Preparation.

The last few weeks have been absolutely manic, culminating in a whirlwind week of...

Monday - last household goods packed in boxes, previous boxes in storage taken to depot.

Tuesday - all those boxes packed into a 20' container, along with the bike (Honda VFR 800) which took some doing, considering the container was 5' (don't worry - I'm going metric soon enough) off the ground. Eventually done with some serious man-handling, and no scratches.

Wednesday - had the house re-carpeted. They turned up at 09:00 instead of 13:00 as booked, so I was frantically replacing floorboards while they were lifting carpets. Also, it was our last day with the car, so running around getting paint and stuff to tidy up the house for the new tenants (not a good time to sell right now), new (spare) fuel tank for "Three Summers" so will be able to carry enough on board to run for a full day at cruising speed. Not that I know what that is, 'cos she only did one trip on the Thames, and that was limited to 5 mph! Still, it was a good day.

Thursday - drive car and boats to container depot for loading into a 40 footer, to discover trailer is too wide to go through the doors. Finally convinced them that if the mudguards were removed, it would fit. With about 1" to spare either side! Vet came around in the evening to make sure the kitties were OK to travel. House calls from a vet? Yip!

Friday - First Mate starts packing (again).

Saturday - another lazy day. First Mate sleeps for most of it, then to the local for a last pint together (of Belgian beer), then off to Heathrow in the afternoon. Only to get there and be told her ticket is for 27 October!!! Well, she managed to get past that, and though didn't catch her booked flight,she still got the one after, on standby.

Sunday - She's now comfortable in the spring sunshine of the Overberg!

Skipper's (me) flight hasn't been booked yet, as unsure if going to Jo'burg first or not.

Will let you know.

Bye!