Blue Lias and back

 A day out with friends - looks like painting the handrail on the other side will have to wait until next spring though.

Before and after

Over the weekend we caught up on fixing some damaged paintwork.  Normally we do it as we cruise, but we were doing long days on the Thames Ring and didn't feel like it, and then it rained for lots of trip to Stratford, so we couldn't.  The first picture shows the undercoat I put on last Autumn.

Somehow once we got fresh dings in the new undercoat before having a chance to put new gloss on last Autumn I sort of lost interest.  It looks a lot better now, and if you look closely you can see the first of the horseflies that thought it was so attractive that they would land for a closer look, and get stuck.


No cruising, but at least there were some fantastic views to be had on the evening before and the morning after the first frost of the winter.

Home again

We went up the Stockton flight in heavy rain and wind, and decided to go on past the marina for dinner at the Bridge.  This turned out to be a questionable decision, as the heavy rain turned torrential, and the visitor moorings were full.  Along with half a dozen other boats we fought our way to the bank across the shallows, and tied up against what felt like a bank made of cream cheese after eventually finding some firm enough spots for pins.  It was early so I set off to walk the dog down to the Folly to see if it was open, but gave up after the rain running down my legs filled my (waterproof) shoes.  A good meal at the Bridge, with the experience marred only by the state of the towpath that you wouldn't normally expect until later in the winter.  Back to the marina in the morning.