Saturday 3 June
I keep getting the urge to say to people I meet, ‘I would love to look at your bottom’.
Of course, I don’t actually say it out loud, but I really am curious about how other’s bottoms are faring; I’m talking boats here guys because I am concerned that ours may be getting a few scrapes – if the sides of the visible hull are anything to go by.
Why? Because we have had ‘Very Pinook’ for a year now and we’ve bobbed in and out of a fair few locks over that period of time; occasionally banging in and out as opposed to bobbing in and out. Now, if Mr. W reads this he’ll take offence. I have to admit that he’s a pretty good helms-person, so I’ll correct that statement and take ownership of putting a few battle-scars onto my beloved boat. It’s not easy steering a N.B you know – especially when you can hardly see over the top due to top-boxes, satellites, a chimney, solar panels, flower pots etc.
As well as comparing bottoms I like to look inside other N.B.’s too – I love to see different layouts and how space is allocated…a tad more storage for clothes would be a real luxury. I hear of some boats having chests of drawers and larger wardrobes than ours (which is teeny) and wonder how on earth they fit them in!
The last week has seen me celebrating the end of six-years of study for my English degree – yay! You simply cannot quite understand the huge relief at finishing – nor the tears, the frustrations, the excitement, the surprises that assignment marks bring (mainly good, but a couple ‘iffy’), or the camaraderie of fellow ‘isolated’ students unless you have studied with the Open University.
Studying at distance, with just three or four face-to-face (or, worst still, online) tutorials a year, proved much tougher than I originally anticipated. In hindsight I now realise that I need the support and interaction of others; studying alone, with nobody to ask, or share thoughts with, about topics such as Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Shostakovich, ‘Creativity’, memes, the meanings of multimodal texts etc., takes focus and discipline…and lots of chocolate!
All I can say is that I am soooo glad it’s all over and. Frankly, I’m also scared that in three months or so I’ll be thinking of studying some more – when the need to stretch myself sets in again.
Hey, changing you mind (often) and comparing bottoms…It’s a Girl Thing
Hugs
Leigh xxi