Good and Bad ..

Oh its's that time of year again!

The kiddies are back as its Freshers Fortnight (as the UPSU website says .. a fortnight! in my day it was a few days!). Although the old hands don't actually start until the 11th (in my day you missed the first lecture with re-registration/ timetables, then straight into lectures!). As you may twig they have already annoyed me with their city centre presence lunch, post work and in Comm Rd Tescos. I'm sure I wasn't this bad when I was one?

Also in my battle through the kiddies to Boots (3/4 up the length of Comm Rd) this lunchtime I also had to dive past all the chuggers. These souls really do annoy me intensely, if I want to give to charity I will, but in my own time, to the ones of my choice often in the format of time! I rarely see anybody actually stop for them these days, so why are they still here?

On the Good News side I got to go and bob about in a boat late afternoon yesterday (it being low spring tides) to take dips (a tape measure with large paddlock attached to measure the depth, and work out level from tide guage check) to see if we had our required maintained depth in an area that we had a query on ... it was OK :). I also got to look at lots of Fenders (after which this blog is named). For those not in the know, this is a Fender (not of the Guitar variety):


Apologies, for me not rotating first ... just turn your head. They aren't in the best state and in need of some new bolts (hence me looking at them in the boat). Hmm there is something about being in a workboat/ Dory (aka metal bathub with outboard) with the high vis and lifejacket on, being with my beloved steel and rubber. It's probably because I'm so small and light comapared to them (the pic is of our lighter ones, prob. only 18T, and 7m long.