Obviously not!!

Well if that was spring - It's been and gone and we must be back into Autumn again! Spent the day doing housework etc. and just been on a good long walk with Simba. Sitting here now with the boat completely shut up, listening to the rain lashing down and the wind howling, having re-lit the fire and put the central heating back on!!

Simba seems to be going through a 'devious' phase of life! He has been ignoring my re-call commands, scavenging anything and everything he can find and the other day, apparently, even ran up to someone barking at them, (I guess raising a hammer to him and shouting that they would put it through his skull if he came near their boat again probably didn't help - oh well, the new breed of boater who brings their outside way of life onto the cut have a lot to learn !) It did prompt me into investing in a 'Spray Commander'. A fantastic bit of kit that has a remote control that can activate a bleep from a unit worn on his collar to get his attention if he decides to ignore me with the ultimate threat of being able to spray a burst of safe and odourless gas up at him if he continues to ignore me! It is brilliant - in only one walk up the 'Barge' and back, Simba has learnt that the bleeping sound means stop what you are doing and return immediately to me!! On one occasion when the taste and smell of a freshly disgarded fish and chip wrapper became simply too absorbing, a quick burst of spray was enough to shock him into submission well before any tomato ketchup even touched his lips!

Ah well, I should have enough hot water for a shower now so will switch off the central heating and go and relax in the shower, safe in the knowledge that the water will pump out perfectly thanks to the interesting array of rancid smelling fluff and dog hairs I pulled off the discharge pump filter this morning - this glamorous boating lifestyle!!