We holidayed one summer for two weeks in a boatyard in Jersey. Super sexy ‘eh. Well that pales into insignificance now as we scurry into the start of month three here. It’s a microcosm of life. Workers come and go during the day…the team of Mexican painters, Wilson and his wife, the fibreglassing specialists from Brazil, the North Carolina Boatyard Boys who haul boats, work the engineering shop and provide an array of other boaty services. Smiling as they go.

We are now wearing shorts. How long the warmth will last we don’t know but to think a month ago we were watching tennis court size pieces of ice swirling down the river.

I hope this blast of early season warmth doesn’t awaken the range of unpleasant critters that live in the woods here. Fire ants, copperhead snakes, mosquitos and black widow spiders are just a few I have read about. Don’t much fancy a rendezvous with any these creatures. Keep sleeping till we’re gone please.

Other ‘unpleasant critters’ that I’d definitely like to see less of are single use cups from coffee shops and detritus from takeaway joints. I’m not an ardent flag waving Swampy environmentalist. I am clear however that I like to live in a clean place and take a care of what we have. The world produces waste but let’s bloody well reduce it where we can.

I read about Starbucks in the UK levying a 5p charge for disposable cups. Double it, triple it. The world needs less single use cups. If you go to the same coffee shop every day, surely you can take your own cup along. You know you’re going. Its the coffee you want to buy not the cup. Try washing up. It works surprising well.

So endeth my small rant.

Off on a road trip to Cincinnati this weekend.  It’ll be 10 or 11 hours to get there. Gotta do a road trip when you’re in the States.