Chapter 2
More before leaving Lagruere
(Please click on each photo to enlarge)
I recovered completely from my second shock - the accidental swimming experience so soon after that first one which was meeting Teddy - and, as we have soon to depart from Lagruere - where I had been adopted by my new parents - I am apprehensive about leaving our friends Alain, Christine and especially Monique who had been so kind to me. She had taken care of me when I was living wild in the car park. They had been good to all of us and although memories fade, I will never forget the good times I had there.
Best of all - was when Bigdad played the piano, accompanying Alain as he "sang" to his customers. I didn't particularly like the noise they made but people seemed to cheer a lot when they stopped playing; especially after their last number.....I think Bigdad had done a deal with Alain, who owns the place - which, come to think of it - was probably why we could afford to stay there for so long.....but before we left, our three friends Alain (who runs the place), Christine (Alain's wife) and Monique were invited on board Body and Soul for a "foodie cruise" by way of a "thankyou" to them for everything. That went down very well, judging by the number of empty bottles that I counted afterwards - strewn on the bank side... Bigdad is generous like that.
The lunch was prepared, as always, by Mum and received great acclaim - considering that our guests were restaurateurs. I got lots of treats too. The cruise lasted an unusually long time and Bigdad had to turn on the outside navigation lights on the way back in order to avoid hitting the bank too often. It was dark by the time we finally docked.
Anyway, much later I heard that Alain's restaurant is now doing better than ever despite Bigdad not being there to play the piano for them in 2015. Rumours to the contrary have proved to be baseless. I heard this on the grapevine - or do I mean the Catvine? so it must be true; anyway they haven't had to close after-all. Cuh!
I soon mastered the new cat flap which allows me to come and go as I please - but nothing quite prepares me for the time I was taken to the vets in Tonneins. Mind you, I was given a pill to calm me down just before being put into a small cage and then into the car. By the time we got there, apparently, I had fallen into a slumber.
The next thing I knew I was being cuddled by Bigdad as I awoke. I had a rather big patch over my tummy and had a bit of a sore head and neck. I soon came round properly, back on my sofa at home.
Bigdad and Mum were rather mysterious about why they had taken me for an operation. They told me it was to stop me from having to fight tom-cats. So I'm glad about that. I never liked them jumping on me anyway. So that's good ....and that if I ever got lost or stolen, there was now a small electronic chip in my neck which is supposed to emit a signal to anyone who has the right equipment, and who then "swipes me" with it - apparently by doing that, they can find out my name and to whom I belong. But I must say I don't like this idea much.... I mean, no-one likes to be "swiped" do they?
Anyway, there were additional treatments as well - including lots of injections to stop me getting all the common sorts of cat diseases - It must have cost quite a bit of Bigdad and Mum's pension that week. Bigdad promised me that he would never take me there again if he could help it ...so that's good too!
What wasn't so good whilst we were at Lagruere was the time when Mum became ill and had to be rushed to Marmande Hospital where she underwent all sorts of tests on her tummy in order to find out what was giving her pain. Bigdad seemed to be worried and kept going off in the car to the hospital to check on her progress. She came out within the week, looking fine but with strict instructions as to what type of foods she was not to eat any more. We'll have to see that she doesn't starve.
So it's September now and we are ready to set off towards Montauban where we will be staying for the rest of the year and until April 2015. It is a journey of some 120 kilometers which will take us 6 to 8 days. Bigdad and Mum are already talking about where we might be going after Montauban and Mum is doing a lot of negotiations in French, on the phone, with "heavy lifting companies". The word Brittany keeps cropping up....it sounds great fun but ........It ain't ever going to be plain sailing, is it?
Chapter 3
Arriving at Montauban
This is my first long trip on Body and Soul, my new boat-home, and I am glad to have the reassuring company of Teddy (Teds). Mostly he sleeps up on the stern deck with Bigdad who sits up on a high stool, wearing his rediculous Captain's hat, waggling the tiller 'to and fro'; I'm not sure why. Do you think he knows?
I am not yet confident enough to join him up there, so I stay in the Galley, on the bureau with my TV window, watching the land slip by.
Mum busily goes up and down the three steps to the upper deck as she prepares food and takes up mugs of tea. When she has time, she loves to put her feet up, with a book to read in the sunshine, sporting a great sun hat and dark glasses. I am wearing my harness so that I can be clipped to a dog lead and then to something safe if I choose to go out on the roof. But I prefer to wait for the engine noise to stop before venturing out....sometimes I just sleep on the double bed at the front of the boat where it is much quieter.
