After our wonderful trip to St Katharine Docks and the Classic Boat Festival, life aboard Deux Poissons settled back into something resembling normality. Although, I’m not entirely sure what normality is!
There are always jobs to do, little improvements to make and, thankfully, plenty of opportunities to escape up the river when the weather is too lovely to do any of that.
With summer coming to a close, our thoughts were also turning towards winter.
For the first time in several years, we won't be escaping the British winter by heading abroad. Instead, we'll be spending it aboard Deux Poissons, which means making our floating home as warm, comfortable and practical as possible.
We've made a little YouTube video about how we're preparing Deux Poissons for winter, so if you'd like to see what we've planned, you can watch it here.
Winter Preparations
A sign that summer was well and truly over came when we packed the COBB BBQ into its bag and tucked it away in the locker until next year. A slightly sad moment — goodbye summer evenings and cooking outdoors, hello soups, stews and cosy nights aboard! We bought a slow cooker. Not exactly the most exciting purchase in the world, perhaps, but when you live aboard a boat with limited space and a small galley, every new appliance has to earn its place.
Fortunately, this one passed the test. Not only could we leave a lovely beef stew cooking away for hours, filling the boat with delicious smells, but we discovered that the slow cooker fitted neatly behind the kitchen taps. So it could get on with its business without taking over the entire galley worktop. And it's already proving to be a wonderful addition to the galley. Not only has it produced some delicious stews and soups, but we've also discovered that it makes the easiest, most delicious oat porridge. There's something lovely about waking up on a chilly morning to a bowl of warm, creamy porridge, especially when the slow cooker has done all the hard work!
A small victory, but a very satisfying one! Once again, Patrick has managed to avoid anything resembling cooking.
A couple of days later, while the stew was bubbling away, Patrick was busy with a rather less appetising job. Changing the generator fuel filter.
On our journey down to London, we'd stopped near Hampton Court Palace to change the main engine fuel filters. They'd been absolutely filthy, despite our usual precautions with treating the diesel. So Patrick decided it would be sensible to check the generator filter too.
Out came the tools, and there he was again, bent over the engine bay in what must feel like a recurring nightmare, getting stuck into yet another of those jobs that keep everything running.
And then there were the batteries. Patrick replaced all our house batteries, which had given us six years of service. We have two battery banks, which can be charged through the solar panels or the engines, with shore power available when needed. These batteries keep the boat lights and pumps going as well as starting the engine. There is, of course, rather more to the system than that, and Patrick could probably explain it in considerably greater detail.
But for those of us who are less technically minded, the important thing is that the lights work, everything charges and, most importantly, the ice maker continues producing ice for my gin and tonic. If all that is happening, I'm happy!
With the new batteries installed, we feel well prepared for the months ahead.
For those who are more battery/solar/engine minded and would like to know more...click here
A New Look for the Saloon
Another little improvement has been making our saloon feel more like the home we've always imagined.
For years, we've had a large cream carpet covering almost the entire wooden floor. It made the saloon feel brighter, it is easy to roll up, and it was lovely and warm underfoot in winter. But it also served another rather useful purpose. It hid the floor!
Over the years, that poor wooden floor has endured an enormous amount. Engines have been taken out and put back in. Tools and heavy toolboxes have been dragged across it. There's been oil, diesel, leaks, scratches and all the other indignities that come with restoring an old boat. And it showed.
Patrick has since sanded the floors, and we've started the long process of varnishing them. Of course, nothing is quite straightforward when you're living in the middle of the project. We can't simply empty the boat, varnish the entire floor and disappear for a few days. We still need to get between our bedroom in the forepeak and the galley!
So the work has to be done in sections, one half at a time, with enough space left for us to move around. There are still a few more coats of varnish needed, but realistically those will probably have to wait until summer, when the warmer weather will help everything dry.
In the meantime, we'd been looking for a smaller, more traditional-style rug that would allow us to appreciate the wooden floor rather than cover it completely.
And at the end of August, we finally found one. A Persian-style rug, and we absolutely love it. It gives the saloon a more classic look, suits the character of Deux Poissons and, best of all, allows us to enjoy seeing the wood again.
We'll keep the large cream carpet for winter, when warmth and comfort take priority. But it's lovely to see another little part of the boat beginning to look the way we'd always hoped. After years of restoration work, these seemingly small changes can make an enormous difference.
A Weekend Away, a Missing Stopper and a Pink Guitar
Towards the end of September, we decided it was time to enjoy the river again. On a Thursday evening we headed up to Pangbourne and moored along the bank, which would become our office for Friday. One of the lovely things about working aboard is that the office view can change whenever we feel like moving. And this was a particularly beautiful one.
The river was calm and peaceful, with a wonderfully misty morning that gradually gave way to a warm day on the Friday. Breakfast was a healthy one for a change – yogurt, honey and fruit this time) accompanied by delicious coffee and our customary splash of Baileys, of course. What better way to start the day?
During our lunch break on Friday, we wandered into Pangbourne, excited to revisit a lovely cheese shop we'd discovered on a previous visit. It's rather like being a child in a sweet shop, except instead of sweets, there are cheeses everywhere! So many to choose from, and naturally we had to taste a few before making our decisions.
