December 4, 2016
by jackieandnoel 9 Comments

My Mum – My Self Appointed PR Rep

My mum is Brilliant…

…and probably about to be arrested!

Unique PR

I produced some rather snazzy bookmarks, detailing my books/adventures. My mum hands them out to anyone she meets or whoever knocks on her front door. She’s brilliant – my No.1 fan – and quite passionate!

She has just written me a note about accosting someone famous on my behalf! She’s either brilliant or mad – but probably both. She says:

“On the way home Dad went into Sainsbury’s car park to get the papers and a few bits and whilst I sat in the car. You’ll never guess who walked passed, ONLY Paul Young!! I smashed on the window and leapt out of the car and said who I was plus you and ENPC (Enfield Chase Pony Club). I think he thought I was some mad woman accosting him. I blurted out your CV and could have kicked myself as I didn’t have any BOOKMARKS to give him. What an absolute chump am I! Anyway, I mentioned www.jackieandnoelsjourneys.com and think he got it but he was in a hurry and had to get away.”

Mum’s not totally loopy – Paul’s daughter used to be a team member of Enfield Chace Prince Philip Cup Team and my mum and dad used to manage this team – so she did know him (and, I believe, he has sailing on his bucket list).

I was suitably impressed, as the first album I ever purchased was No Parlez. The first time I saw Paul was on daytime TV, after Rainbow, I was off sick from school – I’ve admired his work ever since.

I think Mum deserves a pay-rise, I’ve offered her double what she receives now – I think that’s fair.

ordinary-peopleextraordinary-adventures

I’ve offered Paul an audio, kindle or paperback book – I wonder if he’ll receive my message – perhaps he’s a little scared….. not from my mum – but selling up and living your dream is a brave step…

May 18, 2016
by jackieandnoel 2 Comments

Mid Ocean Drama

Excerpt: This Is It – 2 hemispheres, 2 people, and I boat

Intro: We’re in the middle of the ocean – thousands of miles from land, sailing from Galapagos to Easter Island, the remotest inhabited island in the world….

‘What the f**k!’ I yelled from the galley. My feet were soaking wet. I looked down. Brown, filthy water swirled around my ankles. At that moment, a wave slammed into port side and shoved Pyewacket over and onto her starboard side momentarily. The disgusting water that caused me to pinch my nose gleefully ran to the other side of the galley, washing its mucky trail all over the floor.

Three difficult weeks at sea, living on a tilting vessel!

‘What the effing-hell is going on!’ I looked in the sink. Another shot of water came up and over the sink’s edge as we lurched back onto our port side, my feet desperately trying to grip the sloping, slimy floor.

I peered through the window that led to the cockpit and watched Noel merrily chirping a pretty song with a hose in his hand.

‘Whatever you’re doing, STOP!’ I yelled.

I knew we weren’t sinking; the brown muck had come via an internal system.

‘What’s going on?’ Noel sauntered into the galley and sharply stopped. ‘Oh dear.’

‘Oh dear! Oh bloody dear,’ I screeched as the foul water sloshed around the gyrating floor, and I tried to sponge it into a sliding bucket. I skidded on my hands and knees within the quagmire as if on ice, cursing as each bump on Pyewacket’s bow caused the odorous water to leap up and splash the cupboards.

‘It’s from the cockpit drain,’ Noel explained sheepishly.

‘Never mind, help me clean up.’

Water constantly splashed over the entire boat – coating the everything in a fine salt

In the galley floor were four boards that lifted. Beneath the floor were large bilge cupboards, where we stowed items in plastic containers in case water came in. While scooping and sponging up the marsh-like water, we hauled out cartons of pasta and rice and tried to find an alternative place to stow them in the tilting, squirming boat.

Half an hour later, we were drying out; the smell eased back to a wafty pong, and we sat in the cockpit, unaware of the jarring boat, glad to relax for a minute.

‘The rain wasn’t draining from the cockpit, so I connected up the deck wash hose to flush out the drains.’

‘Hmm.’ I allowed myself a small grin.

‘The pressure must have forced all that shit up through the kitchen sink. What a stupid way to arrange the plumbing… I should have looked at that before we left,’ he admitted.

I wasn’t upset or angry any more. Noel was simply trying to make a repair; he didn’t intend to cause such mayhem. We don’t blame or hold grudges – we’re both working to achieve the same thing: a safe passage. Recrimination is such a damaging emotion; it can follow you around like a shadow, sit with you at dinner, and cast a depressing grey over all you do. We had no room for that in our lives.

We made it! But it wasn’t easy – the plumbing problem was minor to the other events en route.

Find out what we are up to currently on a 1920s Dutch barge in Europe – here.

Would you like to take a look around our boat – look here.

Author blog: www.jackieparry.com

Travel blog: www.noelandjackiesjourneys.com

Horse: http://helpinghandforhorses.weebly.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackie.parry.7543

Travels: https://www.facebook.com/NoelAndJackiesJourneys

Horses: https://www.facebook.com/pages/For-the-love-of-horses/1048526295173146

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00OT9CWV8

Amazon book links

A Standard Journey: viewBook.at/astandardjourney

Of Foreign Build: viewBook.at/OfForeignBuild

Cruisers’ AA (accumulated acumen): viewBook.at/cruisersaa

This Is It: viewBook.at/thisisit

Audio Excerpt Of Foreign Build: http://goo.gl/AnsKRr

Twitter

https://twitter.com/NandJJourneys

https://twitter.com/StandardJourney

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7157763.Jackie_Sarah_Parry?from_search=true

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jackieparry7543

Linkedin https://uk.linkedin.com/in/jackieparry

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/113148478675680852619/posts/p/pub

Photo album of A Standard Journey: http://goo.gl/1QgMp2

Photo album of Of Foreign Build: https://jackieparry.com/of-foreign-build-photo-album/

Photo album of Cruisers’AA: https://jackieparry.com/pics/

Photo album of This Is It: https://jackieparry.com/photos-this-is-it/

A Standard Journey FB Page: https://goo.gl/uV7NGY

Cruisers’ AA FB Page: https://goo.gl/2vEnkB

Of Foreign Build FB Page: https://goo.gl/VvLT3M

Listen to me chat to Carol Graham (Never Ever Give Up) about sailing, pirates, adopting horses, and surviving life! http://app.stitcher.com/splayer/f/69073/41215218

September 24, 2014
by jackieandnoel 8 Comments

Where we were robbed!

Thirteen years ago we were robbed here. Here’s where we tied up, near the town of Roquemaure.

New buildings just over the bank.

We were on our ocean going sailboat, all 10 metres of her and having a grand old time taking time away from rolling oceans to carve a path through the middle of France.

With our mast prone.

With our mast lying prone, our make-shift tarpaulin and determination, we made our way up to the UK, where Noel fulfilled a dream he’d been harbouring for many years.

With our mast where it should be!

To find out what happened when we were robbed and what Noel’s achievement was, it’ll cost you the price of a cup of coffee.*

Of Foreign Build, my book detailing these and nine years of sailing escapades, will be out this coming November, details here. (Follow my blog to be the first to learn about up-and-coming freebies!)

Here’s some pictures to whet your appetite….

The Big Chute in Canada (yes, that’s our boat up there – and us!)

More canals – this time Chicago

We were thrilled to sail into New York

On ‘reef’ watch

More canals – where? you’ll have to buy the book – note how we are dwarfed by four enormous barges – 2 tied up on each side and two coming down the middle together… we just slipped into this space in time!

*ebook version.