One of the things that make these films so enjoyable is your power of observation. I know I would just walk past all these wonderful insects and plants but you help me to see and appreciate them. So a huge thanks to you!
Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comment. It is a pleasure to share the little discoveries along the towpath with you. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
You have travelled along some amazing canals haven't you? I think we are going to need to raise our voices to protect our waterways over the next few years with the government cuts. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Another wonderful vlog Mrs M, thank you. So beautiful, so tranquil and yet so poignant. If CRT's budget slash of 40% goes ahead in 27, they'll really be under pressure to maintain the canals as they are doing - which is already a struggle. Let's hope that the government sees sense and finds a way to increase their budget instead of cutting it, and in that way help to preserve one of the most historic, beautiful, necessary and accessible treasures that the UK has.
It would be an absolute tragedy if lack of funding causes the canal network to deteriorate. It’s part of our heritage and we have lost a lot of miles of the network that volunteers are now working to restore. The village you visited was absolutely beautiful, it is a lovely area that you are in, I love the Cotswolds. Beautiful journaling as always. Take care Mr and Mrs Mindful and Zephyr. xxx
Hi Shirley, I completely agree with you about the need to protect our waterways. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
My husband and I have a narrow boat and support the CRT. Recently they sent our an email stating that they are having to start making cutbacks and will therefore begin to remove rubbish bins and dog waste bins from towpaths 😮. I wrote back and said that if they do that, then they’ll start to see dog poo bags hanging from tree branches and rubbish bags along towpaths.
Hi Sian, I just felt like I needed to do something. I have signed the petition and written to a local MP as part of the funding cuts, so this was the next step. Thank you so much for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
So much history coming alive through people living in canal boats. I have a book called "Maiden's Trip" which is a story about women who had never been on the canal working the boats through wartime when the men were away. Amazing read. You are so lucky to have the canal system and it needs to be preserved and used. Thank you Vanessa for our trip in little Alice today, so many people in such a little boat =-) Take care and have a good week.
Wow, this was a new experience for me! Seing you in the Little Alice rowboat, and on what will be a new canal. I agree with you...the area was absolutely stunning. I really do hope this canal restoration work continues, and not just only for selfish reasons...wanting to see more of your adventures! Best wishes!
It really is going to be a spectacular canal when it is all finished. We will all have to work together to make sure our canals don’t waste away. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
What a beautiful area. I'm sure that lovely canal will be a sought-after destination for so many people to enjoy. It feels good knowing folks care so much for the canals that they put all that time, money, and effort into restoring such a true gem.
It is such a wonderful thing to see how a group of volunteers and locals rally together to support such a worthy cause; I find it truly inspirational. Thank you for your lovely comment. Take care🌻🦋
That was quite an experiance on that small boat getting even closer to nature. We must do all we can to preserve the past and nature we cant live without it thank you for such a refreshing video good day
Missing one of your video's would be a tragedy equal to the loss of the canals. Your smile alone makes my day and your inventiveness and delight with what you see is wonderful to see.
I always watch your videos on the smart tv, and there is no way to comment. But, at the moment, I’m on a tablet and can comment. So … I really enjoy your videos, I loved watching Zephyr grow from a gangly pup to a beautiful dog. I enjoy your poetry and drawings, and I like the way you video the details along the canals. Carry on and all the best!
Oh, Vanessa, another beautiful, informative, relaxing and unique VLOG. Sitting and watching each Friday afternoon, is the perfect snippet of mindfulness for me, that really helps punctuate the end of my working week. Thank you so much! I totally loved hearing you gently splashing along in Little Alice, on your exploration exhibition, and what a treat for us to get to see the extra piece of the water way there. Just perfect. I'm so happy you share your content every week. Thank you :-) (I also get my copy of your journal for my birthday next week - I can't wait!). xxx
What a lovely informative vlog. You and Mr M really took us along the canal in a new way with the sounds of the oars as meditative backdrop to your narrative. Yes, canals and water ways are so essential and must be safeguarded. You are doing a lot to educate and contribute to their preservation. Well done Vanessa. thanks so much :)❤
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Wendy. Our waterways are so important and I hope they will continue to be maintained so we can all appreciate the beautiful places they connect us with. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
What amazing vlog this week Vanessa so much beauty as u and Zephyr rowed down the canal, what fantastic work the trust does to restore the canals and the wild life in and around the canal. May l suggest u send this vlog to the minister in charge of funding and let them see what a cut will do to future generations of canal users, u have highlighted their great work done by the CRT may they see sense and up the budget. 👍 Always a pleasure to comment 😊 hope u have a enjoyable weekend 😊😊
Hi Simon, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I would happily send this vlog to the minister in charge of canal funding if I thought it would make a difference. There is a petition that I have signed and a letter which you can send to your local MP on the CRT website- I'm not sure if you have seen them but the more of us that get behind it the better. I hope your boat life is working out well for you- hopefully we'll meet you on the water one day. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Having people watch the vlogs and commenting is the best recognition I can have, so I really appreciate your words- thank you so much, Richard. Take care🦋🌻
Thoroughly enjoyed this video as always. What truly spectacular scenery and well done to those volunteers for what must have seemed a daunting task at its beginning! 😮👍🇺🇦👍🇺🇦
Thanks Vanessa, for rowing us along on this beautiful canal, it looks lovely and I hope that it gets completed some day. As always your journal is wonderful and I can't wait to receive my 2022 edition. Take care and all the best. Stevie
Hi Vanessa, just wanted to say our book arrived and what a wonderful, truly amazing little wonder it is 💖 thank you so much, what a beautiful Vlog this week, stunning, hope you all have a wonderful week, much love, Kay Dave and Bubba xx 💕😍💖
I am so pleased that your book arrived and that you like it! Thank you so much for buying it and for your lovely comment too. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
A very peaceful stretch of water. Yes it is very calming that is for sure. Very interesting seeing the water from so close up. Thanks for all your interesting vlogs.
