No Delivery....

I was on the go bright and early, well about 8.30 and off to the quay to see if all of my stuff had arrived.
And surprise, surprise there was nothing at all there for me!
It turns out the Gry sailed early for some reason and my delivery failed to get to Penzance in time to make the boat.
So a different day from what was planned for me then.
I went off to Spanish Ledges flats to do a bedroom.
It took me most of the morning as I really couldn't do too much today due to lack of materials and I had a nice chat to Todd who was also working in the same flat as me.
I went off to get my dad a paper just as he called me to remind me to take him to the hospital to pick up some crutches to help him get about a bit easier.
His right hip is really giving him jip and the crutches have made it easier for him to walk,well a bit easier.
He is having a hip operation in the next couple of months to with any luck we shall see a big improvement!
After taking Dad home and having some lunch, I went to Merrick a holiday let in Rams Valley to stick down a kitchen vinyl that I fitted the other day.
I had just enough adhesive to do the job!
With that one completed next job was a bedroom at 2 Bay View terrace.
It was all clear and ready to go so I got the underlay down and had the carpet done in good time.
Leaving just enough time to do another bedroom carpet in Warleggan Flats.
By now it was past 5.30 and time for tea.
Seeing that I had been busy all day more or less I hadn't taken any pic again.
So I made the effort to get some and took a walk up to the top of Carn Thomas which is always a great view.
Today was no exception and I have put on a variety of view from the top,
It was quite hazy looking west into the sun but not bad looking away from it,typical conditions we get with a fresh easterly wind.
On the way home I stopped off at Old Town to quickly observe some birds having their tea.
There was 2 Oyster Catchers and black headed gull and a Greenshank all looking busy feeding at the waters edge.
I did get 3 different birds in one shot, this isn't unusual for Old Town where you can often see Little egrets,Grey Heron, Oyster Catchers, Greenshank and all types of gulls on a daily basis normally at the waters edge on the incoming tide.
We are so lucky to have this beauty right on our doorsteps and it is great to know what the birds are and take a bit of time to watch them go about their business... a very relaxing end to the day!

Too many carpets,not enough time.

Today I have been all over the place fitting carpets.
First job was to finish off the flats in Harbour Lights.
This was dome by about 11.30 and then I went on to do a bedroom at Newfort House, that didn't take too long so then I went down to 1 Golden Bay to do a bathroom vinyl.
By now it was 3p.m and time to go and do my weekly football session for the kids down at the primary school.
It was lovely and sunny by now, after early mist and low cloud.
The session went well and we mixed it up quite a bit from what we normally do, so that was good.
After that we went to town to buy something for tea and then I went out to a meeting at the Old Town Inn for the Old Town Bay boating AGM.
I got my wish for an inner mooring down in the bay, so now I can get on and get my 14' GRP punt ready for the summer when I get some time, and with any luck have her in looking sweet by some time in May/June after she has had her gunwales replaced by Peter Martins and then a good paint job too.
Then I will be out around the bay catching fish for tea and maybe the odd lobster or crab too..
Sorry no pics today, just haven't had time to take even one!

Bryher and more work..

