Bloodaxe

Eddie's back in town.

Since he moved to Bridgwater we've only seen him sporadically, usually when he calls in unexpectedly to home during my working hours. He's wirier than ever, thin and haunted-looking, and living -sort of - in Bristol. He says that he's sold his house in Bridgwater and bought a boat, a 48-ft ketch called Bloodaxe. And certainly, it was moored where he said it would be, when I push-biked down to the docks to have a look for it. Eddie was on board too, so it must be his. What's more, it's moored in the most prestigious place in Bristol: bang in front of the Lloyd's building where everyone can see it. Eddie says that it'll be moved on soon, but still.

I'm never quite sure about Eddie. I'm really fond of him, yet wary about anything he tells us: he has wild ideas that are almost fantasies, and stories which are almost true, but not quite. I worry about his health, too. Still, his genes are moving on. He has (he tells us) five children by three women, and he still has the gift of the golden voice and an eye for girls. Most recently he has been associated with a Latvian woman less than half his age. I must learn how he does it......

I'd like to learn to sail, too. It's the first yacht that has made me feel that way. Racing boats don't, but Bloodaxe looks livable; and ketches are easy to sail, so they say.

:o)