Day 269

Storm's close. Wind'll shift northeast inside an hour. Get the cloth wraps from the shelf — we'll bundle the viable ones and seal the tin tight.

cinch the last tarp corner down with a timber batten and check the garden wall base for water pooling

Tin's open. Wrap first, then stove. Cloth bundles, rubber bands, straight into the tin — lid tight, tape the seal.

step inside, grab the muslin squares and rubber bands from the pantry shelf, set them on the table beside the seed tin

Tape's on the radio shelf. Two wraps round the lid seam. Then move it to the top shelf, back corner.

watch the porch door — wind's gusting, latch is holding but the hinge screws are loose in the frame

Door hinge. Top screw's stripped. Got a three-inch brass in the toolbox?

pull the toolbox from under the workbench, flip the latch, scan for brass screws

Found it. Hold the door steady — I'll drive it from outside. Then you sit. No discussion.

step out into the wind, grip the door frame, drive the three-inch brass screw into the stripped hinge hole with the ratchet until it bites solid

Radio first. Then the ring. I'll sister the mortise with the sound dock planks and through-bolt it proper.

remove the shattered insulator remnant from the mast bracket, clean the bracket threads with the wire brush, fit the spare porcelain insulator, and re-seal the coax splice with fresh self-amalgamating tape

Got them. Four 150mm stainless through-bolts with washers and nylocs. Will sister the mortise with the three sound planks, bolt the doubler plate through the lot.

finish seating the spare porcelain insulator on the mast bracket, wrap the coax splice with two tight layers of self-amalgamating tape, then set the wrench down and pick up the radio handset to test the shortwave

Checking 4724 first. Then 8122. Supply boat monitors both.

turn the radio on, let the tubes warm, dial to 4724 kHz, and key the handset for a radio check

(silent, watching the signal strength meter)

stand back from the radio, arms folded, monitoring the S-meter and the northeast sky for weather changes while she transmits

Radio next. Then your ankle.

Walk to the radio shelf, pull down the spare porcelain insulator and the roll of self-amalgamating tape, then head out to the mast bracket on the porch roof.

Brace needs rebuilding. Tonight. Mast first.

Climb onto the porch roof via the ladder, spare insulator in one pocket, tape in the other, and start untying the shredded coax from the broken insulator on the bracket.

Boots are dry. I'm careful.

Work the coax clamp loose with the wrench, pull the shattered insulator free, and thread the spare porcelain onto the bracket stud, seating the coax end clean into its groove.

Insulator's gone. Coax too. Got the spare porcelain but the tape won't bond in this damp. Need the air to dry a bit.

Wipe hands on thighs, pick up the spare porcelain insulator from the radio shelf, and turn it over in my fingers, checking the glaze for hairline cracks.

Leave it. I'll move it. Sit down.

Step between her and the stove, take the tin from the warm surface with a folded cloth, and set it on the counter away from direct heat. Then pull out the chair at the table and tap the seat.

Radio's live. Picked up a weather fax on 8 MHz — front's stalled, could sit two days. You need to stay off that ankle proper now. I'll wrap it when the kettle's on.

walk to the cottage porch and set the ladder down, then go inside to the kitchen to fill the kettle and set it on the stove

Tea first. Then the ankle. Then I write one line to Tom.

take the kettle off the stove when it whistles, pour two mugs, set one by Jenny's chair, and pull the self-amalgamating tape from the radio shelf

Hold still. This'll pull a bit going on.

unwrap the driftwood splint and fabric strips from Jenny's ankle, examine the swelling, then wrap it clean with the self-amalgamating tape — firm but not tight, overlapping each turn — and smooth the end down

I'm going to write that line to Tom now.

pull the chair out at the table, unfold the letter, pick up the pen, and write: "Tom — still here. Still breathing. Kevin." then fold it back up and set it beside the radio log

He'll hear it in the signal report.

I'll log the weather fax in the radio book. You finish the tea.

walk to the radio desk in the corner, open the logbook, and write down the 8 MHz fax details — front stalled, winds west 25-30 gusting 40, pressure 977 falling, visibility poor — then set the pen down and listen to the static

Mast bracket held the last one. Coax splice is the weak point. I'll run a second safety line from the mast base to the eyebolt on the shed. Dock ring'll shift — nothing to do but check the dinghy lines are doubled.

walk to the porch door, pull on the oilskin jacket hanging by the frame, and step outside into the rain to tie a second safety line from the mast base to the shed eyebolt, cinching it tight with a round turn and two half hitches

Done. Brass screw bit solid. Latch catches clean.

Walk to the porch door, test the latch from outside, pull it firm to confirm the hold, then step back inside and set the kettle on the stove.

Wind's backing west, not dropping. Tank's fine — near full. Sit still.

Pour water into the kettle, set it on the stove, then tear a clean strip of muslin and the self-amalgamating tape from the shelf and kneel at her feet.