In which John seriously overdoes it and Jackie saves the day. Again.

We have both been working our socks of without remit over this 'holiday'.

For the first time ever, I have missed the presence of a son in his early twenties to help spread the load.

But I was way too slow off the mark in the fatherhood stakes, and even if I hadn't been, any child of mine would doubtless have been as idle, feckless, disinterested and generally useless as I was at that age.......

Anyway, the new Guidance Notes, (rulebook) for our mooring at The Parish led to a race for compliance over the Easter break.

We all had to get our sheds sorted so firewood from the no longer allowed pallet bunkers could be stored there.

Having worked my usual 37 1/2 hour week over four days at The Hole-Making Shop, I was tired before I started.

After three days solid of sawing, chopping, barrowing, bunker dismantling, countless trips to the tip, shed sorting, possession culling, and more trips to Emmaus dropping off the stuff that didn't make the cut, I was almost hysterical with fatigue.

Yesterday tea-time, my lovely Mum rang to wish us a Happy Easter and let me have a word with my sister and no. 2 neice, who were visiting.

I gabbled on about what a wretched time we were having for quite some time.....

(Did I mention that the flat decorating had been held in abeyance while I got the mooring rules compliance issues sorted, so I still have all that to look forward to, and that on Saturday afternoon, our water pump packed up. So we had no running water on board.)

Okay, so I didn't actually burst into tears, but it was close.......

It was Jackie, of course, who saved the day.

Yet again.

While I continued to reduce the size of The Stealth Woodpile and put up shelves in one of my two sheds, (the better to condense the contents of two into one, freeing the other up for bulk wood-storage duties), Jackie phoned Jones's Chandlery in St. Ives, established they were:
a) open
b) had a water pump
drove over there, purchased same, then fitted it with barely a pause.

Oh, and picked up 80 litres of red diesel while she was at it....

By five o'clock yesterday, we were both sitting down enjoying a cup of tea while quietly aching all over, when Mum rang.....

So sorry Mum, for wibbling hysterically, but it has been a rather busy Easter.....

Jackie had to go to work today, as she's editing a telly programme that needs her help. However, she told me in no uncertain terms to go back to sleep this morning. I woke up again at midday.........

I've spent the rest of the day in a bit of a daze, really, but have managed one more trip to the tip and had a little bit of a shop for groceries.

I have however, had a good chat with our landlord, who was horrified at the idea that I thought I had to re-home 20-odd tons of sycamore cordwood.

The Stealth Woodpile is fine by him, as it really is well camouflaged, and is unlikely to excite the interest of the brainless nimbys from the village who have been making trouble for him and us.

So that's a relief.

Not that my efforts were wasted, though.

I was very conscious that it might appear to my boater neighbours that there was one rule for them and quite another for me as regards firewood: an untenable position, I'm sure you'll agree.

No, the work done will help reduce the size of The Stealth Woodpile, making it stealthier yet, while I, like everyone else, have cleared a shed to make way for wood, as per Guidance Notes.

Early doors tonight, as I'm up and at 'em again making holes in stuff at 0700hrs tomorrow.

Happy Easter, everyone!