Great encounters of the friendship kind

One of the best things about this internet world in which we live is when we get to meet people we've been communicating with online for real. The last weeks of July gave Koos and me the chance to meet some very special people that we've 'known' for ages, but only via internet connections.

The first were Jill and Gary, fellow boaters that we know from various online barging groups. We've exchanged knowledge, jokes, comments and experiences in these groups for several years and almost met once when visiting other friends, Ann and Olly up in Groningen...well, we passed their barge on a spuddle in Wandering Snail, Ann and Olly's narrowboat. See here.

We kept missing each other while they were on their way across country (they were in Rotterdam when we weren't and vice versa). So, when Gary and Jill arrived in Sas van Gent about three weeks ago, we spent three lovely days meeting them, imbibing large quantities of coffee, walking their gorgeous dogs and generally catching up with our real lives rather than just what we'd shared online. They even took us for a trip up the canal on the Noorderzon, which was absolutely magic! Koos got to steer and Jill and I sat on the foredeck chatting. They are wonderful, inspiring people and nothing seems to daunt them.

Their barge is a beautiful craft that was formerly used to deliver to and refill the gas in the big shipping buoys, so it was built with breadth and volume and seems positively palatial in terms of space compared to the Hennie H. It was a very special  meeting and we enjoyed it tremendously. As they're on their way back to the UK (and yes, crossing the channel), we don't know if or when we will meet again, so I'm so glad we could do this. Thank you both, Jill and Gary!

The other meeting followed shortly after when I met fellow writer, Stephanie, a former author with Sunpenny Publishing, the company that produced our earlier books. Again, I've missed previous opportunities to meet Steph so knowing she and her husband were coming to Amsterdam was a chance I couldn't let go. Sadly, Koos couldn't come too as it was when he was having his dizziness problems, so I took the train to Amsterdam and sought Steph and Alan out in their hotel.

They are truly delightful people and I had a really special time with them. It was only a few hours, but enough to confirm that Steph is exactly like her internet personality and we got on like a house on fire. She's a hugely talented and prolific writer stemming from Bandera in Texas. She now lives in Scotland, so her books are very international in background and have a great sense of place as well. I can recommend checking out her colourful and lively murder mysteries here.

Alan too is an author of some rollicking good time travel adventures and I've enjoyed those I've read very much. He particularly likes the historical research that he puts into his books so you know when you read them that he's really done his homework. His books are here

Of course we had to take the usual 'author meet-up pics', especially as we don't know if we'll ever have the opportunity to meet again. These are moments we'll all remember, so forgive the happy mugshots.

Next time, I'll be writing about the latest works on both the Vereeniging and the Hennie H, which are making slow progress towards being 'vaarklaar' or 'fareworthy' again. It's all hard work, but then at least it's the summer and while we might be slow, we are getting there!

Have a good week allemaal!