I thought it could’nt get any better and then you went on the Stroudwater .What a fantastic experience.Thanks so much ! I’m just starting an 8 foot x 6 foot painting of Stockton Locks looking up , by my horses stable .No complaints as yet. 😊
Oh please send me a picture of that painting when it’s done, Tony. I would love to see it. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat l’ll see what l can do regarding the picture .l’ll probably need some guidance from a friend as my technical abilities are rather poor😊
You are so right about how important our canals are here and it will be so sad if they are left to deteriorate due to the recent government cuts. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super week, take care🦋🌻
Hi Sandy, I hope that you are well? Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I will continue to cruise as long as I can, hopefully. 🤞Have a super week, take care🌻🦋
Working my way through your entire video collection and getting so much out of them.The only thing is my love of your country is growing more and more.I am in Australia but having British heritage and watching this lifestyle I am so envious.I no longer feel I belong here and wish I was there with all your history and lovely landscapes.All I can hope is that it will happen one day sooner than later.Will x
That is a very kind thing to say; I'll have to give the teaching a simple drawing some thought though as I'm not a natural artist, it's something that I am still working at myself. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
What an amazing vlog, I love seeing them, filled with loads of information, always enjoy your poetry and artwork to round off the vlog, loads of fun joy and happiness to you and zephyr too. Xxx God bless you both
Your Aunt lives in a beautiful place! I bet you must have some wonderful memories of your fishing trips there. Thank you for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
Beautiful vlog. The opening views of Frampton village are just delightful. Am always fascinated by all the bridge names! Zephyr is so calm - I looked up the name from Greek meaning 'west wind' and a symbol of tranquility & peace in the gentle breeze Well she certainly is that 🐾🐾 and such a beautiful companion. The canals are such a precious resource. 🦋🌼
Hi Margaret, I love the meaning of Zephyr's name too- although occasionally she can be more like a tornado than a gentle breeze😂 but only on the rare occasion! Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
So Glad you got to see a bit of Stroud canal when the missing mile is open you will be able to come all the way down to Chalford. They are hoping to have a marina in Brimscombe. I am lucky enough to live there and it’s beautiful. Ebley Mill is actually housing the whole of the Stroud Distict Council. There are many more mills as you go down the canal. Very famous for carpets! Maybe they will reopen Sapperton!
Lovely little trip down the restored canal, I miss that neck of the woods, I ranged far and wide as a nipper, from the Forest of Dean canoeing collage in Gloucester a long stint in Cheltenham and my childhood in Snowshill in the Cotswolds and school in Chipping Campden now living in Ely on the river as I needed countryside after the Cotswolds.
This video a beautiful illustration of "water is life". Thank you for sharing. Also, I love seeing you leafing thru the journal because it reminds me of those other videos and thoughts. You've been a wonderful mentor of mindfulness.
Thank you Vanessa, brilliant vlog, loved it when you showed the mint moth, now I know what's been on my mint, which I just planted this year for the insects, found it today on the Rosemary. Have a good week Vanessa 🌞👍
Superb, and thank you! I was a little anxious over something ( not like me), and I watched your vlog in bed, and I have completely found a lovely space, I really enjoyed your information about where you were xx
Good afternoon Vanessa & Zeph 😊 awwww I miss the kettle boiling and your biscuits 🍪 on the plate is it 4 or 5 lol 😂 Love how inquisitive Zephyr is on your travels 😀 How cute you both are xxxxx
I stopped showing my kettle boiling and tea making for a few vlogs and several viewers told me they missed it; I still made myself tea and ate biscuits, I just edited it out, but I have put it all back as I didn't realise that people enjoyed that part so much. Thank you for your lovely comment. Take care🌻🦋
Vanessa, I really enjoyed the perspective that your row boat brought to this weeks vlog, and I can now see why you have brought it along, to be towed by Alice Grace's powerful diesel engine. I love the fact that there is a strong movement in restoring more and more of disused canal, one foot at a time. I found the fact that nearly half of the licensed boat operators actually live upon the canals, imagine the congestion this relieves if they were all to suddenly move onto land. The crescent moon welcoming you home as twilight set in upon you and Zephyr was both calming and reassuring. P.S. what make is your wooden boat ? Here in the States, there are a few companies which offer fantastic designs in kit-built form. Bless you Vanessa, Mr. M and Zephyr this week, may your travels be safe and full of joy.
Hi Michael, thank you so much for your lovely comment. The name of our foldaway boat is a Sea Hopper Stowaway. It also comes with a mast and sail set up as well as just a rowing boat, but Mr M is the sailor as I haven't got a clue what I am doing with that!😂 Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Mr M runs one red light and you never let him forget, no wonder he never appears in you videos, hahaha! Loved the statistics on canal usage, very interesting 👍👍
Hi Steve, 😂😂 I love the fact that you are part of the Mr M fan club- he deserves to have one for putting up with me!😂 Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Wow this episode really made me think. I watched another video about saving the canals from that guy who does cruising the cut. Something about the government cutting back its share of the funding for the upkeep of the canals. I started to think about my life here in Washington. I spend my day not doing much to help save the world. Things like playing golf and feeding the deer don’t amount to much. Then I thought if I lived there I might be a volunteer perhaps helping people through the locks. That would be nice. We have nothing over here in the states to compare with your canals O people do live on house boats in lake Union did you see the movie Sleepless in Seattle? And others live aboard yachts and sail around the world you my friend are doing so much to inspire people to pay closer attention to history and especially nature. Keep up the good work. Steve
Thank you so much, Steve for your kindness in this comment. I have seen Sleepless in Seattle and it is up there as one of my favourite films, but until you mentioned it, I hadn't thought about the house boats- so I shall have to watch it again. I want to be able to do something to help protect our waterways, so far you can sign a petition and write to your MP which I have done, but I thought a video which points out the role that they play might be helpful too. Dave @cruisingthecut did an amazing job of interviewing Richard Parry and it was apparent in this conversation that maintaining the canals as they are is going to be a challenge. I hope they can get funding some way. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
I am so pleased that you enjoyed this part of the world where we did a lot of our boating and you really did it proud with the quality of your filming. Now I am hoping I live long enough ( I am now 82) to see the joining of the Severn and Thames and, if so, will be contacting you to thumb a lift :>).
