Yesterday, we finally connected up the second radiator in the wheelhouse. This gives us two in the wheelhouse and one in the bedroom and of course the diesel stove in the saloon. The connection went comparatively painlessly, although it required Pip to do her imitation of the boy and the dike, with her finger over a pipe while I rapidly inserted a T-junction with an isolation valve. The piping for this radiator goes through the engine room, so there will now be some warmth there as well. We refilled the expansion tank, bled the radiator and started it all up again. It took quite a while for the radiator to get warm, but once it did the wheelhouse became quite pleasant. Now we just have to run it for a while checking for leaks etc and occasionally bleeding the radiators and the stove until it all settles in.

Jak and Winnie, our friends from IJmuiden came to visit on Saturday. They drove up and explored Hoorn for a while then came to Rusty. It was all very pleasant, it was a shame that we hadn't quite finished the heating in the wheelhouse, but it wasn't too cold. We cooked them a Chinese meal, on the basis that Chinese is not such a common cuisine in The Netherlands. They seemed to enjoy it. Of course much wine was drunk and there was plenty to talk about.

We have known Jak for many years, he used to skipper a charter yacht "The Balder" into Southwold on a regular basis. He has retired from the chartering business, too many aches and pains, and is now an antique clock repairer. They live on the island between the locks at IJmuiden, with amazing views of the boats coming in and out. They own and run the jetty that Jan and Rina live on, and which we frequently stay at.

We lit the stove the moment we got back yesterday, without checking the water level in the header tank. Shortly after we had knocking noises in the heater and steam in the coil. We had lost about 3 pints of water while we were away. But we couldn't find evidence of a leak anywhere, and the joints all felt dry. In the end we just refilled the system and hoped for the best.

The copper coil in the heater seems to be pretty robust. We've steamed the heater about 6 times now, and it's still working. Most times it's either a lack of water in the system, or loosing electricity to the pump. It both those cases the problems start almost immediately.

The other time was when we turned the heater up too high, so the radiators couldn't dump all the heat generated. That time the problem developed more slowly, but it only happened because we're missing one of our basic set of 3 radiators. With all 3 we can dump as much heat as the heater can produce. That was one of the criterion for working out our basic set.

Just returned from another trip to England, this time for Paul's . . . memorial party? Wake? What do you call it when friends and relatives get together to share memories, but without any formal or religious structure? Whatever it's called, it was a lovely do, with an amazing variety of people and full of fond feelings.

A group of us had a glass of champagne on Weymouth seafront first, in memory of the time Paul + Harriet lived there on a boat, and their close ties to the sea. Then on to Hooke Court, a beautiful old hall hired for the evening. Lots of people pitched in to provide food, serve and clear away, so it felt warm and - well, gezellig.

England was looking particularly lovely. The Mendip Hills were bright with autumn colours, and a touch of mist in the distance. We stopped for tea by a canal and watched the narrow boats. The road wound through charming villages - it all had an unreal quality.

Finally met up with Tink, Ruurd and Lasse, even though they had to drive to Hoorn. We have been just missing each other all year. Dutch friends, but we met them in Southwold. We're getting quite sociable now we have heating.