Where is the year going?

Today is the 21st August and I can honestly say that I don't know where the year is going, it is flying by at a what seems like a rare rate of knots, it wont be long before it is the end of the cruising season and we start to put boats to bed for the winter, we have already started to consider what winter fuels we will be ordering for this winter season, we order a large quantity at this time of year to save on the winter price increase thus allowing us to keep our prices at a very competitive rate, this year we reckon that we might be selling even more as I heard the other day that Orwells the coal merchants at Market Drayton have now finished, they used to have their wharf right next to the canal just outside of Drayton but it is now empty according to my source, I must go and have a look and verify it for myself.

Not a busy day again today, three day boats out first thing, a few boats on and off the wharf for services, Mick went off to a breakdown on one of our hire boats that had a broken control cable, once he sorted that out he then went to another boat to remove the gearbox, fortunately this was a private boat! Then he went cross country to another one of our hire boats that had broken down, although I do think that it was a problem that the person on board had caused! The phones have been busy today and seem to have rung all day long which has kept Ange, Denise and my self busy as well as looking after the customers in the shop and the tearoom. I have had the chance to do some stock reordering, at this time of year that in its self can be a full time job, even though it has been a quietish year the stock still sells just not at the same rate as if times were normal, when the climate changes for the better I think I will have to employ someone just to stock the shop in the summer!

The day boats have started to return now so thats it from me for today, I need to go and rescue them all again.
Simon