Just noticed that two backdated posts haven’t shown up in the news feeds: Biggles says that they are Moth-eaten Moggy-Part The First and Moth-eaten Moggie-Part the Second (a.k.a. “Taking The Piss”) if anyone is interested in his well being (or otherwise).

Just before packing the spring and summer boating essentials for a trip up to Banbury and Cropredy to prepare Song & Dance for departure, we noticed a Buzzard orbiting the winter quarters. An fairly unusual sight in Sunningdale: Red Kites are often spotted, Buzzards rather less so.

Saturday morning, loading Biggles into his charabanc for the journey North, we noticed two Buzzards orbiting over the garden, and another nearby being mobbed by a Ring Necked Parakeet. An omen?

Despite best intentions, we were rather late departing, but Sir remained remarkably unperturbed; on arrival at Cropredy Marina he jumped out of the car, strolled nonchalantly across the access road, then jumped aboard Song & Dance to start checking out that his essentials were where he expected.

Thinking this was a good omen we started getting everything ready for an early-ish Sunday morning departure, only to find that on emptying the large bowl of post-dinner dirty washing up water down the drain, most of it had escaped on to the kitchen floor, and was making a bolt for the bathroom and bedroom floors too. Something had clearly gone horribly wrong with the under-sink plumbing…

So much for a good omen, and the early night in preparation for an early start on Sunday, when lovely weather was forecast for the morning. That’s the glamorous life afloat…