July has proved itself to be as damp and UnSummery (didn't she have a chain of shops once?) as June was which has necessitated the expansion of the tentage on the mooring in what is known as the Panther Arms. With the addition of another marquee we can now stay dry and 6 feet apart.
Mind you at the time of writing I can't make it as far as the marquee-bloody knee is playing up something rotten and won't bear any weight of which I have lots.
My disability has meant enforced time re-reading my forthcoming book-it's amazing no matter how many times you read something or go through with the spell-checker you still find stuff wrong.
 
The first Book came out on 16th July last year so I'm hoping to hit the same date this year with the second.
Totally different from my first effort "Sorry, I was Miles Away"** is not a litany of old jokes but a series of seven essays on stuff I vaguely remember being taught or told about but didn't pay attention at the time. I hope people enjoy it. I've tried to keep it lighthearted as far as I can bearing in mind there is a limited number of jokes available in subjects as diverse as Isaac Newtons' Laws of Gravity and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. As last year I am very grateful to friend, Philip, who is applying his considerable editing skills to my final draft.

**Still available from Amazon-paperback or Kindle.
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A Cowroastian Moon

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It's Wednesday and we have cricket. England v W. Indies. So what is the weather forecast. You got it. The virus is pernicious and deadly but the English weather is still tops in buggering everything that's good. Ah that theme tune so evocative and TMS such a quality production. And the sky is as black as Newgate's knocker. Sod it.
Time for toast. 

The expression 'As black as Newgate's knocker' is generally believed to refer to the heavy iron knocker on the gate of Newgate Prison. That belief may be correct but, then again, it may not. 

Newgate Prison was a notoriously grim and forbidding place. It was rebuilt several times before being replaced by The Central Criminal Court, more widely known as the Old Bailey.

Public executions took place outside Newgate and it isn't surprising that it became synonymous with dark deeds. The knocker itself was probably singled out because of the alliteration with 'Newgate' rather than any special property although, as can be seen from the accompanying picture of the actual knocker from the door of the jail, it is indeed an uncompromising, black, cast-iron affair (bearing in mind that, given the many knockers that the prison must have had over the centuries, it is safer to say this is a picture of a Newgate knocker, rather than the Newgate knocker).

But I digress. My sanitiser production continues apace especially since discovering its excellent glass cleaning qualities (that's the kind you look through not quaff from)

I'm getting more into Zoom as the lockdown progresses. Whilst the nation rushes into pubs and restaurants I'm resigned to being stuck here till the Spring so any contact is good albeit via a laptop screen. Had a good chat with Moira and Tom and Valerie and Martin last week with another planned for 16th . During lockdown Tom has grown an immense beard-it's good to have a hobby.Aint technology wonderful. The Chancellor's decision to cut VAT on food and accommodation to 5% is great for people that can go out to play especially on a Monday to Wednesday but is a tad frustrating if you don't yet trust the easing of restrictions. 

The excellent Mike Griffin has now been spotted twice on the mooring which is grand. Poor chap has been hors de combat for 5 months since breaking his leg and finishing up in Stoke Mandeville/Wycombe/Amersham hospitals/home.Welcome back Mike.  

One thing that has definitely suffered over the last 16 weeks is my ability to do the Times Crossword. I just can't be arsed; even on a Saturday which is the prize one and would normally keep me amused well into the week. I think it's because I liked sitting alone in a pub, with a pint and the crossword and regarding it as a treat. Or maybe I'm just getting thick.

Returning to the subject of bookwriting I think I've decided, if God grants me time, to make the next one all about my life afloat- from early holidays on the Norfolk Broads, my first boat in Norfolk for five years, life on the Great Ouse again for five years and over thirty years on the canals. I'd toyed with a couple of other options and wondered if there aren't too many other boaty books out there but we'll see how it goes.

Enough for now-hoping you're coping and coping with hope.