Last Day in Blighty

Our last day in Blighty was a long and pleasant one. We didn’t get up until after 9am but were out of the boat before 10. We again walked over the river to the station and headed off to Baker Street. I had located an astronomy store which sold specs for looking at the sun. As we’re hoping to catch the solar eclipse next year, these will be use additions to our inventory.

Next it was off to Oxford Circus to meet Helen’s old (meaning past) traveling friend, Gel, and her daughter Hayley for lunch. We had a pub lunch at the Slug & Lettuce off Regents Street and washed it down with wine and beer.

After Lunch Hayley had to go back to work but Gel stayed with us for an hour or two to carry on the catch up. We sat around admiring the drunks and avoiding (successfully in Gel’s and my case) the pigeon poo in Soho square.

Eventually we had to part ways and say our goodbyes. Helen and I took a long walk to the City passing a lot of our old haunts including the place where we both met at work. We met an old friend of mine, Mark, in Bishopsgate and soon we were back to old times which meant knocking back several beers. Again – it was great to catch up with old friends but eventually we had to again part ways.

Helen and I returned to the boat to pack our bags. Dick was due back shortly after 10pm from his trip to Brussels. He duly arrived on time and as we had not had much time together we went out for a meal (with wine).

We eventually crashed for a short sleep before waking at 5am to head back to Grenada. Dick dropped us off at Clapham Junction railway station and from there we took the train to Gatwick.

Bar some unexpected restrictions on hand luggage weigh the journey was uneventful. Jackie and Mike were there to collect us from the airport. We had made it through customs without a hitch which was fortunate as we had a landrover radiator and parts for their lawnmower, all of which could have triggered undue interest and import taxes.

Mike had to head off in a different direction so Jackie took us back to the boat via a supermarket for some provisions. Back on the boat we had mixed news. There was no evidence of any unexpected entry so the recent c/c issue remains a mystery. All the electrics were fine and the vast bank of batteries nicely topped up with the solar. The fridge came straight on. The boatyard only appears to have done the bottom paint and not some of the other work scheduled. We also discovered that ants have found their way in. It was too late to talk to the yard management about the work as they all close up at 4 it seems so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

For now it’s a bit of unpacking, showering and mainly rest. Tomorrow we get busy getting Dignity ready to go back in the water. Jim from Bees Knees will pop over and bring some of his ant killer. I’ll also seek his oppinion on the work the boatyard hasn’t addressed. We may just leave this until New Zealand. It’s far too hot and we want to get back in the water.