Awoke late this morning at about 08:00.
Lovely morning, sun shining, blue skys and much calmer on the water. Very tempting to let go the lines and go sailing but we've things to do and the forecast out at sea is still a bit iffy yet.
We need to finish off the electrics - the depth sounder and GPS power feeds need reconnecting and we need to check that things like the nav lights still work and what have you. If time permits we might get around to using some of the spare plywood to improve storage around the nav table too.
I need a shower and some cigarette papers - silly girl in the Co-Op on Sunday put a single packet in the bag not the box of five I asked for and there's nothing worse than having baccy and no papers.
Tomorrow though looks like a definite go, we'll make plans today. We'll have to be aware that conditions by the weekend will not be ideal for coming back upriver - a stiff Westerly is the worst possible wind for getting back in. Best plan will be to time our return to nip across the Rays'n thus avoiding the long beat down the Whitaker that defeated Jane and I in similar conditions earlier in the year.
More to follow later in the day ....
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Monday, 12 September 2011
Autumn Cruise - Day 3, part 2
Very windy today!
After a leisurely start, we cracked on with fitting out the bridge deck and moving the batterys. By lunchtime, conditions on board were becoming untenable though! Must have been F8 or even F9 in the strongest gusts, the river was rough as hell and even on the inside of the pontoon we were getting bounced around like anything.
After adding an additional spring on the bow (to stop her swinging round into Nordestrevans bowsprit if the bow line broke), we abandoned ship and headed up to the pub for lunch and a pint.
By mid-afternoon things had calmed down a bit and we were back at work re-configuring and re-routing the wiring to the main battery which is now in its new home. We finished hooking the electrics back up in the nick of time just as the sun was setting. The new bilge pump switch has been installed and tested so we shouldn't have the problem of the cockpit well filling up with water again.
The No.1 battery is now fully charged having been on charge since yesterday afternoon. Although the indicator on top was still green, it took an initial charge of over 10A and the best part of 24 hours to drop to the minimum 2A charge. We could do with a better, more intelligent, charger but the one wot we've got will do and hasn't cost me anything.
You won't be surprised to hear that the day ended with a trip back to the pub for grub and beer!
After a leisurely start, we cracked on with fitting out the bridge deck and moving the batterys. By lunchtime, conditions on board were becoming untenable though! Must have been F8 or even F9 in the strongest gusts, the river was rough as hell and even on the inside of the pontoon we were getting bounced around like anything.
After adding an additional spring on the bow (to stop her swinging round into Nordestrevans bowsprit if the bow line broke), we abandoned ship and headed up to the pub for lunch and a pint.
By mid-afternoon things had calmed down a bit and we were back at work re-configuring and re-routing the wiring to the main battery which is now in its new home. We finished hooking the electrics back up in the nick of time just as the sun was setting. The new bilge pump switch has been installed and tested so we shouldn't have the problem of the cockpit well filling up with water again.
The No.1 battery is now fully charged having been on charge since yesterday afternoon. Although the indicator on top was still green, it took an initial charge of over 10A and the best part of 24 hours to drop to the minimum 2A charge. We could do with a better, more intelligent, charger but the one wot we've got will do and hasn't cost me anything.
You won't be surprised to hear that the day ended with a trip back to the pub for grub and beer!
Autumn Cruise - Day 3, part 1
We were both woken up about 03:00 this morning by the very strong gusts of wind blowing through the moorings. Comfortable enough on board, tied on the inside of the pontoon, but very noisy outside.
Rik seemed to get back to sleep whereas I dozed, read, drank coffee, smoked and dozed some more until we both decided to wake up properly about 07:00.
Conditions now as I write are pretty poor. The breeze is gusting strongly, the river is choppy and rain showers blow through from time to time. Pretty much as forecast really and we definitely won't be going anywhere today. At present, tomorrow looks marginal but things should improve as we go into Wednesday.
Looks like it's going to be a day of working on the electrics and what have you. What fun!
Rik seemed to get back to sleep whereas I dozed, read, drank coffee, smoked and dozed some more until we both decided to wake up properly about 07:00.
Conditions now as I write are pretty poor. The breeze is gusting strongly, the river is choppy and rain showers blow through from time to time. Pretty much as forecast really and we definitely won't be going anywhere today. At present, tomorrow looks marginal but things should improve as we go into Wednesday.
