Ferry Tickets

A couple more pics of the Cambria now she is fully rigged and sail-able. Ignore them if you're not as obsessed as Dad (and who is?). Another hot day so we take our walk in the Challock Forest where the dense grown-up chestnut coppice gives a good deal of shade. We meet a lady out walking 2 westies and two wiry haired dachshunds, which is visually an amusing combination. The dachsies are scruffy like an unclipped westie but much shorter in the leg and longer in the body.

In terms of Project Erroll, Dad books his ferry tickets for the first burst of real (as opposed to internet) house hunting. He is going to team up with Mrs Silverwood, the world's number 1 organiser of people like estate agents. She has no fear. They will look round each of the dozen or so which Mum and she have shortlisted and, like an 'observer corps' rather than a battling unit, will report back to central command (Mum). There is only one place which Dad might conceivably be allowed to put any kind of tentative offer in about and we're too wary of tempting fate to even give you a clue where that might be at present.

Today, film maker Mike Maloney (Google "Red Sails Trailer" for more bargey action) calls and invites Dad round to see some 'rushes' filmed during the Thames Barge Match. This is partly to show them off but also Mike loves to run his tentative descriptions past anyone reasonably knowledgeable to get his facts straight. He has some lovely footage there of barges at speed.

There is also a move in the de-cluttering stakes. The lady (Sheila) who is to take over secretarying on the Allotments Committee comes round to be shown the ropes and handed a disk of all the files, and wobbles off on her bike with three lever arch files in her basket, the live file and 2 of archive. 3 fewer lever arch files kicking around in the study when we come to pack properly.

Deefs