Good evening, If I had realised earlier you were in the stroud-stonehouse area, I could have brought my father in law down to meet you as he has been a volunteer on the stroudwater canal for around 52 or more years. Frank
I want to thank a your followers for educating me about boat blacking and why it is so important. Now I have another question. Are there different narrow boats that are too wide top pass through the locks and are they being taxed forcing them to give up this peaceful life ?
Widebeams are restricted to either parts of the south or north as they cannot get through the narrow locks that connect the two together. They have to pay more for their licence now but I'm not sure if they are selling up because of that? Thank you for watching. Take care 🦋🌻
A lovely video as usual, and thanks for highlighting the campaign for our canals and rivers. There's a big protest in Birmingham City centre on August 13th where 60 narrowboats are going to blockade the city's canals. To put things into perspective - the funding the Canal & River Trust want annually from the government is what the building of HS2 has been costing the government each WEEK!. Which of them is going to benefit the public the most?
Well, Bob in answer to your question, I know that one of them destroys wildlife and ancient trees and the other allows for them to thrive and be protected. I think it is an excellent protest and if my boat was there, I would join in the blockade too! Thank you for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
So nice to be here again. Hope your week has been enjoyable. How nice to be in Little Alice. I hope no boats get too close to you. Zephyr looks as though she is really enjoying herself. Are you on a part of the canal where no-one else can travel? I am so curious.
Hi Vanessa, as the canal is not yet restored there was no other boat traffic on it when we were on it and I imagine that there are only a few small boats and work boats on it at the moment. Thank you for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
It was so quiet rowing through the empty canal; it was a bit like being in a dream. Sadly, there are no brownies left and I'm afraid to say, they didn't last long at all!🤭 They were utterly delicious. Have a super week, take care🌻🦋
Hi Vanessa. What a beautiful trip on a canal not yet open to boaters. It’s sure to be very popular once open. Do you think they’ll have to limit use at the beginning? Take care. Nick
Hi Nick, yes I think they might have to limit the use. The Gloucester and Sharpness which it turns in from is quiet anyway so I don't think many boats will all try and make their way there at once. Thank you for your lovely comment. Take care🌻🦋
@@themindfulnarrowboat Agreed. The tidal part of the River Severn between Tewkesbury and Gloucester puts some people off going there meaning it keeps it nice and quiet for we more adventurous narrowboaters 🙂
Hi… can you suggest what type of birds I see in the evenings darting above the canal surface outside my boat? I can never tell the difference between Swifts, Swallows or House Martins? Thanks for your time 😊
Swallows and house martins are very similar and often together but the streamer tails are the swallows so if you can spot the tail then that helps. Swifts look like boomerangs and make a high pitched shrieking noise also they never rest on posts and are darker all over without the white underbelly like the other two. It is tricky though with those birds. It’s lovely to know you have lots over your canal. They are busy feeding at the moment for their long migration. Enjoy watching them. Take care🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat thank you… they are so fast skimming the water surface it’s hard to tell what they are, I’ve never seen one land so haven’t a clue what they truly look like, amazing little birds…
Zephyr is chilled now on the rowing boat but it took her a year to get used to Little Alice. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Hallo. We watch your vlog regularly on RUclips through our tv and really enjoy it. I especially love your artwork and poetry. Please could you tell me where you buy your journals from and also, I noticed that you use Derwent pencils - are they watercolour pencils or just colouring pencils please? Thank you. Love to you both and Zeph 💕
Thank you for your lovely comment; I am so pleased that you are enjoying the vlogs. I do use the Derwent Watercolour pencils and they are so beautiful to work with. I don't add water in my journal, but if I am working on watercolour paper, I will add water to the pencil and build up layers that way. My journal is being sold in my Etsy shop: themindfulnarrowboat.etsy.com Take care🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat You’re welcome and thank you for your reply. Regarding the journal, I meant where do you buy the actual journal book that you write and draw in? X
Whoops! 🤭I use a company called Dingbats. Their journals are vegan and sustainably made. The pages hold watercolour pencil very well, but not if you want to add water- I recommend special, watercolour paper for that. I buy the Duck, black, blank page, A5 journal and I love it!🥰@@JL1308
@@themindfulnarrowboat Thank you, lovely. Is The Duck a journal produced by Dingbats or is The Duck from a different company? Sorry for so many questions! 😂😂
15,000 boaters, cruise Britain's waterways; all decked out in their finery; ready for another day. They cruise past ancient villages, built from old brick, and stone; their roofs are thatched and shingled; their church (grave) yards full of bones. The ghostly villagers whisper; of their lives so long ago; you may think they lived in sleepy parishes; but alas! it wasn't so. Yet life flows on, as all things do, and continues on its way; the towpaths graced by bees, and bugs, and otters that come out and play. So wishing you, my dear narrowboater, another adventuresome day! Jenny 🐝🐞🪲🦋🦦🌺🥀 Jenny
Hi Vanessa, is that your wifi router just beside your head there at the monitor - did they give you any instructions on distance for that device, because I know a tech guy who'd shiver if he saw you sitting that close to it. They have quite a powerful signal.
