Saturday, October 27, 2012

Winter's here?

We couldn't have timed our painting trip better. Since returning, the weather has been quite unfit for painting, with several days of fog, or drizzle, or rain, with some of the strongest winds we've encountered here. Oddly, the wind has turned 180 degrees, and is bringing in some very cold weather. We really need the Alde gas boiler to warm the boat and the water quickly in the morning, but that won't be fixed until Monday.
(not ours)
The diesel "Bubble" stove is excellent for day-long heating. In fact, we often have to turn it off for an hour or so during the day because it's so effective, but it does take quite a while to heat the radiators and the water initially.
(ours!)
The undercoating of the port side still has to be done, and can be done here in the marina - given the weather. If we can't do it before we return to St Albans in a few weeks' time, it can wait until the spring. The primer will be adequate protection against the weather.

Of course, it'll all need washing and sanding first!
The Rolling Stones film premiere last Thursday, Crossfire Hurricane, was excellent, bringing back loads of teenage memories, but only attended by about thirty people, all about our age. 



It began with live broadcast from outside the Odeon, Leicester Square, with a huge crowd, and the Stones and various other celebrities coming up the red carpet. The film itself was broadcast to 300 cinemas around the world, and shown concurrently with the Leicester Square Odeon. It was a very good evening.


Bill Wyman was there, too, but seemed to keep away from the others
I've busied myself for a couple of half-days, tidying up the marina lending library. With well over a thousand books, and many that had been returned untidily over quite a long period of time, the shelves really were in a mess, and I actually enjoyed sorting it all out, along with the piles of CDs, DVDs, games and jigsaw puzzles. It's a terrific facility for the moorers, and well worth the time spent.
The library, smaller a year or so ago
As I type, two marquees are being erected outside the moorers' lounge, in preparation for the Halloween party next Saturday. A much larger number of folk than last year have signed up for it, and we all look forward to a live band, quizzes and competitions, good food and, of course, fancy dress.

We return to St Albans on Sunday, for a few days. We'll be back there again for November 16th, when Said the Maiden will be performing two 40 minute sets, with supporting acts, at the "Folk at the Pump House", at the Pump House Theatre in Watford. We wouldn't miss that for anything!
Hannah, Kathy and Jess - "Said the Maiden"
After we return from that, we'll be preparing Kantara for a winter without us, and going back to our St Albans home for Christmas and the worst of the winter. But then, who knows what the weather's going to be like?

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