“It’s a long ship, this.”Thus spoke the memsahib as we sat outside on our patio in the shade, wallowing in the delight of a pleasingly hot day like hippopotami in the mud of the Rufiji River. I could not resist the thought that I had trained her well, for the phrase is Royal-Navy-Speak for, “MyContinue reading “Blog 142. The Burning Question”
Tag Archives: COVID19
Blog 133. It’s Only Money
One thousand, seven hundred pounds. I simply couldn’t believe it as I walked away from my dentist’s surgery. I kept saying it over and over in my mind as I crossed the ancient pedestrian bridge over the picturesque river in our nearby Quaint Little Town, oblivious to the sunshine, the birdsong and the general promiseContinue reading “Blog 133. It’s Only Money”
Blog 130. Give Me a Ring Sometime
The final slice of tarte tatin remaining from our last dinner party lay before me, covered in cream. I savoured it for quite some moments, just as a starving survivor in a lifeboat might eye up the cabin boy for his next meal. Christmas was over, 2024 had begun, and the pudding in front ofContinue reading “Blog 130. Give Me a Ring Sometime”
Blog 128. Call me Sir
Mount Crushmore is back. Regular readers will recognise that this soubriquet was first attributed to the enormous pile of rubble left over from the demolition of the old Philips shipyard buildings at Noss Marina in Kingswear, where my boat is moored. Despite the pile being subjected, for over a year, to the attentions of anContinue reading “Blog 128. Call me Sir”
Blog 125. The Baked Potato
You know, there is something about electric hedge trimmers; like their brother, the pressure washer, they become habitual very rapidly and you always want to cut off a bit more foliage with them. I reflected on this as I gave a jolly good trimming to the berberis hedge the other week, swiftly followed by aContinue reading “Blog 125. The Baked Potato”
Blog 123. Zap!
Spring has come, that is to say we have passed through the vernal equinox: the time when night is as long as the day. We are back on British Summer Time and, although our body clocks are all ahoo, it is all sunshine and light from now on. Honestly: trust me on this. A furtherContinue reading “Blog 123. Zap!”
Blog 122. Suffering is Good for the Soul
Out of the impenetrable darkness, a disembodied voice spoke: “I can’t feel my nose.”though, to be more accurate, what it actually said was:“I garnt veel by doze”,the voice being Jane’s and she being afflicted with a stinking head cold.We were back on the boat – the first visit in 2023 – and we lay rigidlyContinue reading “Blog 122. Suffering is Good for the Soul”
Blog 121. I Give You a Toast for 2023
The toast rack is back. Perhaps I should explain: proper report and all that. You see, insidiously, the breakfast routine has grown slack over the last few years – another sad consequence of the Covid19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns. Over time, the practice has been allowed to develop of the breakfast toast being served,Continue reading “Blog 121. I Give You a Toast for 2023”
Blog 114. It Felt Good To Be Out Of The Rain
The heat was hot and the ground was dry, as the tautological lyrics by the pop group America say. And, behold, the British establishment and its media have found something else to terrify us with. Yes, the UK has experienced a ‘heat wave’ and we are all doomed. Health warnings are broadcast, schools are closed,Continue reading “Blog 114. It Felt Good To Be Out Of The Rain”
Blog 112. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Fog. Thick, cloying, damp fog, silent and sinister, surrounded us. Despite being only few hundred yards from Dartmouth castle, we immediately felt as lost and isolated as if we were in the middle of the Atlantic. And it was not a nice feeling. We had taken APPLETON RUM away from her moorings for a shakedownContinue reading “Blog 112. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah”
"A Very Vintage Chap..." 