A bit of extra boating before the storm

Waking at seven this morning, I checked the weather forecast whilst making the tea. The bad weather was now not due until lunchtime, so we took an executive decision* to get going and do a bit more before it closed in.

Sheila steered while I ate breakfast after which I took over. Down Sandon Lock we went and past the offside moorings at Salt. As we approached Weston at around half ten it was starting to drizzle and the wind was coming up, so we called it a day just after Bridge 81, the one near Ingestre Hall.

There’s just a bit of old fashioned concrete piling that’s clearly been someone’s lurking spot, as bits of chain and rope have been persuaded past the railway style waling. It meant rather a square tie, but it’ll do to sit out the storm. The important thing is that we’re clear of the trees; severe wind at this time of year can wreak havoc with trees still largely in full leaf.

It started to rain in earnest as we got tied; I’ve lit the Squirrel and we’ve spent the day pottering, looking up the answers we couldn’t get in yesterday’s Independent GK crossword, buying this month’s Kindle books and the like.

It’s not all been pleasure; Sheila wrote and mail merged a request for insurance quotes for Walnut Lodge and we’ve started the process of identifying preferred suppliers for the soft furnishings, crockery and cutlery. The big item is the three piece suite; Pinelog said that they couldn’t beat the prices of the furniture warehouses for that, so a visit to DFS or similar is indicated in the very near future.

Delivery on large furniture can be as much as six weeks; everything else will only take a few days either to be delivered or to collect.

At present, the main contenders for our custom for the other stuff seem to be Argos and Amazon.

Goulash for dinner tonight, I think; it’s that sort of day.

*I.e. taken in a hurry.