Back to Nelsons Dockyard to have a bit of work done and we were given a position in the middle of the preparations for the visit of the Earl and Countess of Wessex to Antigua.  They were arriving on Leander, the yacht owned by Sir Donald Gosling who made his millions setting up National Car Parks. (Google M/Y Leander, she’s gorgeous and can be chartered if you are looking to spend a few hundred thousand on your next holiday)

We had noticed that everything had been painted over the previous weeks but were intrigued by how much had been left to the last minute that could have been done earlier such as putting up the welcome sign.

There was an area of decking behind Tashi Delek that was fairly old wood but perfectly in keeping with the extremely old stone everywhere else however it was covered with large pieces of plywood and then painted.  By this point we were expecting to be moved to another part of the dockyard any minute but were still left alone while we had a jolly time talking to the workmen and painters who were very careful when it came to working round us, painting the wood that was underneath the gang plank and so on.

As always it was all done in the nick of time with an assortment of painters, carpet layers, hooverers, pot plant delivererers and ladder carriers walking out as the Press, dignitaries and Antiguan Defence Forces were on their way in.