Comments by "" (@michaelpilling9659) on "The Mindful Narrowboat" channel.

  1. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. Going to Coventry Basin and on the way, passing underneath that most beautiful Wings Over Water bridge. Under the M6, through the wonderfully lit Heath Cresent Tunnel and past the beautiful paintings on the wall at the side of the canal. A lovely basin right in the middle of the city. I loved Lady Herberts Garden and your photography and commentary were marvellous. To cap it all, you exceeded yourself with that gorgeous poem about Coventry Basin. A fantastic video - Bravo!!
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  2. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. I've heard skylarks many times, but I've never seen one take off and land before. That was fabulous! What a wonderful video. The area around Kimber and Cookley is beautiful. You showed everything superbly in this vlog. I hope the bump with the narrow boat didn't cause any damage. And congatulations on your "three point turns" in the winding holes. See you again next week. Stay safe please
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  3. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. Another milestone - vlog number 30. They're getting better and better, Thanks so much for all the hard work you put into making them. I hope you enjoyed your Christmas by the way. It's uncanny. We keep bumping into places we both know. I spent my late teens and early twenties living in Thorpe Bay, near Southend on Sea. I know Mersea very well. What a coincidence. I love your Stowaway boat, Little Alice. I hope you and Zephyr have hours of fun in her. Fabulous video. Loved every minute of it.
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  4. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland We have an abundance of sloes and pick them the at the end of September, beginning of October. Here's our own recipe that we use: - Pick over your sloes to remove any stems and put them in the freezer overnight. Find a clean, airtight jar. You’ll need something that comfortably holds 1.5 litres. Pop the frozen sloes into the jar. Add the sugar. Pour in your gin. Keep your jar in a dark place, but for the first week or so, bring it out and turn the jar over a few times before replacing it. Once all the sugar has dissolved, leave it in the dark for as long as you can bear, three months at the very least is a rule in our house. We enjoy this at Wigila (pronounced Vee-geel-ya). Polanda version of Christmas Eve celebrations I loved this video. Full of everything that makes you feel good to be alive. Thanks so much for all the work you put into producing all your videos,
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  5. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland What a spectacular video. We were spoilt this week. A Birds of Prey Delight! Gorgeous Red Kites giving us an aerobatic display and the Peregrin Falcons living on the church spire, looking down on the passers by. Brilliant photography! A very beautiful 5 mile cruise to Market Harborough, through very pretty countryside full of autumnal colurs, ducks and a kingfishers. Thanks so much - that was wonderful. Stay safe please.
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  6. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. What a wonderful peaceful and tranquil video. Isn't it strange how we take for granted all the little things in our nature world, but without them, our eco system would collapse. How positive you are. Thank you so much for being you.
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  7. I've seen an otter only once in my life - a sea otter in Scotland, I can't remember ever seeing a water shrew.
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  8. Good Morning Vanessa - greetings from Poland. I found your channel quite by accident - what luck! this video about the Red Kite was lovely. The countryside, subline and the music wonderful. I'm hooked - I'm going to start at the beginning and work my way through all your back catalogue. Thank you so much. You've made my day
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  9. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland An elephant on the muddy towpath. That has to be a first. Everything looks very wet underfoot. Love your imagination - a gremlin that lives in the wall next to the hearts tongue. Hibernation sounds a great idea. However, the thought of no Mindful Narrowboat during the winter months would be terrible. Who needs a gym - the workouts opening and closing lift and swing bridges must keep you fit. The January Bread looks wonderful. What a lovely mooring at Big Spring Coppice. The visit to the resevoiurs was very interesting. Zephyr seemed to enjoy it! Beautiful shots of the blue tits and wildlife. Thank you for this wonderful video. You make my weekend. Lots of love, see you again soon. Stay safe please.
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  10. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. I too teach on line. I teach Polish people English Conversation skills. Age range of my students is at the moment from 10years to 71 years. That was a lovely video. What a beautiful part of the canal, Berkshire going into Wiltshire. Gorgeous countryside, superb views and gfreat nature. Very nice to see Mr. Mindful slipping onto your boat. I guess as the Caen Hill Flight is about to be done, the division of labour will have to be sorted out! The bird life in your vlog was gorgeous. Thanks so much for your patience in making this video
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  11. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland They say a change is as good as a rest. It seems you had both! It's lovely to be back with you on Alice Grace. The thought of no more Mindful Narrowboat and everything that goes with it, would be a disaster. I am so happy that your decision is to remain a boater, enjoying the peace and tranquility of canal life. A lovely video, with so much to see. The wildlife, flora and fauna is beautiful along and ajacent to the canal. Canal life suits you and Zephyr, but like everone else, you need a change and a rest sometimes.
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  12. Much better thanks Vanessa. 2 hospital visits next week - only check ups.
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  13. Hello Vanessa - greetings on Friday evening from Poland Oh dear! - what a traumatic journey. Still, everything ended well with a lovely bird count and a quiet and peaceful mooring. A nice touch having custard creams with your tea. I bet your Nanna was watching over you. Beautifully photographed with an excellent commentary from you.
