Down to Somerset

Some weeks ago, Grace's eldest sister, Dorothy, underwent major heart surgery. It was very successful, and she was discharged from hospital within a few days, after which Grace's next eldest sister, Christine, stayed with her and looked after her. A week later, Grace and I drove down to Wellington to take over from Christine for a few days, stopping off at our house for a night on the way.

We were amazed and delighted to see how well Dorothy was recovering, and we enjoyed our stay with her. We returned last Sunday, again spending a night at the house on the way north. All of our driving had been badly affected by hold-ups on motorways, and it was nice to take a break! It's always good to spend time with the kids, too.

Back at Yelvertoft, we've had various jobs to do. We'd missed the Halloween event here, which had been a great success - as usual. I helped to dismantle the marquee on one of the two days the job took, but couldn't help on the second because of our extreme need for a major food-buying shopping trip.

On Wednesday we saw "Gone Girl" at the cinema, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

1. This film unearths the secrets at the heart of a modern marriage. On the occasion of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne reports that his beautiful wife, Amy, has gone missing. Under pressure from the police and a growing media frenzy, Nick's portrait of a blissful union begins to crumble. Soon his lies, deceits and strange behavior have everyone asking the same dark question: Did Nick Dunne kill his wife?

The weather's been very changeable. We've had a couple of lovely, sunny days, but a fair bit of rain, too, and... the wind! It's rumoured that the owners of the marina are going to erect a wind turbine to generate electricity.

Grace is practising her canal art as I type, with a view to painting the roses and castles on Kantara when we have her repainted next year. I've done a lot of promoting of Said the Maiden, and got them airplays in eleven radio stations so far in the States. I have a long way to go still! In weather like this, it's good to settle down to doing things in the cosiness of the boat!