Never bemoan the lack of live music in Kotor again

Check this guy out.

There're not many things I miss about home but music is one of them. So, you can imagine how devastated I was to come across this poster on the bus stop in Kotor and find that I had missed the opportunity to see this guy play at Disko Maximoooos. Bugger!

It's my 38th birthday today!! Hooray for me. Sadly, I'm still plagued by a cough, a snivel, aching limbs, a bit of a sweat on, sore throat, bad temper and suspected terminal illness - ie. Man Flu. So I am being SENSIBLE today and having a quiet one (one bottle of fizzy cooling in fridge). Well, not that sensible from the dogs' perspective as I've been following them around the flat, doing my (very realistic) zombie impressions and scaring them to death. This is what happens to me when I've been confined to the settee for a few days.

Tim is (don't fall off your chair) meant to be cooking dinner tonight. Veg chilli, anyone?

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There has been tip top progress on the boat over the last few weeks. We've managed to get all the sails off and the genoa is booked into a sailmaker in Dubrovnik to have it's sacrificial strip replaced. We've had "men who know" on the boat to look at the structural strengthening issue and have come up with a plan. We are now on the hunt for marine ply and West System epoxy which, of course, requires importing from somewhere. Tim has been dismantling the interior of the boat which is now almost completely stripped down on one side.

Our friends Denise and Steve came to help us for the day. Denise and I unseized the hanks on a stubborn foresail whilst supping Baileys coffee and Steve managed to get our posh Cetrek autopilot working! At last. What a star! Despite the old Lefkas rat chewing up the wiring diagram!

The Restoration Handbook! What an amazing find. We found an incredibly useful, step by step book which has recently been published by a couple who have completely renovated their North Wind Mistral yacht!

We are battling importation issues about getting a new forehatch, communicating at length with plastic fabricators about replacing our windscreen (first quoted £1600!!) and emailing Croatia in terrible Croatian in an attempt to get the bits we need.

Tomorrow we re-enter the modern world with a visit to Dubrovnik to find various bits and bobs, go to Lidl (luxury) and pick up our mates, Andy and Cath from the airport.

THEN we can go out and celebrate my birthday! Hooray!