Well I used to know a real wifi tech guy who used to test safety standards to see the routers were not over their legal limit of radiation [and they often were way over!] but I see a lot of bloggers online pretending to be experts and saying things like 40 ft or 10 ft away and I don't think that is accurate. But there was a legal case in one of the US states to get the phone companies to put their own safety guidelines on distance somewhere VISIBLE to folks and they actually fought that [!] because they didn't want to raise any concerns - even when they had a distance limit they hid it- and it's the same with routers, especially when they can be on for hours unlike your phone that you don't hold to your head for hours and switch off. These days a lot of people use speaker mode to create a little distance but yeah, I was miffed when I first heard it as I used to sit with it almost as a little ornament on my desk! Though I did notice when I removed the router altogether my head was a lot clearer... unfortunately there's also a lot of misinformation that tends to cloud the whole subject, but the tech guy was measuring it and concerned when his kids school installed wifi routers that made his kid ill and so he had to test them and found out they can be too powerful way over their own limits and even at the right limit some people are affected and of course no one wants to create a public stampede they'd rather we just all had them!! Bit like some of the chemicals they put in our food, a lot is not said until someone gets ill and even then hushed up.@@themindfulnarrowboat
I completely agree with you. I think, there is such potential to utilise the waterways more to become carbon neutral: movement of goods, hydro pumps at locks and weirs, planting carbon absorbing aquatic plants, recycling humanure to plant trees, building HVO plants in the disused warehouses along the canal; planting living walls on every old building...and this is just a few. Thank you so much for your comment. Take care🌻🦋
I did an updated search and that's what the number was. They don't all have to be connected just navigable for a boat. It is quite remarkable isn't it? Thank you so much for watching. Take care🌻🦋
Bahahahaha. I've seen my once great state, California, fall to its knees. It's all about fees. I'm afraid the same people will end up ruining your canals.
@@themindfulnarrowboat i checked and you only exaggerated a little according to CRT figures which estimate that there were 750,000,000 visits in 2021/22 tho they are talking about all rivers and canals. that's 2 million visits per day. compare that with the lake district which is said to have 50,000 visits a day
Canals are an enormous asset any decline due to lack of funding would be a tragedy at the very least. Lovely video as usual
Well said! Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend 🦋🌻
I really hope that with all the budget cuts that we can still enjoy all the canals and the preservation will continue
I do too! The canals play such a vital role in wellbeing. Thank you so much for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
One of the things that make these films so enjoyable is your power of observation. I know I would just walk past all these wonderful insects and plants but you help me to see and appreciate them. So a huge thanks to you!
Thank you so much for your kind and lovely comment. It is a pleasure to share the little discoveries along the towpath with you. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
This is why I go up the un-used sections of canals Mrs mindful. To keep them going and get boaters up there. Good work from you to highlight this. 👍👍👍
You have travelled along some amazing canals haven't you? I think we are going to need to raise our voices to protect our waterways over the next few years with the government cuts. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat Agreed. If you don't use it you will lose it. 👍
Another wonderful vlog Mrs M, thank you. So beautiful, so tranquil and yet so poignant. If CRT's budget slash of 40% goes ahead in 27, they'll really be under pressure to maintain the canals as they are doing - which is already a struggle. Let's hope that the government sees sense and finds a way to increase their budget instead of cutting it, and in that way help to preserve one of the most historic, beautiful, necessary and accessible treasures that the UK has.
I completely agree- protecting our waterways is vital. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
It would be an absolute tragedy if lack of funding causes the canal network to deteriorate. It’s part of our heritage and we have lost a lot of miles of the network that volunteers are now working to restore. The village you visited was absolutely beautiful, it is a lovely area that you are in, I love the Cotswolds. Beautiful journaling as always. Take care Mr and Mrs Mindful and Zephyr. xxx
Hi Shirley, I completely agree with you about the need to protect our waterways. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
My husband and I have a narrow boat and support the CRT. Recently they sent our an email stating that they are having to start making cutbacks and will therefore begin to remove rubbish bins and dog waste bins from towpaths 😮. I wrote back and said that if they do that, then they’ll start to see dog poo bags hanging from tree branches and rubbish bags along towpaths.
I'm pleased you've made a video describing how important the canal (restoration) is to you, as it is your home.
Hi Sian, I just felt like I needed to do something. I have signed the petition and written to a local MP as part of the funding cuts, so this was the next step. Thank you so much for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
Grand vlog lovely village views and wild like what more could we ask for thank you for having us tag along tc now the oldies 👋🤗👍🌺🌹🌷
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
So much history coming alive through people living in canal boats. I have a book called "Maiden's Trip" which is a story about women who had never been on the canal working the boats through wartime when the men were away. Amazing read. You are so lucky to have the canal system and it needs to be preserved and used. Thank you Vanessa for our trip in little Alice today, so many people in such a little boat =-) Take care and have a good week.
I shall have to read that book, Lorraine it sounds amazing. Thank you for your lovely comment.Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Wow, this was a new experience for me! Seing you in the Little Alice rowboat, and on what will be a new canal. I agree with you...the area was absolutely stunning. I really do hope this canal restoration work continues, and not just only for selfish reasons...wanting to see more of your adventures! Best wishes!
It really is going to be a spectacular canal when it is all finished. We will all have to work together to make sure our canals don’t waste away. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Thank you once again for taking us along, that was wonderful, you made the start to the weekend 🙏✝️🙏
I am so pleased that you have started your weekend with my vlog- thank you so much, James. Have a wonderful rest of the weekend, take care🌻🦋
What a beautiful area. I'm sure that lovely canal will be a sought-after destination for so many people to enjoy. It feels good knowing folks care so much for the canals that they put all that time, money, and effort into restoring such a true gem.
It is such a wonderful thing to see how a group of volunteers and locals rally together to support such a worthy cause; I find it truly inspirational. Thank you for your lovely comment. Take care🌻🦋
That was quite an experiance on that small boat getting even closer to nature. We must do all we can to preserve the past and nature we cant live without it thank you for such a refreshing video good day
Absolutely, we must protect our canals. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Missing one of your video's would be a tragedy equal to the loss of the canals.
Your smile alone makes my day and your inventiveness and delight with what you see is wonderful to see.
