Back from sunny France, and straight into windy and rainy England. But no matter… I was keen to get over to ‘Miss Baudet’, previously known as ‘Solace’, ‘Kingfisher’, ‘Los Amigos’ and ‘A Boat For My Potplants’. They say it’s unlucky to change a boat’s name, but I’ve proved that myth wrong.

It’s my old boat rescued and renovated from the nautical knackers-yard 15 years ago, and just before I went to Montolieu I coated all its likely leaky holes with a Chinese gunk I saw advertised on the internet.

I’d heard there had been some heavy rain recently. Had the gunk worked? YES! It was almost bone-dry inside the cabin. This had never happened before, and I was well-chuffed.

I am also chuffed with the new planters, custom-made by local good bloke Adrian Loveridge. Look at them! They are things of beauty.

And now I’m back I’ll be heading over to the garden centre toute-de-suite to get some pretty posies.

But what? What would be good for the Winter season that’s just around the corner? I’m thinking plastic, but I’m not sure whether the good folks of Wivenhoe would agree.

What I really fancy is to see whether some ‘special’ seeds would grow. The type that would be just right for the boat for my ‘pot’plants, nudge nudge, wink wink, say-no-more.