The trouble with being confined to barracks is that over the last five weeks the waist band on my strides has shrunk and the bathroom scales have decided to tell little white lies; however Jenny has an idea in her head that it's the extra food and drink that I am currently consuming! Five weeks ago when it all kicked off and I, like most folks, was confined to barracks, to comfort myself I started to have a biscuit with my elevenses, a KitKat or similar with my afternoon cuppa. With lunch there was often a bag of crisps to hand as well as a sarnie. Come five o'clock it's been a pre-dinner gin, a glass or two of wine with dinner and then the cheese with the coffee. The good news was that I think it helped keep my spirits up, the bad news was that this 'wining and dining' is starting to show in the wrong place! Sadly this week it's been 'boot camp;' kick out the biscuits, no more cooked breakfasts and as for the booze at least two or maybe three dry days a week, tis a shame one of them is today!
In the dim and distant past when Andy and I often worked a seven day week at the start of the season, the way that we differentiated the weekdays from the weekend was that on a Saturday I had a good old fashioned fry up and for a Sunday it was a Seahouses kipper. As we were putting in the hours, weight was never an issue, so it was a shame we didn't have a Boaties frying pan at the time as you can pack an awful lot more in due to its unique shape. Tis perfect for your houseboat, power or sailboat and of course your home.
Andy keeps one of these brilliant spotlights at home, reckons it great for when two cats try and out wail each other in his back garden; quick as a flash he is out of bed and with a quick dazzle they are off. Strange noises in a darkish street? It's the perfect deterrent. As for me I've got one on the Mystery with it's Super-bright 630 lumens on high power or 250 lumens on standard beam it's great to have on board, spotting buoys, warning shipping off, rowing back to your yacht at anchor on a pitch black moonless night. Of course it would be indispensable in a MOB situation, let's hope one never occurs.
Did you know that Bilgex is not only handy on the boat but useful round the house or garage. It's the perfect product for removing traffic film from cars and grease and soil from paintwork and it dispels sickening odours. On the boat it emulsifies oil and grease in the bilge, gets a fresh smell in that area and of course it's biodegradable!
Starbrite mildew remover is a great product for keeping at home and for life on the ocean wave. At work we have a washroom that isn't insulated or heated with a North facing outer wall, so every winter without fail we get those little black spots appearing on the painted surface. A quick spray of this product and its away before long. Mildew on Shower curtains? It makes quick work of that and as for Andy's girls play tent that was put away slightly damp two winters ago, Starbrite mildew remover put a smile back on their faces the following spring, in double quick time!
On the boat it's a handy product, it's surprising that even in Greece with its more temperate climate but very wet winter, items stowed in cockpit lockers like horse shoe life buoys, ropes etc do suffer from mildew. A quick spray and then a rinse in fresh water deals with it. In the sail loft, sails covers etc can be successfully treated and even my boat jumble find, a replacement seat for the Avon dinghy got the treatment!