My time has been spent mainly painting again. Having finished the bow and stern decks in a nice shiny mid-grey that would not look out of place on any Royal Navy battleship, I've now moved onto the rear sliding hatch. It's become a bit scratched over the last two years and could do with a refresh so I've decided on a 2" dark green surround to match the cabin sides, with a red diamond on a white background inside that frame; nothing complicated but just needs a bit of care. If it works out, I'll post a photo. If it doesn't, I'll repaint it all green.
Now, as I said in a previous post, I can go for days without seeing or speaking to anyone but this time, as I popped my head out of the rear hatch, I found myself eye-to-eye with a gentleman from the far east; no, not Great Yarmouth, Japan, to be precise. He was looking at Skylark in a quizzical sort of way so I said hello and he said hello with a little bow, which I thought was a nice touch. I couldn't reciprocate as I was already bowing down under the sliding hatch (the one that I'm painting). He then pointed at Skylark and asked, 'You live on boat? 'Cos I see plates through your window'. I said, in my best Japanese-English and supported with suitable hand movements, 'No, I live in house, far away, and only use boat, for pleasure.' I didn't expand on this last point but could see he was really interested as he was straining his neck to get a good look at my engine room. I crawled out of the hatchway and offered him my hand and he accepted. We then had a chat about people living on board narrowboats, the pros and cons, the ups and the downs, what he was doing in England, etc. etc.
Anyway, as he was so interested by this time, I offered to show him the inside. He accepted at once and we went through the front doors into the boat. I showed him the main cabin, the galley, the shower/wc, the bedroom and engine room.
He was very pleased with my guided tour and asked if he could take a photograph of me standing nonchalantly in the kitchen area. Those weren't his words exactly but you get the idea. I, of course, agreed and adopted the sort of relaxed pose that I thought would portray the essence of a modern Narrowboat Captain. You know, someone who is a responsible, upstanding member of English society yet very much at ease with his individuality. I had to be careful what impression this might make as the photo might appear in Facebook or on his Blog and seen by thousands of his family, friends and countryfolk. Afterwards, I slightly regretted putting one hand on my hip as I think that looked a little too nonchalant, if you know what I mean.
Anyway, not wanting to give the impression I was in need of any extended social interaction, we said our goodbyes and he asked me to take his photo standing in front of Skylark which I was pleased to do. He stood without much of an expression on his face which I think is typical of people from the orient but he thanked me profusely and performed another little bow. When I thought it was all over and I could return to my hatch painting, he took his rucksack off and delved into its bottom-most recesses and took out, no, not a wad of fivers, but a small plastic envelope containing a woven bookmark with a symbol that looked like a swastika.
My mind started to race, which it's not used to - a leisurely stroll is more the done thing. Well, was he about to break the news that he was a member of some extreme right-wing political group? Did he see me as a potential convert? Had he been surveying the boat as a possible venue for meetings? Anyway, to avoid any unpleasantness I thought quickly on my feet. I didn't want to mention the war so I asked him what the significance of the emblem was. He looked at it intently and, pointing to the red symbol in the top right hand corner, he nodded in thought and said it represented a cherry tree. I have no idea if he was just making this up but it sounded good to me.
I will find a suitable place to put the bookmark on board and it will remind me of my brief encounter with the man from Japan.
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