Looks like it's going to be a day of working on the electrics and what have you. What fun!
Sunday, 11 September 2011
Autumn Cruise - Day 2
The title is all wrong really, it should probably be "Autumn Go Nowhere"!
Both Rik and I woke briefly in the early hours of the morning to note that the wind had risen from the stiff breeze of the evening before to a very strong gusty breeze indeed. After a bit more kip, we were both wide awake by 06:00. A lazy start to the day with teas and coffees, bacon butties and so on after which I managed to finally watch the second half of yesterdays match on ITV Player. Better still, when I fired up my 3 mobile broadband, it downloaded an update for the dongle firmware to correct connection problems which seems to have worked a treat as it didn't drop out once.
Relieved by Englands recovery, although less than impressed by their performance, I dozed off again for an hour or two whilst Rik amused himself wiring up the new radio. Upon returning to the land of the awake, got stung for two nights on the pontoon at the full rate which cost me £20. The new ferryman, Patrick, isn't cutting us any slack but I gather the management are cracking down on the matter of charges for use of the pontoon so fair enough. It's a bonus if we do get let off but even at full cost we still get most of the benefits of a marina mooring for about half of the cost!
Conditions on the river were pretty much as forecast. A stiff breeze with strong gusts and rain squalls passing through. If we'd felt the pressing need to do so, I dare say we could have sailed in the conditions but it wouldn't have been particularly fun and with an old boat with a rig of uncertain age and condition I'd be worried the whole time about what one of those sudden gusts might do.
As the day wore on, Rik set to on completing his fit out of the bridge deck space whilst I toddled off to Burnham to spend some money at the chandlery on a battery switch, some wire, choc blocks, varnish and a new waterproof connector for the engine charge lead. After popping into the Co-op for milk and baccy, I arrived back to find Rik well on the way to completing the job which, I have to say, he's done far better than I suspect I would have done. Whilst he continued his plywood shaping exploits, I got on with fitting the new engine electrics connector ready for moving the main battery which we should get sorted on the morrow.
With the evening setting in, we tidied up below decks and in the cockpit and then headed back up to the pub again for grub and two pints this time! Last of the big spenders! A cup of char and another fairly early night.
Both Rik and I woke briefly in the early hours of the morning to note that the wind had risen from the stiff breeze of the evening before to a very strong gusty breeze indeed. After a bit more kip, we were both wide awake by 06:00. A lazy start to the day with teas and coffees, bacon butties and so on after which I managed to finally watch the second half of yesterdays match on ITV Player. Better still, when I fired up my 3 mobile broadband, it downloaded an update for the dongle firmware to correct connection problems which seems to have worked a treat as it didn't drop out once.
Relieved by Englands recovery, although less than impressed by their performance, I dozed off again for an hour or two whilst Rik amused himself wiring up the new radio. Upon returning to the land of the awake, got stung for two nights on the pontoon at the full rate which cost me £20. The new ferryman, Patrick, isn't cutting us any slack but I gather the management are cracking down on the matter of charges for use of the pontoon so fair enough. It's a bonus if we do get let off but even at full cost we still get most of the benefits of a marina mooring for about half of the cost!
Conditions on the river were pretty much as forecast. A stiff breeze with strong gusts and rain squalls passing through. If we'd felt the pressing need to do so, I dare say we could have sailed in the conditions but it wouldn't have been particularly fun and with an old boat with a rig of uncertain age and condition I'd be worried the whole time about what one of those sudden gusts might do.
As the day wore on, Rik set to on completing his fit out of the bridge deck space whilst I toddled off to Burnham to spend some money at the chandlery on a battery switch, some wire, choc blocks, varnish and a new waterproof connector for the engine charge lead. After popping into the Co-op for milk and baccy, I arrived back to find Rik well on the way to completing the job which, I have to say, he's done far better than I suspect I would have done. Whilst he continued his plywood shaping exploits, I got on with fitting the new engine electrics connector ready for moving the main battery which we should get sorted on the morrow.
With the evening setting in, we tidied up below decks and in the cockpit and then headed back up to the pub again for grub and two pints this time! Last of the big spenders! A cup of char and another fairly early night.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Autumn Cruise - Day 1
After picking up the workers and dropping them off at home, I loaded up the last few odds and ends of gear into the car and set off on the journey to the boat about 7:00am. Two hours and two cups of Wild Bean coffee, not to mention a bacon and cheese roll, later I arrived at the moorings.
