Hope your crossing is smooth.
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Slightly bumpy but no problem. Nice meal on the boat. I almost feel like I’m home but not quite yet!
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And the first half of my cheerful news is that this morning SIL sold her house in a gated community in Joburg, so they can now emigrate to the UK (English husband).
The second half is that my wife (who’s not been back to the UK since we left nine years ago) has said she might have to pay them a visit, but there’s no need for me to go along (nothing against my SIL, lots against visiting Luton or wherever).
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Our gas bottle ran out today, right in the middle of cooking the soup for our lunch 
But the Cheerful News is that the 13kg bottle has lasted us since 9th June 2025 (more or less 10 months) even though we use it for virtually all our cooking.
Much cheaper than using the electric oven and has only needed some alteration to my brain cells re how to cook stuff 
and extra Cheerful… we had a replacement bottle ready, willing and able.. 
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I used to find Butagas very economical too, even when all the family were at home and I was doing a lot of cooking in the oven. However once I changed to an electric fan oven I was converted and now here with an induction hob too. My problem was getting the bottles in the boot of my car and out again and then lifting indoors and here it would have been getting it up five steps to the front door so I don’t miss that side of things at all. If the electric goes off I have a portable camping stove for heating. Out of interest what does a large gas bottle refill cost these days?
I bought this replacement before Christmas 2025 as I expected the bottle in use to run out right in the middle of cooking Christmas meals… but it didn’t run out until today.
Hence, I’ve no idea what it cost us last year.
thankfully we won’t need to buy another bottle for 9/10 months (?) so can wait and see how prices fluctuate and pick our moment.
Since we started our various economy drives (water/leccy) both those bills have gone down. so once again.. some Cheerful News!
If we get to the stage that OH cannot change the bottle, we have neighbours who will aid us… no problem. We all help one another with such things.
and that’s even more and more Cheerful News.
EDIT: online says a recharge is currently around 39 euro so roughly 4 euros a month for nearly all of my cooking
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We exchanged Easter greetings with our son - it’s good because we’ve not communicated for a few days and my message yesterday wasn’t answered (he’s still working long hours). He also sent this picture.
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Take me to the bridge.
Aye aye cap’n.
The missing US aviator has been found safe and well. I had been worried what might happen to him if he was caught by the Iranians after remembering John Peters the brit RAF pilot who was captured back in the 80’s (?) and paraded on TV all beaten and injured by the captors. Can’t remember if it was the Iraquis, Iranians,syrians who captured him but he did get out alive eventually.
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I was concerned that they might have taken Hegseth’s “no quarter” comment as their guide.
I was concerned that they would take the Nuremberg ruling that following illegal orders was no defence against committing war crimes. That is, killing Iranians by bombing them in a ‘day of infamy’ attack without declaration and during negotiations. 
This is certainly Cheerful news.
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Gulf War 1 - 1991. Shot down over Iraq.
Continuing the unpacking … I found four pairs of shoes, all DMs, including cherry red boots and shoes, a pair of black shoes and a pair of gaucho leather? shoes. Bought 15-20 years ago, I think, reduced.
Very pleased!
Edited …
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We saw our first swallow this evening….
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Ours arrived on Saturday.
We had a fleeting glance of our first hoopoo of the year.
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