I’ve taken full advantage of the opportunity to go cycling while in Edinburgh.  The views from rides around Edinburgh are very different from what we see from the canal.  I built up my cycling muscles and stamina to help my pre-operative fitness, and as part of my recovery afterwards – and enjoyed it immensely.

We booked a train back to the boat some time ago.  I was characteristically (over-)optimistic about how soon we could get back, but a minor infection has delayed us.  I’ve been able to rebook our tickets (twice) at no extra cost.  After my opthamology appointment on Monday, I have nothing currently in my medical calendar, so we got on the train on Wednesday. I was pleased that the weight of the rucksack didn’t cause me any problems.

As we settled in last night, I did a preliminary explore on the state of our propulsion systems. I was pleased to confirm that by moving a wire or two we had working electric drive. I wanted to move a short distance along the canal – tomorrow is forecast to be very sunny, and we were in the shade of some trees. Maximising solar power seems a good idea just now. We walked up and found a good spot not very far way, so I reversed back to the marina entrance and winded. We were very soon moored up another few boat lengths in to new canal for Bartimaeus.

I did some further investigation and discovered that the two bow thruster batteries are identical models to the (flat) starter battery. So this afternoon, we set about moving a working battery to the other end of the boat. Lead-acid batteries are not known for being light! These two were also in awkward positions. With Clare’s help I managed to get the charged battery in to place.

So now we have the diesel engine running again, but no bow thruster (again) for now.  We have ordered a battery charger from the shop across the canal – it is on back order, and may come tomorrow.  Once we get it, we’ll see if it can bring the flat battery back up to usability.

The day has been breezy, so we were sitting inside when we heard a loud twittering.  To our surprise a bird was sitting on the tiller – we think it must have been a swallow.

I am still waiting for a follow-up appointment with my surgeon, and I hope to be told if I need any other mop-up treatment after the surgery.  Separately I am now expecting to get (finger quotes) laser treatment to the drainage duct in my left eye, hoping to reduce the raised pressure.  This means we are likely to have to make a number of visits back to Edinburgh in the coming months.  We will make the best of the opportunities offered in both places.