Hello out there in the depths of the blogosphere. How is your Monday rolling? Hyped up? No mind for leaving the bed? Anything in between?

No matter where you stand I am sending you a virtual hug and let you know I believe in you! You can do it!!!

Some Cancer News

I am happy to report, that the polyp is out without any complications. It was rather interesting to see the doctor and the nurses working together with their new machine.

It seemed to be a bit of a faff but they kept me updated and the chaperone distracted me nicely. Even though I really didn’t need it. It was so interesting to watch the screen and see inside of me. You can’t do that very often. 😁

Beside that, they have taken all in all 3 biopsies over three appointments. Two came back clear and I am waiting for the result of the last. I am so relieved.

I Wish They Told Me That 6 Months Ago

I also had the appointment with the surgeons at last. Apparently, all looks well besides some lymphedema in the breast. I will have a mammogram tomorrow to see what’s going on and will have an annual one for five years.

They also gave me a leaflet telling me what to look out for, what to do and who to call if anything comes up. I wish they’d let me know this 6 months ago because it looked to me like I wouldn’t have any sort of check-ups which worried me a lot.

Maybe I should start to listen properly and not assume so much 😁.

Our “Do We Really Want To Live On A Narrow Boat?” Journey Part 1

Do you want to know some more of our journey towards a slower and de-cluttered lifestyle? I hope so because I’ll tell you anyway over the next few months 😁.

What started our interest in the first place was Prue Scales’s and Timothy West’s TV series Great Canal Journeys – Episode Guide – All 4 (channel4.com).

Both are British actors who have a narrowboat and spent all their holidays with their family on the canals. They even helped to restore one of the canals. Prue lives with Alzheimer’s and the series was partly made to help her mind stay as healthy as it can. They have recently stopped filming because of it. Unfortunately, we do not like the new presenters.

Another Series, That Got Us Into It

I already showed you one or two clips of Robbie Cumming, who is the presenter of the BBC Four – Canal Boat Diaries. He actually lives on a small narrowboat and tells his story of travelling the canals. He lives on his own, so going through locks can be a bit challenging. His “Pub of the Week” feature makes me laugh and you can watch him on YouTube or support him on Patreon.

His series was great because it shows both the history of the canals and the dis-and advantages of living on a boat.

Fellow Blogger Who Did It Before Helped

When we started playing with the idea to move on a narrowboat I remembered that Di from Pensitivity did live on a narrowboat for a while. So I send her an email and asked what to look out for and she wrote several lovely emails sharing her experiences. You can also read some of it on her blog. Thanks Di, you rock!

A Newsletter & The Canals “Rulers”

I like to get as much information from different sources as I can even though some just repeat what we already learned from several vloggers.

That was the case with a newsletter I signed up at

https://livingonanarrowboat.co.uk/

I think his is a good one if you just start out looking into living on a boat but if you already researched a little it didn’t give you much. But reading it reiterated to me that you need to find your own best way of going about it.

Most of the British canals are “ruled” by the Canal & River Trust. There are also parts that belong to the Environment Agency (mainly the Themes I think) and other organisations but the CRT is the main one.

I wrote “ruled” a little provocative because their management of the Canal system is a little controversial to the more freedom loving boaters of the community. The rules the CRT put up are not law because they are a charity but they are often enforced like law.

As far as I understand they are entrusted by the government to manage the Canal system and to my mind, of course, they need to set rules to make it workable for all. Most boaters we watched have a good relationship with the CRT and I doubt you get into trouble if you are happy to follow the rules.

One Our First Questions Was “How much does it actually cost?

This video gives you an idea, what we have to consider:

We saw at least 4 of these vidoes from different vloggers and they all had different expenses depending on their life-style and if they could buy the boat outright or needed a loan or mortgage.

It gave us though a lot of insight into what you need to think of that you do not need to think of when you live in a house. For example, emptying the toilet, what about an address, where to get the post from etc. But more about that next time.

Are you still with me? And do you want to come away with me to Antigua & Barbuda?

Introduction to Antigua & Barbuda

Neither Antigua nor Barbuda was ever on my travel list. I am not a fan of high-end holiday experiences nor of staying in a resort. I’d rather stick with people living in the area I would visit. So I much prefer B&B’s or campsites. It was interesting though to see how a holiday on these islands could look like.

