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Some time in Norwich after a very wet night and some signs of me getting a cold on top of it and then a cruise to Bramerton Woods End for a walk around and evening meal in the pub as the children helped and entertained each other. There is a deepening crisis over the Greek heat wave and embarrassment for US warships and tankers stuck in the Gulf without minesweeper support.
A very poor night. Firstly I had a sore throat and onset of a cold, then the rain lashed down and worried me on the weather restraint quality of our cabins and a land drain alongside my cabin gushed noisily. Then Daniel had left his radio on and I had to tap on his boat roof with a brolly to wake him up and put it off. Up and to the toilet at 4.00am and slept afterwards, but Di woke me at 6.00am with my morning tea! The rain had stopped this morning and, after washing and dressing, I got up on the cabin roofs and used the deck scrubber to get the surfaces clean. Late and last to breakfast as a result and finished up four unused slices of toast and drank apple juice.
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Our first day in Norwich walking through the Cathedral grounds, swimming and diving in the pool and then having lunch before exploring The Castle Museum, viewing the natural History section and then taking the tour of the ramparts and dungeons before putting the children to bed and taking Di to the pub nearby for our meal out and then Daniel to the cinema before the rains came again. The German Grand Prix is dogged by racing car retirements, hundreds of people are dying in Greece from a heatwave and the stock market is jammed with small transactions after the BAA share offer.
Not a bad night’s sleep for the first night on the boat, though it started a little badly with a number of drunken boaters having rowing races past our moorings late at night. We don’t think that it rained last night, but it was cold with plenty of condensation and we did get a leak over each bunk, but it did not cause us any problems. Slowly into some sort of morning routine and we manage a breakfast of poached egg and toast fingers, which is quite civilised. Everyone washed, dressed and ready by this stage for a trip into Norwich town centre. We took the children on the same route as last night’s walk, through the Cathedral grounds and into the town centre.
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Towing the Little Lady to Brooms of Brundall and launching it there on a dry but cold and breezy day, taking delivery of The Lady which had been safely transported and then a short cruise to Norwich to stay at the Yacht Station and to take a walk around Norwich as more cold winds and rain are forecast. The US are sending minesweepers to the Gulf to protect their US-flagged Kuwaiti oil tankers after one was hit by a mine
All things ready for a prompt start this morning, but Diana and Debbie were the first up, being both well awake and dressed by the time I was called with my morning tea. Soon up and to the en-suite for a shave and shower. Down to a simple and brief cereal breakfast, then we all packed the remaining things and loaded them on to the Little Lady. A last minute check, the water & gas off and all unnecessary electrical appliances switched off and then I drove out the Range Rover and trailer and we set off at 7.45am. A steady journey at 40-50 mph and it took about 2 ¼ hours to get to Brundall.
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Putting the swimming pool to bed and making other arrangements for us being away for four weeks, loading up the Range Rover and retrieving The Little Lady on a trailer from St Neots public slipway as Debbie has her last day at Little Paxton School. News f Dad and his tests for suspected stones, Geoffrey Archer wins his court case despite damning testimony, the Herald of Free Enterprise management and officers are roundly criticised in the enquiry and a compromise is reached over the ‘Spy-catcher’ book reporting
A nice reunion with Di in bed last night and, both warm after on a chilly night, we slept soundly enough. No company for my morning tea, which was a blessing, then down, after my preparations, to find that the others were already eating before 7.45am! Just cereal for breakfast and after I got Daniel to help me put the swimming pool to bed. We vacuumed the bottom, cleaned out the filters and then back-flushed the sand filter to remove all vegetative material from the system. Then I added a large quantity of granular chlorine to the water, packed chlorine pills in the skimmer basket and added plenty of algaecide to prevent the pool going green while we are away.