Shedders

Jim was a shedder.......he loved his sheds ....(pics to follow shortly). The first one was built on the canal bank. It housed 2 computers and a printer, a radio and a portable heater. The electricity was metered ! ! We dived into the Open University prospectus and loved every minute of the courses we attacked eagerly, thirst for knowledge and all that stuff. What fun eh ......


The second shed is more of a conservatory. Constructed from the discarded window frames of a posh house going double glazed ! ! a pair of ex pub doors and a roof strong enough to stand an elephant on ha ha, overengineering was the norm and thank goodness for that. Anyway it was such a delight in the summer surrounded by garden that we lived in it regularly.


The third shed is more of an observatory. One story up on the terrace and houses the treasured telescope that is poised and waiting for me to find out how to plug it in and connect to all that GPS stuff. He taught me much about astronomy and I am determined to get to grips with the equipment a least.

I am about to paint a smiley face on the roof of the Terrace Shed. Had thought of it sometime ago and when tempted, was banned from putting roof turf on if (cos the roof has to be lifted orf for the scope to see the sky), so was considering a big yellow smileyface and just not got round to it (but thats another story .. this is meant to be a positive and will stay so).


Anyway, this morning on the radio I heard something about Google Earth doing a picture sweep of the West Midlands / Black Country, West to East, on Wednesday morning at 8.57, and they are suggesting that if everybody in Birmingham gets on to the street at that time and everybody wave at the sky .... dont know for how long though??? well the bloke on the radio recons that we could look like the happiest and friendliest place on the planet.....what a cracking idea I thought to myself, I'll paint that smiley face on the terrace shed.... now where's the paint ! ! and is it waterproof ??? ! !



Ah yes that looks jes purfec .......



Of course it was an April Fool and excellent fun for many according to My Space and You Tube reports. The shed roof face however will be there whenever Google Earth does next do its picture sweep of the Black Country.

Wonder when that will be ? ? ? Am in no hurry, at the moment Jim's car is parked out front and I am very happy with that.

First things first

Not sure yet whether I have bitten off more than I can chew ! ! the WILD ROSE has certainly been at the mercy of neglect over the past few years but she has been out of the water and sheeted up ........ she was overengineered when built......... one of a pair, the last boats to be built at Bumble Hole..... so she should be sound enough. Went over to see her last weekend and took lots of pics and already remembering the delights of living on water.



Note to anyone reading this >>> I will get more pictures on here when I get the hang of it ...... its taken me over a week to get back into this blog and I really have no idea what I am doing (ha, nothing new there then ) ... am already following myself ??? how did that happen ???









Although after taking a peek inside it looks like its going to be more than a repaint and cleanup ... harump harumph ! ! !

Rose on Wildrose

After several years of waiting, the WILDROSE is about to be moved for her very own R&R (refit & refurb).

She was home to myself and my Jim (Rosie & Jim ..... geddit?) for over 12 years of our 20ish years together. Dry docked whilst we worked our socks orf to get financially stable, with the plan to get her back on the water for future travels.

As plans go it was a goodun, until the terrible cancer took its toll for Jim last year. Today on his birthday, this blog is being started to commemorate his life, cyberfile our Travels On a Narrowboat and document my own and the WILDROSE's recovery.