The Last Day

Today will be the last day for me at Wren Autolectrics before I close it down & start my new job at Oxfordshire Narrowboats. I’m picking up a van this evening and a few friends from church are coming to help me load the equipment I’m taking to Heyford Wharf tomorrow. On Thursday Joy & I will move up there and live in our newly acquired caravan temporarily.

Next Monday I officially start my new job so yesterday we said our goodbyes to church friends at Cam and Wotton receiving many hugs, handshakes & good wishes, we also warned them not to think that they had seen the last of us, “as we’ll be back” because we’ll still have to keep an eye on the house until that elusive buyer comes along.

So it’s all exciting stuff, tinged with a little sadness at closing the business I started over 25 years ago and moving away from our lovely friends.

Esther sets sail

nb Esther

Having told our friends Barry & Sue about the jobs at Heyford Wharf Barry applied too and has been taken on.

They set off from Saul Junction this evening on their narrowboat ‘Esther’ for Lower Heyford, hopefully they should arrive in about nine days time.

Esther at Kingswood Junction

An Unexpected Career Change

Things have been happening fast since last weekend! Last Thursday I noticed a post on Canal World Forums saying there was seasonal work available at Oxfordshire Narrowboats base at Heyford Wharf helping to clean and re-stock their boats when they come off of hire, to prepare them for the next hirers, to show the new customers around the boat and give them some instruction in boat handling. As my regular work is quiet at the moment I decided to give it a go.

By Saturday I had an interview, been offered the job and was sat down with a cold drink in the sunshine taking to Joy about it when the manager came back and asked if ‘The Boss’ could have a word with me too, he had read my application and within a few minutes I had been offered an engineers job with them too!

So decisions have been made and I am closing down my business and hope to be starting a new career in the canal boat industry next month.

Yesterday afternoon we went to check out the surrounding towns & villages ending up for a meal in the Boat Inn at Thrupp where we had the pleasure of meeting the famous Bones and her neighbour Maffi.

Open House – Open Day – Open to Offers

In pursuit of our dream of a life on board a narrowboat we are selling our 3 bedroom semi-detched house in Dursley, Gloucestershire and the latest step in our marketing campaign is that we are holding an Open House day on Saturday 11th July, 2009.

It’s a well built 1960s semi and it’s chain free! Because we will be moving onto a boat the majority of the furniture & appliances will be available by negotiation making an ideal option for first time buyers or investors wanting to ‘buy to rent’.

Prospective buyers are invited to contact us or our Estate Agents, Bennett Jones to make an appointment and we will be accepting offers from people who are in a position to proceed with the purchase within a very short space of time.

Visit oursisanicehouse.info for details & photographs.