Heath Robinson

 Realised we never posted anything about the boat's most wallace and gromit style invention - this movable towel rail which was made from a found broom handle and two window opening mechanisms which were in the B & Q bargain bin for 25p each. Happy tinkering times. 

 

 

 

Cold?

Just a quick note of reassurance for all of those people who've worried about us being cold on the boat. When I got up for a drink at 1.30am last night, it was 30 degrees in the living room.

Working from Home

In my experience, working from home is both glorious and unproductive. Tea on tap, silence all around and few distractions in human form. However, there is a radio which it is socially acceptable to listen to, a window to look out of, tea on tap and in the winter, a fire to tend. Whilst PhDing I have come against all sorts of challenges I didn't envisage. I do not, however worryingly, mind the solitude - we luckily see lots of friends and we live in one of the most sociable communities either of us has ever experienced. What I have found tricky is finding the right place to work, the library is crowded and chatty, the graduate centre is full of well meaning procrastination and home is, well home and I thought I would keep it that way. But I'm now on a mission to train my mind to focus at home in my lovely little study corner Chris very kindly made for me and, whilst still coming into Uni to teach twice a week - I plan to work at home and hope this brings with it some new creativity - and perhaps more biscuits.

OMG! Windy!

Making pasta and keeping the fire going whilst sheltering from the incredible winds!

This is just a test of the emergency broadcast system...

Testing blogger app for iPad

Hot Air

Hmm. This whole updating thing still isn't going so well, is it? A combination of a camera full of sand and a cracked laptop screen are definitely limiting my inclination to get online and blog!
We've pinched a louvred vent off a door in a skip to get some airflow through a still corner of the bedroom

Fascinating stuff, I know, but wait; there's more.

We've also stuck one of these little tube heaters under the bed to keep that area drier:

I'm beginning to wonder about how the *perfect* boat heating system would operate. I'm imagining methods for quietly pushing hot air around low level ducts. We're perfectly warm; the stove is brilliant and the radiators cost barely anything to run, but I'm sure there has to be a clever way to get warm dry air to all the little 'dead spaces' in corners and under things...

Wine

It's wine time! 

This year we're going for Blackberry: 

Sloe: 

And, bizarrely, Marrow. 

But not tomato. The tomato harvest had to come in early 'cos of black fungus: