The Coronavirus Diaries, 6th June 2020

Fingers crossed my hot water problem has been fixed. If I could work out where the water came in the damaged the upholstery I’d feel real progress had been made. But neither Stuart nor I can make sense of it. We have had so many rain showers today if there had been an obvious point of entry it would surely have shown itself. The hailstones hammered down on the roof this afternoon and a frightened MasterB shrank towards the safety of the rear cabin and me. What a contrast with his eagerness to go ashore yesterday evening.

Bizarrely the only other occupied boat yesterday evening was the one moored beside mine. No sooner had the couple come aboard than the duck appeared, this time with her mate. Somewhere along the line they have learned to associate boaters with food. They strutted along the pontoon, ate a bagel that was offered to them, went back into the water and then the duck returned to finish up the crumbs. That’s when MasterB saw her.

Scoping out the wildlife

Obviously in his time at das Boot he has seen ducks before. Cat was terrified the first time he saw ducks at Mother’s bungalow. He was a city lad, articulated lorries held no fears for him, but he certainly wasn’t used to meeting a bird the same size as he was. It took quite a few visits to Mother’s before he decided they were not a threat, and after that he took swans, geese, muntjac deer in his stride.

MasterB is easily intimidated, and I wondered how he’d react to a duck beside his floating home. He looked interested, not aggressive, not worried. The duck went back to the water, but she’s back this evening with her mate and I wonder if this relationship will develop.

Duck and drake

The start of a beautiful friendship?

The weather is more like a typical April than June. We have had sunshine, the hail showers I have already mentioned, some rumbles of thunder, strong winds. It was cold enough to have the heating in this morning, then this afternoon m between showers, I had the door and windows open.

My social distancing has been perfect. There have been people around today, but the couple on the neighbouring boat packed up and went home after the first downpour, so no one else is near me. Most people seem to be working on their boats in some capacity. I am not Stuart’s only client here. I’ve pulled out drawers to examine behind them for water ingress, then tidied the contents, pulled the back cushions away for signs of damp and found nothing. I washed my pyjamas thinking I could dry them in the wind, then the rain came.

I had a call from a friend. A lot of what he was saying was lost, but he told me he’d enjoyed my latest podcast and has shared it with friends. That was motivating, so I am planning to do another one soon. There’s been a suggestion that I could do some work in the not too distant future, though there are a lot of things to put in place first.

Of course if I can work I shall go back to London, but now I am here, and feeling safe from coronavirus in a way I haven’t felt in London, I am minded to stay. A major drawback is the unreliability of the internet connection. This is the first time I have been online all day, and I really don’t want checking for a signal to dominate my days.

The duck is on the roof, walking backwards and forward. MasterB is listening, his head swivelling as he follows the sound. If the weather warms up, the window locks are not just going to be to keep the boy in, but to keep the duck out. The grills may have to come into play. A heron is sitting on the other side of the river, a crow has been walking about, the moorhens are active after being quiet much of the day. Now it is evening the swallows are swooping and diving. The cuckoo has stopped calling but the wood pigeons are cooing not far away.

As far as lockdown goes, this is pretty good.

Stay safe, keep well.

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