Sunday 28 January 2018

The Presidents' Men




Hi everybody and welcome to this latest blog-it's been a while but you know how it is over Christmas and the New Year-then suddenly we are half way thorough January and nowt's been written for weeks.
With Ady and Roy in the Lamb on the 15th December which was a chance to send birthday wishes to Carrie Dodgyhogg in Orkney
Anyway we'll start writing and see what happens.
Part of my my problem-a major part- is I'm not a winter person a  situation that gets 
progressively  worse every winter.
The weather has been crap-a meteorological term for intermittent snow, scrotum freezing cold and persistent bloody rain
Snow in December! Not unusual but Not impressed. The path on the mooring has been a bugger-very slippery and muddy. Ady's boat "Moorhen" had a good covering.


as did Independence

and everybody else


I came across this
A Christmas Eve party...
Santa and his helpers
"William Jellis, landlord of the Cow Roast Inn, near Northchurch, was charged 'that he did open and expose to be drawn by dice for possession of a pig and two bottles of spirits on Dec. 24th;' also with permitting gaming on his licensed premises. Mr. Penny... for the defence... pleaded guilty to keeping a lottery... very different from keeping a gaming house... [it] was a Christmas-eve raffle, and an error only. The defendant had kept the house respectably for nine years. Case dismissed, costs £1:0:6." (Bucks Herald, Feb 1887)


A Ghostly Santa visits the neighbours
Apart from the fact that times have changed in that the police don't give a toss (sorry) about gaming in pubs anymore the idea of a publican keeping a pub for nine years is laughable especially if that pub is the Cow Roast where over the last 30 years there has been more landlords than customers. In fact the idea of "career" publicans has all but disappeared.
Rumours abound as to the future of the pub-lap dancing/creche/private house but nothing concrete-except for the horrid anti-pikey blocks around the site.
However one little glimmer of hope-the dreaded Punch Taverns who are struggling have sold many of their premises to Heineken and a search of their Star Pubs Portfolio shows the Cowroast with a note that details are available from Punch until 4th March when the premises pass to Star pubs. Could be good news-who knows.
Here's some good news!


Yay! Snowdrops on the moorings  showing we are in the arse end of Winter.....but I haven't finished with  New Year yet.
Just a few pictures... not too onerous



New Year on board Panther












.and of course I had a lovely birthday with a thriller mystery at Windsor Theatre Royal followed by dinner-thank you Pam and a lunch at the New Akash with 20 chums

 





And CAKE!!!!!!










So what's been exercising your mind of late?
I love a new word and frottage is my best so far for 2018. As is often the case I heard it on that great educator Radio 4 during a discussion on the current popular topic of sexual harassment. Had you heard the word before? You're probably an innocent in these matters as am I. It has two meanings:-

  1. the technique or process of taking a rubbing from an uneven surface to form the basis of a work of art.
  2. .
    the practice of touching or rubbing against the clothed body of another person in a crowd as a means of obtaining sexual gratification.

Well I never. I know so little about art......Great word though.
Sounds like a cheese or  similar.

I suppose frottage brings us on to the subject of the President's Club and the goings on at the Dorchester. Now I know I'm a bit unworldly in matters of wealthy gatherings, hostesses and such but I don't know of any woman  that would have turned up at this gathering expecting that behaviour would  be the most seemly. Call me a sexist pig but if someone offers me 150 quid plus a cab home and then tells me to wear  my shortest skirt and black underwear  I think I might have thought there is a decision to be made here between the dosh and a good night out or stay at home safe and secure. Not saying it's right but that's how it is.Mind you anybody that thinks I'd be worth groping in my little black number would be a peculiar cove. But as the whole sodding economy seems to be run by peculiar inbred coves who knows. What was Peter (Lord) Mandelson doing there. Corbyn fired him afterwards but surely the loathsome Mandy is gay as a coot so the hostesses won't  have been for him to grope/ogle (Google?). Maybe he was looking for a cheap mortgage-he has previous on that. They're were obviously lots of high powered rich types there and their collective presence  I find  more disturbing than that some women copped 150 quid and the price of a cab home and then  decided they'd been harassed cos it said so in the Financial Times. Any suggestions for a collective noun for a gathering such as the President's Club? How about "A Squalour"? Any others?

Anyway all sorts of parliamentary types got embarrassed  for being there and are now "disqualourfied".
The sad thing is the do was for charity though looking at the sorts that were there if they all paid their taxes and stayed at home the net good would have been the same. I don't think the charities should have returned the money-if they need it what the hell and it doesn't improve the place of women in our world one jot.

To other matters.
Below you see the picture of Ady manning the pump. The pump is attached to the pump out in the marina. He is hoping to empty the toilet holding  tank on Moorhen prior to removing it from the boat. (He has two).
The tank is out now-awaiting collection by the scrap man. It took three if us to get it off the boat and manhandle it down to the gate. Suffice to say when you pay for a pump-out don't for a moment assume this means the tank will be empty afterwards...........

Thanks to Geoff H for his stirling assistance.
The scrap man says he will return for the tank.....we'll see.
====================

I'm hoping to start work on reclaiming Independence come the Spring assuming my level of fitness is a bit higher than at present. She really does need a repaint and internally the kitchen and loo areas need a refurb. I've also got my Safety Inspection in April so that all gets rid of a few bob. Looks like my fire extinguishers will be past it so off to IKEA I'm told.

Ikea whose founder, Ingvar Kamprad has just died (28/01/18) aged 91 was founded when he saw an employee unscrew the legs off a table to fit it in a car. Where I worked that was called thieving but the Swedish are more liberal than us. It is always referred to as suppository furniture hereabouts because you put it up yourself. 
Apart from his involvement with the Nazi movement during and immediately after the war (and which of us can say for certain we wouldn't too)Mr Kamprad seems to have been a force for good providing work worldwide. By all reports he was very frugal so probably wouldn't have been in the President's club.

As I write my engine is running in the background although to be honest she isn't a background noise-music to my ears-but nothing subtle. I found during the week that a refurbished Dorman 3LB just sold for 6k so I thought let's just check she is in better nick than her owner. I am tempted to have a float but the return of my duff knee and the fact Ady is breasted up on my outside means staying put. Ady on Moorhen (66ft) is still waiting on a berth in the marina and has been told if nothing occurs by end of Feb then he'll be classed as a Continuous Cruiser and have to go travelling, thus depriving CRT of a lot of dosh which he pays whilst breasted up to me. So if you hear of 66ft of mooring.....
One of the sillier things I've heard (and I am very pro CRT and their efforts to get dossing boats under control) is that Ady applied for a mooring but was told they wouldn't deal with him till the sale was completed and his boat licensed. Surely CRT should say they and nobody else have any 66' moorings, or indeed, any length. It might put some people off buying.

So I'm staying put and doing some picture framing instead plus hanging the following-a lovely present from Jim and Sue for my birthday. The picture is of the Admiral Class Mountbatten (outside) and on the inside, well, I'm not sure. It doesn't look like Jellicoe but I know advice will be forthcoming. In copying the picture I seem to  have turned the headlight on but it is in fact the flash on my phone.


Anyway, confined to the boat with this *************** knee I just found a can of beer at the back of a cupboard which I will now enjoy whilst watching Jezzer P give the UC contestants grief. Come on! No conferring!




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