Another day on board The Lady in the rainstorms whilst moored up in St Ivesenjoying the bank holiday market before the downpour and staying mostly dry after our renovations this Spring as there were typhoons in Asia and an exploding oil terminal in Europe
First awake at 6.00am and by 6.30am, up and to prepare the morning drinks for Diana and I. We sat and finished our drinks before Della awoke and needed feeding. Our normal routine for breakfast and more melon and toast for me. On a humid and misty morning, the rest of us were rather impatient for Diana to get the baby ready and then we all set off for the Bank Holiday market. There was a curiously fine rain in the air, with a hot airstream and so we looked around the market purposefully guessing, quite rightly, that it was to rain more later. I bought some dolly pegs as heritage clothes pegs for The Lady, but little else. Diana got a running suit for leisure wear and the kids spent their holiday money on headphones (again) for Daniel and sweets for Debbie. We rendezvoused at the Girl Guides hut, where they serve coffee and cakes, and ran the gauntlet of the Brownie waitresses with their bowls, who scoop up anything that they think is finished with (!). I left the family to have a further look around and walked alone up to the St Ivo centre for another look at the antique collectors fair. In town I had bought one of each postcard depicting the Huntingdonshire Great Ouse, news from the newsagents and I added to these with a number of old picture cards from 1900-1920. My main purchase, however, was a beautiful, silver rattle, with bells and an ivory handle, ornately engraved with intricate designs and of good quality. Hallmarked 1877 and essayed in Birmingham, it cost £69. On closer examination at home, I could see that two of the bells had been replaced, with the rest original, and the damage by generations of banging and chewing was quite light. Daniella took to it immediately and also tried to use the whistle that is built into one end. Unfortunately one of the bells fell off at the solder joint to her strong grasp, but I am going to get the piece restored anyway and will find a nice box for it.
Back to The Lady by 12.30pm and off with Daniel to get a takeaway lunch. Chicken noodle soup and chicken special egg fu young for me from the Chinese restaurant and hamburgers and chips for the others from the Kentuckian. Another rainstorm swept The Lady and after, out to persuade a new arrival astern to turn their craft and moor properly so that our dinghy could return to its davits. As the sun came out, I also let them use my water hose to fill up and then filled up The Lady whilst it was out. The rains returned and we spent an afternoon confined with the girls entertaining them as best we could. We did get another look round the market, however, before Daniel returned and we had a tea of soup and bread. This evening Di and I walked around St Ives, retracing my footsteps of yesterday and I showed her the old houses and interesting pattern of houses between the river and High Street. Back at 9.00pm for the news on TV and then my journal. Principal world events of disasters with typhoons in Asia and exploding oil terminal in Europe. On the home front, typical bank holiday news of washed-out festivities, which the English must now be used to. The weather is forecast to get cooler, but dry, but though the barometer is creeping up to 1013, the rain storms again this evening leave The Lady glistening and soaked on the outside, but pretty dry and comfortable within.