Hard workers...

Look away those of you who are now happily retired. Not that you do not deserve your easier life after decades of hard work.

No the title refers to those who are getting up at the silly hour I am today......my reasons are health related but talking to a fellow boater yesterday he will be up now getting ready for his long day doing more than one job. As was yesterday a full 12 hours. Plus another boater on our mooring who does long shifts in the NHS.

Nothing new for those hardy boaters who used the canal for work purposes when a moving boat was money. It is in the main an idilic lifestyle of pastime we hold so dear now but there is no doubt is was a real test especially during the long cold dark winters. It must have been a test of resolve to be trudging along in the wet and dark on some remote canal tow path  - very different to how they are used today.

So as I type this with my cup of tea my thoughts are with all those quietly going on their way to earn a living.