A float on Miracle - 20ft narrowboat

Dec 27.Tow path Christmas.

On the 23 after about two minutes of chatting and being given a coffee the Norwegian is looking at my hands.
*You burnt yourself again i see. *
Yup, its horrible but at least I'm getting to look like a boater. I smile.

His brow knots up and he purses his lips. I've come to recognise this is the visual signals him thinking about something.

I wait.

He half gets up from his couch, then shakes his head and sits back down.
He looks at back at the patchwork of burns across my hands.

*OK. *
He gets up and rummages about in his cupboards and then presents me with a shiney green Christmas box.

Open it he grunts and looks away.
I wasn't expecting a present.
The Norwegian has been quite adimit that Christmas is just another day to him and he doesn't celebrate.
Now, he's gotten me a gift.
To my surprise its a pair of Red Leather welding gloves.

So you dont burn your hands no more. He offers.
I get it.

I don't feel awkward about the mug I am going to give him now.

Dec 25th - 8am

I brought the Norwegian a Christmas present.
When I hand it to him he starts flapping.
I've caught him off guard and he tells me so. He's not ready to do Christmas presents it seems in Norway they do presents after the evening meal. I tell him its no problem and he can do it later.

We're all going to have a bon fire tonight after a pot luck style meal.

I'm pretty nervous to meet what appears to be the owners of some 30 boats moored up here for Christmas. The Norwegian knows most of them but I think he's nervous too.

He can't cook so he's never accepted an invitation to dinner before now.

What type of person accepts a dinner invite when they can't receprocate? he'd asked me when I expressed surprise at this. *I don't want to be that bastard so I just say no thanks. *

I got the feeling he would have again refused if I'd not been so keen.

We've found a trading point in cooking.
It's a relief. Since he confessed to only eating take away and ready meals, I'm teaching the Norwegien some very simple and quick receipies and he's helping me up the vertical curve of boating life.

I've promised to make the food.

I had a salad at LMNH the week before Christmas and i'm going to recreate it for the pot luck. It's got roast sweet potato, tomatoes, toasted sunflower seeds and spring onion. I'm making it on the Norwegian's boat, partly because he's going to watch and learn and mostly because his kitchen is much bigger.

**I've also gotten him a proper knife. **

Because he doesn't cook his kitchen knives are cheap, dull and horrible.
I clocked that and came prepared.

You're going to have to open your presents now. I tell him. (I'm not prepared to tourture myself cooking with his knives)

He opens the mug and giggles. It's big enough. He's really pleaesd.
I'm gonna save it til my one breaks.

Then he opens the knife.
He looks at it, touches the blade, feels it's weight and reads the name on the blade then turns to me. It was an expensive gift, too expensive for how long we've known eachother but I want him to enjoy cooking.

I know that's the nice gift he motions to the blade, but I'm really excited by this one, he picks up the mug again and smiles like a kid who's just been given a large amount of candy.

There's a lot of chatter and commotion outside.
There was talk of naked running this morning. I look out the window and see it's not running but rowing.

Two row boats each with a couple. Naked.

The boys, sitting with legs close together modestly only have bowler hats and wellies on, the girls are in carnaval feathers and lingerie respecitively. They're drinking champagne and going boat to boat to say hello.

We're the last on the line and run out to greet them with Baileys. The other boaters have met them with good cheer, no one is upset.. a pensioner walking on the towpath called out she'd love to join them.

**If they were looking to outrage, they've failed. **

We go to the kitchen and I explain the salad. I give him the spring onion and he begins the prep with his new knife.

It dawns on me, I'm really looking forward to my first boating Christmas.