Splish!!!

well it happened, finally. not to me though, to my better half Andy.
he fell in the river!!!

not off the boat i hasten to add, and he wasn't pushed either - he's made a camp in the next field along from us where we walk Loki. it's a brilliant camp actually, it has woven wood 'walls' and a roof topped with dried reeds like a thatch. he has used fallen wood to make seats and built a little fire pit, and its front 'wall' is open to the river. it's the kind of place i would have loved to have as a kid, and there is indeed evidence that it has been used by other people.
so andy was sitting on his precarious branch by the bank facing inwards chatting to me and gently bouncing........i saw the whole thing coming - the branch snapped and he unceremoniously backwards rolled down the short but steep bank into the river. he did get a proper wetting, and i laughed my arse off all the way home.
boaters baptism.

bless 'im - he was always falling out of trees as a kid - at least the only thing hurt this time was his ego. :-)

and we got a baby boat too, with a small outboard motor - mike and rachel came over this evening and andy and rach went for a little row ( didn't put on the outboard) while mike and i enjoyed the evening sunshine and the countryside - there was a barn owl hunting before dusk in the field by the boat. it's really lovely to live out of doors.

on a more serious note for anyone who's interested, andy put up the folding table given to us from his mum's caravan. it makes a huge difference in the living area. but we had to live in the space for a long time before we finally decided how we wanted it to be - we've rebuilt the sofa 3 times, made it higher and longer, got different cushions etc. the freesatanding table and swivel chair are long gone. this boat really is a work in progress and i don't know if it'll ever get finished.
it's license time, so we posted a cheque for £717 of our hard earned a couple of days ago. on the upside, since we moved to woodford we have been on mains hook up electricity, running a 240v fridge freezer, a washing machine, a tv and various hair straightening implements. since 21st feb we have used £12 worth of electrickery.
now i reckon that's a bargain!!