On to Devizes

When you see the middle 16 stretching before you in a row like that they can seem a little intimidating ; but we did it (all 29) in just over 4 hours coming up. Worked well with Bob and Pam, on their way to the sawmill at Honey Street to pick up a 38 foot spruce pole to make a new mast for their sail boat at Bristol. And so here we are in Devizes where, as elsewhere, the snow came making everything look very pretty. The temperature dropped and the canal froze and everything got very slippery. Ducks are walking on water, swans are acting like icebreakers and both our dogs have managed to slip and fall in while getting ashore over the rear of a boat we were moored next to for a couple of nights.

Now if you are a large and rather bony dog with not much fat you don't appreciate drafts. So much so, that in the middle of the night as the saloon temperature falls a bit, you get up, have a wander around and let the human beings know that you are not happy! Your bed may be very soft and equipped with folded blankets on which to rest your head, but if there's a draft round your back it just won’t do! What joy then, to be in Devizes with its excellent pet shop on New Park Road. Herself finds a dog bed in the Sale that matches the boat décor, but more importantly has nice high sides that curl round your back and keep the drafts off you. Oh joy; dog heaven. Go out in that weather? You have to be kidding! Hairy dogs of course just don't care.

It was one of those "what shall we do today" moments. What do you do in Devizes when you've got a few days to kill? Visit the Wiltshire Heritage Museum of course, hoping to look particularly at the Neolithic exhibits. The problem with out of season visits is that is when the builders come in, so half the museum is not available (including the Neolithic....damn!). The consolation is that the entrance fee is waived. And as we wander round herself says, "Isn't that.......?". One look, battered trilby on the back of the head, flowing locks appearing from under the brim, strong Wiltshire accent; yes it’s Phil Harding from Channel Four's Time Team doing the day job. "I have to shake your hand," she says, "I've listened to you so many times on the telly". You never know who is going to turn up.

So now we are waiting for the weather to improve so we can move on. We've deposited our read books and completed jigsaw at the Oxfam shop and bought and started another Jiggy. A nice steak and kidney pudding would go down nicely in this wintry weather. This white stuff is all very pretty but it's time it went.

Well if you are going to test if you can survive a winter on the water then you might as well choose the worst winter weather for 13 years and see how you get on. And............... well OK. We haven't been cold. We've been frozen in several times, but keeping a sharp look out on local weather forecasts and ensuring you are near to all services when temperatures plummet is the way to go. February really is a dreary month but the evenings are lightening and the snow drops are out so spring is coming. The last couple of days have had some lovely warm sunshine to lift the spirits but with great patches of snow still about where sun has failed to penetrate it is very soggy underfoot.

Small dogs require stilts, their undersides are much too close to the ground. Their fluff and tail attracts muck and twigs like a magnet. What should be white and pink comes in from the morning constitutional dripping liquid mud. In the shower again followed by chasing up and down the boat and rubbing itself on the carpet. "I hate being clean!" The super pet shop in Devizes did have a waterproof small dog coat that zipped at the back so the undersides were covered and had little sleeves for the legs. Herself was tempted but knew he would hate it, so resisted. Snow was still on the frozen ground then so mud was not such a problem.