My experience of locks ("les ecluses"-in French)is a bit frightening at first because although we don't appear to be moving along as usual, its rather dark when we first enter and then we seem to rise up to the top into daylight again. At least this is the case so far. Bigdad says its because we are going upstream. Does that mean we are always moving away from the sea? I wonder.
What scares me mostly is the sight and noise of the water as it roars through the "sluice-gates" in front of us. Mum takes over waggling the tiller and revving the engine a bit now and then. Bigdad has to climb up the ladders provided on the lock walls in order to press the green button on the control box which closes the big gates behind us; then, going back on the roof, he throws the ropes onto the bollards to secure Body and Soul against the force of the water rushing into the lock.....there is a bit of shouting...but to be fair, this doesn't happen often - after all, they have been doing this for 10 years now (Bigdad boasts more than 3000 locks in his past life on canals!) and should be used to them by now; but each lock is different and can still present him with unpleasant surprises.
On this stretch of the Canal De Garonne I am told that lock keepers are few and far between because the gates are operated automatically. It is quite funny to see Mum and Bigdad trying to manoeuvre Body and Soul so as to catch the "twister" chord. This can be seen hanging from a wire stretched over the canal between two substantial posts on each side and situated a few hundred meters from the lock entrance. I wish I could reach it too; I'm itching to play with something, but I can't quite reach this tempting toy.
It looks like a dangling hosepipe but it operates an electric switch when twisted. This turns the lights green and starts opening the lock gates and signals us to enter. Sometimes things fail and then all the traffic lights go red instead of green; Mum has to ring to get assistance. Dad's French is not good, especially on the telephone. He's quite old now, but he is still trying hard to learn.
Sometimes we miss the "twister" altogether and have to put Body and Soul into reverse in order get back to "re-twist the twister"!..... then there is more shouting.... It slows us down considerably which is why our plans must be fairly flexible. Clearly it is necessary to be relaxed about the rate of progress and the estimated times of arrival (ETA). There's plenty time for a glass of wine when we stop - and, as they keep saying, it seems to be "de rigueur" . I'm not even sure what that means - and Bigdad is always saying ".....it would be rude not to "......will I ever understand them?
After 7 days of interesting stopping and starting, with a night here and a couple of days there, we arrive at a small town called Montech just after surviving what is my first experience of a "five lock staircase". (This simply means doing five locks one after the other with hardly any space in between each one.) The excitement is growing and I hear that we have to turn sharp left onto a different canal leading to our final destination - the city of Montauban.
This canal, called "l'embranchement de Montech a Montauban" is apparently only ten kilometers long and seems much wider. It has 11 locks including the double lock into the river Tarn at Montauban and our mooring is after the 9th and in the port itself; just a matter of 4hrs hours travelling to go......but no, we haven't enough time to get there before the locks close for the night. So we stop after a few kilometers at a lovely spot - the village of Lacourt St. Pierre - where there is both electricity and water laid on. Bigdad says the mooring fee is "peanuts" - but I didn't see what he gave the nice man who came round for them.
I find lots of trees to climb and plenty of space to explore whilst we settle down for the night and prepare for the relatively short journey to our winter mooring next day. I really enjoy this stop and half wished that we could spend the winter there; that evening I make friends with lots of children coming out of the school nearby.
We arrive at Montauban the next day just after "Midi" after a very pleasant journey on this beautiful canal and there are no problems at any of the locks. Bigdad skilfully steers Body and Soul in reverse into the allocated mooring spot which Mum had booked in advance ages ago. (She is very organised that way!) Bigdad is very pleased with the position on this modern floating pontoon. We have a spur on our starboard side which allows me the advantage of the "Houdini" hatch from which I could easily leap back and forth.
The back end (stern) is neatly tied to the main pontoon allowing us even greater access. But best of all, the main pontoon is floating 10 feet from the land but secured to it by four steel "arms" about 6 inches wide and 10 feet long. This is great fun for me to climb on but also prevents unfriendly dogs from catching me.
Left to right: Moored at Montauban:
Elegance, Body and Soul and Busted Flush (blue)
From the left above, Alex our friend and neighbour at Montauban with his little cat killer - Rosie!
Then Body and Soul with "winter coat" and moored stern-first at Montauban and on the right friend Alex in his boat "Busted Flush" (same hull as ours!)
For my article having fun with Rosie and Alex click here.