Alchemy! Alchemy!

Friday 27th July, 2012 at Devizes.
Today the Olympics begin in London.  We stayed moored up in the centre of Devizes and had a quiet, restful day off. M has been upset that it has proved extremely difficult to get the brass fittings on MM clean, as they had tarnished badly over the winter. Much elbow grease from M and copious amounts of Brasso had made little impression. M was sure that there must be an old-fashioned remedy (the sort our mothers would have known about), so R did some research on the internet and came up with a possible solution. A trip to the local shops to acquire lemon juice, salt, vinegar and baking soda (total cost £3.00) was followed by a bit of alchemy to mix them in equal measures into a paste.

The result was incredibly successful! Painted on to the brass fittings, left to "fester" for an hour and then washed off and finished with some Duraglit, all the fittings are gleaming again (for now). Should we patent this new product? "Robin's Rapid Restorative" perhaps?
We also visited the local Kennet and Avon Trust Museum at the wharf, which is full of memorabilia, details of the history of the canal and of the incredible effort of restoration.
Later we sat up and watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony. Spectacular, touching, funny, thoughful, brilliant - yes, it made us very proud indeed!
No movement today, just 3.2 hours engine run to charge the batteries (total 276.0).