Predator, Arco Beck, Viking Sea

I woke up at seven this morning, which is when I had set the alarm, and had no idea what day it was, and a terrible fear that it might be a week day, which, if it was, meant I was very late waking up. Reassured that it was Saturday, I lay there for another half an hour before getting up to start a busy day of report writing. I didn't get quite as far as I had hoped, but I did quite a lot, and at least I started them, always the worst part. I had a few breaks, to take Andy to the foot doctor in Woolwich, to pop to the charity shop, and to potter around the internet. I ended up joining a website called Marine Traffic, where you can create your own fleets, and monitor shipping traffic around the world. I did this because I wanted to upload a picture of the Arco Beck, a dredger we saw on the Medway a couple of weeks ago, when we went to Upnor for lunch with my Mum and brother. Having read the many rules about the photos you upload, I don't expect they will let mine in, but it was worth a try. I cannot make head nor tail of how the website works. I have created a fleet with one ship in it, but how you view that ship's travels I have no idea. The map is covered with a grid of numbers (may be map references, may be ships-haven't looked too closely, and I don't know how to just show my (if only!) ship. Anyway, all that waffle is because this is a boat related post. 

When we went to Upnor, the carpark at the top of the High Street was full so we went to another part of it and parked briefly. I took this picture there, because I liked the rustiness and the lettering.

We went back to the carpark and a space had appeared. At the bottom of the High Street we saw this rusty ship. I found out today that it is a suction dredger, which would explain the weird machinery on board.

Behind the ship, you can see the pump house where my brother is working, helping his friend convert it into a distillery. After lunch we had a tour and saw the latest developments, explained to us by his colleague Abbi, the distiller. A massive shiny distilling system arrived from China and has been installed so they are a bit nearer to opening.

On Thursday, Andy sent me a text with news of a giant boat which would be in Greenwich that evening for a naming ceremony. I love seeing these boats, so, after voting, we went down for a look. It took a while to find parking, and in our meanderings we found this face.

This is Andy's photo. He managed to get the whole ship, which I failed to do. 

It is as if a ten storey building has plonked itself on the Thames. Massive!

The lifeboats are pretty big. 

Canary Wharf in the background. 

My zoom lens captures some staff chilling. 

I was thinking of that picture with a man in lots of different poses in a grid form when I took the picture below. Found it after googling variations on 'man in different positions in boxes tate'. It is by Bruce McClean. It is called 'Plinths' and is a comment on the work of Henry Moore. 

All the time we were looking at the ship, the sky was putting on a beautiful display of soft evening clouds and sunset.