30th July 2011 - The craft workshop

I walk Penny to the station and then go directly to the site as I'm booked to do 'button fenders' in the craft workshops at 1030. On the way in I'm spotted and thanked for the job I did last night, no problem says me, it was a good laugh! Then I get four bottles of beer as a thank you, need any more help I said! I've arrived ten minutes early and queue to enter the site. I discover that the people in front of me had their propeller fall off on the way, so they've finished the journey by train! I only ever joked about this happening and didn't think it possible, time to check mine I think? I grab a bacon roll and a coffee and get stuck in.

I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Dave Walker was running the workshop, the same guy that I did a side fender with last year, and that's still hanging up down the back! I'm really pleased with this, it's better than the one fitted to the boat! But my arms ache, it took four hours (the workshop was supposed to be only three!) and I had a lot of help with the finishing off. Mine was the second one to be finished, I suspect Dave wanted to get away! I went over to the beer tent, I was supposed to be on duty, but sod that, I needed beer. While I was beering up, I realised I also had to carry the bloody thing back to the boat! And the beer! On a wonderful hot, sunny day.

One thing I did notice while 'beering up' was that bthe festival was lookinjg very busy. I was pleased as I thought last year was a bit quiet, still nothing next year due to olympics, for which I didn't get any tickets, then apparently Newbury in 2013, looking forward to planning a journey there already!

I get back to the boat and take up my harbour master duties with gusto by sitting on the back drinking the beer and having lunch, it was 1630. I deliver the last newsletter to 'my' boats and resume sitting, it's more pleasant now as the sun's dropped behind the trees. A little bit of sorting out, some chilli for dinner, take a photo of this passing by:

It's a scale model working boat towing a canoe with Bolinder engine noise that sounds just like the real thing, it's a great piece of work. Now to update the blog!!