Pillings Lock Marina-Winter 2009/10 Blog#2

Pillings Lock Marina
Winter 2009/10
Blog#2

Well, here we are at the start of our second blog from PLM and it is now almost 3.30 pm on Sunday 11th October 2009. At around 12.30 we popped into Quorn for our usual Sunday tipple and, after picking up the paper, called into The Apples and Pears pub. This place is even smaller than the White Admiral in Harlow, but it is far busier than I’ve ever known the Admiral to be, even on a Sunday. Although quite small it still boasts two bars and, by the time we left at about 1.30, it was really filling up. Anyway, all in all a very friendly pub, which I feel sure we’ll visit again.

We are now looking for alternative places to do our shopping, well, the butchery and bakery stuff anyway, and I’ve just been checking out Melton Mowbray which, as everyone knows, is most famous for its pork pies and we’ve found from their website that they actually have a place called The Olde Pie Shoppe. Hopefully they do other stuff as well, such as Stilton Cheese perhaps. They have market days on Tuesdays and Saturdays, so we’re pretty spoiled for choice.

Tomorrow we’ll probably take another run into Loughborough, because I want to price up the timber I’ll need for Wifey’s plant pots and the stern storage compartments I want to make.

We seem to be surrounded by dog owners on both sides of these moorings, which causes our own pooch to give vent to her displeasure, when they all start sounding off. It’s getting so bad I’m now thinking of fitting her with a Bark Buster. For some reason best known to herself, before Sheila has even put her lead on, she gets all excited and continues to bark until she’s outside the boat but, when I take her she’s as quiet as a mouse, well, almost. It doesn’t seem to matter what Sheila says to her to try and quieten her down, she just keeps it up. Well, I’ve had enough, I’m going to dig out that Bark Buster, which we’ve never even tried on her, and see if we can’t put a stop to her shenanigans, so there!

It is now 4 pm on Wednesday 14th October and I’ve had a really lazy day, which is more than can be said for Wifey, who’s been working like a slave. Well, why keep a dog and bark yourself? She’s been pondering how to clean the windows on the offside; that’s the side nearest open water; and finally, after three years behind the mast, the penny dropped because, all she had to do was remove the bit that opens inwards, when she found she could just about reach all of the lower pane with a bit of a stretch. I don’t think she relished the thought of walking along the gunwale and she didn’t want to ask me to do it which, being the very nice man that I am, I would have agreed to without a murmur.

She has taken down the old curtains and taken them over to the laundry, and she’s replaced them with the pretty, flowery summer ones. Well, she would, wouldn’t she?

As for me, well, I’ve been trying to catch up on the recipe book, which is already well over 300 recipes long and seems to be getting longer by the day. This is because I keep finding more information to add to the thing. Anyway, what started out as a bit of a hobby seems to have taken over since we arrived at the moorings. I now automatically set the laptop up just as soon as I’m dressed in the morning, even before I’ve made our first cup of tea. Now, that’s dedication for you.

Thursday 15th October and the weather is quite miserable today, with drizzly rain and slippery surfaces underfoot. No matter, we’ll simply stay on the boat.

Wifey is, as usual, keeping herself busy, this time she’s giving the brass curtain rails a clean with Brasso. As for myself, I’ve been sat at the laptop for several hours now, partly working on the recipe book and partly checking out e-Bay for a new laptop. I’m torn between a brand new Acer and a refurbished one. Unfortunately, since e-Bay changed the feedback rule so that it is virtually impossible to give BAD feedback, I’m not even sure I want to take the chance. Anyway, when I go over to Harlow next Thursday I can take a look in PC World and all the other stores that sell laptops.

We now have a Box number for our mail so please feel free to drop us a line while we’re here, the number is 45 and the full address is:

Mr. and Mrs. D.J.Chamberlain
Box No. 45
Pillings Lock Marina
Flesh Hovel Lane
Quorn
Leicestershire
LE12 8FE

We look forward to hearing from you.

Today is Saturday 17th October and the weather promises to be fine for the weekend. This is just as well, because we paid a visit to B&Q yesterday and bought the necessary timber and other bits and pieces, with which to make Wifey’s flower boxes. This now means I have to practice some canal type painting, because she’s going to insist on the proper decoration.

Rusty has not been too chipper of late, as I reported a few days ago. It seems to be a tummy problem because, when I offer her her usual snack in the morning, she refuses to eat it and just mopes around. On two occasions she’s woken me up very early, obviously in distress and wanting to be taken out. It’s not that I object to this, but the area of grass used for poohing is a bit far for my dodgy knees to take me, especially first thing in the morning. Also, if the decking is wet, I have to be extra careful.

We are suspicious of the fact, that this problem only seems to show itself after an evening when we’ve given her the juices off our plates, which she has always been treated to since we adopted her. The upshot of this is, that we have now stopped these treats and, hopefully, we’ll have no more of these early walks

The ducks in this marina are very friendly, though not yet hand tame. They obviously recognise a generous human being when they see one, because they have been clustering around our boat ever since we arrived. We even have a regular visit from a young moorhen, who sits on the decking by the galley window waiting for its breakfast. Even as I type this the ducks are nattering amongst themselves outside the hatch. Yesterday, whilst shopping at Morrison’s, we bought a small, white loaf just for feeding these hungry critters.

Ah well, must dash, my fans await!

