And More Exciting News...

...my youngest son and his girlfriend have just announced that they too are expecting a child in January, just three weeks later than my other son's wife.   Whoopee, grandchildren really are like buses, you wait for ages and then they all come along at once!  I can see that Christmas 2015 is going to be very expensive, I wonder if they will accept babysitting vouchers in lieu of a present.  This is going to be like having twin grandchildren.  Actually it is rather lovely.  My sons are all very close and best friends, so it will be great that their children are similar ages and can all play together and grow up together.  You can't beat family at the end of the day.

Scarlett and Exciting News

I haven't shown you a picture of Scarlett for a while, so here she is, quite a stunner.  I don't think I have ever met such a happy child.  She laughs, sings and dances from the moment she wakes up.  She is crawling, pulling herself up and is constantly chatting is that wonderful scribble talk that young children do.  Best of all is when she sees me her face beams with a great big smile and she lifts her arms up for kisses and cuddles, life doesn't get better than that...

Oh but wait it does ... my second son Stuart and his lovely wife Kerry have announced that their first child is due in January.  I am just as excited about this new arrival and can't wait to meet my second grandchild.  There may be disadvantages to getting older, but the arrival of grandchildren is one heck of a benefit!

Engine and Stuff

 

 

My blogger pals, Val and Mel, expressed an interest in our engine.  So here it is in all its glory.  It is a reconditioned Slanzi engine, 42hp, air cooled,  Italian made and was installed by the film company that hired the barge, along with the rudder and helm.  Apparently it only had clocked up 100 hours, but we cannot confirm that.  All we know is that everytime Pete goes to start it up, it always jumps in to action immediately. When Pete sailed the barge down from Ipswich to Tollesbury the engine performed beautifully, though Billy spent the whole trip in the engine room to ensure it ran smoothly (mind you it was the warmest place on the barge in early November, so he wasn't daft volunteering for that job).  I am hoping that Mel can add some more technical details now he has seen it. The engine room is actually quite large and the engine looks a little lost in the middle, but there is plenty of room for Pete to store more of his stuff.

I dropped in that little bit about the film company and I ought to explain.  Before we bought it and mucked around with the barge, it was hired by a film company to use in a film called 'Young Adam' starring Ewan Mcgregor and Tilda Swinton.  The film was a 'film noir' based around life on a working barge.  It was a very dark and intense film but there are some good shots of Ewan's bottom!  Of course we had to buy the DVD because it starred our barge, but I can't say it is the best film I have ever seen.

Help Please

Okay I wanted duck egg blue gel coat and I got a baby blue instead, which apparently couldn't be taken back (don't ask I won't bore you with the domestic issue!). My dilemma now is what colour to put with it.  I'm thinking a really deep, rich red, but I don't want it to end up looking like we're Westham fans.  Any ideas or suggestions?

Today we got a gift from mum and dad, a lovely table and chair set.  Doesn't it look lovely on what we affectionately call the patio.