BRAUNSTON HOME FROM HOME

13.10 I have been to Daventry to Waitrose for Bread and Milk and Tesco for EE vouchers and two more bottles of Ginger Ale for the stores while the price is right and I got some bags of walnuts to have in for the Winter.   At Waitrose I also got packs of Actimel and Bio-What at a noticablely reduced price and a little pack of Eccles cakes to be nibbling.

Today is Thursday. It has rained all night. It is now 10.30am and although the rain is stopped the humidity is 100%. How much more rain can there be? I still have the remainder of Wavy to paint before the air temperature gets too low.  It is not a good idea to lay paint at less than 15degrees and the  temperature is slipping slowly that way day by day.  The solars are putting charge into the batteries and the front cabin is nice and warm and dry and I have had my coffee and porridge and now it's time for a couple of potato cakes and a boiled egg.

All this is part of the winterizing process: making sure creature comforts are assured going forward.  Comms. is working and wifi devices are moving up the 21st century. This is the first time in twelve years I feel confident that everything is as good as I want it and I can relax without wondering what is next to go wrong.


I've been here since Thursday ... got much of Wavy Rider painted in RAD 120 40 38 Mary Blue for which I hereby thank the re-cycler who left a £50 tin of professional paint by the recycling bins after the bin men had left and just before I arrived to relieve the recycling system of the worry of how to get rid of half a gallon of paint that had never been opened. Today we were warned it would rain. All day. It has. Rained all day.  Now and again it stopped a while. A few whiles actually.  During which I rushed to bale out Wavy so she could fill again. And she did.  Again and again. 18.17 the light was fading when I made my last visit.  It is raining again. And it is likely to stay raining til next  weekend.  As in seven days time,  So I'll be here to see what happens.  It's not cold though (17.5 in the inner sanctum) ... So no excuse yet to initiate Operation Hampshire which suits me fine especially since the present government has seen fit to withdraw the winter fuel payment I've had since I passed seventy. I am beginning to run out of Ginger Ale on board too so between the showers I might top up

Monday 23rd Sept. Rugby Library
I got the 1030/D1 to Hunts Bookshop about "ToeByToe" ordered last Thursday and which they were to advise me of.  It was there. I bet they rang the number and went through to voicemail.

Then to Rugby library to log into S26 which has a large-key keyboard with big bright yellow letters for sight challenged people.  Suits me as the keyboards for normal people are shite. The keys are all over the place and can't be read in bright light ... 

​11.55 sign out and rush to ASDA for GingerAle (It is gone up to 1.75 a litre. Up to last week I could get two for £2.50 and the target price for GingerAle for me is £130 so I am not buying). 

I grab a litre of Graham's and run to catch the 12.14/D1 back.  It has started milling again while I am on it.  I was very lucky in Rugby and being on the bus I decided to stay on til Daventry where my Tesco Card gets me Ginger Ale at £1.30.  A visit to Waitrose for nothing in particular and a half pint at The Plume puts me on the 14.15/D1 to the BoatHouse  where I alight at 3oc because the bus is running late but I get back on board without getting too wet and chill for the afternoon.  I have had to start the engine twice today due insufficient lekky to meet my needs. 

Note to fans. The Boathouse website promises considerably more than it delivers. Give it a miss.  In fact all pubs in Braunston are worth giving a miss to.  Coming boat to the boat I felt the humidity was beginning to get into the bedclothes so Operation Hampshire was launched while there was still some light.  Just as well I did not wait til I really needed the fire. taking off the ash tray to get at the wick I found it had water in it. So I had to dry that out and then knowing the hopper which had been primed sometime last May would be very slow to deliver I spent that time was needed starting and monitoring and adjusting until it actually go going.

By 8.00pm though the cabin thermometer was reading 22.7 which is the target reading when I am in residence in winter. Obviously outside is WARM in this weather so the cabin will get warm and stay warm all night. But more importantly the damp will be removed and the fabrics will dry out.

Today is Wed. and a day which started with much promise went very quickly downhill from 3oc on. EE fixed my internet glitch and I brought home another four bottles of Ginger Ale to build up stocks. Wifi is restored and the fire is lighting and I made some potato wedges for practice The potatoes themselves were shyte and I tried to keep them as dry as possible by pressure cooking then in a tiny drop of water, a glob of lard  and with salt sprinkled on top. They cooked fine but were still wet potatoes before and after baking them at 200 for 40mins

Tonight at 8.23pm has been Thursday. A nice morning when I got things done including more paint on Wavy by turning her starboard side in.  Later the weather got dubious and I prepared for worse and then it got worse. It is now (8.30pm and pitch dark) milling down and all my baling out of Wavy will need repeating after the rain stops in the morning.  Yes forecast to rain all night and drop over half an inch on Braunston.  I am now into into my second week here but was only clocked today so I can stay here a fortnight before moving up.