The dandelion honey is a wonderful idea! As a child, they were my favorite flower. I had no clue it was actually considered a weed by many, but I loved the flowers - the color & shape etc. They were just so cheerful and prolific and looked wonderful all over my neighbors back yard. ;-) All that green with yellow pops of color, I even liked the shape of the leaves. When I was around 5, I remember knocking on her back door asking if I could pick some of her flowers. I remember her laugh and how she generously told me I could have as many as I wanted, and I filled several bowls and jars all over our house with dandelions! Wasn't until I was much older that I got why everyone was laughing and smiling. I thought they were smiling because they appreciated my pretty flowers, was a tad crushing to realize they were smiling because they were actually laughing a bit inside! I wonder if you could reduce the sugar by using either pectin (something like Pomona's) or apple peels? I love the idea of doing that, but that is a LOT of sugar.
I love this story. It reminds me of when I made nettle beer as part of a Tudor garden talk. I agree about dandelions, probably one of the most cheerful plants
Hello Fran & Rich, It's good to see you again and the trees, the foliage in full bloom, my favorite time of year regardless what country, Sunshine is always best. I really enjoyed the peaceful float between the two locks I can get into the solitude. Not that I don't like to hear what you and Fran have to say, I feel as though you're talking directly to me when you tell me about all the events. Thank you so much for sharing this lovely voyage with me. Please, give the 'kids' my love and a few little pats and a back scratch and tell them it's from me, I'll have to send them a little something soon. Be safe in all you do. Bobby
So sorry to hear of Mike’s passing. I grew up listening to the Moody Blues. Mike was a wonderful songwriter and keyboard player, pioneering the use of the Melotron. RIP.
Most enjoyable video. Your honey looks yummy. What a great idea.Nantwich looks really nice. Great to see you both looking so well despite your cold. Look forward to your next one. Thank you.
That's what you call a lovely Sunday Dinner-Time Cruise 👍🤠Back in the 60's I was in care, and a little group of us lads decided we were going to 'secretly' make Dandelion Wine .... We found an old pot, nicked some sugar from the kitchen and added hundreds of dandelion heads from the massive lawn ... Left it a couple of weeks until it looked like a festering cauldren, then decided it was ready for us to have our secret party in the gardeners shed ..... You guessed it .... AARRGGHH!!!!!!!! ..... Only found out about 10 years ago - That they use the ROOT to make the wine anyway ... But we DID make Memories ... What it's all about at the end of the day 😎
Rich so sorry to hear of the passing of your uncle. What a privilege to have such a great musician in your life. The Moody Blues have long been a favorite of mine. I still only listen to 60”s music.
Hi from South Africa Rich & Fran - may I also extend my condolences on the passing of your Uncle Rich - I too was a HUGE Moody Blues fan and still have ALL their albums, my kids grew up listening to their music. I saw them live twice on tours out here - fantastic experiences. I enjoyed the "real time" cruise - so beautiful and relaxing. You are indeed blessed to live as you do 💙
Thank you. Rich has some lovely memories of uncle Mike from his childhood bur hasn't seen him for some years. Glad you enjoyed the cruise we hope to do an extra real time cruise video soon
Lovely to have an evening with your delightful company! How lovely the canal looks lined with trees with fresh Spring leaves. The Dandelion honey will be a treat. I sometimes rescue exhausted bumble bees that have strayed indoors and "run out of puff", I find that putting them in the sunshine on a dandelion revives them wonderfully, (or clover if I can't find dandelion), and it is very nice to see them slowly start to feed on the nectar and come back to life again!
Hi Fran and Rich. Sorry to hear about your uncle, Rich. The recipe for dandelion honey is really simple and very interesting. I didn’t realise that you could make honey without bees. Take care. Nick
Rich, you are a wonderful, creative soul.. and Fran.. simply a looker. It’s a delight to spend time with both of you each week. Interesting explanation of the dandelion honey. Thanks!
Fran and Rich, Thanks for the latest! We're taking off from California this week for our first fortnight hire taking a leisurely turn around the 4CR. Nice to know the weather was good for you, and hope it holds for us! We'll keep an eye peeled for Laura Maisie!
Nice one. Hope that dandelion honey worked out. It certainly looks the real deal. With such a wealth of pubs in the vicinity of the canals it must be a temptation to eat and drink your way through them all - a different experience every day I suppose if your wallet can stand the strain!
