Chester, a trip up north and birthdays

Vicky kept warm indoors while Will piloted Rainboat from Ellesmere Port to the basin at Chester. It'll be a while until we reach new waters and in the meantime we are enjoying revisiting old haunts, Chester being our favourite waterway city. There were a lot of other boats moored in the basin but there was just enough room for us on the grassy side, giving the dogs somewhere nearby to toilet.

On our first full day Vicky whisked Will into the centre to visit Fat Face, Seasalt and the new Lucy and Yak store, before a delicious Mediterranean lunch from MRKT Café in the Indoor Market food court. We then had a day to relax together before Vicky took the train to Newcastle.

While up north she had a blood test for iron, ferritin and transferrin levels. She's recently been diagnosed with a genetic condition called Haemochromatosis. It causes iron overload and its main symptoms are fatigue and joint pain. It can be dangerous if left unchecked but is manageable. Her levels aren't too worrying and the diagnoses meant she stopped taking the daily vitamin and mineral supplement that contained iron. She's also cutting down on her venlafaxine medication with the aim to stop completely and apart from the horrendous withdrawal syndrome, she has been feeling a lot better. Long may it last!

She enjoyed spending time with her family, had a wonderful day trip to Edinburgh to catch up with her friend Suhaine and her adorable toddler Nathan, then had a very emotional day attending the funeral and celebrating the life of our good friend Andrea who died suddenly and unexpectedly in December.

Meanwhile in Chester, Will was hard at work. Vicky had set him the arduous task of finding somewhere nice to have a meal out on his birthday! When she returned we moved Rainboat up through Northgate staircase locks and moored at King Charles Tower Gardens. Chester Basin was good in theory but it was busy, with no cover for Mr Whiskers to hide so he didn't feel confident enough to go out. The dogs had got into the habit of scrounging underneath the picnic benches where they found scraps, including chocolate which is dangerous for them. A homeless person had taken up residence on one of the benches and Leo had begun making a beeline for him, hassling him and trying to cock his leg on his bags. It wasn't a good situation.

On Will's 72nd we had a posh lunch at The Pied Bull hotel followed by a bit of a pub crawl - we were spoilt for choice in Chester! Whiskers turned 6 years old two days later, but his celebration was a little less extravagant, consisting of a chicken mousse for tea and a new hug and kick toy. Happy birthday boys! 💞Read more