Day 352 - Remembrance

down by the canal

Most days now, it seems as though the only real chance I have of getting a Photo of the Day is during my drive to work in the morning...otherwise I'm indoors, and/or it's dark...

Fortuitously, there are regular traffic issues on my route, and I often end up being stationary for a few minutes...less often, I'm in a place where there is something of interest in view...much less often again, I remember to actually take a photo!

Today I was sitting in a queue waiting for the traffic lights to turn green to get through some roadworks just north of Brinklow, when I realised I could see the boats lined up along the Oxford Canal, down through the hedgerow to the side of the road.

The photo seems to reflect my hazy memories of the canals - the details somewhat obscured by all the stuff between there and here (or then and now)...

When I was a child, way back in the 60's , my maternal grandparents bought a canal boat...it wasn't one of the traditional narrow boats, rather a small cabin cruiser, as they were known. 

Over the next decade, they upgraded twice to successively bigger boats, and they were named Jofresco I, II and III - Jo standing for my Aunt Jo and her husband John, fre being the first three letters of my grandparents surname, Frearson, and sco being the beginning of my parents surname. 

Here is the only photo I have to prove any of that...

motley crew

This is Jofresco I, complete with a selection of my closest relatives, taken around 1966 or 67...

My Mum is on the bow, then (from left to right), my sister Debs, my Great Aunt May (or some such aunt-ish relation), my Dad steering, then my Grandpa and Grandma Frearson (Arthur and Molly). 

We had lots of holidays on the canals, and the canals always remind me of my grandma and grandpa...and also of water voles (scarce these days, but common back then), locks (noisy, powerful, scary, exciting things!), and tunnels (dark and dank and creepy and quiet)...

I don't know why I'm not in this photo...although somewhere in existence, there is a German holiday brochure extolling the wonders of British Waterways, that uses as its front cover a full colour photo of this boat, with me (aged around 4), my sister (aged around 5), and Grandma sitting on the bow, with Grandpa driving (or I suppose more correctly, piloting)...

I wonder if I'll ever see that photo again?!

Having said all that about no chance of getting a good photo, I just had an opportunity to capture a moment at home, that I couldn't resist taking...

Here's Queen Loz on Minion Anna's lap, and The Boy Wonder lying to the side. 

contact

They're just dozing by the fire, but notice that The Killer Queen has one of her back feet and her tail actually touching Treacle SpongeBob.

touchdown

You can see that it's not just resting lightly, there is a little pressure there.  

This is one of the first times they've made physical contact in this way, and almost certainly the first time when they've been relaxed and sleepy with it. 

Good progress, I'm sure they'll be snuggling up together against the winter cold before long!

:-)