending.
We are so fortunate to have him in our lives. I am not being sycophantic here, just telling it like it is. A military man who has a a heart and uses his skills to guide, help and enthuse us, a man who manages to pass his amazing strength onto all of us. If you are young, perhaps you will see him as an authority figure but you need to realise that he only ever does things for a reason. His reason is to make sure that YOU are looked after and nothing more. For us 'Oldies' who have known him a long time, we realise that Dutch is just Dutch.
All of you that have taken part in Folk on The Water have delighted, surpassed and amazed The Crew. What a blast your music and performance has been.....words fail me my darlings, getting all tired and emotional, she says. Just a little thing...ssshhh don't tell him, he won't have time to read this for a while! I'll post this on the FOW and please post and tell him what you think. Thank you x
I am so looking forward to next year. I will be there and of course I will email every pub beforehand and ask them for a plug for my hairdryer! Much love to all of you.
Muse x
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