I consider myself to be a very special narrowboat. Not a ‘twenty-in-a-dozen’ off-the-peg boat, no. On this planet there is no boat like me. And over the last week I proved it again.
Easter Sunday I’m completely ignored by Magda and Lawrance, when they visit the paint shed. It is time to discuss my make-up with Martin and Sally. Of course I make sure I don’t miss anything of the discussion, in case they plan something I don’t like.
Easter Monday Magda and Lawrance are here again: I’m a problem. I’M NOT PERFECT…
I have two sides, a good side and a bad side, a dark side and a sunny side. Or, to stay in naval therms: portside and starboard side. ‘Good’ is not the same as ‘bad’, ‘dark’ not the same as ‘sunny’, my portside is not the same as my starboard side. As much as I like to be a balanced boat, it needs all Martin’s skills to get me as balanced as possible. And Magda and Lawrance need to take difficult decissions. Which they do. And I’m happy with it. Magda alters her drawings to reflect the new paint scheme and is happy with it (she thinks).
On Tuesday though she wakes up with the thought: STOP THE PRESS. IT’S NOT RIGHT.
Out comes the computer again, and more possibilities are looked at. And they make their way to the paint shed as early as possible, to (once again) discuss things with Sally.
Did I say I liked the way Martin lined out the make-up? Guess what: it stays that way!
What way? No, I’m not showing you any pictures. A girl must be allowed to have some secrets. But I will reveal that I get an ochee arch on the back doors…
Ochee arch
On Wednesday doctor Danny performs an operation on my rudder, and puts it back in place.
On the Friday Magda turn up and puts on her overalls…
First I think she’s going to paint me pink, her being in her pink period at the moment. No, she’s going to paint the plant pots and the fender hooks. But halfway through the day she gets some additional facts about me.
They tell her that my good side is ¾ of an inch longer than my bad side. I’m not happy with that, but at least it’s the good side that is longer. They also tell her that my front draining holes on the roof do not line up. I already knew that my mushrooms are all over the place, so to speak. So you can imagine: I’m not a happy girl. I know I’m well build, but I do feel a bit deformed, at the moment.
Mushrooms all over the place
Luckily Martin, professional as he is, manage to disguise all these faults of mine. No one will see it. But I certainly feel it!
Bathroom window
Other than that, things are progressing to plan. Yesterday I got my coach lines. Today my windows are back in. I can’t see it, but they tell me the inside window frames look like new, after Rob has done them up.
Dinette window
And Martin is writing down my name on the side. With Magda supervising the process: we don’t want spelling mistakes. Or names like WEA-PY-TIRED or WEA-RY-TIPEX, as some of the stages in the process seem to lead to.
Wea-Py-Tired
Magda and Lawrance leave by the time my correct name is on my starboard side. Last comment from Martin: “I might paint something else on portside…”
No, I trust him; he won’t.