First gale of the autumn

Sitting here watching the trees bend in the wind through the horizontal rain thinking how lucky I am to not be living in a cardboard box in an alley somewhere. It is amazing how flexible the trees are. I,m glad I got a sail in yesterday and the grass cut, I caught some fish and had them all nicely filleted and cleaned at the marina, put them in a plastic bag at the tap on my berth where I had been cleaning them and got distracted, I got talking to a fellow sailor who had taken a berth in the marina for the winter with his Oyster yacht. His boat ( I went for an inspection) was owned by Celtic Tiger NAMA champagne swillers who had treated her really badly (the last 6 years she has been on a hard stand with all running rigging flogging away to a thread) so he got her for a song and he is in the process of getting her back into shape. The boat in good nick would sell for £180,000 he got her for £25,000 and she has huge potential. Anyway by the time I had been into every nook and cranny on his boat and walked back to the tap the gulls had removed and polished off all my fish.

The marina has a tame or sort of tame Atlantic Grey seal about 250kg, yesterday he was about a foot under the water waiting for me to drop the fish carcasses into the water, he ended up taking the fish out of my hand when I dangled them in the water. Was quite enchanting looking into its eyes wondering what was going through its mind. Probably thinking how glad he wasn't living in a cardboard box in an alley somewhere.

I think a fire is in order here so am away to set one.