Petrol Cooking Stove Transforms into Flame Thrower

Getting on towards dark so we look for a camp site. First one is too expensive, next one all right and 'warder' speaks very good English. We are the only people on the site. As usual have tea first then start cooking evening meal. After frying meat put on spuds and Ridgway pumps "bomb" like mad. Suddenly whoomph, he vanishes in a sheet of flame. He puts himself out and then studies cooker which is acting like a flame thrower. Get fire extinguisher. Powder everywhere - very effective. I strip cooker and clean offending non-return valve with petrol. Light again and flames belch from round plunger washer. Blow out with concerted effort, tighten plunger home and cooker better than ever. What a day! I steal fruit for pud (figs and plums). Later it began to rain so we went to bed.

In the morning it continued to rain so we stayed in bed. Eventually it stopped so we got up and went the local supermarket, which was just closing. Had a Turkish coffee on the return journey. Some sailors were singing in the street at 11:30am and 3 minesweepers were in the fairly small harbour. Repaired passenger arm rest. Usual complex lunch. Completed camera repair, though not certain about efficiency of take-up spool. If it is working again it's pretty remarkable after the bang it took.

Attended to sandals and one or two other odd jobs. Very tiring day! The sub-tropical evening noises have set in as usual. If those powerful chaps are crickets they must be monster size or get very tired. The sun did not put in an appearance at all today. A small amount of brake fluid appears to have leaked out during the day. Tomorrow will probably tell. Need some good weather. This camp was at Zelenika, about 5km east of Herceg Novi. Rained fairly heavily again during the night.