Saturday 23rd – Wednesday 27th July 2005 Roelagebrug time off for shopping and post

Saturday 12º C Grey and overcast most of the day, still cold, drizzly on and off. We all went into Ter Apel in the car to do some shopping and collect our post. We went into

Moored on the old quay by Roelagerbrug

an electrical shop to sort out our Dutch phone SIM. We thought it had expired, but the guy in the shop ‘phoned our 'phone and it rang! It didn't do that when Mike tried it! He did the top-up for us (we’d already got a 20€ card) and it worked OK. That saved us buying a new SIM and having to ring everyone to give them a new 'phone number. Had an hour’s session on the Internet in the library, timing it just right as they closed at 12.30 p.m. Crossed over the road to the Edah supermarket and got some groceries. Started off well, the trollies took 50c pieces not 1€ pieces like everywhere else! We, of course, hadn't got a 50c piece between us. Didn't need much so we used a basket. Back to the boat for a late lunch. Bill came over to discuss where we were going. All pretty vague

Statue of bow-haulers at Oude Pekkla

at this stage, decided to go into Groningen via the Stadkanaal. He told us he had a Dutch family who had contacted him via e-mail who wanted to come and visit him for a boat trip – he said there were four of them and he could only manage two and asked if we could cope with the other two. OK by us.

Sunday 10.9º C. Cloudy, sunny spells warmer. After lunch Mike set up the generator and TV to watch F1 motor racing from Hockenheim, Germany. Alonso won again. Muggy evening, too many flies about (moored next to a stable) to have the windows open until I get some new mossie netting installed in the 

Statue of bow-haulers at Oude Pekkla

hopper windows.

Monday 15.7º C overnight. Sunny start, cloudy and showery later. On the way to the car I nearly walked through some bees nests! Mike had remarked that there was a colony of dozens of miner bees (tawny bees) that had excavated quite a large area of the sandy bank on the quay by the boat. Each one has its little nest and they keep flying in an out through holes in the sand. Took Bill to get his post from Ter Apel. None of the shops, except the supermarkets, were open including the Post Office. Ter Apel is closed from Saturday lunchtime until Monday afternoon! Two ATM machines refused to give me any cash. Mike was then worried in case the Internet banking had stopped his cards too (He’d made an error with his code three times and had to get a new one posted). Got some groceries from Edah and went back to the boats. Mike rang Nationwide and the lady he spoke to said that there was no reason for the Internet to stop the cards, in fact there was nothing wrong with them, so it’s most likely to be a fault with the ATMs. Try again later. After lunch he took Bill back to Ter Apel to see if the rest of his post had arrived. Mike came back with a new brolly, our old one had turned inside out once too many times and broken the connecting ribs. He’d had to test it when he came out of the shop – and a lady passing 

Statue of bow-haulers at Oude Pekkla

by ducked under it too to get to the supermarket without getting wet in the sudden deluge! He’d used his card in an ATM and got money out without any problems – the reason I couldn't get any cash this morning must have been because the town was closed until after lunch, ATMs don't work either! The library was closed all day. Part two of Bill’s post had still not arrived. A sad day for us as Yvonne and Ray, our UK boating companions of many years, phoned to tell us they were selling their narrowboat. End of an era for them as, after a bad stroke, Ray is too incapacitated now to continue boating

Tuesday 15.7º C overnight. Grey and overcast, cooler. Mike stripped our little Honda gennie down to try and stop it vibrating and making a noise. After lunch he went into Ter Apel in the car, taking Bill to see if his post had arrived and Bill wanted an hour on the internet. Part two of Bill’s post has still not arrived.

Wednesday 12º C Overcast, muggy. Mike and I went for a ride in the car to Oude Pekkela to photograph the statue on the towpath of a couple bowhauling a working boat. We went the scenic route following the Ruiten Aa canal, via Sellingen and Vlagtwedde, but returned on the fast route past Stadskanal into Ter Apel and back to the boat.