Busy busy busy

What a long and varied day Saturday was.

Started by selling our Alfa 147* to a nice guy called Ed who'd come all the way from Torquay after winning the car on Ebay. He seemed very pleased, as he used to own one that was written-off by being hit up the rear, and missed it terribly.

Now I don't want to appear sexist, but the Alfa raised completely different emotions in Liz and I, she was mostly concerned by how easy it was to reverse and park (not) and I with how it drove (brilliantly) and as it was really her car, it had to go :o( 

Ah well, I still have my motorbike for cheap thrills, it is a lot faster and it does use a LOT less petrol.

After banking the proceeds, we watched Jody performing in the town centre with the Carnival Drums (Samba Band) which seemed to go down very well with the audience of passers-by ... my ears were still ringing when we left them!

Next we went over to Quo to hopefully, between showers, finish painting out the water tank. Eldest son James, who we haven't seen for months, was up from Surrey en route to a Florida holiday and was free for the afternoon, so I was able to pick him up and show him around the boat, while Lizzie was inside the water tank painting on the blacking and getting high on the fumes.

After a quick pit-stop at home, I dropped Lizzie and James at Zizzi's to order our lunch, whilst I ran Jody up to Clipston for a Jazz Quartet rehearsal, ahead of a gig in the evening, getting back to Zizzi's just as my Pizza arrived :o)

The meal with James was really nice, especially as he told us he'd just been offered, and accepted a new job paying MUCH more money and seemingly featuring more elements of the things he really enjoys about computer programme applications and Linux. James is self-taught, and has been programming since he was 7, when I first bought a Sinclair Spectrum and he managed to make a little green square move around the screen and play a tune.

Having said goodbye to James, it was back to Quo for Lizzie to paint the last few bits in the tank and a few minutes chilling, then back home in time to pick Jody up from his Leisure Centre gig ..... phew :o)

One really brilliant thing throughout was that my left knee is now actually good enough to allow me to walk normally for the first time this year .... although running and climbing trees may have to wait a while.

We now have to get a new car for Lizzie, one that is small and simple, as Jody will be driving after his 17th in August ... the little Fiat Panda looks favourite.

* we bought the Alfa in haste after Lizzie's lovely old Honda Civic was stolen, joy-ridden and torched :o(

The snowy weather and her new job meant that we never even had time to test-drive it, and only clocked 900 miles in 7 months of ownership