Yes, Antigua is a Caribbean island but it is also a city in Guatemala. Just in case you wondered 😉 . The Caribbean is an area where two earth plates collide and therefore you’ll find lots of volcanic activity there. The Antiguans are apparently a great fan of Barrack Obama and so they called one of their volcanos “Obama”. That is brilliant, I find 🙂 . Like many smaller islands, there is not much freshwater on either island, however, you can get a lot of rain. I can’t remember why but maybe that’s not so important anyway. The important bit is, that they can collect rainwater and don’t have to go thirsty. Did you know that there is a black pineapple? Yes, there is but I don’t think it’s black but it’s from Antigua and Barbuda 😉 . The introduction videos will tell you more. And what else have I learned about Antigua and Barbuda: There is not much agriculture because tourism pays better; lots of little islands which are privately owned; it’s one of the best wedding locations and they have the only pink church in the world?

Well, let’s hit the playlist and find out if I am right 😉

An Artist of Barbuda & Antigua

While we in developed countries just recently discovered the great impact plastics have on the oceans many islands around the world have discovered this years ago. One artists is using recycled materials to create and make everybody aware of the problem:

I am not quite sure I like his art but I love his creativity.

Sorry to bother you with Antigua’s climate crisis

We might not like to hear it but many of our holiday destinations are already heavily impacted by the climate crisis. So reducing our carbon footprint would really be in our interest if we want to keep going on holiday. This video gives you an idea about Antigua & Barbuda’s problems:

Ah, food… and a very self-confident chef

Oh, this video made me chuckle. So, I don’t say much but let you enjoy learning about Antiguan food:

Did this video create a taste for more? Then please dig a little deeper with this link:

Antigua Food: 33 Dishes You Don’t Want to Miss – Bacon is Magic

Shame no reading of Antiguan poetry

Well, it looks like there is not a YouTube video for everything. I found a couple of Antiguan poets but no video to shout about. So please enjoy this blog post that gives you a little insight into their poetry:

Antiguan and Barbudan Poetry | Wadadli Pen (wordpress.com)

How they deal with mental health surprised me

It looks like many seem to believe that bad mental health has more to do with demons or being punished by god rather than a health condition. That really surprised me. You would think a place that is rather modern and touristy would have a different outlook.

This video is not exactly about Mental Health in Antigua and Barbuda but it shows great role models and some problems we all face all over the world:

They do try though to change things and you can find out more about it at this link:

Antigua & Barbuda mental health policy (who.int)

And now to the music

🙂

You want to add a music or travel post of yours? Please do so here at this Linky. Click on the image and the form pops up.

And where are we going next week?

Come Away With Me 2021 Musical Challenge Country for Monday, June 21st, 2021

I am taking a rather random route around the world, but sometimes it makes sense. Next week we venture to Dominica . Please find musicians from Dominica at the A Virtual Dominica page.

As for the suggestions to take part:

1. Join in! No matter where, when and with what. You missed the first year? Don’t worry. Just jump in when it suits you.
2. Send us the link! The ping-back option does not work because my blog is now private so please leave a link in the comments of the post on the day you take part. Or leave it at the “Come Away With Me 2021 FB page“
3. Tag your post either with ” Come Away With Me Musical Challenge”/ #CoAwWiMeMuCh” / “Come Away with Me 2021 Musical Challenge” o/“CoAwWiMe2021MuCh” / . You can also use these as hashtags for Twitter and other Social Networks to give your post more exposure. If you add #blog and #music with your hashtags it will get you more readers.
4. No matter which music or country the prompt favours you create with it whatever you please. This is supposed to be a fun challenge and no chore.
5. I post a prompt for the next week with every “Come Away With Me 2021 post” I write.
6. If you like, use this picture for your readers to find the posts.

Just one more thing before you go: The hospital that is treating me is fundraising for a dedicated breast cancer unit which would allow some same-day diagnosis and better premises for patients and staff.

Please, if you can spare a little money hop over to their Just Giving Page and give as little or much as you can. Or share the page on your social media. So far the campaign has raised about half the amount needed: £450,451 of £800,000 (June 2021).

Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much.

Thanks, my dears, for staying with me until the end.

I appreciate your presence.

Please stay safe, stay kind and remember that you rock!