Gremlins bubbling now, then?

(This is getting silly! I'm sorry, but this time five of you got to see the totally-not-even-started post on Thursday. Gremlins abound, and I'm on the warpath!)

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The problem I allude to in the brackets above made me think that perhaps my brain was overheating under my dense mop of hair. Grace concurred, and cut it. It was getting rather too Johnsonesque, anyway. I'm much cooler now - in both senses of the word!

Lots of boats have been coming and going over the past few days. NB Cantrememberthename next to Bob and Jenny on Infinity has gone, though possibly only to a berth at the other end of the marina. NB Achernar arrived back in the marina and went out again within a few days. Several others on the same jetty have gone, too. NB Emma Jane went out for another weekend day-trip, and more than a few other moorers who don't live on their boats have chugged off, possibly for their annual holiday. The marina's looking quite empty now.

The swans are still here, though, making their twice-daily tour, and stopping off at selected boats for the feeds they've come to expect. The cygnets are almost the size of their parents, but they still make the peeping sounds they were using when they were just a few weeks old.

It's good to have neighbours again. John and Sue are back on NB Lindsey Ann, their home, having been locked down with family for months. On the other side of them, Trevor arrived recently to spend several hours digging NB At Last out of the cobwebs, and generally preparing her for their cruising season.

Underneath the layers of spider-web that cover Kantara lurks a substantial coating of grime. It's quite alarming to consider that it has all come down with the wind or the rain. Where does the countryside air get all of its dirt from? I need to give the boat a very good wash - when there's not a gale blowing! Meanwhile, we're gathering together all the tools, paints, varnishes and brushes that we need to do the paint-repair work we're planning to do.

It'll happen before the end of the month. We've just arranged with "the kids" that we're going back to the house to form a family "support bubble" with them for just a few nights. It's Grace's birthday on August 3rd, and a meal is planned. We're really looking forward to it.

Here's a question for those of you who love language. "Now then". What does it mean? How can anything be Now and Then at the same time? The OED tells me how the expression's used, but I already knew that. It doesn't tell me what it means. And words are supposed to mean something, innit?

(Answers on a postcard, please.)

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Winter in the marina

Winter so far in the marina looks very much like this most of the time, and feels distinctly chilly!

In previous years, we've winterized the boat and taken ourselves back to the house before today, 4th December. Not so this year, though. We've just woken to another frost dusting boats and rushes and pontoons with a gentle layer of white under a clean blue sky. The temperature was only just below zero, so Kantara would have been fine if we'd not been here. But we're not going to go through that faffy rigmarole of winterizing this year. Instead, we'll bounce back and forth twixt house and home as fancy or necessity dictate.

Last weekend we were in St Albans, cleaning and re-proofing the cratch cover. Saturday evening was the occasion of Jess's 30th birthday party, so we spent the evening ensconced in our bedroom, watching TV and listening to the hoots of enjoyment from below. We were awoken in the wee small hours by the sounds of singing and ukulele from an impromptu band of Jess's many musical friends. When we got up in the morning, we found several of them sleeping on various floors. Most amusing was the sight of Jess, in her pyjamas and sitting on a sofa, with two other members of The Company of Players snuggled down in their beds (of sorts) on the floor next to her, all three involved in a CoP planning meeting!

We came back on Monday, returned to St Albans on Thursday, and came back again on Friday after my AAA screening - passed with full marks. We'll be back there again some time this week, this time to put up the Christmas decorations and, hopefully, for Grace to do her painting. On Friday, we'll be driving out to Bishops Stortford to see an exhibition of silver jewellery made by Jacqui, a former student of mine. After that, who knows?

This weekend, Said the Maiden are at The Great British Folk Festival, where, on Friday, they played to an audience of 2000 at the Main Stage, having been voted best act on the Introducing Stage last year. And just look at the names they share the lineup with!

It was late to bed, late to rise for us last night, having spent a long evening with Sarah and Trevor from NB At Last, so I've got a huge pile of washing up to do. I'd better go and do it! 😒