Flooded in Oxford

Well here we are again...moored in an odd spot...relying on the kindness of strangers. The man from the Environmental Agency drops past to check we're okay when he starts work in the morning and has been helpful in pointing out shops and the laundromat, suggestions for power and water and fuel. 

Dave has organised to hire a small generator so he will have enough electricity to work from the boat, and to power our devices...phew...I would miss my ipad...not only for the internet but also for the stack of novels I have saved to it's memory. My kindle is out of battery. The weather is very conducive to drinking tea and reading books. In other words the sky is leaden and leaking rain
There's a marina fairly close by...they will deliver some coal this afternoon...so we'll have heat and power. At least we are comfortable and are still laughing.

Outside the window is a bit of a hedge, so I've been watching a sweet blue tit hopping around, a tiny tinywren  building her nest, and watching a blackbird wash himself in the rain. Amazing the range of songs he is capable of singing and he makes a lovely counterpoint to the sound of the water rushing over the weir.

The Environmental Agency man thinks that we'll be here most of the week, so I'm not worried about taking today as a reading books and drinking tea day. Plenty of time to explore this bit of Oxford. Osney is apparently an island joined to Oxford by various footbridges. There's a very interesting pub, called the Punter, and we are on Botley road near the train...so plenty of options for roaming and exploration. I'm sure Dave will appreciate me out of the boat while he's working😘

Feeling quite grateful to Dave for being so organised and such a do-er. I am blessed to have him in my life.

Back to the novel.

Day 4 being stuck in Oxford. It's still raining cats and dogs. I haven't really been outside the boat. Too miserable for wandering around...even wandering around somewhere as glorious as Oxford. Beyond a coffee shop and the pub I have been nowhere and done almost nothing. Dave is working from the back cabin of the boat and wishing for the water levels to drop. We are so close to Reading, Google maps says he could cycle there in a bit over 2 hours. It will take Augusta about 2 days.

Meanwhile, Augusta is refusing to start. No matter how much we implore the goddess of the engine. So thank goodness for the generator that we hired...or there would be no power at all. We have membership in the River Canal Rescue...sort of like a breakdown service like you get with cars. I think we shall have to call them to come out and see what is wrong with our Russell Newbury DM2 engine. I would hate to have the go ahead to move forward with our journey only to have no engine with which to travel. Sigh...

Dave looks exhausted and quite grim. Doesn't help that his work space on the boat is not particularly comfortable and not very warm. He is enjoying biking to the shops with easy bike hiring schemes in Oxford. About 50p a day...you find a bike...leave it where you finish...they are GPS tagged and the app shows where the bikes are at any given time. Clever eh!.

Boat name for the day...Clary Grundy...fans of the Archers will understand.