Farewell Trusted Friend....

The above waterfall was taken on my phone at Kennall Vale - an old gunpowder factory site near Lanner. It has nothing to do with my old computer, but has a lot to do with the rain.

By the time most of you read this, I will be typing from a different keyboard, and a different computer. I hope – Andy’s coming over Thursday to install it all and swap everything from my old computer to the new one. Then he has the unenviable task of teaching me how the new one works. Poor man.

My faithful Hewlett Packard has been getting so slow that in order to start work in the morning, I have to turn it on and go and walk Moll while it warms up for at least half an hour in order to check my emails etc.

This morning I got back from walking Moll to find that it had frozen, so I couldn’t type. Which means having to turn it off – which takes a good ten minutes while it downloads all the updates – then another 15 minutes while it warms up again.

While I shall be sad to say goodbye to this one – other than getting gradually slower and slower, it has never gone wrong – it has been a big part of my professional life. Well, it’s seen me go from amateur to professional. It’s seen me through writing several novels (not yet published), to hundreds and hundreds of articles (published) and two walks books (published).

But there comes a time in life, like all good things, when it’s time to move on.

A friend recently said to me, “The most important things in life are good health and good friends.” If you’re a writer, you also need a good computer.

And talking of good friends, last Friday, my dear friend Viv made a fleeting visit to Cornwall and came to stay the night – she’s been stuck in London for the last 18 months so we haven’t seen each other for a long time, and it was wonderful to catch up. And while she’s had to go back to London, let’s hope things will resolve soon so she can return for good.

My other good mate is still absent, still poorly, and this has gone on for ages now. "Far too long," as he said. Let’s hope the dreaded lurgy passes very soon and he can return, also.

Despite the unending rain – I've had to bail both boats out several times this week - Cornwall seems to have it warmer than most other places. Looking out of my window I can see the bright cheery faces of three daffodils, the shy purple peek of a crocus, and yesterday we saw a cluster of snowdrops near Maenporth beach.

Let’s hope this miserable weather passes very soon, absent friends return, and I can get sailing again very soon.

I leave you with a quote that Mr B found the other day, which expresses how I feel right now perfectly. “Don’t just sit there, sail something!” Oh, how I wish I could…!