So the day started brilliantly with bright sunshine and a cool easterly breeze, I had a boat to catch a boat to Bryher at 8.40a.m so didn't take the boys to school and headed for the quay at 8.30.
I was all ready to board at 8.35 and the Firethorn appeared on time to pick me up.
It was a calm trip across and I enjoyed a chat with some local workmen who were also heading up to Bryher for a couple of different jobs.
I was up at Bryher to do a bedroom carpet at Bank Cottage.
I was picked up by Mac and his dog Gypsy who seemed pleased to see me and off we went to do the job.
This carpet was measured by Mac and there needed to be a join under the wardrobe and chest of drawers.
It was a talking point for a minute or 2 as I hadn't brought any means of joining materials with me..this is typical of working on an off island, you can be sure you will need the very items you left in the boot of your car!!
So Mac searched about for some duck tape and I put in a temporary join that is hardly noticeable now that it is under the wardrobe!
When I was finished I had a few spare minutes so Mac showed me around his garden in particular an Agave in very good condition and looking great, he was also keen to show me his Koi pond and one of his fish was huge and named "Jaws" after it nearly took his finger off while trying to feed him!
There was 10 minutes spare leaving just enough time to run down and say "Hi!" to Richard Pearce.
He has some great new paintings on display and I am heading back soon for another look, I like Richards paintings and will get him to do me a commission one day..I will one day.
I also really like Steve Sherris' paintings too, just had to add that as I have told him that I like his paintings allot and I wouldn't want him to think that I had a favourite!!
So it was time to catch the boat home,it was the Hurricane on the way home effortlessly handled by my mate Neil Jenkins. It wasn't long before I was back on St Marys and on to the next job.
As I walked off the quay I couldn't help but notice the new pontoon looking very neat alongside the quay, this will make berthing of small boats and visiting yacht tenders much easier than the previous arrangement of a set of steps and small patch of sand/rocks that used to be used for dingies and suchlike.
My first job to do wasn't really ready for me to do as my underlay wasn't here, so I went back to Harbour Lights that I started last week to do flat 12.
Flat 12 overlooks the harbour and is most distracting while you are trying to work.
The view from the top floor is just stunning and this particular flat has large windows to make the most of the view.
I was too busy to take any pictures and had the flat basically done by teatime.
I stopped for a break at about 3.30 and took a quick drive up to Star Castle as I knew my kite surfing friends had gone to Samson for the afternoon as the wind was favourable there toady.
Unfortunately they were out of reach of my zoom and you can make out the kites and that was about it.
They were over a mile away so its not too bad...
After tea I got ready to go out as is was pool night and we took on the Mermaid "A" team and beat the 6-3.
We had a nice evening but lost the "Gallon" that we play for money, so that was a shame.
the money we win goes in a pot and we always go out for a meal and a few drinks at the end of the pool season.

I noticed that the Sapphire was gleaming today after being laid up alongside old quay for a polish and general tidy up for the new season.
I shall be going out her a few times this year to go shark fishing but also bird watching too..I can't wait!

Angle lifeboat and sunshine

It was a cracking start to the week weather wise this morning and continued right throughout the day with unbroken sun all day and just a gentle easterly that wasn't too chilly so long as you were in the warm sun.
At lunchtime is was positively baking in my back garden and my car that was parked in the sun was cooking when I returned to it after lunch.
Had to open the windows to cool it down.
Some real heat about today and some of my friends and family really caught the sun already even wifey had a red face due to the sun today!
Work was ok but i'm easily distracted on sunny days so when I heard on the radio this morning that a brand new lifeboat was in the harbour I headed straight down for some pics and to show the boys before school.
She is a brand new boat, a Tamar class lifeboat that is a style that can be launched down a slipway and not kept on a mooring like our Severn class that is too big to fit in the lifeboat house.
After school drop off I had also heard on the radio that the new lifeboat would be departing at 9 o clock.
So I headed down to the quay thinking I could get a few shots of her leaving before I started work.
Well like all Scilly plans this one was in no hurry to get underway, and all she did at 9 was to leave her overnight moorings only to go to the quay to fuel up for the trip to Wales.
She must have taken on a large amount of fuel for she was alongside for a good 45 minutes.
I in the meantime hung around on the end of the quay patiently waiting with Frank Gibson to get a pic of her leaving!
We both got our pics in the end, but it left me a little late for work.
First job today was a simple flight of stairs, but my mind wasn't really on the job in hand today and I had one of those days when everything you need is in the garage and not in the car!
So lots of trips in the car to fetch bit and bobs and the simple stairs took me until lunchtime to complete.
After lunch and hanging out the washing in the warm sun I was due to do some work for Island Properties in various different holiday lets around the island.
It wasn't a huge success today but I did manage to get another kitchen done.
After the school pick up I decided to give the island properties jobs a break and headed for Crebinick Guest House who had a bedroom carpet all ready to go.
This was a doddle and ended the day nicely for me.
All in all a good day with 2 jobs completed and 2 started!
Tomorrow i'm off to Bryher in the morning and then some more for island props when I get back..

Spring has Sprung!

