Blacking a Bottom

For the past 3 days I have been very busy Blacking the Hull of our Narrowboat The Robber Button. I have never really done D.I.Y on the boat before but I had a go. There are a few blogs here about it.

Apart from that not a lot has been happening.

People come People go

Life is strange, or maybe my life is strange. You have contact with people you make friends then they drift out of your life for various reasons then: Hey presto they are back again for short while. Over the years I have had friends from church who have moved on for millions of different reasons. One chap just drifted away, came back into our lives for a short time then drifted away again. I didn't see or hear from him for years and years, then I bumped into him one evening in my local shopping mall. We hugged and chatted for a few minutes, then I gave him my mobile number as he didn't have his with him. That was about a month ago....and nothing.

I received an email from someone this week who I made contact with again via facebook, we have been friends or over 20 years, he and his lovely family are in another country and work in the mission field, he is leading a hard but rewarding life, I was really blessed to read what he is up to and it is a privilege to pray for them. They have moved to a knew town in a different part of the country, they have new jobs teaching in a seminary and their daughter is in a new school. I'm looking forward to keeping in touch via blogs and emails and one never knows....

The 3rd and final ones are a few new people in my life I guess, I have 3 blogs, this one, one about the mission I took part in Mozambique and one about our Narrow Boat. The narrow boat community is a lively one and a lot of narrow boaters have blogs, I really enjoy reading about other peoples lives on the waterways. Their blogs range from the very informative, the technical to the musing of every day life. Life on the waterways is usually a friendly and helpful place and boaters in general enjoy the community and social life (usually involving pubs and grub) I feel after 18 months of owning a narrow boat we have been excepted into the life of our marina and that of narrow boat blogging world and community. Our biggest problem is we don't get enough time to enjoy our narrow boat.

Boats and Food

We had a really nice weekend, Friday evening we arrived separately at The Robber Button, I arrived about an hour before Mrs EB and I spent the time cleaning the boat and getting it nice and warm. When Mrs EB arrived we drove up to Stone and had a wonderful curry. Saturday was far to windy to go out so we stayed at the marina, I helped Jon and John move a couple of boats and made us all bacon and egg sandwiches.

Sunday I couldn't get out of bed as I had a horrid migraine. Today I went to the dentist ...all very good mouth wise. Then I went to Tesco to do a shop and I also looked to see what they had for a large meal I am cooking for Alpha and Alpha+.

Cooking for Alpha and Alpha+ means cookin for 50 people... I haven't cooked for that many people for many years and I am a little anxious, I went to have a look at the kitchen this afternoon and to see what ingredients they have in the kitchen... they have nothing... Oh well I have a budget of £2 a head and I have 3 or 4 Vegetarians. All good fun.

That Was The Year That Was

As 2008 comes a close and 2009 yawns and wakes up I thought now is a good time to think about the year and sum up what has happened.

The year started off well I was employed and I was sort of enjoying teaching in a Prison, I was using my knowledge of Radio and production and I was helping some guys who had made a few mistakes. Though it wasn't to last and in May I was made unemployed...

My health has been up and down this year, the worst thing about being diabetic is you are always aware that you have to look after your blood sugar, I don't make a martyr of my food intake I eat virtually everything. But this year I have learnt Chocolate gives me migraine, if I have too much sugar my body goes into a sort of sugar shock and it exits everything inside of me PDQ. I have also learnt to read how I feel, I don't really drink alcohol any more, the odd beer on a Sunday and the occasional glass of red wine at home and the odd brandy. I have found I get very tired quickly and I also get aching legs. Also health wise I have had a horrid blocked nose and sinus's for over a year, my Doctor has taken this seriously and I am now under a consultant and I am going into hospital in late January for the consultant to have a good look whilst I am under anaesthetic, not something I am looking forward to I have to say, but I am also tired of not being able to breathe.

I didn't get any diving in this year, money is very tight, also with my nose and breathing and blocked sinus's I can't dive. We did get some great trips out on The Robber Button We had a slightly wet trip up the Caldon Canal, and a few great weekends away with and without friends. I need to do some work on the boat over the next few weeks and we will be ready for some more trips out and about.

I have spent a lot of time at Church, doing the sound and getting involved doing various things, like going for a baked spud on a Friday at Friday diner. I was involved with the mission on Falcon Lodge, I videoed it and made a short film, I also did a little running around. I was involved in both cabaret's and really enjoyed both. They are very stressful and very tiring, the acts are always amazing and we are now growing with the technical side of things and all in all the are nights that just blow me away. They are a wonderful way of getting people into church in a safe and none cringey way.

The big highlight of the year was the Mission Trip to Mozambique I do not think in my wildest dreams I would be going to Mozambique this time last year., with the help of my wonderful friends and an amazing Church behind me I was able to go. I have blogged about this fully and all of my Blogs are in December and are labelled 1 to 7.

