Monday 26th August
What a lovely day it has been, Summer has returned even though it was Bank Holiday! I was planning a nice lie in this morning but we were both awake at 6-30 am and got up before 7 am. Why?
After the usual tea and fruit Ken went off to check the batteries and I did the starboard cleaning. When he had finished with the batteries Ken had a play with his new toy. Nothing exciting, I forgot to mention Ken and Carol form Robyn’s Retreat are the Miracle Leisure Products people. We got our safety ladder from them at the IWA show in 2009 and some Miracle Cleaner for brass etc. Actually Carol said I’m not using it fast enough if I’ve still got it after it 4 years!
Anyway, during the course of last night’s conversation we discovered they sell these things called a prop mate, which is a blade on a long handle for cutting things off which have become entangled round the prop. We have a knife but it’s only got a short handle which means I have to go right down the weed hatch to use it (Ken doesn’t fit!) and it’s a bit claustrophobic down there! A few days ago I tried to cut this stuff we have got round the prop at the moment off with a stanley knife and promptly cut myself!
So Ken bought a prop mate and this morning he sharpened the blade (they come blunt, health and safety) and had a go at what was round the prop which I couldn’t get off last time I was down there. Success, he was able to remove most of it.
With our travails over we had a repeat performance of yesterday, substituting the Spar Shop for the farm shop. When we got to the pub we started off sitting outside but were soon driven inside by the attentions of the local wasp population, bloody nuisance! We did exceed the stated dose today and left the pub at 3.
We then got held up further by the couple on the boat behind Mick and Cathy who asked us about the pub, I don’t know how they knew that was where we had been! They have two little dogs and haven’t been on their boat long. The conversation took several turns, including at one point, when I said my washing machine was kaput they offered to do some washing for me in their machine, bless. It was really nice of them, I didn’t take up the offer though.
When we returned to our boat, about 4 pm, we explained to Ken and Carol that we hadn’t been in the pub all this time we had been chatting! They said it was a likely story! Ken was about to launch his model Spanish Tug boat, which he had built himself. We were admiring it on our way out and he said he was going to sail it later. I said I wanted to take some photos so he waited until we got back before putting it in the water. Two other chaps who were walking by stopped to watch and were very interested in it.
By the time we had finished watching the boat and chatting it was nearly dinner time again! This evening Ken has been fishing and has caught a couple of nice bream.
Tomorrow we are going to Stafford on the bus.
