Bones!

The stookie came off last week and an X-ray confirmed the bone had healed up, albeit slightly resetting the angle between arm and hand. What I hadn't expected was the stiffness, soreness and weakness in my wrist and forearm, from five weeks of inactivity. Exercises will sort all this out in time, but for the moment the locker covers for the Erin Mae have to wait – marine ply and power tools are not yet a safe combination.

Still, we decided to come up to the boat today, and after a delayed start found ourselves passing Oxford around 4. "What about a cuppa at Annie's tea rooms?" met with my best beloved's approval. You can't read boating blogs for long without getting to know about Annie's, and we had a vague idea how to find it, though Thrupp doesn't actually show up on the map we keep in the car. Followed our noses, asked an estate agent, and there it was, looking its best in the afternoon sun. Suitably refreshed, we got up to go, and thought we recognised the dog sitting by the bench outside. Boots the dog, and Bones the owner, also recognisable from the general self-description on her blog, the caricature that heads her column in Canal Boat, and the serious piece of two-wheeled machinery 10 yards away. So we hesitatingly introduced ourselves, and had a good natter for 10 minutes or so. Her blog was one of the first we began to read when first we found the on-line boaters, and it was great to say hello. Thanks, Bones!