Hapy birthday to me!

I have a smart new door to my railway shed! I got a guy from the marina to replace the rotten wooden door and frame for me and this picture was texted to me this afternoon! It now just needs a lick of paint and it will be smart, in fact I plan to paint the whole shed a dark subdued green at some point to make it blend in a little more and weather permitting, these jobs may be done on my return.

Wow, 3 days in a row and an internet connection on the canals - this must be a record, especially as I've also had a satellite signal 3 days in a row!!

I see BW are taking unlicensed boats increasingly more seriously! Maybe this will, at last, take an effect on the shere numbers we've passed this past few days.....

Still, we have a beautiful mooring spot this evening - just past the wide at Tixell. Moored up in lovely sunshine.

We're making quite headway with our training to get Simba to start working for his living - he's beginning to be able to help push the gates open. The next task is to send him on ahead with a windlass.

It was good to see at Fradley Junction that we're being well looked after by the BW H&S department. I did tell the guy in the white van who was installing them that he'd got it wrong. I asked if he could flatten the tops of them so that my beer didn't fall off when I put the glass on them whilst locking through; I think he saw the funny side!!

Spring is here at last, (perhaps!) Although the weather stayed dry all day the wind was a fierce feature that meant steering was very hard and I have ended up very windswept! Apparently that's it though - we have torrential rain from here on. Still, I spotted the first family of ducklings.

Passing Streathay Wharf and a tip-off menat that I was ready with the camera to spot the back end of Granny Buttons! No Andrew Denny around but work was clearly happening on the 'good ship Granny'!

OK, well, now I'm off to get a birthday dinner - spag. bol. with an M&S birthday cake to follow. If the weather really is that bad tomorrow - we may just stay put and build some railway model buildings!