Spiders by the cartload - well, quite a few of them at least

We went back to Kantara for a few days last week. Not to enjoy the fabulous weather, (because there was none), neither to go for a bit of a cruise, (because my hernia won't let me do some of the more strenuous tasks that cruising demands from time to time); nor to wash and wax the boat, (because I just couldn't be arsed - though it turned out that she was still sheening from the last job I did on her). We went because we love being on her. Simples.

Not long after we arrived, we watched John and Susan set out on Lindsay Ann, headed we know not where. Yes, we were envious, but this was nothing that couldn't be put right with a glass or three of  Shiraz. So we drank, we read and we wrote, and played the guitar and played cards and watched TV until...

Watching the box on the first evening, we were amused to see a spider abseil down from the ceiling, take a disapproving look at the screen and haul itself up again quickly. It was only then that we noticed other spiders, creatures great and small, living their spidery life all over the ceiling, the walls, the windows, the blinds and the curtains. Numerous egg sacs huddled up in the angles twixt wall and ceiling; in fact, anywhere such an angle could be found. We captured and expelled several of the bigger ones straight away, and pledged to get rid of  all the rest of them the next day.

Which we did. Armed with little spider-catching boxes, dusters and feather dusters (none of which bore a single feather) and the vacuum cleaner, we cleared the lot of them, and the miles of web they left behind. It took a while, but it was worth it!

That night, while I was sitting up in bed, reading, a spider lowered itself  in front of my eyes, laughed, and shot back smartish. The next morning it laughed no more. I threw it to the ducks.

Please don't any of you suggest that we put conkers in the windows to stop them coming in. That's one piece of advice I omitted from Hints and tips for life with YOUR feet under water, because I have no faith in it. (Do buy the book, though. It contains over 180 useful boating tips, and has been a Kindle best-seller) (Please pardon the plug) We were told about conkers in our first year on Kantara, went conker-hunting, shared our collection liberally amongst all of the windows and watched miserably as they failed to do anything other than be the anchors for the arachnid webs.

Out-doors, spiders' webs can be totally acceptable, of course.

(Photos not mine, regrettably, but courtesy of unsplash.com)

That's where they belong. Somewhere they can be appreciated!

By the way, I've just stumbled across photo albums from past years. Such good memories! Let me share one of them with you.

"A world of skies and waterways" https://tinyurl.com/43d3nekt

Attention, Harold Hargreaves!

 I do hope you read this post, Harold. I received your email asking for some photos, and tried to reply to you, but my email bounced back, with the error 

Please email again with a contactable address, and I'll be happy to help.

If any other readers know Harold, please give him the heads-up!

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While I'm here, I'll post these photos taken yesterday on our visit to Hughenden Manor in Buckinghamshire.

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The landlubbing life continues

In an attempt to restore some modicum of sanity - and also to help Steve and Karolina get past the last impediments to their moving in, Grace and I returned to St Albans three weeks ago. Our first task was to fit coving in their huge living-room/dining-room. Not a difficult task, just a slow, painstaking one. Since then, we've completed it, and given the coving and the ceilings a coat of primer and the first top-coat.

In our house, I started tidying the loft, starting with numerous bags and boxes of toys going back to our kids' infancy. It's a mammoth task.

Amongst them were lots of stuffed toys, many of them knitted by Grace's mum for each of our three in turn. Their appearance was met with great glee from the kids, now in their thirties and forties. It was great fun.

We nipped back to Kantara for three nights during one of the very hot spells.  It's such a privilege to have this old boat, and to be able to visit her even if we're not able to cruise her while I have this hernia to contend with. We miss her a lot when we're away.

We hardly left the cabin during that short stay, it was so hot outside. The thermometers showed us what it had been like over the past weeks.

The best we could do was to open the front and rear doors, all of the windows, and the side doors. We did manage to get a few odd jobs done, though. It was far too hot to do the paintwork touch-up jobs we wanted to do, but I did get around to completing the boat wash I'd started weeks before - in the early evening!

I never get tired of watching the sun set on the marina.

We'll be back for more before too long.

It was Grace's birthday on Tuesday, and we gave ourselves a break from painting at S and K's house and gardening at ours, and drove out to Cliveden House and gardens. The weather was just right for it. and we had a delightful, magical time. Thank God for the National Trust!  The house has been a luxury hotel for some years. We decided not to spend the night there. It was just a tad too expensive.

Now back to the painting and decorating!