Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Ready to cruise

With the car empty and the stuff now home on Kantara, we're ready to go. Did I mention the Alde boiler not working, though? It turns out the pump has died of old age, so we're waiting for Colin to get one, and he'll fit it for us when he comes to close a hole in the hull which used to accommodate the vent from a tumble drier. The hole is currently covered externally by a grille, but we found that the recent gale-driven rain actually forced its way through that, so it's best to close it altogether.

Colin will also re-locate the misplaced stud for the foredeck cratch cover. When a man from Bescan came back in November and fitted four studs to fix the bottom edge of the cover to the hull (to stop it flapping about and sagging so much under the weight of wind, rain and snow), he located one stud about two inches offset from its other half on the cover. Fortunately, I didn't pay them and told them to come and put it right when we came back this month. They've gone into liquidation. And the canopy job they did for one local boat before they folded was rubbish! No further comment!

Last Friday, we joined two ladies at screen 5 of Rugby cinema to see "12 Years a Slave", rather late, but one we had to see after its recent awards successes.
"In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty at the hands of a malevolent slave owner, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity."

A very disturbing film, but brilliantly acted and directed.

On Saturday, we made our final trip back to the house for that last carful of stuff. We're going to use the car more this year as a shed! If we keep unseasonal clothes and footwear in the car, along with a lot of of the books we want to read, then we don't have to stuff the boat so full.

Naomi cooked us all a wonderful family Sunday lunch. Her dear cat, Samson, attacked my hand when I was trying to save him from being beaten up by a local moggie, leaving me looking like an extra from a vampire movie. It swelled up painfully, and I had to see the doctor the next morning, who put me on a course of antibiotics.

We returned to Kantara that afternoon. The weather's been rather wet and windy since, until this morning, when it's milder, less windy and dry. We're to do just a short trip to Market Harborough next week. We have a friend's wedding to attend next month, then we'll be off down the GU to London.

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