Just to remind me ....

How far I have got

 Outside she is looking great.  Still to do >>>  another layer of bitumen all round with extra at the back that I haven't been able to start on yet. Waiting for some cutting and welding to be done.  2 more brass mushrooms on the roof. chimney lid. Silicone round the windows (but cant do that until the wood paneling is found/measured/cut/fitted ... so that will be a while !!) 

Inside is quite cosy now carpet down and its been a delight just sit with feet up and a cuppa tea listening to  radio 4 and ignoring the next lot of things to be done....

I even dozed orf trying out the 'sofa bed'. It has a single mattress under the cushions and is comfy enough for me ...... the sink is just visible half way down on the right. Found a good condition small ceramic butler ( or is it Belfast?), probably from a school lab. anyway for 25 quids its a great buy.
Beyond the fire, the rear half, will be good for workspace when I start on the plumbing and internal woodwork 

HOWEVER the engine compartment still needs a lot of work before the engine can be installed. I think it might be wise to check out how to make a new back deck because this one is plate steel and I certainly won't be able to budge them once they are back down .... much thought is going to have to be put into all this bit ... Hm 






But for now am giving her a rest and catching up on a bit of gardening at home. The next post will be getting her measured up for her new covers, fore n aft, from the very helpful Ian of Kinver Canopies, Kinver. Looking forward to that, there really is only so much I can do now and it will be great to sit back a while.... 

and just to remind me how the engine sounded when she was first started up, here's the video Ha Ha
Oh what fun ...

Somebody stole my birthday ... again

Yesterday .... many moons ago .... coronation day ....we had one of those brown 9" Bush tellys with magnifying panel on the front (electronics has remained magic to me ever since)   All the neighbours came to our house and they were glued to the unfolding ceremony... I spent the day behind the sofa drawing pictures on the plaster caste on my broke leg !!!!!!!!.......and playing with the model Coronation coach and horses which I have still got somewhere...... not in its box though Ha Ha, trust me to play with it....
Never much gone for birthdays ever since Ha Ha...... HOWEVER how fitting this year to have all the boats out for the river pagent ......Thank you whoever organised that....
Having another 'clean day' with cosy fire at home making list out for what to find and see at the show tomora at the Crick Boating Festival.


And I couldn't resist including a few stills from the telly of the quite fabulous spectacle, quite stunning ...... in parallel universe, WildRose would have been there ....

The fabulous bells "They make me deaf you know"    

 The fabulous horse

 The Royal Barge ... Phew ..... thank goodness WR isn't this big !!!!!! would take more than 2 at 5ltr tins of bitumen and 2 at 8ftx4ft sheets of ply for the floorboards !!!! ....

 Smashing to see the narrowboats ... I doubt if I will have the bottle to attempt a river when I get afloat, but here the Thames Barrier was up and so there was little current and they glided along delightfully decorated and so colourful..
Dudley represented by President from the Black Country Museum.


Even a 60footer I think would be too big for me to have tackled, so WR at 35ft is just perfec.

Beautiful Barges ... seen lots of these in Amsterdam, lived on and all so different...........

                                                    

Then at Crick I met with a very helpful Ian of Kinver Canopies and he will be measuring up WildRose for her new deck covers in the not too distant future ...whooopydoooo ..... 
In the meantime I had better tidy up the workshops and find everything ... again Ha 

A Lick of Paint

and oooooh don't she look good, can hardly believe how far I have got.

Decided she deserved a treat and am going to get professionally made canopies/tonneau covers for the front and back decks....She's worth it

 Here's me looking clean and very proud of myself .... still a long way before she can be released on the water but getting there most satisfyingly .....

Crick boat show this weekend and visiting on Monday to check out the competition and acquire a few goodies....

Just to remind me of her shape in the water, here's Jim steering a sharp right under the M6 Motorway 1990 ish