“001 was a much better year.   Dean’s operation had gone well and I was feeling a lot better.  At Easter strong winds blew from the west and we beat our way down to St Tropez and Cavalaire but were rewarded with fine downwind sailing on the way back. 

In the summer we teamed up with my former partner Roger and his family for a cruise to Corsica and then down the west coast to Sardinia.    A highlight was the anchorage at Figari.

Bob and Sue joined us in Sardinia and after cruise to Corsica and the islands in the Straits of Bonifacio we sailed across to Fumincino for our visit to Rome.

Liz and I spent a week in Fiumicino waiting for Keith and Cilla to join us.   It was no hardship.   Most days we took the train into Rome and began to feel like locals and despite some problems Fumincino has grown on us.   The sail back to Antibes stands out for 11th September in Livorno and a visit to the Cinqe Terra.

Cruising has thrown up all sorts of problems but one I never thought about was getting my hair cut.  My solution was cheap and cheerful but Liz never bought into the idea.

Haircut.

A haircut in Antibes costs €20 while a pair of electric shears complete with a set of combs from 3 to 18mm cost €25 therefore the outlay would be more than covered by two haircuts and since we are grey haired nomadic pensioners, cutting our own hair seems the thing to do.

To cut down on mess the extension lead was run on to the dock and I sat in the folding chair.  Going round the ears was the first problem. The French instructions clearly showed the shears on their side being rotated around the ear.  Liz put put the shears flat against the side of my head and was about to cut a 4cm wide swathe around each ear. 

Young Thomas came walking down the pontoon to join in the fun and assured me that he knew how to do it.

The nape of the neck went smoothly.  The No. 7 comb prevented too much damage but Liz really came into her own with the naked shears below the hair line on the back of the neck.  The mistake I made was to explain how she could run the naked shears-upside down- following the shape of the existing hair.  In she went straight to the skin leaving me with a bald patch on the right hand side at the back.

“You are starting to look like a cat with a skin complaint.” she laughed.

Fearing the worst I put the 18mm comb on and decide to do the top myself.  Most of it is fine but once again there is a short patch-again on the right- but Liz assured me through her giggles that it will be fine once it has been washed and I put some gel on it.

Must go to bed now as we have an early start because Liz has an 8.30am appointment at the hairdressers-€40.

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