Bartimaeus

Another day of project progress for both of us. I am running out of some of my main colours and fingers crossed I can make it look okay still. Many mistakes but perhaps they won’t all be too obvious.

 Before embarking on the knitting today, I got out my sewing kit and got out a new needle for a task I  have done days ago. No thread though as  it was not for crafting, but skelf howking. It was a tiny spot, and mostly no bother but  at a certain angle it was a surprisingly sharp pain but there was nothing sticking out to get hold of and I had a fruitless attempt with tweezers yesterday – far too blunt an instrument. It emerged pretty quickly and I was glad the needle had made such short painless work of it.   Who else remembers The Sair Finger ?

Shane was not needing my help so much with positioning the tandem, which seemed to be supporting itself quite nicely, and the only help he needed was with deciding final proportions and removing the television which has spent most of the day on our bed.

It has rained a little over night, but was dry and warm but hazy today. The fish are only visible in the sunshine, but the dragonflies seemed to be out in their many varied colours : striped blue and black, red, bright blue, yellow. Fascinated at their ability to hover, giving me the hope I might manage to get a picture, but they were never near enough.

As usual many people say hello while passing, and a few ask about the name (e.g. what it means, whether it’s Blind Bartimaeus from the Bible; how is it pronounced). A walking group of blind and sighted people passed and both Shane and I wondered if they might ask about the name, but none passed comment. Later, when I was outside looking to photograph a dragonfly, a man passed, then came back I had just sat on a small pool on the bow and hope he’d not seen my wet shorts. It seemed not but he was asking about the name and entered into a conversation about the Biblical character, with which he was clearly familiar, and the Stroud trilogy character, with which he was not. 

The day brightened and we left our rural mooring to head for facilities in Lancaster.

As we went along the short distance, less than 5 miles, we managed to avoid getting over weeded but I noticed lots of obstacles in the water.

As well as lots of sticks and stones and breeze blocks, I also saw a metal gate and a bicycle, and a prosecco bottle but it wouldn’t have done any harm. We avoided these but a large curved branch did bang against the propeller but luckily did no harm, just made an unnerving noise.

I enjoyed coming back into Lancaster and seeing familiar sights from the other direction.

Once we used the services, I went a short trip to the shop. I noticed the staff bantering with each other and thought how it is cheering for them and others to hear it. When I was waiting at the checkout I saw the young man being served ahead of me had a white stick. He was managing well at the counter, deftly feeling for the slot for his payment card and the same assistant was helping him in a respectful relaxed way. She was equally cheerful and friendly with me and I felt I should have thanked her for her customer service, making a mundane task into a pleasurable experience.

Coming home from the shop, Shane had set me an extra wee task, as he’d moved the boat, to the other side of the canal, while I was away. If you couldn’t see, then finding your way home, when it isn’t where you left it, would be a significant challenge.