It all started not long after the East Midlands crew had left last Wednesday and I began to feel unwell with severe stomach cramps. The loo became my second home and the thought of food was enough to make the abdomen go into spasms. By 8 pm felt so ill that I decided to take myself off to bed. Ian decided to sleep on the sofa bed, a wise move because if I managed 3 hours sleep I was doing well. And for almost 3 days my only excursions from the bed was to the loo! Very relieved then, when the pains started to ease and I started to feel normal again. Ian had almost convinced himself that I had the dreaded Covid and so many times his finger hovered over the phone to dial 111 but I was insistent that all I had was a touch of jippy tum!
Ian managed to paint the back cabin doors as well as the side hatch doors during my indisposition. He tried to kill me off big time though when he filled part of the wood surround of the side door with fibreglass! God the smell and taste left me gasping for breath and had me diving for an open window!
Anyway once I had got my appetite back and felt I could stand without feeling light-headed, I took on the task to varnish the small coffee table in the lounge as well as rub down and revarnish the porthole surrounds.
It was during this time Ian decided to fill the water tank. Now the hose has to reach the front of FS and the one in the basin is long enough to reach the furthest of boats. Trying to take it across the cabin top I heard a loud expletive. Turns out he had somehow dislodged my peg bag hanging from the stern and the basket ended up face down in the canal. Luckily the wooden pegs had stopped most of the pegs from disappearing beneath the waves but those plastic ones sank without trace. But he was determined to find those lost. Out came the sea magnet and for a good 15 minutes tried to find as many as he could. 17 in all was brought up from the depths, a good haul in his opinion. Not sure I agreed as, from a full basket, only half the amount was left.
Yesterday was our 47th wedding anniversary. A treat of a fry up for breakfast and we had looked forward to champagne and then a Nepalese takeaway from the Royal Gurkha for the evening meal. Imagine the disappointment when after a phone call to the restaurant they said they were not doing food that night! Nothing for it but get a pizza and garlic bread from Lidl, cook some chips and crack open a bottle of red. The champers will wait until tonight when we try again with the Royal Gurkha.
The swan must be close to having the cygnets. On my calculation, she started sitting after laying the seventh egg on the 4th of April so the cygnets should hatch around the 16th May. We do though, have babies here in the basin. Great Tits has made their nest in ECP&DA's Case (a type of forklift) right inside one of the arms. And in the arm on the other side bees have been seen going in and out. Good job there are no Friday work parties until the foreseeable future 'cos the Case is always in constant use!
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| This Kestral flew over the basin this morning. |
4 comments:
Sorry to hear you have been so poorly Irene, but glad it was not Covid and that you are fully recovered. We would both like to wish you both a Happy Belated Wedding Anniversary. You are one month ahead of us! Jennie and Chris x
Hi Jennie, 47 years as well? So many of our friends having married in the '70s are still together. I wonder what it is about this decade that keeps us all together? Happy anniversary for next month. Xxx
Hi Irene
Just catching up on all of your adventures. Looking back, some of your NZ wildlife was spectacular, though I'd struggle with the ids. The British stuff is much easier though - not sure if it was just a slip of the fingers, but your Kestrel in this entry is a Sparrowhawk. Let's hope it didn't notice your Great Tits.
Paul
Hi Paul, We have a Kestral that visits the wild areas around the boatyard so I assumed this was what it was. Looking at images on the web they are easily mistaken from a distance. Thankfully the Great Tits are fine.
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