Our narrowboat winter on the canal in Alvechurch. Coolcanals? - it's frrrrreeeezing!

Frozen bow of Coolcanals boat
 

It's one of the top 10 questions we're asked. "Isn't it cold?" they ask with the expression of a concerned landlubber. "No, no, no!" The question has become almost tedious when to me, I love winter so much. Anyone who has ever huddled around a roaring woodburning stove on a narrowboat on canals in winter, knows life couldn't get much better than this.

But before I slip into a Bing Crosby song, let me tell you about today... 13.12.12 This isn't just cold weather, this is 'The Day after Tomorrow' (that film where New York freezes and Dennis Quaid has to save the world and his son Jake Gyllenhaal stuck in the library!) (it's ok, we're not burning any Coolcanals books to keep warm!!)

Ice on the inside of the portholes, -4 in the boat bedroom, the boat has stopped rocking and my winter mooring in Alvechurch is a scene to behold. The stillness.

The porridge is cooking slowly on the woodburner, and my own breath is visibly hungry for Mr Quaker's warmth. Would I leave all this for life in a huge house where I could rattle around without layers of woolly jumpers on, and flick a switch to turn up the central heating? No way!

Signing off for hot porridge - on an iced-in boat in Worcestershire...

PS Of course, before you all tell me that not all narrowboaters are as bohemian as us, there are all sorts in our community and lots of boats these days have fantastic full central heating, but I do wonder who thought it was a good idea to invent that noisy heating system that keeps Martine awake in the otherwise still and silent winter nights..

Ice & frost on the inside of the Coolcanals boat portholes