I was reminded this week of the classic BBC series noted in the title. I had often wondered what happened to dear Frank Spencer who was best known for being fully competent at being incompetent. Whether it was mending a boiler, interviewing for a job or transporting a child's playhouse back home, if he could get it wrong, he would get it wrong. Remember him trying to find a gas leak? *shudder*

Well, it seems that Frank has cleverly disguised himself as a fifty something Swede and is now living in Nynäshamn - at least in spirit. Like Frank's long suffering wife, Betty, I dread it when Lars-Göran announces that he is going to fix something that requires any kind of home handyman skill. He is a dear, sweet man and I love him madly, but he is no Mr Fix-It. To be fair, his father was a successful and highly regarded mechanical engineer and inventor who could master anything with ease and this can be somewhat intimidating to any offspring. His dad could not only fix everything, but he saw improvements that could be made and so whatever the item was, it would function even better than when it was new.

Lars-Göran would love to be able to emulate his father, but something is missing from his genetic make-up and despite trying so hard, he belongs to the Dog's Breakfast School of Repairs. And I was not surprised at his efforts to install a rope clutcher on the mast this week. Not surprised, but very sorry for him...

He so very much wanted to do a good job and he began sensibly with a visit to our friend Björn who owns the local rigging place:



Björn is very thorough and he advised Lars-Göran of exactly how to go about the installation, he supplied us with the screws we needed, a special tool to drill threads into the mast and a lot of advice. A trip back to the flat to collect the drill and he felt he was in business.

This was when Frank Spencer took over. After a lot of fumbling, swearing and dropping his favourite screwdriver into the sea, the piece was attached. Which was when he discovered that the main sail rope was too thick for the clutch.

And he had installed it upside down.

And at an angle.

Then it started to rain.......