Saturday 4th May
Today we have indeed done something with paint, well bitumen anyway. Firstly, Ken started sanding down under the gunwales ready for painting. He had hardly got out of the door with the electric sander when it started raining! He came back in chuntering away. Fortunately it was only a shower and he was soon out there again. While he was doing that I rubbed down a few rust bubbles and applied rust killer.
When Ken had finished sanding I applied a bit of red oxide to the really bad patches and then we turned our attention to the blacking. We only had this done at the beginning of March, as you know, but it has already started to look tatty and there are various bits missing, partly due to us breaking ice just after it was done and partly due to the usual wear and tear of everyday boating. Ken did the roller work and I did the cutting in and in no time it looked brilliant again and will – until we move! We will apply the red to the side in the morning.
A trip to the pub was in order after this usefulness so off we went to The Great Western where we sat outside, even though it was a bit windy and a bit chilly when the sun went in.
We have spent the afternoon watching snooker (marginally less boring than watching the paint dry!) snoozing (as us old gits do) and agonizing about the football results, aaargh!
