This month here in the Port de France, Toul, there is a lot of movement, and I am not talking about Austin’s bowel habits!
The wash from the two locks on either side of the port and passing vessels are causing us and the neighbouring boats to sway side to side in unison, very much like Swan Lake! 
There is constant coming and going in the marina itself. No sooner that we wave goodbye to some and we are welcoming others.
Our friends Jan and Bill arrived from the UK with pots and plants and probably some Gin, English tea and marmite.
With the weather reaching the mid to high twenties, some boats are tensing in their starting blocks. Their decks are glistening and their motors being revved.
The Freshwater captain and crew is not quiet as ready yet. We are having to wait for Austin’s radio certificate to come through which might take 3 weeks or so. Without it we can not enter Belgium or The Netherlands.
But there are worse places to be stuck at than here in Toul, with most of “the hard core” boaties from last year still sticking around aswell. In the meantime, major improvements are being undertaken. Yesterday my in-house electronics expert fitted a special thing-a-me-bob to ascertain better internet reception. Perry who, after his broken ankle from last year, is walking well again, gave Austin a hand.
Then we got a hot tip about a local upholsterer from another boatie and made an appointment, to see if he can rescue our fraying cushions.
Yet another of many boat restorations to spend money on! There goes your inheritance girls!
Today Jan and Bill took us for a drive to Niderviller Marina at the canal de la Marne au Rhin. Bill wanted to check if their boat can be lifted out off the water for repairs to the bow thruster. IT can! Their crane can lift up to 20 tonnes! The busy workshop is run by Germans, so I was called on, to translate - and failed! Marine talk is just a strange thing in any language, especially in German where "bow thruster" is “ Bugstrahlruder”???!!!!. Try and get your tongue around this one!
After things were sorted out in multilingual fashion and to Jan’s and Bill’s satisfaction, we rewarded ourselves with the 12 euro “Menu du Jour” at the neighbouring "Restaurant Tannenheim".
Austin, Perry and Bill are meant to get together for a guitar jam session tonight, but I am not sure if they have enough energy left.
Perry and Fran have adorned their barge “Le canard qui rit” (“The laughing duck") with flower pots and pretty, coloured lights. I am just waiting for the lights to blink in rhythm to Perry’s electric guitar playing.
So to keep up with the Perrys and Frans, we did our best by planting some pots of Geraniums for the stern of the Freshwater. Small beginnings, and, not possessing a watering can, an empty wine bottle had to do the job!