What a busy time we’ve had since the last blog! Our Ford Focus Estate
was sold a few hours before we were to attend the River Wyre Yacht Club laying
up supper in Cleveleys, near Blackpool, which is about 40 miles from our house
in Wrightington. We owe Dave (Yosser) Hughes a big thank you for the lift to
and from the supper. We had a great time meeting up with our yacht club
friends, eating a lovely supper and dancing the night away. We were honoured to
be presented with the Wardley’s Trophy. Thank you RWYC.
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| Ellie's Christening at St Felix's Church, Rendlesham |
The day before we moved house the M6 was closed both ways, which
resulted in our van being in Morecambe instead of Wigan. Consequently, we
started packing up three hours later than planned. After a few hours of frantic
activity, it became clear that we were not going to fit everything in the van
and we would have to make two trips to Suffolk. We shared the driving and made
it to Suffolk in about 5 hours. The next day we unpacked the contents of the van
into our shipping container in Em and Ben’s garden, made a packed lunch and set
off for Lancashire. Jeremy packed and secured the rest of our stuff while I did
the final bits of cleaning in the house. It was strange standing in our empty
house which had been home for nearly 34 years. I was surprised how little
emotion I felt. It’s not the bricks and mortar that make a home, is it? It’s
the people who share the house with you and the familiar items around you that
make a house a home. Without them it’s just an empty shell.
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| Christening Cake. The sailing boat and horse represent the interests of the parents. |
This time we were not so lucky with the traffic and were soon in a
traffic jam only 15 minutes from home. We stopped for an evening meal in a pub
just off the A14 and arrived in Suffolk about 10.30pm. Throughout all this I’d
had a heavy cold followed by a respiratory infection and was taking
antibiotics. “Try to rest,” the doctor had said. The next day we unpacked the
rest of our stuff and returned the van to the depot in Ipswich, swapping it for
a white Hyundai hire car. I fell asleep in the passenger seat on the drive back
to Woodbridge. We had two days left before Ellie’s Christening.
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| Lifesaving fan installed in Sal Darago |
While Emily, Ben and Jeremy prepared the house for 50 guests, I drove
to Gatwick to pick up my Mum and my sister, Pat, who had flown in from the Isle
of Man. The Christening went off very well with an informal family service in
church followed by a buffet lunch at Whispering Pines (Em and Ben’s house). It
was good to see Jeremy’s brothers and their wives along with many Deacon family
members. Four generations were represented as my Mum celebrated the Christening
of her sixth great grandchild.
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| Flaking paint had to be removed from the decks |
So, did we rest in the week that followed before our flight to
Trinidad? No, we went house hunting and managed to view three properties,
putting an offer in on one in Eyke, which has since had an offer made by
someone else. This has been accepted by the seller.
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| Jeremy at work on Sal Darago's bottom |
Our journey to Trinidad began at 3.15am as we drove to Gatwick, left
our hire car at the depot and checked in for our Virgin Atlantic flight to
Tobago, with a touch down at St Lucia. A brief Caribbean Airways flight took us
to Trinidad where our taxi driver was waiting. After 23 hours of travelling we
entered our air conditioned apartment at Power Boats yard.
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| Our home in Trinidad |
Sal Darago was basically sound but had not weathered as well as last
time. Some water had got into the bilges and steamed the insides of the boat
causing paint to flake off in some lockers, rust on the engine and cooker and
some corrosion on some portholes. Outside the deck paint was flaking off under
the dirt and dust. She looked very much in need of TLC. After four nights in
the apartment, we moved into SD and were saved from collapsing from heat
exhaustion by the loan of a fan from Jesse James, Members Only maxi taxi trips
and tours. Power Boats had no fans left to hire, but were able to loan us an
extension cable. Each day we are up just before 6am, work until midday, sleep
until 3.00pm, then work until 6pm. The temperature varies from 31C in the day
to 25C at night with high humidity. Mosquitos bite your bare flesh and no see
ums jump up and bite your ankles as you walk across the yard. Paradise indeed!
