WINTER MAINTEANCE

With VIP (Very Important People) visitors coming from Germany and Sweden in June it is time to start some serious boat maintenance! There is nothing boat owners love better than getting into their boiler suits, getting out the oily rag and the Black and Decker equipment and, finally, having the tranny going in the background!

A cuppa is the First Step and the next step is The Snagging List. So today we paid a visit to Seol-na-Mara to start on the clean-up, clear-up and what do we need to do now? A new engine is on the cards; sails have to be repaired; sail-bags to be washed and so on.

With sun shining in to the cockpit, it was time for the Marigolds. [For the benefit of our non-British friends, Marigolds are housewive's rubber gloves - see the blue ones in the photo.]

There have been many Marigold Cruises in my time. Today I was securely tied to the dock with a cup of coffee in my hand and, thankfully, horizontal while I dived into the lockers and had a look at the cooker (yuk).

It was very cold but if you sat in the corner of the cockpit there was warmth in the sunshine! I was being very careful getting on and off not to fall in ... through the ... ICE!

And lastly let it be known that our lovely presents received from Piggy and her owner are now being put to good use. This is the Sail Repair Bag. Very Smart. Piggy has Excellent Taste!

STY-LISH SEWING

With sun streaming through the oriel window I was happy to bask in it as long as I had something to do. (I am a fidgit otherwise....)


When my mother died 5 years ago Alastair and I packed up her wonderful Bernina sewing machine (bought in the 1970s when things were made of metal, not plastic). I brought it home on one of my Globespan trips from Vancouver airport. I recall I had to pay a bit for excess baggage but arrived safely having spent the journey in the cargo hold.

This machine is a joy to operate! While it feels 'Clyde built' it actually is made in Switzerland. So it is on with the Running Repairs, e.g. Mairi's chiffon skirt in need of repair in several places.

That skirt turned out to be a pig of a job ... Oops, sorry Piggy!... that was a Freudian slip. Piggy has made an entrance here as he has become part of my story-telling life for 2 year olds. (You can tell I have been 'reading' Richard Scarry books to wee Ishie! At the moment it is Goldbug we spend our time hunting for on each page!)

This Bernina runs very successfully by using a transformer to change the 110v system to 220v. At first I couldn't get the machine to work, but a man who deals with sewing machines (Glasgow Road, Edinburgh, 2004) tested this machine and the problem was not the electrics; it was the foot pedal cable (not secure). Replacing the foot pedal cable sorted everything once and for all.

THE BRIDGE MEETING

Having a Bad Hair Day? Running late for you appointment? Or maybe running early for an assignation?! So was this fellow...

My reaction was "Oh my Gawd!"

Iain's was "M-m-m-m ... the bridge stood up well!"
(It appears to be a lifting bridge.)

Later:
John over at Clydesights here (or click on it in the right-hand side bar) contacted me to say that the story of this incident can be read here. It took place in the Welland Canal (Canada) and appears that the pilot on the boat thought he was doing fine until the bridge, instead of continuing its lift, went into reverse. (Well, any driver of species-not-to-be-named knows that these things can happen....!)

CELTIC CONNECTIONS

Iain and I spent a wonderful hour today in the Strathclyde Suite of the Glasgow Concert Hall where Mairearad Green was performing. This young player (accordion, pipes) from Achiltibuie had been commissioned under the New Voices scheme to compose something for Celtic Connections. And I am here to say it was very high calibre!

She chose (and lead) a fine line-up of musicians who performed her music which I think could be described as Celtic Fusion. She engaged with the audience immediately upon walking on the to stage - believe me a lot of performers do not - and it was music happily played (smiling faces mostly without music; she had no music) and enthusiastically received.

While they played non-stop for 45 minutes - good linking between pieces too, i.e. some fast and some slow all mixed with good key changes - there was a slide show .... no, I mean a Powerpoint video show ... going on behind them on the back wall of the stage. These photos of mine are similar to what was being shown. In fact, the title of the performance was called 'Passing Places' which is what the above photo shows. Well, it shows the sign on the lower right.

Piggy has a walk-on part in this Photoshop Mini-performance as he was recently in Achiltibuie (and he thinks he can sing). He and the sheep were doing their 3/4 time Summer Isles Serenade: "Baa, baa, Oink"! What was a Pig from Vancouver doing in Wester Ross? Well, that is where Iain's father's people are from; yes, Mairearad is a far-out relation. Yes, we know ... they are are all related and, indeed, lots of folk were in the hall so it was meeting-and greeting time. (Piggy ... you missed that!)