Out at last, and a real find in Banbury.

Herbie is in Banbury tonight.  We're out for a cruise with our son Peter. Want a good place to eat in Banbury?  Well we can really recommend The Old Auctioneer in Parsons Street.  We've walked past it many times over the years but only recently tried it out. Not only is the food and service really good, the atmosphere inside and the  set out of the garden yard at the back are a long way better than yer average boozer. It's now our favourite place in Banbury.

We ate fajitas which came out sizzling hot with steak or chicken and lashings of onions and peppers and little pots of sour cream, guacamole, salsa and grated cheese, and of course tortilla wraps.  There was well kept Timothy Taylors beer as well.  What's not to like? To cap it all, as the evening cooled at about eight o'clock someone flicked a switch and a roof slowly extended over the back yard area not unlike centre court at Wimbledon! I would show you  a video of it in action but that would take too many megawotsits so here is a still image

There were heaters over every table too so I guess it's an all season outdoor space.

Herbie is currently a boat of two halves, or should I say two sides.  The port side is the one where we recently repainted the dark grey panels and it looks very respectable.

Here it is just after painting 

 and here we are on our new berth where we can now access the starboard side

By the way do you like our new mooring spot at the end of the main basin?

As to that starboard side, I'm sorry to say it's looking incredibly scruffy. After fourteen years there isn't a lot of the old paint surface left. I hesitate to reveal it but here it is.

We haven't been able to get at that side of the boat until very recently and now we don't want to polish it because when we come to repaint it like the other side, we don't want wax on it, so it'll have to say looking scruffy until then.

Our new crew member Gertie the kitten has settled quite well inside the boat, but she's not used to the noise of engine yet so when we start up she runs and hides under the bed.  She's only just out of her pre vaccination quarantine and we've just started taking her outside, albeit on a lead until we are sure she knows where the boat is and won't get lost or run away.  Today in Spiceball park she has met her first squirrel, a baby rabbit and a number of bees.  All very exciting. one unfortunate habit she seems to have taken up is sitting on my laptop keyboard.

It's wonder I've got this post typed out without interruption.