Conditions were as forecast, quite warm, dry and breezy. A reconnoiter wander down onto the pontoon led to a quick ferry ride down to Brigantia as the ferryman was ready and waiting for passengers. As I expected, she was somewhat down by the stern due to the cockpit well being full of water. Fired up the bilge pump and that was sorted in a matter of minutes whilst I hand sponged the water in the port cockpit locker out (for some strange reason, the starboard locker has a limber hole to drain it into the well but the port locker doesn't).
That brought the stern back up where it should be but she still had a bit of a list to port that needs investigating.
The smoke machine fired up on the third pull and settled down nicely to tickover. I set up the mooring lines ready to go alongside, cast off and motored gently up the inside of the pontoon. Executing a neat drift turn on the tide followed by an inch perfect ferry glide into the space between two other yachts, I flicked the long bow line over a bollard and then stepped ashore to complete mooring up. Of course, it goes without saying that NOBODY was watching!
Desperately hoping to catch the end of the England v. Argentina rugby match, I fired up the little laptop and my new USB digital TV stick only to find that I couldn't get even a hint of a signal. Oh well. Next step is to try an omnidirectional aerial hoisted up to the spreaders. Haven't got one to hand so that will have to wait!
Next task was to clean the weed off the stern and boarding ladder - the latter having folded itself down into the water and acquired a veritable garden. Having done that I started carting my kit down from the car to the boat and getting squared away.
By the time I'd sorted my gear out and got the kettle on and so on, it was heading into the afternoon and lo and behold, as I went up to the car for the last few bits and bobs, Rik arrived.
Rik spent the afternoon fitting the "new" radio/CD player whilst I amused myself trying to watch the match on ITV Player. The free wi-fi wasn't fast enough, the picture kept pausing, and watching it on my new mobile broadband dongle thingy (a gift from my mate Tony) was an exercise in frustration as it kept dropping the connection every few minutes meaning I'd have to refresh the page and watch all the adverts again before I could pick up where I left off. My frustration levels increased even further when I realised that only the first half of the match was available on-line! I was left hanging in suspense with England trailing 9-3.
We spent a happy half hour getting somewhat damp putting up the cockpit tent and then changed into shore rig as the pub beckoned and off we went for a pie and a pint. It really was only one pint too as by the time I'd eaten and quaffed the first one, I was all but falling asleep having had very little kip over the previous 36 hours. Back we went to the boat and I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. I vaguely remember Rik popping up on deck to frap the halyards which had come loose but I don't remember him coming back down below again!
Conditions were as forecast, quite warm, dry and breezy. A reconnoiter wander down onto the pontoon led to a quick ferry ride down to Brigantia as the ferryman was ready and waiting for passengers. As I expected, she was somewhat down by the stern due to the cockpit well being full of water. Fired up the bilge pump and that was sorted in a matter of minutes whilst I hand sponged the water in the port cockpit locker out (for some strange reason, the starboard locker has a limber hole to drain it into the well but the port locker doesn't).
That brought the stern back up where it should be but she still had a bit of a list to port that needs investigating.
The smoke machine fired up on the third pull and settled down nicely to tickover. I set up the mooring lines ready to go alongside, cast off and motored gently up the inside of the pontoon. Executing a neat drift turn on the tide followed by an inch perfect ferry glide into the space between two other yachts, I flicked the long bow line over a bollard and then stepped ashore to complete mooring up. Of course, it goes without saying that NOBODY was watching!
Desperately hoping to catch the end of the England v. Argentina rugby match, I fired up the little laptop and my new USB digital TV stick only to find that I couldn't get even a hint of a signal. Oh well. Next step is to try an omnidirectional aerial hoisted up to the spreaders. Haven't got one to hand so that will have to wait!
Next task was to clean the weed off the stern and boarding ladder - the latter having folded itself down into the water and acquired a veritable garden. Having done that I started carting my kit down from the car to the boat and getting squared away.
By the time I'd sorted my gear out and got the kettle on and so on, it was heading into the afternoon and lo and behold, as I went up to the car for the last few bits and bobs, Rik arrived.