Despite all the generous tastings, we still managed to leave with quite a selection. And once we were back aboard Deux Poissons, we promptly ate our way through almost all of it! So much for the healthy breakfast that morning!
As we settled in for an afternoon of work, fighting off a cheese coma, friends messaged to say they were heading upriver, would be passing us in a few hours and were planning to spend the weekend in Goring.
“Join us!” they shouted as they went past.
Well, that sounded like a good excuse to move! So we finished off our cheese lunch, completed the work meetings we couldn't escape, and headed off to Goring to join them. We spent a lovely time catching up, enjoyed pizza on Saturday evening (more cheese!!) and generally made the most of another weekend on the Thames.
Our friends left on Sunday, but we had one more important mission before heading home.
The decanter stopper.
Readers of our earlier adventures might remember our rather unsuccessful search for a replacement stopper for one of the decanters aboard Deux Poissons. We'd visited antique shops, examined various possibilities and come away empty-handed. This time, however, we'd learned our lesson. We took the actual decanter with us!
Back at the antique shop in Goring, we asked whether they'd received any new stock. And, would you believe it, we found a stopper that fitted! It wasn't one we'd have chosen based on appearance alone, as it looked quite different from the one that had broken.
But we had since realised that the original stopper hadn't matched the other one perfectly either. So we bought this new one. And somehow that seemed rather appropriate for Deux Poissons. Very little aboard this old boat matches exactly. Everything is slightly different, and everything has its own story.
While we were browsing, Patrick also discovered a rather striking pink guitar. There may even have been a little demonstration. But the suggestion that it might come home with us was immediately vetoed. Nope!
We did, however, come away with something else. Jigsaw puzzles.
A Puzzle for Winter (or Three!)
When we lived on land, we loved doing jigsaw puzzles.
We had a large kitchen table where we could leave a puzzle spread out for days. As we walked past, we'd stop for a minute or two, see whether we could fit another piece, and gradually watch the picture come together. It's such a lovely way to pass the time.
But aboard Deux Poissons, we don't exactly have a spare kitchen table. Our galley table is also Patrick's office table, and leaving a thousand puzzle pieces spread across it indefinitely wasn't going to work particularly well.
Still, with winter approaching and no plans to head abroad, we thought it might be nice to return to an old favourite pastime. So I started researching puzzle storage solutions. There were roll-up mats, which looked practical enough, but we liked the idea of leaving the puzzle available to work on whenever we fancied. Eventually, I discovered a puzzle board with a lid / cover. Out came the trusty measuring tape.
Could it fit on our galley table? Yes.
Could Patrick still use the covered board as part of his office setup? Yes.
Could we slide the whole thing under the cushions on the saloon sofa when we needed it out of the way? Yes!
Success! So, naturally, we bought three 1,000-piece puzzles. That should keep us busy over winter, we thought. Except we've already completed two of the 1,000-piece puzzles and another 500-piece one!
Well, when I say we, Patrick has done most of the work. I suspect having a puzzle under his work laptop has become a little too distracting. At this rate, we're going to need another winter hobby before winter has properly arrived!
Little Visitors and the Last of the Summer Wine
At the beginning of October, we had a very special visitor aboard. Our granddaughter came to stay for the night. There's something rather magical about seeing the next generation enjoying life on the water, and we loved having her with us. She also completely exhausted us! But that's all part of the fun. And even after she'd gone home, there were lovely little reminders of her visit. Tiny handprints on the windows, hairbands and toys left behind. The sort of things that might ordinarily be tidied away without a second thought, but which made us smile. We can't wait to have her back aboard again.
Meanwhile, everyday life continued.
There were meals to cook, work to do and evenings spent playing Rummikub. I also decided to experiment with baking a lemon drizzle cake in the air fryer. I wasn't entirely convinced it would work. After all, an air fryer isn't exactly a conventional oven, and baking aboard a boat often involves a certain amount of improvisation. But to my delight, it turned out beautifully.
And to Patrick's delight too, of course. Patrick LOVES a cake! Another small success for the galley!
Then, on 11 October, we had one of those wonderful days that remind us why we love living on the Thames. I'd put a pot of homemade chicken soup in the slow cooker that morning, leaving it to cook gently while we got on with the day.
But the weather was far too lovely to spend the afternoon indoors. So we packed some bacon rolls, filled a hip flask (two) with port and headed upriver in the dinghy. Our destination was Mapledurham Lock, somewhere we've visited many times before. And how lovely to see how the seasons were creating change. The green creepers that climb the lock walls throughout summer had turned a beautiful deep red, adding a wonderful splash of autumn colour to the familiar surroundings.
We tied up and settled down to enjoy our lunch. Herons stood patiently fishing, while a kingfisher darted between the overhanging trees, quite possibly hunting the very same fish. There was no hurry to go anywhere.
Just the two of us, our bacon rolls, a little port and the pleasure of watching life on the river. It was hard to believe we were already well into October.
Almost exactly two years earlier, the Thames had been in flood, the locks were closed and travelling on the river was simply too dangerous. Yet here we were, sitting outside in T-shirts, enjoying the sunshine.
The last of the summer wine, indeed!
Eventually, we headed back to Deux Poissons, where our chicken soup had been cooking away while we'd been out enjoying ourselves. Winter preparations may be well underway, but autumn clearly isn't quite ready to let go of summer.
And neither are we.