A Day of Maintenance and the Next Sail

Black Panther

Playground

Rubber Duck


I had some idea how the day would pan out: first I would feed my daughter’s cats, which entails a total journey 21 miles by car; next I would hang out the washing; then I would pump up the inflatable dinghy and wash her with fresh water; afterwards I would check my Ebay items for sale; then I would have two new tyres put on the rear wheels of the car because the old ones have become threadbare; while that was being done I would shop for two weights to replace those that had failed on the vertical blinds in the front bedroom; afterwards I would sew them into the blinds. When lunch was over, I would go to the Post Office to find out how much the postage would be for sending an Ebay parcel to Malta; then I would iron the washing that would have dried in the morning, and so this day of maintenance would continue until doing my Blog etc..


That is in fact how the day turned out. The fine weather helped, because quite a few of my activities were in the open.


“You’re retired, aren’t you? What do you do all day long?” they ask. Just wait until you are in your seventies and you’ll know what you do to keep up with things; it’s not simply whiling away your time. Each new day, the clock hands spin around faster and faster - there never is enough time to do everything you want to do. In order to keep on top of jobs that need doing, I find myself waking at 0600, but for the next couple of days the forecast is for heavy showers, which may prevent me from doing things in the garden that I have prioritized. I need to cut the front hedge, trim another at the back of the house, remove heavy parts of a felled tree to our local dump, and get rid of piles of droppings from fir trees at the bottom of the back garden. Then I have to sort out odds and ends that have accumulated in the garage and pack them in such a way that I can walk in and out without having to negotiate an obstacle course.


There are never-ending tasks that need doing, and if time can be found for sailing; then it’s off to ‘Ladybird’ for more games with the wind and tide – plus healthy exercise while enjoying the scenery and at the same time becoming part of it. The sailor, his boat and the elements combine, sometimes in peaceful poetic harmony, and at other times battles are waged until victors are found.


The weather looks to improve for this coming Saturday, and if it does, will I make the right gambit at the outset of the game of chess that may unfold on the waters of the River Crouch? High water will be at 1627 – just right for an afternoon sail up the River towards Fambridge, if the wind will allow it.