‘Tis The Gypsy In My Soul

I've always loved boats. Many of you know that I once made a movie about narrow boats on the Grand Union Canal in the UK some years ago. That was a crisp frosty January and February. The morning sunrises, skies and iced landscapes are still clear in my mind.
The canals are beautiful and peaceful, a world of their own.

Rod Stewart - I am Sailing

At the beginning of last week, I was travelling. I went to buy a boat, and eventually, I will sell my house and move country again.

This is the interior of my millroom where I live at the moment.

I will be a bit sad to leave this room but things have not been the same here since Covid.
Businesses are closing down, streets are still deserted. My friends no longer go out, so life changed here and it's time to move on.

A few weeks ago, I saw a boat and loved the interior. It was unusual and colorful. It was, however, sold, but I wasn’t informed, so I set off to see the boat.
When I arrived at my destination, I found that the boat was again on the market as the buyer could not raise the money.
The boat is 58 ft. It is fairly open plan, with a galley, a saloon, with an oven, fridge, and hob, a double bedroom, a dressing room, and a utility room with a washer and dryer.

There are four solar panels and the boat is all electric, and I will have a tv at the end of the bed. The engine may perplex me for a while. but I like the idea of rocking to sleep on the water, watching wildlife, and being able to travel waterways. Also I will put my stamp on the furnishings as I love white linens rather than patterned.

Roger Whittaker - The Last Farewell

Fats Domino - Red Sails In The Sunset

Davy Graham - Seven Gypsies

So, our theme is moving on, change and travel.
Post memes, music, gifs, trailers and chat to your friends here. Enjoy.
See ya soon, but I have to sort out a few things concerning the move.

Lian and Kieran

That’s What Friends Are For

A friend in need is a friend indeed!
Those are the times of your life when you find out who your real friends are, the ones who don’t want to know you for what they can get out of you but because they genuinely like you and want to help you for no other reward than friendship.

Not for me, the thousands of fake friends on Facebook and the like.
Quality is definitely better than quantity, and true friends are worth their weight in gold!

Dionne Warwick - That's What Friends Are For

Personally, I have found it much easier to talk to a friend about something that is bothering me than a family member so many times.

And also our feathered, finned or four-legged friends.
No one listens as they do!

And online friends are just as important. I have met so many great people all around the globe and am proud to call them friends.
Things certainly move quicker with social media, Disqus and email etc than it did back in the old pen friend days.

LFE is such a lovely friendly place, presided over by our own wonderful Lian, who makes friends wherever she goes!

So let’s celebrate everything about friendship with memes, gifs, music, etc, as well as our usual friendly chat. Please, no politics or religion here.
Most of all, enjoy!

Lian and Kieran

If You Go Down To The Woods Today

Today, in the news, someone got a big surprise in the woods.
Two bears were in his car, and one outside, and with the door closed they had wrecked the interior. And here is the story of three bears.

Animals do get into the strangest places sometimes, especially in Australia. They appear to have an affinity with toilets too. It’s nothing to find a snake in the toilet bowl or a possum sleeping in a public toilet, so always check and do not disturb.

My Collie loved cars, sitting on the roof, looking out of the window, and guarding the car.
Most of all he liked the lovely beaches and countryside at the end of the journey. He was rather large but insisted on sitting on my lap to look out of the window on a bus, being ordered under the seat was like a punishment: Understandable for an understudy human.

No a Furari!!!!

Well, our pets are almost human. However other animals find shelter in cars.

A mechanic found a nest of snakes in the tyre of a car.

Some cats and dogs even learn how to use the toilet and to flush. For cats, toilet rolls are to play with. Beds are comfy too.

Do you have any stories of your pets antics in your home, or have you had any encounters with wild animals in the woods, or in your car?

We all love animals here! So post memes gifs, songs about animals, and chat to your hearts content. Please no politics or religion here.
Most of all enjoy!

Lian and Kieran

Broken Hearts and Journeys

The longest Journey I ever made was four days and nights on a train. It was the route of the Midnight Express. However, it was quite an ordeal from London to Istanbul. Not as glamorous as the movies like Orient Express, and no murders.
We went through England across the sea, France, Switzerland ( which was beautiful), Italy, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Greece.
Not quite as glamorous as it may sound, the further east we went, the dirtier the train and toilets became. The more difficult it became buying food.
I stocked up on food and drinks but soon ran out. Everyone shared.
Two fat jolly ladies boarded the train in Yugoslavia with a huge picnic basket. They were really generous as they shared their delicious food with a carriage of six people.
Bulgaria was green with rivers and beautiful landscapes. The customs Officers were intimidating. We had to get off the train and stand in a line on the platform. They called my travelling companion and me out of the crowd, probably because we had long hair and wore denim. They opened her passport, snapped it shut abruptly, looking shocked, and gave me a miss. I asked her about her passport, it was diplomatic one as her father was the Ambassador there for Sweden. Then they picked on a Slavic lady and made an example of her.
We had to buy food in stations and wait for the train to roll away to be sort of cleaned before returning. In Greece, the train was packed with new people, and I didn't have a seat, so two Turkish men gave me their seats and stood all night. Finally, we arrived at the central Iconic station of Istanbul. My friends rushed to hug me, tired as they had waited a day and a half as the train was late. I have to say I never ever stood on a bus or train in Turkey and was always offered a seat.
We later traveled south by ship and stayed there three months, seeing Effes, Troy, Izmir,and stayed at beautiful beaches.

I only ever had one romance in Istanbul, of course, a good-looking heartbreaker.
A whole other story!

Another occasion I was there under military rule, we were only allowed to stay where allocated. There were soldiers on every corner. That quarter of Istanbul was unknown to me and I got lost. I asked two soldiers where I was, and for directions.
‘Stand there!’,was the directive, and they had a short conversation I couldnt hear. One walked off…I became a bit worried. He came back twenty minutes later with a huge bunch of red roses for me. We chatted a bit, they stopped a car and said to the driver take the lady to her address…Thats a military order! How sweet they were.

Some journeys are exciting, some full of mishaps…or long, etc. Smaller boats are more interesting than larger ships. Flying has become traumatic these days with busy airports and officials.
The flights that I took to Australia and Japan were really long, usually 24 hours or more.
What interesting journeys have you experienced?

Play music, post memes and photos, chat with friends, and relate memories and experiences.
Enjoy,

Lian  and Kieran