I’m so pleased that you like the vlogs. Enjoy the rest of your week, take care 🦋🌻
I love watching your pencils come to life on your page & hear your verses MAGICAL 🐾🥰
🤗 Thank you so much, Sue! 🤗 Have a super rest of the week, take care🌻🦋
I always watch your videos on the smart tv, and there is no way to comment. But, at the moment, I’m on a tablet and can comment. So … I really enjoy your videos, I loved watching Zephyr grow from a gangly pup to a beautiful dog. I enjoy your poetry and drawings, and I like the way you video the details along the canals. Carry on and all the best!
It’s so lovely to hear from you and thank you so much for such a kind comment. I really appreciate it. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Oh, Vanessa, another beautiful, informative, relaxing and unique VLOG. Sitting and watching each Friday afternoon, is the perfect snippet of mindfulness for me, that really helps punctuate the end of my working week. Thank you so much! I totally loved hearing you gently splashing along in Little Alice, on your exploration exhibition, and what a treat for us to get to see the extra piece of the water way there. Just perfect. I'm so happy you share your content every week. Thank you :-) (I also get my copy of your journal for my birthday next week - I can't wait!). xxx
Hi Linda, I hope you are well! Happy birthday for next week🥳 . Thank you so much for such a lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
What a lovely informative vlog. You and Mr M really took us along the canal in a new way with the sounds of the oars as meditative backdrop to your narrative. Yes, canals and water ways are so essential and must be safeguarded. You are doing a lot to educate and contribute to their preservation. Well done Vanessa. thanks so much :)❤
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Wendy. Our waterways are so important and I hope they will continue to be maintained so we can all appreciate the beautiful places they connect us with. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
What a beautiful canal full of history. Those beautiful cottages and buildings along the canal just make my heart jump. So romantic.
The canals are little treasure troves aren’t they? Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super week, take care🦋🌻
Gorgeous, gorgeous drawing of female duck! Lovely video as always.
What a kind comment- thank you so much, Helen. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
What a lovely mini rowing cruise. I do hope the canals are renewed/ restored and kept open. 💚
I hope so too, Sheila🤞 Thank you for watching, take care🦋🌻
What amazing vlog this week Vanessa so much beauty as u and Zephyr rowed down the canal, what fantastic work the trust does to restore the canals and the wild life in and around the canal. May l suggest u send this vlog to the minister in charge of funding and let them see what a cut will do to future generations of canal users, u have highlighted their great work done by the CRT may they see sense and up the budget. 👍 Always a pleasure to comment 😊 hope u have a enjoyable weekend 😊😊
Hi Simon, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I would happily send this vlog to the minister in charge of canal funding if I thought it would make a difference. There is a petition that I have signed and a letter which you can send to your local MP on the CRT website- I'm not sure if you have seen them but the more of us that get behind it the better. I hope your boat life is working out well for you- hopefully we'll meet you on the water one day. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Vanessa, hope you receive recognition for your work and love of canals xx
Having people watch the vlogs and commenting is the best recognition I can have, so I really appreciate your words- thank you so much, Richard. Take care🦋🌻
Thoroughly enjoyed this video as always. What truly spectacular scenery and well done to those volunteers for what must have seemed a daunting task at its beginning! 😮👍🇺🇦👍🇺🇦
The work that the volunteers do up and down the canals is amazing isn't it? Thank you for your lovely comment. Take care🌻🦋
I love your knowledge of the canals, history and wildlife. Thank you for your observation.
Aw, Christine, thank you so much! 🤗 Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat And you also.
wonderful video very cool duck sketch nice to watch several times
Thank you so much for your lovely comment and for watching my vlog several times. Have a super rest of the week, take care🦋🌻
I would absolutely miss your vlogs now love them so much Vanessa mr m and Zappa 😊thank you
Aw, thank you so much, Kelly! Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
As always a beautiful vlog.....thank you for sharing xxx
Thank you so much, Lorraine! Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Your vlogs get better and better thank you so beautiful ❤
Thank you so much, Maureen! Take care🦋🌻
Thanks Vanessa, for rowing us along on this beautiful canal, it looks lovely and I hope that it gets completed some day. As always your journal is wonderful and I can't wait to receive my 2022 edition. Take care and all the best. Stevie
Hi Stevie, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I hope you book gets to you very soon! Take care🦋🌻
Hi Vanessa, just wanted to say our book arrived and what a wonderful, truly amazing little wonder it is 💖 thank you so much, what a beautiful Vlog this week, stunning, hope you all have a wonderful week, much love, Kay Dave and Bubba xx 💕😍💖
I am so pleased that your book arrived and that you like it! Thank you so much for buying it and for your lovely comment too. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
@@themindfulnarrowboat 🥰🐝💕🦆💖🦋
great video
Thank you so much! Have a super weekend 🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat thanks , and you
Yes I totally agree. We have lost so much, too much of our history and heritage.
It's all about protecting it now, isn't it? Thank you for your lovely comment. Take care🦋🌻
A very peaceful stretch of water. Yes it is very calming that is for sure. Very interesting seeing the water from so close up. Thanks for all your interesting vlogs.
You are so welcome, Vanessa. Take care🌻🦋
I thought it could’nt get any better and then you went on the Stroudwater .What a fantastic experience.Thanks so much ! I’m just starting an 8 foot x 6 foot painting of Stockton Locks looking up , by my horses stable .No complaints as yet. 😊
Oh please send me a picture of that painting when it’s done, Tony. I would love to see it. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat l’ll see what l can do regarding the picture .l’ll probably need some guidance from a friend as my technical abilities are rather poor😊
Wow! Big Painting
Do you post to you tube?
@@irenedavo3768 No l don’t have my own channel.Thanks for enquiring.
Lovely, peaceful vlog as always. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Always enjoy your vlog. I wish we here in the US had more canals like you do in GB. Truly a national treasure, nice to see you're restoring them.
You are so right about how important our canals are here and it will be so sad if they are left to deteriorate due to the recent government cuts. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super week, take care🦋🌻
Just found your videos a few days ago watch them every morning with my cuppa love them just brilliant.