Its been another fantastic day, actually better than yesterday with all of yesterdays sunshine, but today hardly a breath of wind.
It has been picture perfect now thoughts are truly all about getting the boat ready.
We have some good friends coming over in April so it would be great to have it ready by then.
So today was an easy start with a good lie in and then a bit of spring cleaning, hanging the washing out.
Not much happened in the morning and then it was time for lunch.
Last weeks lunch at the Bishop was such a hit that we used Michael's birthday this week as an excuse to do it all again today!
Again it was very good and next week we can go again because it is mothers day..oh the hardship of it all!
After lunch we bit a quick bit of shopping and then headed for Old Town beach.
We met up with some good friends and the rest of the family.
We played football and my brother in law went looking under rocks for marine life, he found butter eels,pipe fish,starfish and an assortment of crabs.
There is a picture here of the eel and pipe fish in the bucket along with a small starfish.
We are lucky to have a plethora of marine life here on the islands, you just have to know where to look.
It was very warm down on the beach in the sun and the sea was so calm it looked to inviting that the boy decided it would be OK to take out their surf ski for a paddle, personally my feet were cold paddling around the shallows in my wellies!
I reckon the water temp can't be much above 9 or 10 degrees.
Any way they were very happy on the surf ski and had no complaints at all.
Unfortunately the afternoon was over all too soon and it was the unpopular decision to go home time!
By the time the boys were all bathed and showered I think they were pleasantly tired and all went of to sleep leaving me with some time to finally get around to do a proper post!
The weeks ahead is full of work again and I'm fully booked up till April by which time I am hoping for a bit of a rest maybe a few days preparing the boat and getting her down for the season nice and early.
Will just need a big blow to pass before I go for launching..always a good idea.
This weather can never last at this time of the year and we should really have a good gale before anyone gets any bright ideas about launching little boats!
Here hoping the gale comes sooner rather than later.
I have paid the price in the past of launching too early and having my boat sink in a severe gale, I'm not prepared for that to happen ever again!
I guess time will tell....

Sorry for the total lack of updates since Thursday!
Friday was a blur of work and play, I went out on friday night..
And yesterday was a stunning day that I just spent most of the day relaxing on the beach and a bit of work thrown in for good measure.
Now I'm off to that carvery at the Bishop again, we are using Michaels birthday as an excuse to go.
Today again is a cracker even better than yesterday... my thoughts are to go boating but the reality at this early stage of the year is a trip to the beach for some rockpooling and other beach activities!
Lots of pics to come tonight no doubt!!
Cheers George.

Busy and St Martins

Wednesday was a bit of a blurr for me as I spent all day at my mate Scots' house doing vinyl in his kitchen,dining area and utility,I even went back in the evening after a wicked football coaching session with the kids to finish off the vinyl.
He was moving back into his house today and I spent an hour or so putting the cooker and other stuff back into the kitchen with him and also a bit of finishing off with the carpet that I did on Saturday..
After that I had a very small carpet to re lay after it had been lifted in order to do some decorating.
With that done I organised a trip to St Martins to do a couple of measures and to fit a carpet at Up Idas at Signal Row, this one was a carpet that I had measured in correctly and needed to order another piece of carpet..
The job was ready to go and didn't take too long to do.
With that done, I went off to do my measures.
On the way there was time to take a few pics.
St Martins is one of my favourite islands I think I could live on St Martins probably easier than any other off island although I do think that I could also give Bryher and maybe St Agnes a try too.
There are plenty of views to enjoy from higher town as it looks out over the Eastern Isles and St Marys in the distance.
Its always good to find a different perspective to view your home.
We are lucky here on Scilly as a short boat trip can change your perspective entirely and sometimes you can feel like you are a million miles from anywhere let alone your home that can never be far away over here!
The weather was a marked improvement on yesterdays mist and murk, I am very pleased as My youngest little chap had a mainland trip away today with DW and it was good to have them back this afternoon.
When it has been foggy you always have doubt that the helicopter could stop at any time....
Luckily they had no such problems today and managed to catch up with the mail, papers and freight that has been building up at Penzance heliport due to no heli flights for 3 days!

So the St Martins work was done and all that remained was a trip home on the Lightning.
This was a fairly tame ride home today as the wind was quite light for the time of year and I was home by 4.30.
Just in time to collect DW and son from the airport.
She brought home a great big cake that she bought in Iceland for Mikes' birthday..he is 11 today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!!
So after tea we had the family around and shared the big cake 12 ways...it was lovely!
And that was Thursday 12th March!

