Sense of Humour

My sister Oli called from Australia in the early hours – by accident, but it woke us from weird dreams – mine about piling shoes into a bath with spider-snails attacking my feet and Jam's about snakes turning inside out, shedding their skins and he was loving it. After that we couldn't really get back to sleep, for some reason the bed seemed to small.

So I slid out and down to the other end of the boat and got forty winks of peace there, woken by my lover making the fire, he tried to romantically carry me back to the sleeping quarters but we got squashed in the galley. I ended up in a pile of blanket and giggles on the floor.

Eventually making it to bed, Jam said he was going to make some waffles and would I like some tea? 'Yes', I said 'and I'd love my notebook and a pen please'.
'I'd love a sense of humour and a large bank account' said Jam and at that point one of the mallards gave it's deadpan laughing call. What synchronicity these birds have in our lives – surely they were listening in?

Birdsong is such a wonderful sound. Lying here guessing the different birds – mallards, coots, a seagull! And the electronic hoot of Ma'am. Clockwork as ever she's here now for her breakfast. Wouldn't it be lovely if she could sit down in the Whispering Garden with us and have a proper breakfast. Sporting a little red neckerchief, polite conversation – ooh did you see Tarporley last night, giving spooky Halloween tours through the tunnel, those kids couldn't get enough of it could they, howling and hooting, echoes through to the Angel.

- Yes and we pretended to be ghostly witchy figures on the mooring, demanding little children for our supper. What fun!

- Delicious eggs Benedict Flora, enthuses Ma'am, could you pass the salt please? So peaceful up here in the Whispering Garden, none of the riff-raff down there can see you, it feels positively sacred here, especially on this church pew, juxtaposed with the bar table and Jam's home-made Kissing Chair, anything could happen.

- Yes it is wonderful just being one step outside into nature, in the middle of London. We're enjoying making our part of the world special.

- And that it is my dear, well I'd best get back to the waterways, thank you so much for your delightful company and a delicious breakfast, you certainly know how to treat a bird well!