Welcome aboard👋👋 It is lovely to know that you are watching the vlogs with your morning cuppa. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
Hi Vanessa another interesting video, beautiful pictures and great to know you are going to continue to cruise. Brilliant.have great week 😊
Hi Sandy, I hope that you are well? Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I will continue to cruise as long as I can, hopefully. 🤞Have a super week, take care🌻🦋
Working my way through your entire video collection and getting so much out of them.The only thing is my love of your country is growing more and more.I am in Australia but having British heritage and watching this lifestyle I am so envious.I no longer feel I belong here and wish I was there with all your history and lovely landscapes.All I can hope is that it will happen one day sooner than later.Will x
I hope you get to fulfil your dream one day soon, Will. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Take care 🌻🦋
I love watching you draw! I would totally watch a video of you teaching how to do a simple drawing!
That is a very kind thing to say; I'll have to give the teaching a simple drawing some thought though as I'm not a natural artist, it's something that I am still working at myself. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
Good vlog promoting the canal and all its wonders!🤗
Thank you so much! Take care🌻🦋
Hope all is well this week. Stay warm as it is so cold today. Way too soon.
Hi Vanessa, everything is fine thank you so much for asking. I’ve been visiting family. Take care🌻🦋
A lovely and atmospheric video. Shall miss knowing you are not on the G&S! GH and Wiggie. 👋
Oh we will miss you both too! I hope we get to meet you again. Look after yourselves, take care🦋🌻
What an amazing vlog, I love seeing them, filled with loads of information, always enjoy your poetry and artwork to round off the vlog, loads of fun joy and happiness to you and zephyr too. Xxx God bless you both
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Timothy! Sending you loads of fun, joy and happiness too- take care🌻🦋
Thank you Vanessa !!
You are very welcome! Thank you watching. Take care🦋🌻
Always so beautiful ❤😊 thank you and I sent you a couple of emails. Thanks for the book I love it ❤🥰😊💕
Wonderful film, thanks so much.
Thank you so much! Have a wonderful weekend, take care🦋🌻
❤❤❤ love the sky larks
They are wonderful birds aren’t they? Thank you for watching. Take care🌻🦋
Frampton on Severn is where my Aunt use to live and you actually captured her cottage. I spent many hours fishing on the canal when I was a young boy
Your Aunt lives in a beautiful place! I bet you must have some wonderful memories of your fishing trips there. Thank you for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
Beautiful vlog. The opening views of Frampton village are just delightful. Am always fascinated by all the bridge names! Zephyr is so calm - I looked up the name from Greek meaning 'west wind' and a symbol of tranquility & peace in the gentle breeze Well she certainly is that 🐾🐾 and such a beautiful companion. The canals are such a precious resource. 🦋🌼
Hi Margaret, I love the meaning of Zephyr's name too- although occasionally she can be more like a tornado than a gentle breeze😂 but only on the rare occasion! Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
What a wonderful new canal. I hope the threat of budget cuts to Canals and River Trust, will nloot stop them from carrying on with this regeneration.
Hi Tessa, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I hope so too. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
So
Glad you got to see a bit of Stroud canal when the missing mile is open you will be able to come all the way down to Chalford. They are hoping to have a marina in Brimscombe. I am lucky enough to live there and it’s beautiful. Ebley Mill is actually housing the whole of the Stroud Distict Council. There are many more mills as you go down the canal. Very famous for carpets! Maybe they will reopen Sapperton!
They sound like amazing plans! You are lucky to be living in such a pretty place. Thank you so much for your lovely comment. Take care 🦋🌻
Lovely little trip down the restored canal, I miss that neck of the woods, I ranged far and wide as a nipper, from the Forest of Dean canoeing collage in Gloucester a long stint in Cheltenham and my childhood in Snowshill in the Cotswolds and school in Chipping Campden now living in Ely on the river as I needed countryside after the Cotswolds.
It's a great place to visit and it will be beautiful when it is finished. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Such talent.
😊 Thank you so much for such kind words. Have a super Sunday, take care🌻🦋
This video a beautiful illustration of "water is life". Thank you for sharing. Also, I love seeing you leafing thru the journal because it reminds me of those other videos and thoughts. You've been a wonderful mentor of mindfulness.
What a lovely and kind comment, thank you so much, John! Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Thank you Vanessa, brilliant vlog, loved it when you showed the mint moth, now I know what's been on my mint, which I just planted this year for the insects, found it today on the Rosemary. Have a good week Vanessa 🌞👍
Isn't it a pretty moth, so tiny and delicate? I am glad that you've got one too. Have a super Sunday, take care🌻🦋
Superb, and thank you! I was a little anxious over something ( not like me), and I watched your vlog in bed, and I have completely found a lovely space, I really enjoyed your information about where you were xx
I hope you are feeling better, Andrea. I am so pleased that you enjoyed the vlog. Have a wonderful rest of the week, take care🦋🌻
Good afternoon Vanessa & Zeph 😊 awwww I miss the kettle boiling and your biscuits 🍪 on the plate is it 4 or 5 lol 😂 Love how inquisitive Zephyr is on your travels 😀 How cute you both are xxxxx
I stopped showing my kettle boiling and tea making for a few vlogs and several viewers told me they missed it; I still made myself tea and ate biscuits, I just edited it out, but I have put it all back as I didn't realise that people enjoyed that part so much. Thank you for your lovely comment. Take care🌻🦋
Vanessa, I really enjoyed the perspective that your row boat brought to this weeks vlog, and I can now see why you have brought it along, to be towed by Alice Grace's powerful diesel engine. I love the fact that there is a strong movement in restoring more and more of disused canal, one foot at a time. I found the fact that nearly half of the licensed boat operators actually live upon the canals, imagine the congestion this relieves if they were all to suddenly move onto land. The crescent moon welcoming you home as twilight set in upon you and Zephyr was both calming and reassuring. P.S. what make is your wooden boat ? Here in the States, there are a few companies which offer fantastic designs in kit-built form. Bless you Vanessa, Mr. M and Zephyr this week, may your travels be safe and full of joy.
