Fitting the new canopy to the boat and buying it a new helmsman seat from Jeckells
Fitting the new canopy to the boat and buying it a new helmsman seat from Jeckells

The milder weather gave way to wind and rain as I surveyed Heronshaw to try and work out a scheme to jack it up. Then fitting the new canopy to the boat and buying it a new helmsman seat from Jeckells. Back home for a meeting of Southoe Parish Council.

I had stayed up very late last night, pondering on how to jack up Heronshaw. The earth-moving digger had been bouncing around on the site making the old place sway terribly. It seems that the sedge peat is like an island with waves propagating through the ground because Mrs Vincent was equally worried about her bungalow Romany next door. In the end. I thought of a way of bracing the boat-shed with steel that would not be intrusive and could be achieved with piles from outside the line and I felt like Archimedes or Newton making an outstanding discovery! I concentrated mainly on the Paxton Princess today, tidying it all up and putting everything back into place, ending up by vacuuming the insides thoroughly.

** "Read More" BELOW for the complete story **

I installed the new canopy, and the boat really looked a picture when I had finished and is now ready for the family cruise at Easter. Mrs Vincent was out complaining about the disturbance again but I am choosing to ignore her as she loses her support through worrying unduly. I got the washing up done and packed everything away so that I could get away by lunchtime. Bought a new helmsman's seat from Jeckells and chased my quotations for tiles from Jewsons on the way before enjoying a nice meal in the cafe at Wroxham. A fair drive home, arriving in Paxton at 4.00pm, in time for tea and to return a number of telephone calls. My evening meeting was with Southoe Parish Council which was a reasonable meeting, but which was always discussing the same few issues. It made a turn for the worse today, with the milder weather giving way first to wind and rain and then becoming colder.