This week, I managed to finish my stepladder and, although there were some hurdles, and it is not quite perfect, it looks good and works well – I am pleased with the final result.

I am now moving on to the deck beam exercise, and the angled dovetail, complete with its ‘flair’ is taxing my grey cells. Here’s the start, with mock gunwales set into a jig, and the fist beam, cut and shaped, ready to start the joints.

We have to fit three beams, and the last one is marked for the City & Guilds qualification. Hopefully, I will finish this in the coming four day week – an extension to our 12 week joinery course, which finished on Friday with the awarding of certificates! Because we have got the first week of June off, it has been decided that we will move from joinery to the boathouse itself on 10th June.

The main news and the biggest joy of the week was the safe arrival on Monday of Lily, our second grandchild. Siobhan and David are very proud parents – rightly so. She is a beautiful baby, just as her mother (and no-doubt her maternal grandmother) was. Both she and Siobhan are doing well, and Noah is very pleased with his new baby sister …