Hi Michael, thank you so much for your lovely comment. The name of our foldaway boat is a Sea Hopper Stowaway. It also comes with a mast and sail set up as well as just a rowing boat, but Mr M is the sailor as I haven't got a clue what I am doing with that!😂 Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
That’s beautiful such talent ❤
I am so pleased that you enjoyed it. Take care🦋🌻
Another grand video, lots to see and may the work continue, wild life is wonderful, also good luck with your next batch of great books. Gary n Irene
Thank you for such a lovely comment, Gary and Irene! Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
Beautiful episode.
Thank you so much😊 That is so kind of you. Have a super Sunday, take care🌻🦋
Mr M runs one red light and you never let him forget, no wonder he never appears in you videos, hahaha!
Loved the statistics on canal usage, very interesting 👍👍
Hi Steve, 😂😂 I love the fact that you are part of the Mr M fan club- he deserves to have one for putting up with me!😂 Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Wow this episode really made me think. I watched another video about saving the canals from that guy who does cruising the cut. Something about the government cutting back its share of the funding for the upkeep of the canals. I started to think about my life here in Washington. I spend my day not doing much to help save the world. Things like playing golf and feeding the deer don’t amount to much. Then I thought if I lived there I might be a volunteer perhaps helping people through the locks. That would be nice. We have nothing over here in the states to compare with your canals O people do live on house boats in lake Union did you see the movie Sleepless in Seattle? And others live aboard yachts and sail around the world you my friend are doing so much to inspire people to pay closer attention to history and especially nature. Keep up the good work. Steve
Thank you so much, Steve for your kindness in this comment. I have seen Sleepless in Seattle and it is up there as one of my favourite films, but until you mentioned it, I hadn't thought about the house boats- so I shall have to watch it again. I want to be able to do something to help protect our waterways, so far you can sign a petition and write to your MP which I have done, but I thought a video which points out the role that they play might be helpful too. Dave @cruisingthecut did an amazing job of interviewing Richard Parry and it was apparent in this conversation that maintaining the canals as they are is going to be a challenge. I hope they can get funding some way. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
A lovely video. What a nice canal. How far did you row, you must be fit. 😊
Thank you for your lovely comment, Jack. It was a 2 mile row but I shared it with Mr M. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Beautiful vlog always
Thank you so much!🌻🦋
I am so pleased that you enjoyed this part of the world where we did a lot of our boating and you really did it proud with the quality of your filming. Now I am hoping I live long enough ( I am now 82) to see the joining of the Severn and Thames and, if so, will be contacting you to thumb a lift :>).
I hope that they get the work done soon too! It's such an amazing achievement. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Great videos, you put so much more into them. Frank (Stroud)
Thank you so much for such a lovely comment, Frank! Have a super rest of the weekend, take care🌻🦋
Good evening, If I had realised earlier you were in the stroud-stonehouse area, I could have brought my father in law down to meet you as he has been a volunteer on the stroudwater canal for around 52 or more years. Frank
I want to thank a your followers for educating me about boat blacking and why it is so important. Now I have another question. Are there different narrow boats that are too wide top pass through the locks and are they being taxed forcing them to give up this peaceful life ?
Widebeams are restricted to either parts of the south or north as they cannot get through the narrow locks that connect the two together. They have to pay more for their licence now but I'm not sure if they are selling up because of that? Thank you for watching. Take care 🦋🌻
A lovely video as usual, and thanks for highlighting the campaign for our canals and rivers. There's a big protest in Birmingham City centre on August 13th where 60 narrowboats are going to blockade the city's canals. To put things into perspective - the funding the Canal & River Trust want annually from the government is what the building of HS2 has been costing the government each WEEK!. Which of them is going to benefit the public the most?
Well, Bob in answer to your question, I know that one of them destroys wildlife and ancient trees and the other allows for them to thrive and be protected. I think it is an excellent protest and if my boat was there, I would join in the blockade too! Thank you for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
So nice to be here again. Hope your week has been enjoyable. How nice to be in Little Alice. I hope no boats get too close to you. Zephyr looks as though she is really enjoying herself. Are you on a part of the canal where no-one else can travel? I am so curious.
Hi Vanessa, as the canal is not yet restored there was no other boat traffic on it when we were on it and I imagine that there are only a few small boats and work boats on it at the moment. Thank you for your lovely comment, take care🌻🦋
Well done Vanessa, lovely video. Amazing colours & a rowing boat. I bet seeing the canal from a different angle was good. Any brownies left?
It was so quiet rowing through the empty canal; it was a bit like being in a dream. Sadly, there are no brownies left and I'm afraid to say, they didn't last long at all!🤭 They were utterly delicious. Have a super week, take care🌻🦋
@@themindfulnarrowboat Maybe a little eerie too especially with fading light. Have a fabulous week ahead.
I had to check my plant finder,is it correct in identifying that plant towards the end as purple loosestrife?
It is purple loosestrife you are right and it is flowering beautifully here everywhere at the moment. I love it. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Hi Vanessa. What a beautiful trip on a canal not yet open to boaters. It’s sure to be very popular once open. Do you think they’ll have to limit use at the beginning? Take care. Nick
Hi Nick, yes I think they might have to limit the use. The Gloucester and Sharpness which it turns in from is quiet anyway so I don't think many boats will all try and make their way there at once. Thank you for your lovely comment. Take care🌻🦋
@@themindfulnarrowboat Agreed. The tidal part of the River Severn between Tewkesbury and Gloucester puts some people off going there meaning it keeps it nice and quiet for we more adventurous narrowboaters 🙂
Hi… can you suggest what type of birds I see in the evenings darting above the canal surface outside my boat? I can never tell the difference between Swifts, Swallows or House Martins? Thanks for your time 😊
Swallows and house martins are very similar and often together but the streamer tails are the swallows so if you can spot the tail then that helps. Swifts look like boomerangs and make a high pitched shrieking noise also they never rest on posts and are darker all over without the white underbelly like the other two. It is tricky though with those birds. It’s lovely to know you have lots over your canal. They are busy feeding at the moment for their long migration. Enjoy watching them. Take care🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat thank you… they are so fast skimming the water surface it’s hard to tell what they are, I’ve never seen one land so haven’t a clue what they truly look like, amazing little birds…
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Good job V & Z Is that dog chilled or what?
