Thursday 14 February 2013

Mid week funny


I'm going to London for a few days so thought I'd do a load of washing, clean out the solid fuel stove, take the rubbish to the bins, and refill the water tank.  I started the washing machine going while I cleaned out the stove.  I'd deliberately let it go out overnight so I could clean the glass and make a fresh start.  Once the water tank was getting low I put on boots and coat and took out the hose reel to connect to our tap.  No sooner did I get outside with it and it started snowing.  Not those large floaty, pretty flakes but the little ones that hit hard when it's windy... which of course it was.  I couldn't change my mind then as I'd have no water so I unwound the hose and dragged it down the length of the pontoon to the cratch.

Mick and I have been sharing a very inelegant pair of boots that I bought very cheap on the internet.  They have the foot section made of rubber like wellies and the top part is padded and warm. I didn't realize that English shoe sizes are different to ours so these boots are too big for both of us.  They are useful for around the marina as we can slip our feet into them without having to pull them on and our pants.... sorry, our trousers (pants over here are knickers!).... tuck into them because they're so big.  They are excellent on the slippery pontoons  and they even have a lovely fleecy trim around the top which is a fantastic snow collector.

I huddled in the cratch while the tank filled and did our usual trick of bending the end of the hose over to stop the flow of water while walking the hose back down the pontoon to the tap.  I just can't get used to remembering to take gloves every time I go outside and my hands were freezing by then.  It was the coldest day we've had in quite a while and I was feeling it.

Despite my best efforts to keep the hose on the narrow pontoon it kept slipping off and hanging in the water underneath.  I had snow blowing hard in my face and the wind kept blowing the hood of my coat off my head.  In one attempt to flip the hose back out of the water when I was almost back at the tap, my frozen hand lost grip of the end of the hose that I'd folded over to stop the water and it landed... gushing water.... in the top of my boot!!!  Yes.... I did laugh.

No comments: