A Fuse, Missed Rugby Match and HMS Portland

Today, Sunday I got up about 8 o'clock. The Under 11s rugby team were playing their first game of the season. They were supposed to play last Sunday but rain (heavy) fell to earth on Friday and Saturday and the pitch up at Newton looked like a swimming pool. I needed to catch a bus from the Strand at 10:21 so at 9:35 when I switched the kettle on to have a cup of coffee I didn't expect to miss the bus. But just as the kettle boiled it went BANG in a nasty sort of way and switched off. So did the radio, the computer, the fridge, the slow cooker and the freezer. The answer machine and the alarm clock also went down but the lights were still on. No problem, just a fuse gone.

Well it was a 30 amp fuse and did I have a spare? I have now but at 10:05 after spending 30 mins looking in all the obvious places to leave a spare fuse plus a few less likely places I knew I didn't have a spare. The slow cooker was the problem, bits of lamb had been gently cooking for diner. If I went to the game and then went for a fuse the lamb wouldn't be cooked and that would not be the best plan.

Focus didn't have any 30 amp fuses but I was tempted by a 30 amp circuit breaker. Problem was it looked like it would be too big to fit in the fuse socket. So 100 metres up the road to B&Q where they had a hundred 30 amp fuses. Well they only have 98 now and I have a spare taped to the side of the fuse box. New fuse in, everything worked and the lamb was delicious and cooked to perfection. But it was too late to get to the game. Shame, it was such a nice day, bright sun shine and dry with a slight breeze. Torquay can be so glorious at this time of year,

So I though I would go down to the harbour and see if I could get on board HMS Portland. There was sign in the Tourist Shop window proclaiming that all the boarding passes had gone. This meant there would be hundreds of people queuing for the boat out to the Portland anchored out in the Bay. When I got to the Quay there were about 20 and the Liberty Lass was just about to leave. A crew member shouted that there was room for one more. No one in the queue moved. So down the gang plank and off we went.

In ten years living in Torquay this was only my 3rd trip out into the Bay. Unlike the Stagecoach Cat we could stand out on deck and watch the scenery. From out there you can see why it is call the English Riviera.

Lots of grey paint, guns, pipes cables and very steep stairs. The crew were very helpful and were enjoying showing us landlubbers round their ship and were even quiet nice when I called it a boat. It’s a ship. There is a bit of a clue in the name, I mean it’s the HMS Portland not the HMB Portland. The ship is off to the Gulf some time next month for about 6 months so good luck to her crew and thank you to them and the Navy for an interesting afternoon.

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