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Back to Paxton Princess at Barnes in Wroxham after an early start, mopping off the ice and water, sorting out a working anti-corrosion anode and fitting the corner fenders and bathing platform planks. Also installing the PC Maritime application and speaking to Matthew about my spurs and davits as they repainted the anti-foul.
Up at 6.00am with Diana and then off to Norfolk within forty-five minutes. Surprisingly, there was quite a bit of traffic on the road going to Cambridge. It seems that many of the office-workers get into work before 8.00am to avoid the rush of cars and so it is not easy to get past before them. I had a relatively straightforward journey, apart from the traffic, and arrived at around 8.45am just as most of the Barnes Brinkcraft workers were getting there. I spent ages mopping down the boat of all of the ice and water so that it would be ready for varnishing later.
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More leisurely day recovering at home and just driving over to LH Jones in St Ives for some corner fenders for Paxton Princess. A poor ‘appearance’ for John Major the 50th anniversary edition of Desert Island Disks with an even poorer selection of music which admittedly, sent him to sleep when he first heard it!
Later consulting Percy with regard to my no-holds-barred letter to Michael asking him to remain as a councillor for a further year if he wanted me to do the same.
A nice lay in but still time to get dressed and have a morning shave before my traditional fried breakfast. Then to catch up on the newspapers of the last two days. I had high expectations of learning a lot from the quarterly Financial Times review of personal investment, but it was of little use which at least confirms the knowledge I already have. Out this morning to feed the doves and backflush the filter and then I put on a second coat of teak oil on to the bathing platform slats and drove off to L.H. Jones to buy a couple of corner fenders to replace the old ones on the boat.
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A struggle to get up and going in the freezing cold breeze from the Arctic and, after giving Debbie a lift to the bus stop, I drove Wroxham and Barnes to start working on the Paxton Princess. The river was frozen and the frost was thick and dampness hampering my work on the rubbing strakes, but I removed the bathing platform slats to take home.
Some time measuring the hull whilst it was out of the water before driving back to sand and coat the slats before a well-earned and warming bath! The Tories are cock-a-hoop because their recent attacks on Labour taxation plans have led to them winning a marginal lead on the see-saw of opinion polls
A little later up as a concession to my physical well-being. These very early sessions in freezing weather are quite intolerable even though there comes some satisfaction from achieving things. Breakfast with the family and then I left for Norfolk around 8.20am, in time to give Debbie a lift to the bus stop as the weather was really very cold. Not much breeze - just cold air from the Arctic. My journey went well but I took my time in view of the conditions, arriving in Wroxham around two hours later. The frost was still very thick and so I thought that I would do my shopping and have something to eat and drink first before working through to dusk and my departure.
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Steve Bloom joined me for a day trip to Heronshaw and the Paxton Princess which was delayed by problems with delivery of my new Howard Hayle rope cutters. Upon arrival in Horning, we still collected the boat and took it to Barnes Brinkcraft and they lifted it out for us to do some scraping and sanding of the rubbing strakes. Home to Paxton for a couple of hours with the family before bedtime.
Up very early at 6.00am, worried that Steven would arrive fifteen minutes later and catch me not being ready. I need not have worried as he had overslept and did not arrive until three quarters of an hour later. By this time, I had loaded up the Range Rover to be all ready to go and we set off for Bar Hill. There was disappointment that the cutters had not arrived. We were advised to wait a while and so ate a hearty breakfast at the nearby Little Chef before returning to find them still not there. We pre-occupied ourselves with trying to load up the new P.C. Maritime Wayplan charts but found that they had either sent the wrong ones or that the installation programme was faulty.
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