… Ship of the Day today.

A regular feature when we are up and down the various waterways of the Northern Hemisphere, but it doesn’t happen quite so often here.

Well, at least, not as often as I would like it to.

It must have been a very high tide today because it brought into harbour the Pluto. She’s a bulk carrier of 1762 tonnes and was built as far back as 1984 – which is an impressive age for an ocean-going ship.

She’s come to Granville from Felixstowe, via London and Ramsgate.

We’re also having issues with grockles, as exclusively forecast on these pages only yesterday.

The holiday season has started and even at 09:30 this morning as I was on my way for my baguette the streets of the old town were littered with them, blocking the roads as they heave piles of suitcases out of the boot and into the little cottages that they have rented for the season.

And loads of caravanettes parkeed everywhere too. When I went for my butty on the wall overlooking the harbour, there was even one parked up on the lawn.

Still, it’s my choice to come here. I shall just have to put up with it.

Other issues have reared their ugly head too.

Photos that I’ve been taking with the Nikon have been coming out horribly over-exposed and everything that I’ve done this last few weeks has been ruined (these photos here are taken with the phone cam).

I’ve tried it with another lens, and it seems to be that my 17-105 “standard” lens has handed in its notice. At least, I think so. It’s been on its last legs for quite a while so it looks as if I shall have to replace it.

It’s something that I shall have to do quite quickly, because if the new lens doesn’t fix the issue, I’ll need a new camera body, and I’ll need it quickly. I go away in 5 weeks time.

Having had another decent sleep, I was off on my travels during the night – alone, unfortunately. I went to a motorcycle shop to discuss the kind of bike that I need – something like a 175cc “all weather” motorbike that’s good for around town but can keep up with the traffic on the motorway – when I was distracted. On the shelf in a dirty plastic bag was a single-cylinder barrel, cylinder head and very rusty piston of a DBD34 – a 500cc BSA “Gold Star” high compression racing motorcycle of the 1940s and 1950s. But “ohh no it wasn’t” said the guy in the shop – it’s off a Triumph. But Triumph haven’t made a single-cylinder bike over 350cc since Edward Turner joined them in the mid-30s and you could tell by the shape of the barrel and piston exactly what it was (and if I can do that on a nocturnal ramble then I’m clearly pleased with myself).

The alarm awoke me at 07:00 (and again at … errr … 07:15) as a cue to start the day.

It’s been another day on th blog, and another day working just three or four lengthy pages, including this page with 1200 words, which had just 170 when I left it back in August 2012. That kept me out of mischief all afternoon.

Tomorrow is a Day of Rest with no alarm, seeing as it’s Sunday. And I’ll need it too I recko, seeing as how I’ve managed to keep going all day without a little … errr … pause for reflection.

So watch me wake up at something silly like 06:30.

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