This isn’t the first time Dan’s been in a narrow-boat of course. His first experience was at the tender age of 3 months when his dad (Peter) and I went boating on the ‘Brumagen Button’ around Birminghams canals. Day one Dan was taken to hospital to be scanned for possible swallowed broken glass following a collosion during which we crashed into another boat and it’s bow smashed a window directly over Dan’s head. Day two both Peter and I both jumped off the boat at a lock (lack of communication was ever an issue) leaving the boat manned only by a 3 month old for 10 minutes while we wrangled it back within reach (Dan was unfazed as always), Day three Peter got the flu so I took over ships duties and piloting for the rest of the trip and Dan produced his very first proper ‘laugh’ (at some plastic trains jiggling down an elastic string). Day four I fell off the boat during a foul argument about ‘who had got us stuck in the middle of a filthy canal on some old plastic crates next to a dead dog’ but I swam to shore and was ultimately able to thereafter pull us free (though the smell of my clothes wasn’t very pleasant for the next few days….). Day five, we decided it wasn’t the best holiday in the world so went back home to Inverness. Dan seemed to enjoy the whole thing I have to say – hospital trip and all!