Monday, May 18, 2020

Lockdown day 56 - The lady's not for shafting!


shaft: (informal) To treat (someone) harshly or unfairly. (Oxford English Dictionary)

After witnessing the brutish mating of a pair of swans the other day/week/month (isn't time very strange at the moment?) I laughed a lot yesterday at the sight of a female moorhen giving a would-be mate the runaround. She clearly wasn't keen on her suitor, and left him in no doubt about her refusal. He would start with the normal approach - swim up from behind and attempt to mount her - but she, swimming away from him, simply waited until he was very close, then dived beneath the surface. The male would stop and look baffled until she resurfaced some distance away. Being a bird of little brain, he would think, "Ahaa! Got her!" and make chase again. Of course, she would simply repeat her trick, but this time, instead of popping up again in front of him, she'd appear to his left, his right, behind him; never the same place twice in succession. 

Eventually, he lost heart and slunk off to find a more compliant hen, and she, laughing loudly (and a moorhen has a fiendish laugh), flew away in search of more refined company. She's not one to be messed with!

(photo from www.birdspot.co.uk - I was laughing too much to take my own)
Yelvertoft Moorers received an email from management yesterday explaining how the new lockdown regulations apply here on the marina.
1) Visiting will be by APPOINTMENT ONLY.
2) Visits are only allowed between 9am & 4pm.
3) No overnight stays on the boat, and you must vacate the marina by 4pm.
4) No cruising. (canals are closed at the moment)
5) The 2-metre rule on pontoons and Marina grounds remain in effect. Outside activity is limited, no barbecues etc.
6) Please respect other moorers wishes. (several have the 12 week isolation letter, and may avoid you like the plague)
7) If you are showing any symptoms of Covid 19, please stay away.
It's all very sensible and straightforward. There's not much of change apart from the addition of numbers 1 to 3, welcomed by several who took advantage straight away of the chance to check that their boat is okay. Two of those were Jan and Ed from EJ on the other side of our jetty, and they were very happy.


I was chuffed to receive from the editor of Towpath Talk a copy of Les Heath's review of Out of the sunrise as it appears in the latest edition.


You can have a look for yourselves - and read a sample - here. I'm told it's a good read!

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2 comments:

  1. Lovely post, Roger. I am very fond of coots, our version of the moorhen here, although I think they might be bigger and a bit bolshier. I'm glad you can start having visitors again. We are opening up quite a bit over here, but my work will remain online for the foreseeable future. Fabulous that you got a review in TT. Always feels good!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Val. The visits are of owners to their boats, not to other people on their boats. Two-metre distancing is still the rule. Cruising restrictions are partly lifted, but still not enough to tempt us out. Yet!

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