Today when I woke up, I looked out the window and saw the world shrouded in a white, translucent veil. It was rather surreal sitting in the semi darkness at the kitchen table watching the mist swirl around and see shadowy figures scurrying along the street and pools of vague yellowish light from the street lamps. I immediately started humming a very familiar tune and in an instant I was transported back to my gran's warm, cosy kitchen at Erindale. Through the mist, I could see gran bustling about at the stove and trying to work around her old heat-seeking kelpie/cross, Spot who was draped across the floor. I could hear her kangaroo, Bluebell scratching at the door to be let inside. And I could also hear her magpie, Maggie barking at the door in a perfect imitation of Spot, hoping we'd be fooled into letting her inside as well so she could tease Spot. And I could see my childhood self sitting by the radio spellbound as Puff the Magic Dragon played. "And frolic in the autumn mist"




I’m not sure how old you have to be to have the song Puff the Magic Dragon seared into your soul, but Peter, Paul and Mary released it in 1963, when I was six years old. It’s always been a part of my consciousness and even though it’s not a song I’ve heard very often over the years, it always brings me to tears.

My very frugal gran actually splashed out and bought a copy of the single and she had to play that recording for me over and over again until it wore out. I could never get enough of it. One very memorable day, she invited me over for afternoon tea and put on the kitchen radio to listen to 5DN's "Listeners' Request" show. She told me to listen carefully to the announcer between each song, which I did. Imagine my surprise when I heard him say "And this song is dedicated to Marie from Kensington Gardens, with love from Gran, Spot, Bluebell and Maggie." I think this was one occasion when I didn't actually sing along with the song as I was so overwhelmed that the man on the radio was doing this for ME! I just couldn't believe how lucky I was to have my name read out over the radio like that.




There are a few memories I have where I remember being very small and singing along to Puff. Most of the people who are a part of those memories are gone. My gran, my Uncle Len and good old Spot, Bluebell and Maggie have all passed away (most of them a very long time ago), so I suppose that adds to my feelings of nostalgia when I hear the song.

Peter Yarrow, the author of the original poem that inspired the song said this:

"Puff has appeared to me both childlike and wise, a king but also a willing follower of just about any bright spirit that inspired him. Puff gives his whole heart and soul to one special friend, Jackie Paper. And though it is terribly painful when Jackie grows up and has to leave, Puff has given Jackie the strength and courage he needs to believe in himself when he goes back to the real world. "

Maybe we are mourning for ourselves and our own loss of innocence when we hear this song. I've tried to think of another song that has the same emotional impact that Puff the Magic Dragon has on me, but I can’t come up with one. There is also The Seekers' hit Morningtown Ride, but I was older when that was released and it just isn't quite in the same league as Puff.

Yesterday, I spent the day at the boat, attempting to cover this bit of discolouration on the freeboard.




It's an old repair made by a previous owner. The fibreglass work is both seamlessly and beautifully done, however he has not done a good job of matching the colour and this stain has always annoyed me. It's only a cosmetic thing, but I thought we could improve it. We've talked about rectifying it, we've consulted colour charts at marinas, but never really wanted to shell out the $160 price for a tiny tin of two component paint that may turn out to be the wrong colour.

After a tip from a car painter, we took the hatch cover to a local paint specialist right here in Vadstena and he promised to match the paint for us. For a very modest fee, he mixed up various samples, applied then to clear tape over the hatch cover and a week later rang us to say that while it wasn't easy, he'd managed to get a perfect match and we went in and discussed the paint, bought the rollers and brushes he recommended and determined to try it out. After all, it couldn't look worse than it does now.

So step one was sanding the area with very fine wet and dry sandpaper.




Yes, that's me up on the scaffold doing the work because Lars-Göran's eczema has flared up again and he can't do this kind of work. If he could, I'd be home on my couch on a cold, Sunday afternoon I can tell you. After I sanded the fibreglass, I washed to well with water, wiped it dry and then applied the heat gun to the area to make sure it was completely dry. Oh, the extra things you have to do in this climate! After I was satisfied, I carefully rolled on the paint and brushed it as per the painter's instructions.




It looks lighter than the rest of the hull, but I think it will darken as it dries. We should know today or tomorrow what it looks like, so fingers crossed that it's a good match. We'll leave it to harden over winter then lightly sand and recoat in the spring. If successful, we can paint the aft of the boat and repair the nasty scratch on the port side caused by a nail ob one of the Göta Canal's badly maintained waiting piers. For which they typically accept no responsibility!

Someone up there must be happy, though, because on the way home, coming into Vadstena, there was a beautiful sunset, providing a kaleidoscope of colours behind the spires of the castle and the red tower. It made the trip almost worthwhile.





And in other exciting news, I saw on the tv news over the weekend that a near-intact shipwreck, apparently dating from the 17th century, has been found in the Baltic Sea. The discovery was made during the filming of an under-water documentary series.




They think that the wreck could be from the same era as the famous Vasa warship, which sank on its maiden voyage in August 1628.

SVT said the Baltic's low oxygen content and low temperature had helped preserve the wreck. The origins of the ship were unclear but its features resembled the work of Dutch ship-builders from the period.

"Experts who have studied video of the ship conclude that it is probably the best-preserved ship ever seen from this period," they said. There is a report in English at BBC.