Another warm day loomed if the early morning feel was anything to go by.
I had a feeling that we might be in for a busy day - well that really came about when Diane was fiddling around in the tool box - almost like it was hers - is there nothing sacred about a man's tool-box - I could have had anything in there.
I knew that I should have got the one that I could lock up, but here we have it - she knows the difference between a Philips-head and a slotted tip; the different types of pliers; Allen keys; and just about all of the rest.
There is no where to store it that can keep it from her - oh the travesty of it all!!
What is a man to do when the dignity of his box has been ravaged by his wife?
Anyway she extracted the screwdriver that she was after and started doing some work in the bathroom - removing fixtures from the wall - she had ideas about what we would be doing today.
A few weeks ago, we had picked up some colour sample pots from B&Q to test colours in the bathroom - just for a couple of panels; since we would be passing the same store in a couple of days it was time to start preparing to paint, hence the removal of wall fixings.
 |
| At least she got the blacking done on one side |
Then it all snowballed from there - the sander was out to remove some surface rust on the gunwhale and prime the bared spots; the previously mentioned bathroom panels got their going over; she also had decided that the two back panels on the rear doors needed a new look - before I could blink, the masking tape was out to have them ready for a coat of primer.
In amongst all of this, half the bathroom porthole was taken out - the inside section, which was an MDF based piece, had swollen over the years such that the inside rim was a good 20mm away from the wall.
The solution was to bolt the outer section to the steel plate and then trim down the MDF - much easier said than done.
So that was being taken care of as well.
During a lull in proceedings, an approaching boat came into view - in fact a small 22' yacht with a couple aboard whom we had seen a couple of times over the last 3-4 days - once in Paddington basin for long enough to chat to, so we called them over and they breasted up with us.
Whilst they got a bit of shopping done at Sainsbury's we tidied the place up a bit and on their return they came aboard for a cuppa.
They are Nell and Hans and the yacht is Jemima.
Nell is from
No doubt we will cross paths with them again.
After that it was back to work on the boat - we finally called it a day after 4pm with almost everything done - just the gunwhale topcoat, hull blacking and the first topcoat for the backdoors to be done whilst we are here at Alperton.
The porthole inner section has been cutdown and is a nice tight friction fit around the outer section, so no glueing or fixing required; bathroom is ready for painting.
We had decided to change our lunch plans and made it into dinner at the Chinese restaurant - but an early one.
We have become regulars I guess, being recognised and the two owners now chatting away about things we had spoken with them previously.
The food as usual was simply superb and whenever we are in the area, in future, this will be a pre-determined stopping place; the price was OK as well.
Unlike the usual chinese meals where you feel hungry again after an hour, we ate just enough and stayed that way.
We only managed the first hour of
Rain in the morning held up our plans to head off to Yeading, but we did manage to fit in a visit to Sainsbury's.
It wasn't until after lunch that the rain situation reached a point where cruising was possible, so about 2pm we headed off; Diane at the helm whilst I was comfortably inside catching up on work.
A familiar whistle from the backdeck summoning me outside was sounded - we were just about at the desired spot and my presence would be required - only for mooring purposes I can assure you.
Luck was with us and a spot was available - ideally suited away from the general foot traffic area.
There is a feeling that rain is around for the evening, but that will not be a problem tonight - we will spend a couple of nights here - Wimbledon starts tomorrow, so Diane will be perched in front of the TV and hoping that there will not be any residue of the rain re-appearing.
We are now entering the Wimbledon-zone - nothing short of a large boat pole will be enough to prise her away from the television for the next fortnight.
I may even get my toolbox back.
4 Miles
YTD: 493 Miles, 295 Locks, 12 Tunnels, 2 Lift Bridges , 13 Swing Bridges
Totals: 3387 Miles, 2416 Locks, 110 Tunnels, 36
No comments:
Post a Comment