Another sunny Saturday

I'm glad that Simon has posted a few pictures of his passage through Drayton rockin' that he took yesterday. Crafty chap managed to sneak off and go boating whilst I was stuck in the office :-(... I was going to delete the picture of him sitting back and relaxing in rather deeper water than we are used to, but instead I thought I'd show you a picture of me out boating enjoying myself. I'll dig something out and post them at the end of today's blog.

Anyway, back to Norbury. The sun is shining but it's another cold day today. There was a thin skim of ice across the basin again this morning when I came to work.

All of the staff are busy in their separate areas either getting the boats and the yard ready for the forthcoming season or looking after the customers who come through our doors.

Ange looks after all of our holiday bookings, accounts and house keeping of the boats/shop/holiday cottage. She is a very valued part of the team here at Norbury and works very closely alongside Simon and myself. Simon managed to catch her unawares during the week and got a picture of her. So here you go; a picture, so you know who we are talking about.


Mandy is working her way through the fleet completing the spring cleaning. That's only after Mick, Bernard and Paul have finished their own separate jobs on each boat though. That saves dirt off of the yard being walked back through on the carpets. No matter how careful you are it still seems to find it's way in!

Mick has just finished installing two new toilets into Sphynx, which I must say do look smart. (I don't know, when talking boats you always end up talking about toilets!). He is now doing some maintenance around the yard before he flies off to Australia on Monday morning.

Bernard has finished the engine service on Sovereign Lady and is now in the process of fitting a T-stud to the centre of the cabin top on Ember. (Yes, even the best of us forget things on occasions! haha...).

Poor old Fred has been working down in the dry dock and has been complaining bitterly about the cold today! He has now finished all the painting works required on Sandpiper which will be floated out of the dock tomorrow. He is still out in the cold... pumping Phantom and Phoenix out as they have just come back in after being out on hire.

The tearoom has had a steady flow of customers today, enjoying a warm cuppa and a slice of home made cake. Jay does do a good job of looking after our customers and it's looking very homely and inviting.


And finally me. We'll I've been doing "David things" as Simon calls them! The sale of Sandrella was completed this week, so I have been sorting out payments and paperwork for that. There's always endless paperwork to do and emails to answer but most importantly I've been keeping an eye on what everyone is up to, to ensure that the jobs are prioritised and completed on time.

Here you go. Here's a picture of me on holiday.

Early morning coffee, heading up the Thames. August 2010.
© Lawrence Williams.

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Until tomorrow.

Regards,

David.