The wind howls like a banshee ghost but inside we are warm as toast

Just back from a pleasant break aboard Herbie, although we went nowhere. Didn't even untie her from the mooring. The first two days we each had a medical appointment nearby and the last two days the weather was spectacularly awful. On Sunday there was the customary fishing match on the opposite bank and the poor anglers were battling with heavy downpours and tremendous gusts of wind. Their umbrellas were up and down like yo-yos. Give them their due though, they stuck it out until the final whistle.

Herbie keeps lovely and warm with the wood stove on, especially when, for the winter, we install the secondary double glazing made by Roy, her previous owner. Each window has a close fitting interior frame "glazed" with strong transparent plastic. They are made so precisely that each is a push fit into its window, and held in place by little retaining tabs. The biggest benefit is the virtual elimination of condensation along with the inevitable reduction in heat loss.