5th November

12 00 N
61 46 W

Weather; sunny, wind n/a, waves n/a

GUNPOWDER, TREASON AND PLOT
I SEE NO REASON WHY GUNPOWDER TREASON
SHOULD EVER BE FORGOT
(with thanks to John Milton)

HAPPY GUY FAWKES NIGHT TO OUR UK FAMILY AND FRIENDS

I had a dream mostly centered around the USA election debacle that is going on at present which turned into a series of memories of my misspent youth around bonfire night. As a kid (and if I'm honest, as a young adult too) I loved bonfire night, it was an exciting time of year for us all, the weather was getting colder and a bonfire was something to look forward to on what would otherwise have been a dark and dreary night. The days prior to the 5th November were spent pestering mum for "stuff" to construct a Guy out of - granddad and dads' old work clothes always made a good effigy and the Guy got stuffed with whatever rubbish, leaves, twigs and broken old bits that we could round up and of course there was the mask which we had to buy to make it seem realistic. At the time we lived in a cul de sac which boasted a couple of kids in just about every one of the 40 odd houses and each house just had to have its own Guy to burn on the communal bonfire. Each year a house was chosen for the fire and everyone added all their rubbish, off cuts of wood, branches and the like to make it the best and biggest bonfire that we could. Before we added the Guys to the fire the kids spent the lead up days to the 5th at the bottom of the cul de sac begging passers-by for "a penny for the guy", this money was supposed to be put towards the fireworks but I'm sure that more of it got spent on lollies than fireworks, not that we were ever short of fireworks as each household contributed a box. At the appointed time we all gathered at the host house and added our Guys to the bonfire pile, stood well back from it as the adults took charge and set it alight, they then took turns in setting off the fireworks - catherine wheels, rockets, roman candles, crackers, sparklers and a heap more that I've long forgotten, it was all done in a very orderly manner and enjoyed by the whole neighbourhood. Once the fireworks were all finished it was time to have some of the best refreshments of the year- mum always wrapped potatoes and put them at the base of the fire so we had hot jacket spuds, along with tomato soup and if we were lucky, roasted chestnuts and finally hot chocolate - just the thought of it now brings into clear focus the smells and tastes of long forgotten simple pleasures, not to mention the heat coming through our mittens and gloves to warm us up. I don't recall the adults having alcohol but I feel certain that it was available to anyone who needed a wee dram to keep the cold away. So my reminiscing about Guy Fawkes is really more to do with the US election and politics in general. Maybe Guy could reincarnate and do something similar to the gunpowder plot about the state of governments and elections around the world at present, only this time don't fail and don't get caught! Now before I hear corrections about why the Gun powder plot was cooked up, I do know that it was based around religious beliefs in 1605 and not directly related to politics, however as it was the house of Lords and King James 1 that was the targeted I have made the somewhat loose and arguable connection to suit my ramblings! As an adult I still love fireworks but am very aware that it causes no end of stress around our pets and that stupid people have done stupid things causing injuries, pain and suffering by misuse of fireworks, how sad that we can no longer just have innocent fun.
I hope that those of you who could enjoy bonfire night did it in style and had fun.
Here in Grenada we are being bombarded with US election "news", I will be really glad when it's all over and done with and the world can get on with dealing with the fallout from it.
Gerry took off early in the morning, leaving me to do the mundane jobs of washing dishes, making the bed and tidying up the apartment. He was off to check on the progress made yesterday afternoon by the two marina guys doing the sanding of the hull and to see if he could begin painting yet. The short answer was not really. Whilst there had been significant progress, it wasn't finished yet but it was looking good for Gerry to begin a bit of painting around the rudder in the afternoon. By midday he returned home, having met up with Mark from Rum Truffle and taken him to the shops. We had a long leisurely lunch and then Gerry took of back to the yard for a couple of hours, I offered to go with him - as long as there was something for me to do, I wasn't going to just stand around and keep him company in the heat. So with nothing specific that needed my attention at the yard, I spent the afternoon fossicking in the family tree. As some of you know I'm on the hunt for Gerry's unknown grandfather and I have some leads due to DNA results but it appears that the family Gerry (and obviously his dad) is connected to were very prolific breeders, there are hundreds of them making the task very laborious but at the same time very interesting. I'm not sure I will ever get to the definitive answer without some professional help but I'm trying! Gerry arrived home looking a bit smurffy - his neck and arms had a coating of blue dust from the sanding, I really should have taken a photo but as it wouldn't have shown up too well I didn't bother and he immediately jumped in the shower and washed it away anyway! The report for the afternoon was that the sanding was done, the guys were going to wash the dust off the boat next then leave it to dry out overnight. Meanwhile Gerry had managed to put the newly marked anchor chain back into the locker and get one coat of paint on the prop and had left it at that for the night.
We spent a quiet night catching up with a Netflix series we have been watching, had one of pre -prepared dinners and vegged out for the evening.