All in good time

It was April 13th when we left SONFLOWER in the boatyard for "10 days work". Obviously, that was a canal 10 days.

We are NOT complaining. We want the work to be done well and as we want it. That takes time. We don't expect to be charged while the varnish is drying or the doors are cramped and the glue is setting. So we expect the work to take considerably longer than "10 days".

It all got me to thinking, however, about our modern lifestyle off the canals. We get upset when our telephone calls are not answered immediately; we expect the Tesco checkout girls to be faster than the ones in Aldi; we expect what we ordered on the internet today to be delivered tomorrow. But life shouldn't really be like that.

"What is this life if full of care, we don't have time to stand and stare?" W H Davies wrote. It's not wasting time; we must make waiting time.

What life on the canals does is slow all of life down to an acceptable pace. Having to walk to the shops gives one a chance to appreciate the place we walk through. Stopping at locks gives a chance to pass the time of day with like minded strangers going the other way. Walking a towpath and listening to the birds or watching a carp laze under a bank or a vole scurry up it all bring an excitement that is missed by the rush of the other world away from it.

I do wish the work were finished. But we can wait........all in good time.