Sheepcote Street Bridge

Our mooring here isn’t in the shade all the time, sun shines down on us until about 11am and then again in the late afternoon, thankfully these times coincide with the morning still being cool and then the temperatures starting to drop down. However this does mean that the solar panels are a touch redundant during the best part of the day, so unfortunately the engine had to be run for hot water and to top the batteries up.

Mick unwrapped the float switch, this was as close to being fitted as it was going to get today, he had more important things to do. The tablet I bought him five years ago has gradually been failing. First it was the detachable keyboard, then the screen cracked and then yesterday it ceased to turn on all together. A hunt round for a second hand tablet started.

So Mick caught a tram out to West Bromwich to visit Cex, he’d also hoped to get a new (to him) phone, but they didn’t have anything he fancied. There was a tablet that would do the job. He also paid a visit to Screwfix for a new mixer bar for the shower. I think this is now the third one we’ll have had, the current one doesn’t really like to mix the water anymore which is fine in the cooler months, but should you want a cool shower you’ve had it!

Across the way a few boats arrived to use the services. The pumpout can only be used up to 11:30, that is when the pub behind the service block opens. They must have had customer complaints.

I set to on trying to have a productive day model making. First extra greenery. Then I moved on to the scene where the Fairy Godmother casts her spell. I now needed to make a lot of bananas. All at 1 to 25 scale, or as close as I could manage.

I could have spent hours mixing up milliput (an epoxy modelling putty), rolling out individual bananas, then joining them together to make hands. As I was wanting to make hands that were still attached to their stem rather than bunches of fives, I decided on a different method which I hoped would be quicker and give the general idea.

Circles of foamboard were cut out, split in two. Then I cut the edges into a flower shape to represent the bananas. These were a touch too broad, you don’t really get bananas 5cm thick, but for my purpose they would do. These then got slotted onto cocktail sticks and bent in one direction. Once glued in position I then covered them in small pieces of tissue paper and pva glue, hoping to retain the shape whilst making them easier to paint and more sturdy. They do the job and give the idea.

I now need to work on the coach.

Tilly came and went every now and again. The occasional long stare came in my direction, I know she was willing us to move the outside. She’ll just have to wait a day or two. Plenty more boats arrived today, so maybe we didn’t miss a memo.

0 locks, 0 miles, 3 trams, 1 flat switch, 1 tablet, 1 mixer, 1 shower head, 400 plus bananas, 1 bench, 1 tea chest, 3 crates.