It has been my absolute joy this year to work alongside the Waterways Chaplains as they serve those who live and spend time on the UK's canals and rivers.

The licensed chaplains are volunteers who walk the towpaths and meet need wherever they find it. We may have an idyllic idea of what it is like to live on a boat but the reality can often involve poverty, poor mental and physical health and isolation.

Chaplains help people to access services and benefits, provide food, assist with practical boat care and help out in emergencies.

The Lee and Stort is my nearest navigable river and I spend a wonderful couple of hours walking the towpath with the chaplain there. The people we met were so grateful to see her, to receive their post, get a small grant to allow them to get fuel to heat their boat and cook, and simply to have someone who was interested in them and took the time to listen.

Every month I receive the reports from the Chaplains where they share the stories of lives changed:

Like the chaplain who met a young man on the towpath who had been in prison and had lost contact with his family and needed someone to talk to.

Like the chaplain who encountered a boater who had had a bad fall and needed help to manage shopping and getting to medical appointments.

Like the chaplain who met the families of a boater who tragically had died and who was invited to attend the memorial service. After they'd played the boater's favourite song everyone looked to the chaplain as if they expected him to speak and he was able to offer words of comfort and hope from the bible.

Or like the chaplain who has been supporting two homeless people living in a tent alongside the canal through the winter, helping them to get food and access to warm spaces.