Rik spent the afternoon fitting the "new" radio/CD player whilst I amused myself trying to watch the match on ITV Player. The free wi-fi wasn't fast enough, the picture kept pausing, and watching it on my new mobile broadband dongle thingy (a gift from my mate Tony) was an exercise in frustration as it kept dropping the connection every few minutes meaning I'd have to refresh the page and watch all the adverts again before I could pick up where I left off. My frustration levels increased even further when I realised that only the first half of the match was available on-line! I was left hanging in suspense with England trailing 9-3.
We spent a happy half hour getting somewhat damp putting up the cockpit tent and then changed into shore rig as the pub beckoned and off we went for a pie and a pint. It really was only one pint too as by the time I'd eaten and quaffed the first one, I was all but falling asleep having had very little kip over the previous 36 hours. Back we went to the boat and I was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. I vaguely remember Rik popping up on deck to frap the halyards which had come loose but I don't remember him coming back down below again!
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Bl**dy weather
Well I've got all me new toys (yippee) but the weather forecast is looking increasingly 'orrible
Saturday looks OK but currently Sunday through Monday is wall to wall gusty conditions with gusts up to F8! Unless that improves dramatically we won't be going anyway until mid-week at the earliest.
There are some maintenance jobs to be getting on with assuming it stays dry at least but there's only so much we'll be able to do within the available finances
Ho hum!
Saturday looks OK but currently Sunday through Monday is wall to wall gusty conditions with gusts up to F8! Unless that improves dramatically we won't be going anyway until mid-week at the earliest.
There are some maintenance jobs to be getting on with assuming it stays dry at least but there's only so much we'll be able to do within the available finances
Ho hum!
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Today I shall mostly be annoyed ...
One beneficial consequence of the long layoff from sailing has been the state of the boat finances! We haven't been spending money so it's been accumulating nicely in the bank.
So I've spent it!
The major purchase is a new GPS. It seems churlish to look a gift horse in the mouth but it has to be said that the ancient Magellan GPS300 Glen donated to the boat is woefully slow, awkward to use, cannot be interfaced to the laptop to download/upload route and track info and to cap it all has ludicrously small text which cannot be read from more than a foot away. Never the less, I'm not ungrateful as it has sufficed for the trips so far and will be useful as an emergency backup.
There was much scratching of the bonce and debate with the dear lady wife over what to purchase though. I was very tempted by the latest Garmin GPS78s with its 3-axis compass, built in barometer, Garmin Bluechart capability (making it a hand held chart plotter rather than just a GPS) and custom chart facility.
However, by the time you add the cost of the mounting bracket, power and data leads and even the cheapest chart pack, it would cost just about as much as one of the smaller chart plotters such as the Standard Horizon 180i that I fancy in the long term. And that, dear reader, was rather more than I wanted to spend at the moment anyway.
So I've settled for a shiney new Garmin GPS72H which appears to be by far and away the most popular model of basic GPS from all the comments and reviews I've read on the subject.
But that's not all, there was still money in the bank and it's no good in there I always say! OK, I always say that as an excuse for spending it but money in the bank is boring and new toys is fun :-)
I've ordered two double hook safety lines so that we can clip on in the cockpit and on the foredeck. Being double hookers, you can clip on to a new attachment point before unclipping from the old one which is a good thing obviously. I haven't yet worked out what to do about jackstays so for now I guess we'll have to do the thing everybody says you must not do and clip on to the guardwires when moving forward from the cockpit to the foredeck in rough conditions or when alone on deck.
It may not be ideal practice but the pulpit and pushpit rails are as securely mounted as anything could be on Brigantia so a fall overboard might pull out a stanchion base but the faller will still be attached to the boat. It's not as if we're intending to be out in a howling gale anyway. I'm actually more concerned about being able to clip on if I'm single handed or we're sailing watch on watch so that a slip or trip doesn't have fatal consequences.
The next essential item on the list is a new float switch for the cockpit well bilge pump. Brigantia doesn't have bilges as I visualise bilges, she has a series of seperate compartments, for want of a better word, which are not connected to each other. So there's no way of pumping out the bilges throughout the boat and the accumulated water under the cabin floors from condensation, rain getting in through the hatch, etc. has to be sponged out of each area seperately. However, there is a large well under the cockpit floor which accumulates rainwater and a previous owner has fitted an automatic bilge pump to stop it flooding completely. Unfortunately, the float switch is knackered and needs replacing.