Zephyr is chilled now on the rowing boat but it took her a year to get used to Little Alice. Thank you for your lovely comment. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
Hallo.
We watch your vlog regularly on RUclips through our tv and really enjoy it.
I especially love your artwork and poetry.
Please could you tell me where you buy your journals from and also, I noticed that you use Derwent pencils - are they watercolour pencils or just colouring pencils please?
Thank you.
Love to you both and Zeph 💕
Thank you for your lovely comment; I am so pleased that you are enjoying the vlogs. I do use the Derwent Watercolour pencils and they are so beautiful to work with. I don't add water in my journal, but if I am working on watercolour paper, I will add water to the pencil and build up layers that way. My journal is being sold in my Etsy shop: themindfulnarrowboat.etsy.com Take care🦋🌻
@@themindfulnarrowboat
You’re welcome and thank you for your reply.
Regarding the journal, I meant where do you buy the actual journal book that you write and draw in? X
Whoops! 🤭I use a company called Dingbats. Their journals are vegan and sustainably made. The pages hold watercolour pencil very well, but not if you want to add water- I recommend special, watercolour paper for that. I buy the Duck, black, blank page, A5 journal and I love it!🥰@@JL1308
@@themindfulnarrowboat
Thank you, lovely. Is The Duck a journal produced by Dingbats or is The Duck from a different company? Sorry for so many questions! 😂😂
The duck is on the front cover of their wildlife selection of journals.@@JL1308
15,000 boaters, cruise Britain's waterways; all decked out in their finery; ready for another day. They cruise past ancient villages, built from old brick, and stone; their roofs are thatched and shingled; their church (grave) yards full of bones. The ghostly villagers whisper; of their lives so long ago; you may think they lived in sleepy parishes; but alas! it wasn't so. Yet life flows on, as all things do, and continues on its way; the towpaths graced by bees, and bugs, and otters that come out and play. So wishing you, my dear narrowboater, another adventuresome day! Jenny 🐝🐞🪲🦋🦦🌺🥀 Jenny
Your comments are always so beautiful to read, Jenny! Thank you so much for them as they really make me smile. Have a super weekend, take care🌻🦋
@@themindfulnarrowboat You're welcome Vanessa! I enjoy creating them. Jenny
Hi Vanessa, is that your wifi router just beside your head there at the monitor - did they give you any instructions on distance for that device, because I know a tech guy who'd shiver if he saw you sitting that close to it. They have quite a powerful signal.
I haven't ever thought about that before, Mary. There was nothing about it in the guidance? I'll look into now though- thank you. Take care🌻🦋
Well I used to know a real wifi tech guy who used to test safety standards to see the routers were not over their legal limit of radiation [and they often were way over!] but I see a lot of bloggers online pretending to be experts and saying things like 40 ft or 10 ft away and I don't think that is accurate. But there was a legal case in one of the US states to get the phone companies to put their own safety guidelines on distance somewhere VISIBLE to folks and they actually fought that [!] because they didn't want to raise any concerns - even when they had a distance limit they hid it- and it's the same with routers, especially when they can be on for hours unlike your phone that you don't hold to your head for hours and switch off. These days a lot of people use speaker mode to create a little distance but yeah, I was miffed when I first heard it as I used to sit with it almost as a little ornament on my desk! Though I did notice when I removed the router altogether my head was a lot clearer... unfortunately there's also a lot of misinformation that tends to cloud the whole subject, but the tech guy was measuring it and concerned when his kids school installed wifi routers that made his kid ill and so he had to test them and found out they can be too powerful way over their own limits and even at the right limit some people are affected and of course no one wants to create a public stampede they'd rather we just all had them!! Bit like some of the chemicals they put in our food, a lot is not said until someone gets ill and even then hushed up.@@themindfulnarrowboat
Britain may desperately need the canal network in the future for the movement of goods and people if Peak Oil is real.
I completely agree with you. I think, there is such potential to utilise the waterways more to become carbon neutral: movement of goods, hydro pumps at locks and weirs, planting carbon absorbing aquatic plants, recycling humanure to plant trees, building HVO plants in the disused warehouses along the canal; planting living walls on every old building...and this is just a few. Thank you so much for your comment. Take care🌻🦋
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Silly question where is the narrow boat ?
We moored it at Saul Junction and then took Little Alice to the Stroudwater Canal. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻
I thought navigable canals and waterways was about 3000 miles? Somewhat less than the figure you gave.
I did an updated search and that's what the number was. They don't all have to be connected just navigable for a boat. It is quite remarkable isn't it? Thank you so much for watching. Take care🌻🦋
Bahahahaha. I've seen my once great state, California, fall to its knees. It's all about fees. I'm afraid the same people will end up ruining your canals.
I hope you're wrong about that. Thank you for watching and commenting, take care🌻🦋
800,000,000 visitors to the canal towpaths? i think you have got yr numbers wrong there
Probably! 🙈Thank you so much for watching. Take care 🌻🦋
@@themindfulnarrowboat i checked and you only exaggerated a little according to CRT figures which estimate that there were 750,000,000 visits in 2021/22 tho they are talking about all rivers and canals. that's 2 million visits per day. compare that with the lake district which is said to have 50,000 visits a day
Beautiful canal 😊
It really is! Thank you so much for watching. Have a super weekend, take care🦋🌻