Phew! What a day!!

Boiling hot day today!! Seriously - temperatures hit 30+ in my back cabin. I'm moored in a lovely spot on Tixall wide so what did I decide to do.... T-cut and polish both sides of the boat and black the hull down to the water line!! I have only just finished and I'm exhausted and have caught the sun big time. I have to say though, it's a very good job, in fact it now looks so shiny that I couldn't get a good picture without the colours washing out and seriously over exposing the shot as this picture proves.

It's been nice to be here and catch up with so many friends along with making new ones. My friends from NB F.U.B.B, (email me privately if you wish to know about that name!) are up here and NB Riverdance has also moored in. They used to be with me at Trinity Marina and now base at Kings Bromley only a few boats down from my friends Henk and Coby on NB Double Dutch. Too many friends have passed by to mention - all have bibbed or yelled at me and it's been great to see them all.

Ever since Banbury, I've been 'leap frogging' NB Eden Gill and this evening the moored up behind me, (well in front of me now they helped me turn Khayamanzi round so that I could polish the other side!). They are active members of the website 'Friends Afloat' - a site I have to admit, I didn't know existed. It seems to me to be a kind of 'Friends reunited' type site for the waterways, a forum for boaters to keep in touch with the many people they meet in passing along their journeys. this seems a very good idea to me but the 'friends afloat' site seems a little closed to me; a kind of site for a select few friends to keep in touch. Fine if that's what they want but I think a wider, larger and more publicised site for all regular cruising boaters to meet, chat and keep in touch would be great idea. A kind of friendlier version of the Canalworld forum without the backbiting and slagging off and with the only aim of keeping contact rather than all the other facets!!

I have been informed by Don this evening that the picture of Rivendell I posted last night is NOT his Rivendell - ah well, someone will be pleased to see their boat published on the world wide web, if they ever find my site!


Anyway, tomorrow I head off, via Anglo Welsh for the necessary services, towards Stone to pick up my father on Thursday. The weather this week looks glorious, all except Thursday which is forecasting light rain - typical!