Gas free

For a long time I didn't really get gas free boats; I still don't from a safety point of view, though with diesel appliances now apparently so advanced I can see the attraction of not lugging gas bottles about.

That's by the by though. The real story is that as of yesterday morning, when a man came to fit a new meter and 'discovered' a leak, we have had a gas free house. No central heating, no hot water, no cooker.

Being tough and resourceful boaters, we are taking great pride in taking this in our stride. The first thing Jim said was 'I've cleaned out a bucket for you.' (For bathing purposes, that is.) We're not going to freeze, as we have a solid fuel range in the kitchen and a fire in the front room. We had fish and chips for dinner last night, as it was a Thursday, which was a bit disappointing as I rather fancied doing a nice stew on the range...

And as I write, our chirpy local CORGI-person has just arrived, so our mettle may not be tested for much longer.

UPDATE: All is now functioning again - not much of a trial, was it. Turned out the problem was the flame failure device (!) on the boiler pilot light.