We were aware of a dreamlike quality to our trip. There was something far-fetched about it, something out of this world.Austerity might be getting everyone else down, but Steve is waving his worries goodbye on another of his light-hearted trips around the picturesque English waterways.This time it s a bit different, though. This time he s not just cruising with his cat, Kit, but with his long-suffering wife, Em, who s given up work and wants her share of easy living too. They ve rented out their home for the ups and downs of a life afloat, and there s no goingback now as they cruise from the historic River Thames, through the Midlands and westward into the hills of Wales, meeting a familiar cast of eccentrics and oddballs along the way, and experiencing one of the hottest summers of recent years.But how, after life in a four-bedroom house, do they manage to survive together squeezed into a space the size of a potting shed? Other books pretend to tell you about life afloat this one shows you what it s really like.