Working and visiting

I was up at a ridiculous time this morning, and was very conscious of how noisy the water pump and the shower pump were.  I crept out to the car, tried to shut the door quietly, and at 4.30 was driving out of the marina gate.  The M1 was busy with lorries, but London was very quiet and I was at work in good time.

At lunchtime I went out to get a sandwich and was surprised to find barriers holding back a crowd outside Western House, the home of Radio 2 and 6music.  It wasn't exactly threatening -- they turned out to be fans of Joan Collins, who was on Graham Norton's R2 show.  Just round the corner, outside Broadcasting House, there was a small but vocal protest by republicans who are opposed to coverage of the Queen's jubilee.

I got away from work at 2pm, and headed north again.  I'd realised this morning that Jill and Graham from Matilda Rose were moored just a short distance from where I'd been yesterday, so I took a slight detour off the M1 to pay them a visit.  We spent a good hour catching up on the news -- and as the last time was actually saw each other was when we took Debdale into Birmingham in November 2010, there was quite a lot to catch up on.  It was good to see them, and have a look at MR, which I'd not been on board before.

Back at Briar Rose, I was amazed to find that the fire still had some life in it, and didn't take much effort to get it going again.  I thought I should top up the water tank (having been here since Wednesday night), so got the hose pipe out and let it fill while I made dinner.  Tomorrow, another (very slightly earlier) early start, then back home.