Hi Fran, Collin of foxes a float is making Heather honey maybe you can compare notes at their wedding. Sean is making marmalade. Narrow boaters are are great to follow for all the hints they give out, great to see another vlog from you and Rich. Ed 40 S of Vegas
I wouldn't dream of competing with Sean as his honey is real, not just Dandelion syrup. However I am happy to challenge him to a marmalade competition 😁
Very nice video from you two. Yes. There have been many, many dandelions around this year. Millions of them. Dandelion Day is when the majority of the flowers are wide open and it is usually around April 21st to 25th. This year they were about 10 days early (or least they were where we live).
Wow thank you for the info on dandelion day. We didn't know that. There have certainly been a lot this year, hopefully we are getting better at leaving the wildlife alone.
The only thing I hate about narrow boating is locks, but it looks ever so good cruising along drinking a coffee (or whatever hot beverage someone likes) and sleeping knowing you are on top of a lake which would be a weird thing starting off.
I have you now on my podcasts. Tell us about growing herbs in small areas and some information about their taste, what foods and if health helpful. That quiet time was so peaceful. Thank you.
Jan always looks so glamorous and has such fab outfits. Good to see it all looking better than it was 2 weeks ago we gave up and came home from our shared boat 5 days early due to the rain and mud as moored at Overwater. We did enjoy a drink at The Shroppie Fly though. Great video as always.
@@FloatingOurBoat We can see what a difference 2 weeks make's in the UK. Going to try your Dandelion Honey this week. Keep up the Fantastic work and we will definitely buy you both a coffee x
Love Nantwich im not jealous one bit thats where knights narrowboats is they build some beautiful narrowboats scenery is gorgeous get rich his chocolate fran❤
That was so relaxing.... Thank you for taking us with you. A super canal journey topped up with that fantastic looking and smelling honey. Yes, the aroma came floating over the airwaves. I have always understood dandelions to be a healthy additive and that honey sounds perfect. That end result looks a "proper job" as we say down y'er. A lovely video. Thank you again. With best wishes, Pam xx
Quient villages, a touch of old England. Not like our cities, which are overcrowded and violent in places. That honey recipe looks interesting, Fran. I'm not sure if I have spelt quient right, so please excuse the mistake. Bye for now x
What a fabulous Vlog guys. The countryside is absolutely stunning and I so enjoyed that cruise. Also looking at Nantwich and Audlem was great, such pretty villlages. I believe my great grandfather was a rock salt miner from Northwich and my mum told me he used to be in a photograph in the museum. The honey looked good. I am looking into making dandelliion tea for the health benefits. Thanks guys.
All the towns around this area are rally lovely and the countryside as well as the towns were shaped by the salt mines. It would be great to see that picture
From 13:45 a good bit of deadeye manoeuvring, lining up the stern to compensate for the water flow on the starboard! She goes in straight as an arrow. Hats off, cap'n!
Great Vvlogs guys, yes have been to the Shroppie Fly, we moored over the other side of the canal and walk up by that fence over the lock....... we did the four counties ring just before I went back to Australia in 1992, hey Fran today I went to a 40th family event at the Bereford Estate winery in the McLaren Vale region of South Australia, was a beautiful, and wore my "fran" scraf, had a few people say love your scraf, so gave you a plug... lol... it is such a warm scraf to wear...
I’ve always liked your videos and was surprised to hear you have a podcast! Gave it a listen and it was very enjoyable. You both have soothing voices well suited to a podcast. 🎉
Thanks for the video. We've followed Vegan On Board since we lived in a van and have taken inspiration from you to make our own dandelion honey. It's great! BTW you can also roast dandelion roots and grind them to make a coffee substitute (not as good as acorn coffee) 😋
Are used to work in Mistley secret nuclear bunker, at the weekends, I also had to open it up and get it ready for the public, I had to make sure everything was switched on, it was a little creepy going round on my own at night making sure the public had gone,
Fantastic recipe! Dandelions are everywhere here as well. The rains have produced a bumper crop. My mom used to put the leaves in our salad. I now have read the whole plant, including the roots, are edible 😋
When I was living in the house in Hannington, Wiltshire, the swifts were around sitting on the telephone wires, beautiful. I had a fabulous view from the front room window. The new people running The Shroppie Fly are really nice and their food is very good. Sunday lunch is recommended. I’ve been living in OverWater Marina now for 7 months (thank you for the quick glimpse of my boat 😂) and still haven’t explored Nantwich. ☹️
Another enjoyable vlog, hope your honey tastes as good as it looks. I like Audlem and ??? years ago I bought a fairly large cross stitch kit with the Shroppie and Mill on it…..it has become an everlasting project 😂.
