Going back to a house that doesn\u2019t move anywhere from day to day is going to seem awfully dull compared with being on a boat. I began to understand why some people opt for living on a boat on a permanent basis, although I could happily leave jumping over water, to get to the shore, firmly behind. I enjoy sitting on the bridge, watching the world go by with the wind blowing my ears back. I offered to drive the boat, only to be told a boat is \u2018steered\u2019 rather then driven and besides which I wasn\u2019t old enough. I offered to try parking it but apparently that is \u2018mooring\u2019 rather than \u2018parking\u2019. I began to understand that the language of the water is far removed from us land lubbers. There are \u2018fore\u2019 and \u2018aft\u2019 and \u2018port\u2019 and \u2018starboard\u2019 and so many other words I need to learn the meaning of. I\u2019ve got as far as \u2018Aye aye me hearties\u2019 and I\u2019m a bit stuck after that. I do now realise that my Master expects to be called Captain and my Mistress appears to be ships cook. I\u2019m the General Dogsbody!<\/p>\n
I\u2019m glad we\u2019re all going to Belgium soon as I\u2019m feeling a little homesick and can\u2019t help but lie awake at night thinking about how close my place of birth is from here, as the seagull flies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"