Ready to move house

Continued to burn, dump and pack household stuff ready for the move next Friday. Rubbish TV in the evening. Liberal Party Conference season. Can't claim total credit for the following but.......

The Liberal Democrats have shocked political observers with a, for once, honest assessment of their electoral chances. It left them voting to ‘go home and not bother any more.’

In the past the party has had a reputation for avoiding spin, and many delegates had felt uncomfortable about continually pretending they were ever going to form a government.

‘We’re all wasting our time. We know it, you know it, everyone knows it’ said leader Menzies Campbell to applause from the conference floor.

In the bars around the conference, there was a sense of relief and liberation that delegates could finally say out loud what they had all been thinking for years.

‘We tried to look convincing when we said we would ‘shatter the smug consensus of the big two parties and win!’ said one West Country councillor. ‘But if we were trying to be honest we should have said ‘we were going to take a few votes off the others and then come a poor third. I mean it’s not much of a cause to devote your entire life to is it?’

At a ‘Liberals for the Environment’ fringe meeting the mood was the same; ‘Having taken the decision to carbon off-set the conference, we thought ‘Wouldn’t it be more carbon-neutral just not to have a conference at all?’ Wouldn’t it save more trees, and paper and everything just to stay at home and muck around on ebay?’

Other delegates were looking forward to doing evening classes or learning to play the piano. ‘I have spent every weekend for years stuffing leaflets through letter boxes and ringing on doorbells’ said one activist. ‘I might just have a lie-in on Saturday and then go shopping.’

However one small group of die-hard Liberals have announced their determination to carry on. The breakaway splinter group calling themselves ‘the Continuity / Provisional Liberal Party’ held a press conference to announce their intention to break the mould of traditional three party politics. ‘For too long Labour, Tory and the old Liberal Democrats ran a convenient little cartel that was short-changing the British voters’ they declared to groans from journalists. ‘We will shatter that cosy conspiracy and form the next government of Britain! Actually we won’t, will we? Let’s go to the pub instead.’

Getting to be a habit?

Air Sea Rescue Practice from our balcony

Had lunch and went down to the club to check out how Mabel had fared overnight. I think someone had sorted her out as there was another little boat tied up alongside. Good to know that people care enough to look after things for you in the dead of night (high tide was about 2am this morning) but I suppose that's yachty types for you.

Instead of just moving her along to the correct berth, as the weather was so wonderful, and I didn't have anything better to do anyway, I decided to go for a little trip up the coast. Found a vacant buoy and tied up for an hour or so to do some tidying-up after yesterdays hurried end to the day.


That done, back to the mooring. Making an excellent job of going astern into a slot only a couple of inches wider than Mabel and the bloody mobile rings. Just about to blast the wife and tell her (as tactfully as I could manage - which isn't very much) that I would ring back when I didn't have my hands full. It turned out to be the safety officer at the club.


"There's a yellow Pico dingy in trouble just across the way from you, would you mind bringing him back to shore?"


Mobiles are rapidly replacing all previous forms of comms. Obviously we still need Marine Channel 16 for emergencies but there may be a time when someone even fixes this shortfall.


Dragged the dingy back to base, made another exemplary reverse approach, (I know -sad isn't it) tied up, cleaned up and home for tea. Another perfick day.

The Naze Cliffs

A friend-in-need is a Bloody Nuisance

Arrived at the Beach House around 14:30 and, as the tide was in, decided to go for a quick sail (motor actually - new mast not yet fitted).

Went round the island and saw the seals (nearly went aground as I couldn't see the marker twigs).

On the way back (pushing it a bit to get back before I ran out of water) just off Stone Point (where these pics were taken), answered the call of two Pico dinghy sailors (dad and daughter in one, mum in the other) who were struggling and obviously wouldn't get back to the harbour before low tide.

Took them in tow rafted alongside Mabel so the rest of journey had to be quite slow.

Landed them alongside the clubhouse but couldn't get into my own berth.

Dragged Mabel up onto the mud and tied up (untidily) in someone elses slot, had a pint and went home for tea. Must get back there early tomorrow to check that everything is still OK.