Settling back in

It's odd really. We were only out on the cut for four weeks, yet it seems far longer than that since we were here in the marina. The time out with Christine and Mike, and Michelle, added to that cruising time too, of course, but then we came back here after each trip.

Life in the marina is going to be busy in the next few weeks before we go back to the house for the worst of the winter (will it be the worst, or will that come in March?). We have a long list of jobs to do, several of which we've already done - put low-wattage LED lights in all 22 of the 12v light fittings, meaning that we can run all of them on less energy than just three of the old halogen bulbs used; cleaned throughout the inside of the boat; cleaned and tidied the foredeck, the engine room and the aft deck; replaced the stern mooring rope and added a second centre rope, so that there is easy access from both sides; started the process of touching up the various bits of damage done by the inevitable bumps and scrapes a boat gets. We've booked Colin Rowe to come and do various jobs - replacing the packing in the stern gland, checking apparent oil loss from our gearbox (and servicing the engine), servicing the Alde gas boiler, and identifying and solving the problem with the bowthruster. He might be with us for the entire day at that rate!

Later today, we're going to a showing, "broadcast live by satellite to cinemas from the London Film Festival" of the Rolling Stones documentary "Crossfire Hurricane". I was a great fan in my youth!