An investigation has been underway, with a true professional on the job. His role has been to find culprits, bring them to task, arrange for reparations, and generally restore a sense of order. His name is Bob, but I call him... well, we'll come to that in a moment. Firstly, let's nip back in time a bit. Those who've read Against The Current or the original blogs might remember that just one-day shy of a full year since our adventure began, Liberty was hauled ou...

Every now and then, while tootling throughout France on a boat, you come across something fascinating. Well, almost every day actually. But since I am stuck in Migennes awaiting some work on Liberty, I have to wait for the fascination to arrive here, to moor up, and become discoverable. I can't go cruising anywhere just yet while I await some electrical diagnostics, so instead I take a daily walk under the railway bridge to the Migennes basin to see what's what ...

The way I tell it, the book Against The Current basically fell into being. It was the result of my blogging during the year Liz and I spent living in board and cruising the French inland waterways. But there's more to it than that. I enjoyed writing the blogs and sharing our adventures with an unseen audience, and the encouraging feedback kept me writing. So thank you to those who sent warm fuzzies; I couldn't have done it without you. How the blogs became an...

I've been lying on my back here in France for the last few days. I know you're thinking: what a lazy so-and-so, that Liz has had to go back to formerly-EU Britain to work, and there's old Bodders just kicking back, wine in hand. Tchah. If only. I lie on my back on a four-wheeled trolley underneath Liberty, dressed in overalls and with beanie, face mask, goggles and ear-defenders, as I kick back with grinder in hand, smoothing down flaky anti-fouling. Michelangel...

As we crawled along bumper-to-bumper on the Paris peripherique, I thought I might have to rewrite a whole section of my book, the part where I rave about how great the French roads are and what a pleasure it is to drive in France. In Against The Current, I talked about near-empty roads, excellent autoroutes (motorways) - the surfaces if which are superb and where the traffic flows smoothly - and generally polite drivers wherever you go. But maybe I should have ...