Jackdaw 54

March 26th 2008 Thursday
Why is it? Every time I try to arrange time for Jackdaw something else crops up.
On Monday we had to go to the bank to sort out some finances and rearrange our mortgage etc (I need some new sound equipment and I am hoping to get a few extra quid to help pay for Jackdaw) but we found out from the bank staff that our accountant has been charged with fraud and theft of a client’s money. It was on the front page in the paper but we had missed it.
I had wondered why I got a letter from the tax man saying my return was late and fined me £100 she is usually very good.
Anyway, Tuesday we called in to see her and we played it cool, never mentioned a thing, but I think she knew that we knew that we knew what she knew, if you know what I mean. I just asked if the books were done as I needed the accounts for the bank to get the re mortgage. She said they were ready but just needed typing up so she gave me all my paperwork back and promised to send them out. We will wait and see.
Then Wednesday morning the daughter had missed the bus. Again! So as usual I gave her a lift in the Jeep but there had been an accident on the ring road and as we stood in the traffic jam the top radiator hose burst and almost blew up the engine with water and steam spraying all over the electrics. Every red light that could come on came on. It took me 2 hours to get home with bits of sticky tape and lots of topping up with water. I spent the rest of the day trying to get a new hose but apparently no body stocks them anymore as “they do not blow these days because most cars have expansion tanks” ???????????
I have had to order one from a dealer 10 miles away and it will take 3 days to get in.
While all this was going on Marilyn decided we should do a car boot sale as we haven’t got any shows on Sunday. We have been collecting everything together that we want to get rid of, most of it was piled in the garage in Aycliffe (God knows where all this junk comes from) it's all at home now ready to go.
This morning I set about to do a couple of jobs in the yard. I noticed the security lights weren’t working in the garage and the hinges on the gates were a bit loose so they didn’t lock properly. I have messed about all day, I had to replace 4 light bulbs and fix the higes on 3 gates, I really should keep on top of all these jobs so I can get on with other things.
I have had enough now so i'm off to the pub.

May 7th 2008 Wednesday
I don’t really think anybody cares what happens in my life but when the sh*t hits the fan it affects this story so I best keep it up to date. If you are keeping up with the diary you may have noticed that things have gone a bit flat. I know it normally takes me months to do a simple job on Jackdaw but at the moment I am simply doing nothing at all.
I am having some financial problems BIG TIME! And I am fighting to keep my head above water so everything is in limbo at the moment. (There have been deliberations as to whether we can even keep Jackdaw.) It all started with a very quiet Christmas time and where this normally sees me through to Easter, it didn’t, and I went deep into the overdraft.
Then it happened agian Easter was a disaster with no shows and the snowball effect of debt has taken over.
******Death by credit card*******
It’s not total doom and gloom just a glitch in the system and a pain in the aspidistra. I have a boat load of work booked in for the summer but I am desperate for cash now. I am hoping to kick start things with the help of a re mortgage and a couple of extra money making ideas some of which I have already put into practice on my entertainment website.
Like I said at the beginning of the New year I am going to be positive about things and I know from past disasters things always work out in the end.