Busy day again

Yet another busy one, I will be soo glad when March is over!
Started off with a few errands to do in town for darling wifey.
With those done I went to the quay to pick up a carpet for the last bedroom in Beachfield House.
Then went around to flat 14 in Harbour Lights where there was yesterday job to finish off.
I did the lounge that I had prepared yesterday and realised that the hallway couldn't be completed until I had done flat 12 so I could use an off cut in it.
So I did the lounge and headed off to Beachfield.
I didn't realise that I needed underlay, so went home to fetch some.
On the way back I stopped off at the lower moors nature trail that has recently had some work done by the wildlife trust to clear it out and tidy the area up.
It is looking really good and is a great place to sit and relax if you ever have time the birds all around were singing and it felt very tranquil.
But back to reality and it was back to work!
I had the bedroom done by 1ish and loaded the car with old carpets and went to the dump.
Just as I was unloading the rubbish I had a call from DW saying that Brandon needed picking up from school as he was unwell.
Shame, so I went straight there and then took him home and got myself some lunch.
He wasn't too well and had a bad headaches, it wasn't long before he wa ill and then he felt much better.
Must have picked up a bug of some kind bless him...he is totally fine now thank goodness!
So then it was back to Beachfield to collect the last of the old carpets and stuff and dump them all.
Then a couple of calls to make and back to my mate Scots house to prepare the floor for tomorrows kitchen,dining room,utility and hall vinyl.
This is as big a job as it sounds and will take me all day tomorrow, he is moving back into his house on Thursday so I have to get it all done tomorrow.
I'm sure I will!
So after tea I headed out to play pool, where tonight we were playing the Odds from Old Town Inn.
They put up a good fight but my team won 6-3 after a few tight games.
I was lucky in my singles and very nearly lost to one of my neighbours who was unlucky not to quite sink the black and kind of left an easy shot for me to win.
Well you win some lose some.....
It was a good night as usual and better than normal as I had a couple of pints instead of not drinking due to being too lazy to walk home. I normally drive the mile home!
That's about it I guess.
Weather wise it was a very spring like day calm and mild with plenty of sun throughout the day.
Must have got 3 big loads of washing dry today!
These guys were picking flowers in the field right out of the front of my house.
Bloody hard work and there are presently more flowers to pick than there are pickers to pick them, so we are seeing field upon field of open flowers....

A busy start to the week!

Well Monday has never been my favourite day, but at this time of the year one day seems much like any other.
Today I was determined to get as much done as possible before 4.30 when I needed to take my dad to the health centre.
I managed to fit 4 bedroom carpets,1 bathroom carpet and totally prepare a lounge carpet ready for tomorrow this included removing 3 rooms of their furniture and old carpets!
So really good progress today.
I was working at Beachfield House this morning doing 2 bedroom and the bathroom.
The view from one of the rooms I was working in looked out over sharks pit and the harbour.
From there I could see my mate Peter Hicks out kite surfing, I hoped he would stay out for a while but a rain shower came through and the you could see the wind just instantly dropped and wasn't really good enough for kite surfing so he packed up and went home.
After lunch he was back with a friend I think it was Matt Praegar, it seems that Matt maybe new to kite surfing having been an avid windsurfer for years.
He was good but seemed to lack the rhythm and fluidity of Peter.
It showed how tricky it must be, I certainly wouldn't have the first clue as what to do in order to keep going without killing myself trying!
So after a couple of pics I had an invite to attend a teddy bears picnic that was being held in the Playzone by our fantastic children's centre leader Meriel Williams.
She had made scones and there was jam and cream to put on them.
I couldn't say no once I was invited!
Although I was very busy so I scoffed my scones and headed back to work and on to a flat in Harbour Lights, Number 14...
I did 2 bedrooms and got the lounge ready for tomorrow here and then it was time to take dad for his appointment.
By the time we were done at the health centre it was tea time and that was about it for the day.
I am an avid facebook fan, and yesterday we discovered an UNO game that you can play online.
I had a few games with my wife and finally got around to catching up with some sky+ recordings that we did when we were away.
We watched 2 episodes of LOST and now are completely lost!
So tomorrow is yet another busy day and I'm sure lots will get done!

Carvery and porpoises.

