12.02.12

Well, another week has passed with very low temperatures (-14C) with a windchill factor of -19C!! It really is so cold but it is a different cold from that in the UK, because it is dry! We dont have the black ice that has caused such havoc in the UK news this week! but never the less we are firmly stuck to the port wall with thick ice that cannot be broken and we are moored on a river not a canal.!

Patrice had a bit of a shock yesterday when he went walking on the ice and of course fell into the river when he came to the edge! However he proved how grown up he is now and calmly climbed out again all by himself!  He shot daggers at us all evening until he had finally dried out.... mind you his fur is lovely and glossy so John and I are thinking of washing our hair in the river but then we remember what we pump into the river.....??!!??

We have spent our usual busy time entertaining on board or else being entertained by others!! Last night we had 5 visitors to dinner, I cooked a great big chilli which went down really well, with seconds enjoyed by all the men.  After dinner there was much hilarity as we all joined in a couple of raucous rounds of 'Pass the Bomb' a christmas present from my daughter, Dominy.  It is really surprising how one's spelling goes completely to pot when holding a small plastic ticking 'bomb' in your hands!! We are off out to dinner tonight on the barge at the end of the port, Philosophe, owned by Phil and Julie (an australian and a New Zealander).

I built Patrice a new house out of cardboard boxes and he spends many a happy hour hiding in there. Sadly he always feel the need to rebuild the houses by destroying them from the inside out, tearing them to bits with his teeth, so Im not sure how long it will last!!

That's all for now, we are going for a brisk walk to see if the nearby Nivernais canal is frozenup too.

Just returned from a freezing walk, and yes, the Nivernais is frozen up!! In the photo where it looks dark it is ice too, not water, it just isn't as thick as it is at the sides where the ice is white!! You can see our shadows in the ice!!

This cold is really getting to John, But then I did say going naked in this weather isn't a good idea I'm not surprised that he appears to be deaf.......