Christmas Past Christmas Passed

I had hoped to record a little video on Christmas Eve wishing you all well and sharing some of the perfect moments from the year and some boat-worthy Christmas times from years gone by. Sadly Charlie the dog had been very poorly over the last few nights, so due to extreme lack of sleep, I decided to call off trying to speak coherently in front of a camera.

I am pleased to say that Charlie had a big rebound today and my Nan even set him a seat at the table! (Although this is the least flattering picture of a dog I've ever seen!)

So with that out of the way lets enjoy some proper cosy wintery stuff! Firstly, this picture of geese in the snow at Chirk Bank is one of my all time favourites. It was taken in the run up to my first ever Christmas on the canal, when everything to do with boating was still so new, exciting and scary to me!

Christmas last year was actually spent moored in this exact same spot. Although the geese were still around, the snow was still a month away!

I have no idea how many of these geese may be in the original picture or how goose society works, but for many people in the local area who walk the canal, (or visit The Poachers' pub downstream,) these geese are as integral to the scene as the water is!

When the snow did arrive this year, it arrived in style. What an amazing place to be moored up, the snow certainly broke up the mundane lockdown routine! (I had actually been up from the small hours on this day, watching the UFC, which may completely break the idea of a peaceful life afloat on a winter day!)

Seeing the muddy fields turn into a blissful, snow covered, Christmas Card-worthy scene, was definitely a welcome change, although as the snow melted, what had previously been some very muddy fields, transformed into something more like an incredibly thick swimming pool!

I apologise for the poorly structured and rushed post here, as I thought I would just put something online quickly during this lazy Christmas evening... the fact that Charlie is happily snoring away in the background is making me feel far sleepier and as if it is far later into the night than it actually is!

In the absence of a new video, I will leave this here, my first Christmas onboard Abel's Ark. In many ways this was my last true "old style" boat life Christmas, where I had a lot of cycling to do before the era of Dan Brown of driving a car. (and gaining weight!) Yet another memory that I am glad I can look back on through the magic of YouTube.

I hope that you have all had a wonderful day and that 2022 will bring us all a simpler, calmer life!

Thank you for your time spent here,

Keep it boat worthy,

Keep it interesting,

Farewell.

Dan

(Want more Dan Brown? Take a look at my boat life books HERE, and my three YouTube Channels; HERE, HERE & HERE!)