@FloatingOurBoat As a one-time fighter of this non-weed, I've learned how resilient they are, and even the roots have a use. I'm not sure what that is, but I'm willing to learn. I can't thank you enough for the syrup recipe. I will let you know how it turns out before end of summer.
Now now Mr Rich, that's twice you've said things are in Shropshire when you're still well inside Cheshire! Tut 😝 And the border is just after the first bridge after Audlem top lock in csse you wondered 😉
Nice 1 folks throughout. I have been looking into making something from Dandelions, looked at some vids on the internet, not keen on taking advice from whoever when it comes to things I do not know enough about to then munch, I would from you as I have been watching your vids from near the beginning, thank you for your advice and detail on the subject. Cool vid well balanced…
Thank you. Good luck with the dandelions. I know what you mean about following just any advice, there is lots of misinformation out there! I think this recipe is really safe though and our 'honey' is delicious
Thank you for this video!! Reminded me of our first canal holiday in the 1980's. Loved Nantwich & Audlem!! The swallows are on their way to you...they are here now. ❤
We don't use sugar, only honey and "not very good practices from bee-keepers" worries me, I didn't know this is a problem. 🥺 Can you expand? Is this ALL honey? 😱 My dad kept bees and I used to spend hours with the hives, watching them going about their work. ❤🐝🍯
We were beekeepers and I went to many meetings with other keepers. Some were really gentle and careful as I'm sure your dad was, other more commercial beekeepers were not and rushed the job killing hundreds of bees in the process. They often also remove all the honey from a hive as this is where the money is, then feed the bees with sugar syrup to help them survive the winter. This is the bit I found hard to cope with and I was very much frowned upon for leaving my bees their own honey full of the nutrients they need rather than feeding them processed sugar. I know there are still some beekeepers out there, but I'm afraid I wouldn't trust commercial honey. Talk to Colin and Sean from @foxesafloat. I would trust their honey
@@FloatingOurBoat Oh no, that's horrible. Dad did it as a hobby a long time ago, 40 yrs or so, but I do remember the bees kept most of the honey and he harvested the rest from the top frames, I think. Over here in Indonesia we see wild beehives in the tropical forests and occasionally are given some by local people; it usually has a few dead insects caught in it! Love your videos. 🙏
I’ll certainly try that recipe for the honey. Walked past you today early doors to meet a friend to help her down the flight. Might hail you if we are aboard when you come past Shebdon. Take care and thank you for the video, lovely.
Greetings from Weaverham/Northwich, I started listening to podcasts a few months ago and listened to your old podcasts from the start to when you wrapped it up, then searched youtube for you and love it. So glad you are re launching the podcasts.
Great video Rich and Fran injoyed it very much and great idea with the dandelions I am going to try that thanks again look forward to your next video x❤
Hi both. Watching your vlog I was interested in you saying that you were not interested in seeing the Nuclear bunker. That is a great shame because it is a fantastic place to visit. It takes at least an hour to see all the different rooms and you can try using morse code communication equipment. A really great place to visit. It's a pity you didn't see it. Anyway enjoy your trip.
Gracefully in love we float on shimmering water embracing the magical world we have chosen. This is how I see the two of you. Thank you for this lovely video. Cheers.
Brilliant video with Rich’s dulcet tones voicing over. Never heard of dandelion honey before, it’s an amazing idea. And where’s the daily poem, Fran😉.? Thank you for taking us along.
Hello lovely people... Love the little town so sweet and love the Tudor style. Good to see you both xo xo Yes loved you podcasts, I don't listen to them really but yours, I can't remember where, I think RU-vid? would that be right?
I'd love to try the dandelion honey. But folks around here are overzealous about spraying them with weed killer. I'd even be nervous picking them out in a wild field or meadow, not knowing if some farmer sprayed from the air or something. How the heck can you know if foraged plants are safe to ingest?
That is a big problem. I think we are beginning to learn here and people are leaving the dandelions to grow. I have not seen anyone spraying the canal side for ages as it is known as a bit of a nature reserve
"money donated by Queen Elizabeth 1" surely it is not so much a donation as a grant or a pay back to them the money came from them in the first place .The people are just getting rewarded for their long time support of the Queen.
Oh Fran! You were right...I've was a nurse for many and now a veterinary assistant, so smells I know about! But that nettle fertiliser comes at the top of the list!!😂 . Worse than anal glands😅😅