It was a nice easy start to the day, we were in no rush to go and watch the footie as todays weather has been gale force 8 or more and heavy showers.
Some good breaks between some of the showers, but man you sure knew about them when they rattled through the islands at a rate of knots, very impressive!
We went out to lunch, not the Mermaid as planned, they were all full up, seems the deal was to good to miss.
However a drive into town revealed that the Bishop and Wolf were also doing a carvery and boy what a carvery it was!
There was a selection of meats, I had Sirloin beef,roast pork,roast beef,and roast lamb too.
Added to that all the veg you could want,carrots,parsnip,swede,roast potatoes and a yorkie pud with gravy to top it off, also a selection of freshly prepared sauces such as apple and mint sauce.
Wow I should have taken a picture because you wouldn't believe how much was on my plate!!Oh I had a couple of slices of each meat available I should add!
We knew that a big ,lunch was on the cards so we were suitably hungry and there was not much left when we had all finished, I can highly recommend it!
I think for the 5 of us including a drink each it was £33, so not too bad when you consider the amount of food consumed!
After lunch there was no doubt in my mind that we needed to stay out for a bit, but I think we were all feeling a bit full so we went for a drive.
We ended up at Deep Point, not really sure why but that's where we headed!
When we got there it was beautifully sunny and quite sheltered under the cliffs.
We could see plenty of Gannets about I counted 10 at first then noticed another group of 7 or so.
While watching a huge ship on the horizon and trying to get a pic the Gannets were constantly flying through my viewfinder.
On closer inspection and well spotted by Brandon, we noticed some more activity in the sea.
Just about where the Gannets were diving in right in front of us there was definitely something else in the water.
First thoughts turned to Dolphins, sure enough we had all seen a few fins here and there.
On closer inspection of my photographs and watching intently for nearly an hour I decided that these "Dolphins" were actually Porpoises because of their shy behaviour and size differences.
We saw at times 6 different porpoises clearly moving around a shoal of fish, the sea was turning oily in the area where the Porpoises were eating.
It was a great spectacle to watch, and we felt very privileged to witness the event.
The pics are OK but the Porpoises were very fast and only appeared briefly before disappearing for 5 minutes again!
After we had watched them for an hour we decided to carry on our drive and went down to the ducks , quickly feeding them before heading down to the Mermaid car park hoping to catch some waves going over the wall.
The tide wasn't really high enough for anything like that, but seeing the Cyclone leaving the quay presented a good photo opportunity and I followed her until she was out of sight you can get a great idea of the wave height by the amount she disappeared in the troughs between the swells.
After that we headed home to chill out for the rest of the day.
So a really good day off and now its time for bed again and the start of another busy week.

Blog Awards.

This is an idea that has come from a lady from America who does a blog all about muscle cars and her life too.
She awarded me this and I was top of her list of 5 favourite blogs.
On reading through it looks like a good idea to do this yourself if you are a "blogger".

So this is my list of my top 5 blogs that I follow..




1: Scillywebcam.com
Well this one has to be my top favourite as I have been posting photos on the website since 2001 and so it means alot to me.
2: Lifeattheendoftheroad.
Since stumbling across this blog just a few weeks ago I have been compelled to look in every day to see how Paul in getting on on Raasay. A great blog and well written that inspired me to start my own blog!
3: Arroundperranuthnoe.com
This is Sue Masons blog from perranuthnoe which is just outside Penzance, very good and highly interesting as she covers allot of things that are relevant to us here on Scilly.
4: West Cornwall Photos.
Keith manages to capture some fantastic images from all around the Penwith area quite often featuring places and things that are familiar to me therefore making it another daily visit for me.
5: Stithians Birding.
Now I'm not a twitcher or a birder, but the quality of images on this site are fantastic also most of the birds featured are present here on Scilly and sometimes it really helps my identification by seeing top quality pics of the unusual birds.
Thanks to everyone mentioned here for keeping their blogs going.
The work that goes into them is very much appreciated!

And another one!

Well I payed the price for a short lie in this morning and didn't start work until 10ish.
I was held up at work due to the carpets not being on site and also builders using the room I was supposed to be fitting the carpets in to cut tiles for the bathroom!
So I didn't finish until 6!
So no time for pics again and now I 'm really looking forward to tomorrow when its going to be a super Sunday.
We are heading up to watch the football in the rain in the morning and then down to the Mermaid pub for the Sunday carvery where you can get 2 courses for £10 and one child eats free for every adult paying...Bargain!
Looking forward to it now, and seeing as it is now 12.20! I am off to bed!
Cheers!