That sort of sums my up my year in brief, health not brilliant, but I am OK.I have some of the most amazing friends any person could ever want. I have a wife who I love dearly and by far my best friend and I am very happy and content. Yes I want a Job and I need to actually earn some money again, and I would like to feel better. Yes I would love a nice holiday away with Mrs EB, but that is just the icing on a already great cake.

Happy New Year.

So what's happening in my life now I am back in UK. well I am still looking for a job, not the greatest time to be looking. I am feeling quite ill, I have a nasal infection (saw a doctor at the local hospital at a ENT clinic, he said woooo that is really badly infected, we need to have a proper look inside) I am guessing this why I feel so tired and headachey all the time? and I guess I will be going in to hospital as a day patient soon.

At Church we are in full blown mode at the moment, we have two Cabaret performances Friday and Saturday night, tonight is the rehearsal for the Carol Service on Sunday, Thursday is the technical rehearsal for Friday, then Saturday Morning is the Technical Rehearsal for Sunday Mornings Youth Service. So all in all a very busy time especially for Mrs English Blogger as she is doing a full time job on top of everything else.

We are having the odd problem with The Robber Button and I just haven't the energy to go over and look at fixing a few bits ad bobs that need sorting. I will be putting the Christmas tree up soon, I went and fetched it out of the loft this morning along with all of our decorations... I have been watching a bit of TV, I read a Rebus novel on the Mission and I am now enjoying the TV show, it's on the Channel Alibi on Saturday night. Well that's about it really.

Update

What a beggar, I am stuck in bed with a cold and very chesty cough...I seem to have caught it from work...see I never had this problem working for myself!!!

I was at work Thursday and I could feel it starting and yesterday morning and I could feel it getting worse, I popped to the boat yesterday afternoon after work so my friend Martin could come and visit, the heating was not working again so I froze for a few hours, by the time I arrived at home I was shivering. I have been in bed ever since and I really don't feel good.

I am just surfing the net, watching TV and taking medicine and generally feeling very sorry for myself.

I am having a interesting time at work, I should be doing a few more things over the coming weeks as my clearances have now come through. I have met a lot of the teachers now and I am a little more confident with the guys, though I am still a little nervous.

The Robber Button

I have been asked again a few times about how we got the name for our Narrow Boat "The Robber Button" so here is the explination in video and transcript.

The video is from Blackadder 3; in the first episode, Dish and Dishonesty; this is the transcript:-

Edmund Blackadder: Sir Talbot represented the constituency of(Dunny-on-the-Wold, and, by an extraordinary stroke of luck, it is a rotten borough.
Prince George: Really! Is it! Well, lucky-lucky us. Lucky-lucky-luck. (as a chicken) Luck-luck-LAKK-LAKK-LAKK-LAKK-cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck- cluck-LAKK-LAKK-LAKK.
Edmund Blackadder: ...You don't know what a rotten borough is, do you, sir?
Prince George: No.
Edmund Blackadder: So what was the chicken impression in aid of?
Prince George: Well, I just didn't want to hurt your feelings. Erm, so, what is a robber button?
Edmund Blackadder: *Rotten borough*.
Prince George: Oh, yes, you're right.
Edmund Blackadder: A rotten borough, sir, is a constituency where the owner of the land corruptly controls the both the voters and the MP.
Prince George: Good, yes...and a robber button is...?
Edmund Blackadder: Could we leave that for a moment?

Boxing Day

Mmmm Christmas was really nice. We went to Church for the Christmas family service then we went to my Mum and Dads for a fantastic dinner. we came home and just vegged far to full to do anything else really.

Today we popped up to the boat, but the heating is still playing up so I have left a message with the Marine Engineers to have another go at fixing it.

I have decided to set myself a challenge for a New Year resolution....I am going to try and give up sweeties and chocolates .... I gave up sugar when I first was diagnosed with Diabetes and I lost a bit of weight, but for the past month I have started to gain it back again.... so from January 1st 2008 I will try and give up the confectionary and see if I can loose 2 stone by the summer? Who knows what will happen.

A busy but amazing day and busy weekend

Yesterday was a very busy day, I was on sound, and I seemed to spend all day at Church, after the morning service there was a small rehearsal for Thursday evening at Little Aston Golf Club, then a quick lunch at Jimmy Spices then back to Church for a mega rehearsal for the evening service to be lead by the youth groups, Ignite and Fusion.

This was a very powerful and amazing service that just left me speechless. God is at work here with the young in our Church. There were skits, videos, Power points and Worship, Prayers, communion and responses’. The one video used just before communion blew me away, it made me cry and also touched me so deeply I am going to put it on here. I hope you watch it to the end and see probably the best Christian Dance ever.

