Briefly

It's that waiting time of year when frustration abounds. Waiting for... well, we're getting Kantara repainted at the end of the month. Hull blacked, bottom included, and the rest of her. New paintwork following her original schemes, and then her name. Grace will do the Roses and Castles. So long as she spends the next three weeks practising a lot. The whole thing will take seven weeks, so that's seven weeks less cruising this year, and six weeks less that we spend living aboard this year. (On February 8th, I said it would take four weeks. That was a wishful mistake.)

Last Wednesday, we went back to St Albans, and drove on from there on Friday to Taunton, for Kathryn and Alistair's wedding on Saturday. The Travelodge in which we spent two nights left a lot to be desired, but at least it was cheap. Is it unreasonable to expect more? Like a heater that works, and an extractor fan in the bathroom that works? And beds that don't resemble camping beds, with mattresses that don't resemble very hard things? They were foolish enough to ask Grace to complete a Customer Satisfaction Survey. She was honest. Blunt even. But none of it distracted from the wedding, which was a great event. K and A had invited a relatively small crowd of their closest friends and family, and we all had a lovely day. We caught up with family, and got to meet and know a little about Alistair's family. Most unusually, the day finished with a games evening. The bride and groom didn't want dancing, and they weren't alone in that. Instead, we sat around tables and, well, we played games. Ours was Cards Against Humanity. A bit rude, foul even at times, but largely very amusing! There was Jenga, giant Connect Four, and Twister on the floor with the children. Others played... erm... not sure. Other games, I suppose. Brilliant! A really good ending to an excellent day.

So, we have less than three weeks before we take Kantara to Debdale for the painting. Grace has painting to do, I have writing to do, and we have three films to watch at the cinema. (Oops, I typed "enema"!) It sounds like fun!