The wanderer returns

I don't know what my student must have thought this afternoon when he turned up to see his normally immaculately turned out supervisor clad in muddy trousers literally embellished with Brasso and black grease, a hippy shirt and black fingernails, and no doubt smelling of smoke at best... but he was far too polite to say anything.

Well, what a splendid weekend I've had; I can scarcely begin to describe how wonderful it was. A new experience, not only in boating on a working boat - which is in itself, in ways both obvious and indefinable, a very different experience - but also crewing with a group of people I didn't know very well (and in some cases had never met before) but with this common interest and commitment, and it was great how we fell into a rhythm of working together without anyone needing to give orders.

I will provide a blow by blow account over the next few days, in order to do justice to the whole thing - hopefully with enough cliffhangers to get my ratings up again - but I must start by saying an enormous thank you to Bob and Esther and James for making it all possible and for making it the fantastic experience that it was.