I have decided to update his entry as it is sort of part of my thoughts from last weekend, my thoughts and mind are still focused on the possibility of the Job and I am still praying about it. I have also deleted a load off stuff Facebook, things like Superwall and Funwall as all I seem to get posted on there is either snowballs or chainmail with threats of bad luck???? if I don't post them on, what a load of Bo***cks, I was also getting sexual stuff posted on there. I am still thinking about deleting my account as it has just become so wrong and no one seems to be moderating Facebook. The idea of finding old friends is fantasic and I have caught up with some, but I don't like the way it's just becoming so full of spam and pass this on now or else crap. I have spam filters on my email but there isn't that sort of filter on Facebook. I don't want to come across as a frumpy old git, maybe I am, but these things can and do hurt people and I don't want to be involved with things like that.

Mrs EB was busy on Saturday during the morning and early afternoon so I popped up to the boat and carried on doing little jobs, I still a few jobs to do, like sanding and varnishing the exterior woodwork, I also need to give it a good wash and polish. I think that's about it really, not much else to blog about at the moment.

I have watched this video a few times now and I am just so blown away by it, I don't think I have ever seen anything as powerful as this in dance form.

Artwork - The Jim McCormack way.

For the last two days I have had a privilege and honour to spend time with Jim McCormack ... who? well he was the signwriter for "The Robber Button". He is a real talented man who knows his job. He does boats in two ways either all free hand or a way called masking. Some say this cheating...I don't. It's a slightly quicker way of doing it, but it still takes an artist to do it.

Jim is someone who knows his job, he doesn't mess, he just does it at a steady pace, as long as he has plenty of mugs of tea and the odd bacon butty.

Jim designes the wording and scrolls in his studio, he emails his ideas to you. He then does all the cutting out then brings the stencil to the boat. He cleans the panel and measures and adheres the mask to the panel, he paints the open bits, lets it dry slightly, then takes the shading parts out, does that bit, removes the stencil, and does the free hand stuff. It saves two days work and saved us two days payment.

I am very happy with Jim's finsihed work, it looks a 100% profesional piece of artwork that is just amazing and stands out, and is far better than some on the canal network we have seen.

Below are a series of photo's of Jim transforming "The Robber Button"

Fixing the Mask

The Mask

Mixing the paint


















Filling in the mask

Filling in the shade and blending the shades (a real peice of art)
























Doing the shading on the nose free hand

















Doing the Free Hand on the panels



















A Finished Panel

The Other main Panel Finshed

The Double Panel full view










A long View of "THE ROBBER BUTTON"

I am so pleased with Jim's work it has made the boat "Ours" he is a dying breed of men who served a 7 apprenticeship and worked for and with his dad. It's a talent that isn't being passed on these days, which is a shame. Jim has ambitions to only do narrow boats working from a narrow boat, at the moment he still does lorries trailers and trucks and the odd food caravan.

As I said earlier it was a real privalidge to spend some time with Jim, learning about his job and things, I hope to bump into him again soon, knowing the talent it wont be long before he is working at Great Haywood doing more boats.

A name..."A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

EB and Shakespear...who would have thought it? not me....

Well Mrs EB and I have finally decided on a name for our boat and that name is "The Robber Button" what!!! ..... what? I hear my gentle reader say....well, Mrs EB and I are fans of Blackadder and in Blackadder 3; in the first episode, Dish and Dishonesty it goes something like this:-

Edmund Blackadder: Sir Talbot represented the constituency of(Dunny-on-the-Wold, and, by an extraordinary stroke of luck, it is a rotten borough.

Prince George: Really! Is it! Well, lucky-lucky us. Lucky-lucky-luck. (as a chicken) Luck-luck-LAKK-LAKK-LAKK-LAKK-cluck-cluck-cluck-cluck- cluck-LAKK-LAKK-LAKK.

Edmund Blackadder: ...You don't know what a rotten borough is, do you, sir?

Prince George: No.

Edmund Blackadder: So what was the chicken impression in aid of?

Prince George: Well, I just didn't want to hurt your feelings. Erm, so, what is a robber button?

Edmund Blackadder: *Rotten borough*.

Prince George: Oh, yes, you're right.

Edmund Blackadder: A rotten borough, sir, is a constituency where the owner of the land corruptly controls the both the voters and the MP.

Prince George: Good, yes...and a robber button is...?

Edmund Blackadder: Could we leave that for a moment? Dunny-on-the-World is a tuppenny- ha'penny place. Half an acre of sodden marshland in the Suffolk Fens with an empty town hall on it. Population: three rather mangy cows, a dachshund named `Colin', and a small hen in its late forties.

Prince George: So, no people at all, then? apart from Colin...

This really makes us laugh and we thought it a great name for a boat, so that's its name "The Robber Button"

Mrs EB filled out the registration last night and I made a few calls this morning and come Monday the Waterways Office will have our registration papers and things are really happening. The funds should be coming to us soon (I hope) and payments made. We are booked on a day skipper course next Saturday and I should be bringing "The Robber Button" up from Braunston on Sunday and be at Great Haywood for Saturday (it takes an hour in a car!!). It is all very exciting for us also a little scary. but nothing ventured nothing gained