It dropped cold in the night. According to Eddie it was -1°C and I can quite believe it. Fred had ice that he had to scrape from his windscreen and I must admit that I had to go back for a jumper when I took Annie out for a walk this morning. Apparently it's going to be another cool one tonight. It is a nice sight as you look up and down the canal to see smoke belching from chimneys, a sure sign that the colder nights are upon us already...

It's been all go here today! Some of the hire boats had already returned when I came to work this morning. No sooner were we in the office and the dayboaters had arrived and the rest of the hire boats were back. The basin was alive with boats. At the same time it seemed that all the private boats set off from the visitor moorings. There were boats here there and everywhere, but we soon got them all organised and where they should be.

Mick has been doing some odd jobs on a boat that we have had on the dry dock - fitting fenders, resealing roof prisms, fitting new batteries. All the sort of jobs that are much easier to do when the boat is undercover. Fred and Will went down first thing to finish the blacking off on the boat on the dock and then turned the hire fleet around. Mrs. Handbag and Sarah have been cleaning the boats, whilst Joyce has been manning reception. Ange has started making a full set of curtains for a boat owned by one of our regular customers. Denise has done a fantastic job of manning the tea room today, mostly on her own. I know that she is totally knackered when she went home, but her hard work is greatly appreciated and I will be taking her for a stiff drink shortly, just to say thank-you! 

Best regards,

David.