A Different Kind Of Community
Today we have a guest post from mudpuppy Palingates - Enjoy!
Before we moved to France we stayed on a boat on the Thames for a while. We bought the boat as an alternative form of accommodation for our son, who has since gone to live in Australia and is quite happy in Melbourne.
The idea behind buying the boat was very attractive: we were leaving a 21 year old alone in London to fend for himself, even though his older brother lived nearby with his girlfriend. The last thing the older brother wanted was his baby brother tagging along when he had just moved in with the girlfriend… A boat comes with a friendly community as part of the deal and we felt he would be safe there. A small community, 42 boats in all, was ideal.
So the three of us moved into this tiny boat for six weeks while we finalized our move to France. It was lovely! We quickly made friends with the other boat dwellers. The boat is moored at a small island on one of the loveliest stretches of the Thames, with fantastic wildlife all around! People were warm and welcoming, the island very peaceful.
The moment we crossed the little bridge and went down the pontoon leading to our houseboat, the noisy world stayed outside, together with any worries. If we had known about this haven in the middle of the bustling city at such a reasonable price, we would have made the move years before.
Blip The Swan & Wife
After our son moved to Oz, we spent nearly six months on the island and got to know the locals quite well. We miss Blip, the swan, and his wife, who would come for a snack every morning. We miss Bill and Ted, a couple of ducks who were getting so bold they would walk into the kichen looking for tidbits. We even miss the coots, dubbed the “mafia” of the river. They would aggressively steal the bread from the swans and the ducks and not eat any of it!
Bill & Ted
We miss the herons and their fishing skills… But most of all, we miss our neighbours. There were all sorts of people on the island: computer experts, artists, teachers, boatbuilders, musicians, our charming resident drunk scotsman and three people with multiple sclerosis. We all looked out for each other, ready to lend a hand.
We miss going to laundry room, where we put our old books and DVDs to be recycled. Sometimes we would come across an old piece of furniture or old clothes. Microwave ovens, old stereos, all kinds of things were left there for someone else. The donors and the recipients remained forever anonymous.
The organic bakery based on the island would leave crates of yummy bread and croissants outside the laundry room for the islanders to share. Of course, in such a close community, there was a bit of gossip, but it was never malicious, just good fun between people who cared for each other.
Every year there’s something called the draw-off. The river is “drained” for bridge maintenance and a general clean-up. They drain it by doing something with the sluice gates, I’m not sure about the technical side of the operation.
Anyway, the draw-off lasts for a month and boats have to be moved to avoid damage. The number of people walking around looking for their boats made for really funny entertainment! When the month is up, there are still some people looking for their boats for a few weeks, having got used to the new location. Another interesting thing about the draw-off is the number of cell phones and keys found on the river bed. There are dozens of them every year. Our son lost at least three cell phones and I don’t know how many keys! In the end he stopped trying to lock the door.
The boat has been rented for a year and our tenant will move into a larger boat on the island next month. We’ll either sell the boat or rent it again. It gives us pleasure to introduce new people into that small but perfectly formed community. No matter what we do, every person and every creature on the island will be in our hearts forever.
I suppose the point of this guest post is to look at communities: islanders, mudpuppies, bloggers. It’s lovely to belong.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Thanks for this wonderful post. I once worked with someone who lived on a houseboat near the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. She loved it too. Seems like a fascinating sub-culture that remains largely undiscovered!
May 7th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Regina, I loved your post, it is fascinating to learn about other communities. It sounds quite idyllic!!
May 7th, 2009 at 10:13 am
What a great post! Thanks for introducing such an interesting concept in living and community! Another fascinating aspect of Regina!
May 7th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Ah, now I want a boat! I bet the state would still charge me property tax. Love the boat, and the ducks, and the water…ah. Can we rent it?
May 7th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Hay justafarmer, where you at? Back out in the fields?
May 7th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
What a wonderful post! I lived in a houseboat on Lake Union in Seattle for awhile. My parents lived there for a number of years and I with them for awhile. You’re right - there is a unique sense of community among houseboaters regardless of economics. I miss the ducks, hitching sailboat rides, the UW crew passing under my window at dawn as they practiced, and the swan who fell in love with a buoy in the center of the lake and wouldn’t leave for days. Always a story to tell!
May 7th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
What a beautiful community! It reminds me of the campground communities that spring up every year along our coast… full of wonderful, friendly people, living a slow-paced lifestyle, with their pets, visiting grandkids, and community entertainments.
May 8th, 2009 at 12:19 am
I’m jealous.
May 8th, 2009 at 2:30 am
Great post and wonderful pictures
Even though I lived in London for more than twenty years, I never got to visit any of the houseboat communities. Your post makes me realise I really missed out !
May 8th, 2009 at 8:52 am
Ah, Boat Life. I lived in the harbor in Kodiak at various times, many long years past. It does encourage a special a community, with common concerns and goals, especially when the winds top 100 knots!
May 8th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Thanks for your kind comments. It’s really nice to remind myself that there’s more to life than just politics…
Thanks for the lovely way the photos were inserted, whoever edited the post. The distribution complements the words perfectly.
I miss Bill and Ted, what a pair!
May 8th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
How lovely and peacful. We are all a large community and with greater communication and understanding, hopefully a much better one some day soon. Thanks, Reg.
May 8th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Thank you for sharing such a lovely story and lifestyle, not to mention the adorable pics! Maybe what makes a community that lives in a boat community so different is that people are less stressed when around water. I live near a small harbor where there are about 75 families there at any time and love to go over on Sunday morning with my dog and just wander around.
Loved the pics of Bill and Ted. Made me think of my grandmothers ducks she had when I was around 10 years old (more years than I like to think about)! Their names were Him and Her and they were a comical pair if ever I have seen one!
Love your blog Regina and look forward to it each day.
May 8th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I enjoyed reading your post; it was very interesting. I like the picture of the heron (I have a thing for herons) and the picture of Bill and Ted.
Adventures are a wonderful part of life!
May 8th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
You are a wonderful writer Regina. What a treat to live in an amazing place, AND be transported, through your story, to another!
Gracias, Penny
May 8th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
[sigh] I keep returning to look at the photos. I want to live on your boat.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Oh my, that looks so lovely and tempting! As I have an illness similar to MS, I find it so interesting that 3 people with MS found houseboat living a compatable lifestyle.
Please do another post on your life in France!
May 9th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Now I want a house boat.What a nice post. Thanks for sharing.
May 10th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Oh dear. Sigh. What a lovely community. Water and wildlife and good neighbors. Idyllic.
May 10th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Sounds wonderful. Makes me want to visit…. I love all my local animals too, (as you know). I was bitten by a “Blip” once as a child while trying to give him the crust off my sandwich. I’ve had a bit of a “swanphobia” since then. They are beautiful, though. Thanks for sharing your little corner of the world, and your memories, Regina.