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  14. Hello Vanessa - Christmas Greetings from a very wet and cold Poland. A beautiful video bringing the cruising adventures to an end for 2023. The end of the Staffs and Worcester and onto the Trent and Mersey. Tixall Wide was wonderful as was the visit to Cannock chase. Gorgeous birds to see. thanks so much to you and Michael for taking me along with you this yea. I've loved every minute of it. A Very Merry Christmas to you and all youtr family/
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  15. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. The blackbird, and his songs, was beautiful. That and the lovel daffodils on your forecastle, showed that spring is in the air. 1400 miles since you bought Alice Grace. That's a long way. Time for a refit, tidy up or repaint? As for what to replace the monkey with, I'm too late I guess. If it were to be my choice, I'd use Alice as my theme and have the March Hare. "The March Hare will be much the most interesting, and perhaps as this is May it won't be raving mad – at least not so mad as it was in March" - so Alice said. Another wonderful video. Thank you so much
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  16. Hello Vanessa - greetings from an extremely cold and snowy Poland A Very Happy New Year to you, Michael and Zephyr. I'm so glad you managed to get through the lock closure at Stone. Heavens knows what your life would have been like if you had been stuck on the wrong side of the lock. A gorgeous wintery cruise - fabulous birds especially for me, the Buzzards. A first for me was the salt lake you passed. Did not even know there were any inland.
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  17. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland What a wonderful way to start my Saturday before English Conversation lessons begin. We had our first snowfall of winter 2022/2023 last night. Only 2 or 3 centimeters. A beautiful cruise, the highlight of which for me was, the red kite and the kestrel. Gorgeous autumnal scenery, lots of mushrooms. Well done to Michael for repairing the fanbelt. A job well jobbed! I hope your coasters have been taken and will be used by someone who appreciates them. Thanks so much for a lovely video. Lots of love to the three of you. See you again soon. Stay safe please.
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  18. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. WOW! What a day you had! I'm so glad that you got through it relatively unscathed. I just hope that so many things don't go wrong at the same time again. Zephyrs adventure was a bit scary. She looked so worreid, afraid maybe that you'd go on without her. Idiots putting trollies in the canal didn't help.. Spring has ertainly arrived in the UK. You are about a month ahead of us here in Poland. I hope we've had the last of the snow and frost. See you again next Friday. Stay safe in the meantime and congratulations on the growing list of Patrons. You deserve a lot more!
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  19. Sorry Vanessa - I forgot to ask how Zephyr is? I hope everything healed up properly with no lasting problems
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  20. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. That was a delightful video. Bees and deadnettles. Kings, Queens, teasles and ladybirds. We have a chain of supermarkets in Poland called Biedronka, which is Polish for ladybird. Very popular insect here. It appears everywhere. Thank you so much
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  21. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. We've reached the beginning of 2022. The journey to Hillmorton Locks past those immaculate permanent moorings was wonderful. They certainly were not busy whilst you were there. Then on through Newbold Tunnel to the mooring at Brinklow. I'm so happy you enjoyed your New Year Celebrations there. Weren't the herons beautiful both on the ground and in flight. That was a suprb video. Your camera work was smashing as was your commentary to go with it. Thanks so much again
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  22. Autumn is late this year here in Poland. The forest mushroom harvest is now in full swing, about a month and a half later than last year. It's sunny and warm with occaisional showers - 18 degrees today. The leaves are just beginning to turn. The wild boar are getting brave and coming into the village at night to forage.
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  23. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland So sorry to hear the sad news about your dear friend Jenny. My condolences to you and her family. A beautiful video. Sad to leave the Caldon Canal but on a positive note, glad to be moving on to canals anew.
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  24. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland Fabullous video, back in my part of Cheshire where I come from. A wonderful cruise past Swizzles, mooring up in a beautiful spot. I hope you see badgers. Lyme Park near Disley is gorgeous. A magnificent park to walk through up to The Cage past the house. I noticed as you moored up near Swizzles, someone else was on the ropes. How do you manage to keep Mike hidden?
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  25. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland. Well that was a real bous for me - thank you so very much. My old stomping ground. I spent my teenage years in Thorpe Bay and spent many an illegal drinking sessions in the two pubs of Heybridge Basin. Memories - fantastic. A really lovely video. The Barking Mad caught my eye. What a gorgeous boat. The canal might only be 22 kms. long but it's great. Thanks so much
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  26. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland A beautiful video - I suggest the sub title should be A Day In The Lives of Vanessa and Zephyr - the two characters go together automatically.There are not enough superlatives to describe your videos. You bring so much peace and tranquility into so many peoples lives (despite tearing along the towpath pulling a trolley to collect your groceries).
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  27. I'm totally hooked. One of two of the best canal channels on YouTube
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  28. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland Oops! The Blisworth Tunnel Bump was definatley not your fault. The oncoming boat didn't make any effort to slow down, his engine note gave that away! Sorry to disagree with you, but it wasn't possible to leg a boat through Blisworth Tunnel because it was constructed to allow two boats to pass each other. You may have noticed that all the way along the tunnel were looped chains. These were used to pull the boats through. Oh, by the way, Blisworth tunnel is also thought to be the wettest on the canal system. Loved the scream! A lovely video, quite exciting too. Thanks so much for making and producing this video.
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  29. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland What a wonderful journey into the centre of Birmingham. Not the cruise I expected at all. I was expecting dark satanic mills etc. I got greenery, countryside, a gorgeous reservoir and more different birds that you could shake a stick at. I fell in love with your journal many many months ago. Can't wait to be able to buy a copy. And what a treasure for future generations of your family. Another fabulous video. Really loved it. Beautifully filmed with your usual expert commentary. See you again soon. Stay safe please.
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  30. Positively tropical here in Nowe Slupno on Sunday morning. +8 degrees! tee shirts and shorts weather!
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  31. Hello Vanessa - greetings from Poland "Frozen Middle Earth" - what a wonderful enchanted place to moor. The night shots of the foxes and deer were fantastic. Lovely to see India again (and a very quick flash of Michael as he went under the lift bridge). Stars of the show have to be you and Zephyr. The Tolkein Walk was superb and those gates! Lovely canal cruise, superb camera work, brilliant commentary, and what beautiful birds and wild life. All in all, a fantastic video. See you again very soon. Stay safe please
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