Summertime

Summer - our proper Summer Holiday - is fast approaching. James' school will soon break up for its long vacation and as of the 20th July I will be working just 2/3 days a week at my new research position. This means that once Bumps are finished we will have rather a lot of time on our hands, but we shall not be short of things to do!

Most importantly, we have a few things that need to be sorted before our next BSC (Boat Safety Certificate) inspection is due in December. We plan to replace and rehouse our battery bank, as well as a few other bits and pieces.

The propellor shaft coupling needs a good look at (hopefully by a professional) before we can think about crusing any sort of long distance, so that's another priority.

Perhaps most excitingly for me, the Duck needs a new coat of paint! We need to grind off a few rust patches back to bare metal, which will then need to primed. The original primer coat seems pretty good, but we'll have to remove quite a bit of loose flaking paint, clean and rub down the whole lot before starting to think about the top coats. We've been thinking a lot about colour schemes and signwriting but have yet to come to a decision about what to do. I hope to have a play around on Photoshop, the results of which will be posted here of course!

Now we just have to hope the weather holds!

Happy Birthday Ken!

Firstly, a very happy Happy Birthday to one of our most avid blog readers! James' Grandad, Ken turns the grand old age of 80 today, so many happy returns to him. There had been plans afoot to go for a cruise on the Basingstoke canal for his birthday, but sadly this didn't happen in the end. We are however, going to visit soon so we are looking forward to that!


With Ken on the Kennet&Avon

Lazing on a sunny afternoon

Today started, as usual, with rowing and coxing for both of us, after which we headed home. We had a few things to do before our friend Richenda came to visit. While I tided up, James was very kindly given a lift by John III to the village where a very useful shop sells Calor gas. We haven't run out, but wanted to replace the empty one so that we have a full one ready for when it does.

When our friend arrived we settled down on the grass bank to have afternoon tea in the sunshine which was lovely. She hadn't been to visit before and was very impressed by our beautiful surroundings! We let Lyra have a wander outside, and she is getting more and more bold. Thankfully she stayed dry this time, but did extend her explorations to walking up and down the gunwhales, roof and stern deck as well as hissing at Flanders and Swan and a brief encounter with Grace, the lovely greyhound who belongs to one of our neighbours!


"I'm a proper boat cat now!"

"She fell in the water!"

This evening, being as it was, so warm and lovely, we were eating dinner outside. And we thought that it would be a good idea to gently introduce our Lyra to the outside world. We have let her into the well-deck a bit already, so going though the front door wasn't new to her, but she'd never been across the gang-plank onto the bank.


Walking the plank


"Its big and wet... can I walk on it?"

So we supervised as she made her way outside in her own time. She nervously padded her way down the plank and onto the grass. The edges of the riverbank seemed to intruige her most, but she seemed to be very careful, picking her way along the edge by the boat, but not going very far. She wandered, under our watchful eyes, over to Pippin, and said hello to John and Jackie. All seemed to be going well. We watched her as she sniffed and padded along the edge by a neighbourig boat, and the we watched as she went a little too far and 'splash!' Her back legs and tail went in but she was very swiftly back on the bank and made a bee-line straight for Lucky Duck and safety.


A damp cat.

After cleaning herself up carefully, she was happy to come back outside again. We didn't want her first outing to end on a bad experience, and eventually after wandering about some more, she headed in of her own accord. Now she is sprawled out on the kitchen counter asleep, while we watch Stephen Fry in Kingdom.

All the fun of the Fair...

Midsummer Fair has been in town for the last few days, which means that in time-honoured fashion, all the boaters who moor on the Common are not (except for one...)

This has made practicing for Bumps starts along the common rather easier, since there's no-one to complain, but does make the river feel somewhat empty!