I suspect with all the rain we've had in recent weeks she'll be somewhat down by the stern by now but I don't think there's any need to panic - if the well fills completely the excess water will then start draining down the cockpit drains stopping the situation getting any worse. I hope!
I couldn't help it though, I had to buy another toy! For the sake of a mere £25, I ordered a basic little hand held wind speed indicator. More than once I've wanted to know just how strong the breeze actually was and felt the lack of the means of measuring wind strength. A full on mast mounted wind system is way out of our reach financially but I'm hoping this little widget will at least tell us whether it's really the forecast F3/4 or actually (as we have suspected more than once) nearer F5/6!
Another item on the wish list I can now cross off is a rechargeable handheld spotlight. Glen actually gave us one of these but it's a big beast. It's very good but it takes up space and eats battery juice! So I've ordered a smaller LED based one that should be easier to stow and less of a drain on our limited electrickery resources.
To finish off the boat related side of the order, I've ordered a new copy of the Thames Estuary Tidal Stream Atlas NP249. We had a copy and it's gone AWOL. I've searched everywhere it could be with no joy so no doubt it'll turn up the moment the new copy arrives. I've also ordered a copy of Reeds Skippers Handbook which I hope will satisfy my desire to have a ready reference for info such as Colregs, sound signals etc.
Oh and in the same vein I ordered a copy of The East Coast Pilot from Amazon the other day to add to the information available to the navigator when planning trips beyond the immediate confines of the river.
That little lot fairly comprehensively flattened the boat bank account. Job done :-)
But that's not the end of the story! Oh no!
As summer moves into autumn, if we're going to make the most of the opportunities to use Brigantia this year, we need better personal kit. Although the wind has been unkind this year (always too much or too little or from totally the wrong direction) we've had very little rain over the summer and so far we've been OK with plimsolls on our feet, normal clothing and cheap plastic waterproofs courtesy of Tescos.
So I decided it was time to gear up before Rik and I head out a week today and ordered myself some new clobber.
Boots and gloves were easy - Gill Shorty cruising boots and Gill Grip sailing gloves. Oilies, on the other hand, were another matter. Jeez they're expensive! One pair of Musto or Gill trousers and a matching jacket would cost more than my entire wardrobe set me back - I confess that I'm not exactly a model of sartorial elegance but even so. I opted to purchase a cheap own brand Windward coastal sailing suit from Force 4 for a fraction of the cost. Time will tell whether it's any good but at about £75 compared to several hundred quid it's got to be worth a go.
I could do with picking up some thermals as a base layer, some decent socks and a couple of fleeces. That lot, however, can come from the clothing department at Asda or Tescos!
And why, you may well ask, am I annoyed today? The order was scheduled to arrive yesterday and didn't :-(
I even stayed up when I got in from work and dozed on the couch so that I'd here the driver knock on the door - to no avail as the knock never came. I'll be surprised if it arrives this morning so I expect it'll be Monday now which means I wasted the extra fiver on express delivery. Again. I shall be asking for a credit on that, you may be sure.
So I've spent it!
The major purchase is a new GPS. It seems churlish to look a gift horse in the mouth but it has to be said that the ancient Magellan GPS300 Glen donated to the boat is woefully slow, awkward to use, cannot be interfaced to the laptop to download/upload route and track info and to cap it all has ludicrously small text which cannot be read from more than a foot away. Never the less, I'm not ungrateful as it has sufficed for the trips so far and will be useful as an emergency backup.
There was much scratching of the bonce and debate with the dear lady wife over what to purchase though. I was very tempted by the latest Garmin GPS78s with its 3-axis compass, built in barometer, Garmin Bluechart capability (making it a hand held chart plotter rather than just a GPS) and custom chart facility.
However, by the time you add the cost of the mounting bracket, power and data leads and even the cheapest chart pack, it would cost just about as much as one of the smaller chart plotters such as the Standard Horizon 180i that I fancy in the long term. And that, dear reader, was rather more than I wanted to spend at the moment anyway.
So I've settled for a shiney new Garmin GPS72H which appears to be by far and away the most popular model of basic GPS from all the comments and reviews I've read on the subject.
