A thunderstorm has just finished. Not unusual for those in the Caribbean, but we had one-inch hailstones, and Sonia has just gone out to count the dents in the car.
This month was canal and river month. We've been for a super trip on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. One of the most depressing sights was the gilt lettering on one of the balance beams of a lock gate that had apparently been authorised by the new trust that has replaced British Waterways, and seems to be run by amateurs with no idea of management, especially that of the financial variety. Go to http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/art-and-the-canal-and-river-trust/locklines-bringing-poetry-to-the-waterways
where you will see the poetry carved on the gate - lettering which has now been gilt, presumably with gold leaf, and which I was told has cost over £100,000! And yet the next four locks all have major defects in the paddle and other equipment which the Trust say they cannot afford to do, and which is resulting in a loss of water. About which the Trust is warning boaters.
However, we had a great few days on the Lady Teal - go to http://www.ladyteal.co.uk/ for details. What you pay is all you have to pay for. Complimentary wine at lunch and dinner, and free spirits and beer at other time, and transfers from car to boat, or back, is all in the price. And really good food, done by an expert.
Then home and another trip - this time in the Medway from Allington lock to Maidstone and back with Tonbridge Rotary. You se a part of Maidstone that few people know exists, but that is the way with boat trips.
Other highlights this month have been lunch with old friends from school at the Skinners Arms in St Pancras, and Sonia's ladies lunch for 34 local ladies. It was to be at the village pub, but it has closed for refurbishment by Sir Keith Mills, who is one of our neighbours, and who has bought it from Enterprise Inns as he thinks he can do a better job than they can, and everyone is sure that he is right. One of the stories is that when they went in they found that it was so neglected that there was a tree growing out of a bedroom window! Sonia's lunch therefore had to be relocated, to a marquee in our garden. The weather was brilliant, and they got through a fair amount of Chablis, and the noise could be heard in Speldhurst, which is some miles away. It was her way of saying thank you to the local ladies who have welcomed her to the village and who play tennis and bridge, among other things.
We also had an interesting trip to a reception at the Nomura building, which is on the north bank of the Thames next to Cannon Street Station. There are pictures of the office building on the web, and the party was on the roof, again with brilliant weather. The views were spectacular, with the Shard, which is not everyone's favourite, right opposite, but far enough away to fit in with the general view.
All in all, then, a good social month, with lots of visits to pubs with friends.
Jokes are a bit thin on the ground, but there have been some good links. Try
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Dxy4n0UT82o?rel=0
and this, for a geography lesson:
http://www.flixxy.com/the-bizarre-border-between-canada-and-the-united-states.htm
And finally,
As someone says; "A Puerto Rican, a South Korean
and New Yorker walk into a Bar and..."
It sounds like the beginning of a silly joke - but
it's not.... It is something MUCH
better!
Have a good month!
