The gloomy, wet and damp days are here now, so I thought it was a good idea to splash a little colour to my new planters on the boat.

I added some peat, and bought a load of spring bulbs – daffs, tulips, and various others that I can’t remember the names of. I think there were some kind of daisies, and I’m sure they’re going to be a pretty picture in February and March – but I can’t really wait that long, so I ordered these lifelike plastic specimens to see me through until then.

And every time I look at them, I’m going to get a warm feeling in my heart, remembering my late dad. He’s been in a couple of jam-jars inside the boat for a couple of years now. I slept onboard one night in the summer so that I could sprinkle him in the river when it was high-tide at 4am, but I got it wrong and found that the high tide wasn’t so high after all. The boat didn’t even float.

So, now he’s mixed in with peat, getting ready for new life to grow in the spring.