But that's not all, there was still money in the bank and it's no good in there I always say! OK, I always say that as an excuse for spending it but money in the bank is boring and new toys is fun :-)
I've ordered two double hook safety lines so that we can clip on in the cockpit and on the foredeck. Being double hookers, you can clip on to a new attachment point before unclipping from the old one which is a good thing obviously. I haven't yet worked out what to do about jackstays so for now I guess we'll have to do the thing everybody says you must not do and clip on to the guardwires when moving forward from the cockpit to the foredeck in rough conditions or when alone on deck.
It may not be ideal practice but the pulpit and pushpit rails are as securely mounted as anything could be on Brigantia so a fall overboard might pull out a stanchion base but the faller will still be attached to the boat. It's not as if we're intending to be out in a howling gale anyway. I'm actually more concerned about being able to clip on if I'm single handed or we're sailing watch on watch so that a slip or trip doesn't have fatal consequences.
The next essential item on the list is a new float switch for the cockpit well bilge pump. Brigantia doesn't have bilges as I visualise bilges, she has a series of seperate compartments, for want of a better word, which are not connected to each other. So there's no way of pumping out the bilges throughout the boat and the accumulated water under the cabin floors from condensation, rain getting in through the hatch, etc. has to be sponged out of each area seperately. However, there is a large well under the cockpit floor which accumulates rainwater and a previous owner has fitted an automatic bilge pump to stop it flooding completely. Unfortunately, the float switch is knackered and needs replacing.
I suspect with all the rain we've had in recent weeks she'll be somewhat down by the stern by now but I don't think there's any need to panic - if the well fills completely the excess water will then start draining down the cockpit drains stopping the situation getting any worse. I hope!
I couldn't help it though, I had to buy another toy! For the sake of a mere £25, I ordered a basic little hand held wind speed indicator. More than once I've wanted to know just how strong the breeze actually was and felt the lack of the means of measuring wind strength. A full on mast mounted wind system is way out of our reach financially but I'm hoping this little widget will at least tell us whether it's really the forecast F3/4 or actually (as we have suspected more than once) nearer F5/6!
Another item on the wish list I can now cross off is a rechargeable handheld spotlight. Glen actually gave us one of these but it's a big beast. It's very good but it takes up space and eats battery juice! So I've ordered a smaller LED based one that should be easier to stow and less of a drain on our limited electrickery resources.
To finish off the boat related side of the order, I've ordered a new copy of the Thames Estuary Tidal Stream Atlas NP249. We had a copy and it's gone AWOL. I've searched everywhere it could be with no joy so no doubt it'll turn up the moment the new copy arrives. I've also ordered a copy of Reeds Skippers Handbook which I hope will satisfy my desire to have a ready reference for info such as Colregs, sound signals etc.
Oh and in the same vein I ordered a copy of The East Coast Pilot from Amazon the other day to add to the information available to the navigator when planning trips beyond the immediate confines of the river.
That little lot fairly comprehensively flattened the boat bank account. Job done :-)
But that's not the end of the story! Oh no!
As summer moves into autumn, if we're going to make the most of the opportunities to use Brigantia this year, we need better personal kit. Although the wind has been unkind this year (always too much or too little or from totally the wrong direction) we've had very little rain over the summer and so far we've been OK with plimsolls on our feet, normal clothing and cheap plastic waterproofs courtesy of Tescos.
So I decided it was time to gear up before Rik and I head out a week today and ordered myself some new clobber.
Boots and gloves were easy - Gill Shorty cruising boots and Gill Grip sailing gloves. Oilies, on the other hand, were another matter. Jeez they're expensive! One pair of Musto or Gill trousers and a matching jacket would cost more than my entire wardrobe set me back - I confess that I'm not exactly a model of sartorial elegance but even so. I opted to purchase a cheap own brand Windward coastal sailing suit from Force 4 for a fraction of the cost. Time will tell whether it's any good but at about £75 compared to several hundred quid it's got to be worth a go.
I could do with picking up some thermals as a base layer, some decent socks and a couple of fleeces. That lot, however, can come from the clothing department at Asda or Tescos!
And why, you may well ask, am I annoyed today? The order was scheduled to arrive yesterday and didn't :-(
I even stayed up when I got in from work and dozed on the couch so that I'd here the driver knock on the door - to no avail as the knock never came. I'll be surprised if it arrives this morning so I expect it'll be Monday now which means I wasted the extra fiver on express delivery. Again. I shall be asking for a credit on that, you may be sure.