It is now 6.45 am on Sunday 18th October and we’ve had no sign of winter as yet. I have to say though, I was somewhat disappointed in yesterday, especially after being told, that the whole of the country would be bathed in sunshine. Nothing could have been further from the truth, cloudy all day. I had hoped to be cutting up the timber for the flower boxes but, alas, without a proper work bench or a couple of trestles, it was impossible and I had no intention of doing so inside the boat. Hopefully my dear brother will help me out on Thursday.

Now, I really must dash, because I have a programme to download called Paragon System backup 2010, which promises to take a snapshot of the hard drive.

Thursday 22nd October and I’ll be off to Harlow later this morning. I have lots to do when I get there, including a tour of computers at PC World, because this thing is giving me no end of trouble. After that a couple of things at B&Q and The Range and then, as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve got to check out just how much stuff we left at Alan’s workshop when we bought the boat.

Had a call from my old Air Force pal Alan yesterday, to tell me he and his missus are over from Germany for three weeks, so we have to plan a visit to see them before they go back. I’ve also promised my old and dear friend John Barefoot, that I’ll pay him a visit soon, and he lives in Weston super Mare, and that is about 200 miles away. Mooring here at Pillings Lock and so far away from folks is proving rather expensive.

Fortunately Harlow is only 2 hours away and mostly motorway, whilst Alan Oxley is only about an hour away at Newcastle under Lyme, so those two are not a problem. Last year I was able to visit my brother every other week, but this year I’m reduced to once a month. However, as the local pub has a jamming session on alternate Thursday evenings, that is when I’m visiting. Besides which, when visiting from Bulbourne we would have a couple of drinks at lunchtime, after which I would sit around for a couple of hours before going home. This year I will be staying overnight instead and leaving mid morning, which makes a lot more sense.

Another weekend has arrived and, at 07.00, on Saturday 24th October, it is persisting again. Of course the gardens need it but, I have to say, the canal has plenty. Also it is shopping day and, with the decking a bit like a greasy pole, it will be a hazardous trip just to get to the car. I realise that it would probably add a few thousand pounds to the cost of the build, and that most folks are pretty steady on their feet, come rain or shine, but for those of us who suffer from a bit of old age wobbliness, a coating of non-slip bitumen paint would not have gone amiss. Nuff said!!

Thursday evening in Harlow was a revelation. The Purple Emperor hosted a jam session of musicians and the experience took me back to the days when Joy was running the pub. She had regular, weekly live band nights and hired them at something like £400 a time. But our Martin, who is an ex cabbie and a local man, is just a little bit craftier than most. Instead of paying an agency to book proper bands for the evening, he’s thrown his doors open to musicians who want a place to practice, hence the jamming sessions. This means that the music makers are not having to hire a hall for their sessions and Martin doesn’t have to pay for a band.

O.K. so he doesn’t get a top flight band or duet, but he certainly gets a wide range of talents. For instance, we had the privilege of watching a 14 year old strut his stuff on electric guitar and, for a lad that age, he was absolutely mesmerising. We also had a 17 year old on drums who have done with a solo spot, but didn’t get it. Still, from what I saw of him and the young guitarist, they’ll both make a name for themselves.

I took the timber to Harlow with me and Alan very kindly cut it all to shape for me and now, all I have to do is sand it all down and put it together. Of course my dear Wifey wants a proper paint job, which means at least a few roses in the style of canal craft, and I might even paint a couple of castles on the ends. But first I have to practice the art, and that could take some time and a commodity I’m somewhat short of, and that’s patience. It also means that the recipe book will have to take a back seat for a while. But that is something of a hobby really and is not quite as important. Once the boxes are finished I will try to post a picture of them.

It is now 2.15 pm on Saturday afternoon and we’ve done the shopping but, as we left the car park, I noticed that my brake warning light was flickering. Obviously, not wanting any problems with braking, we consulted the hand book to see what it was trying to tell us. It seemed to be saying that our brake pads had reached a point of wear where they needed to be checked.

So, off we went to do the shopping at Morrisons with the intention of giving our friendly, neighbourhood mechanic a call when we returned. On our way back to the car park at Morrisons we noticed we had a flat tyre and, after trying to pump it up, without success, asked where the nearest tyre repair depot was. Armed with this information we drove off, still on a flat tyre, to a little place next door to Halfords. Sure enough, there on the wall, in plain sight for everyone to see, was a sign assuring everybody who might be interested in this service, that they do indeed carry out tyre repairs. So, we called in to reception and asked if they could help us and, guess what, “Sorry”, said the guy at the counter, “we don’t do tyres”.

Hm! Now what? Well, not wishing to antagonise the bloke, since I needed to know where the next nearest place was, I asked and he pointed us in the right direction. The upshot of all this was that we needed a new tyre, at the princely cost of £55. I asked the manager of this place – Speed Fit – why my brake warning light should be flickering, fully expecting further expense to have it checked out and his reply was that the brake fluid level could be low. Well, once the tyre was fitted and the car was on an even keel, the light went out and so it seems that this light also points to a flat tyre!!

We have just discovered that the Halifax is now going to charge £1 per day if their customers actually have the nerve to use their agreed overdraft. Up until recently the charge was about 1.4% per month, but they now expect you to pay £7 per week. We are now looking for a new bank and so, if any reader can suggest a suitable alternative, we would be very much obliged. We do have an agreed overdraft limit, which we very rarely use, but this is just being greedy. Some banks do charge 50p per day, and that’s bad enough, but £1 is a bit OTT we think.

The problem is that Lloyds TSB actually own the Halifax, and Wifey has an account there, so it won’t be long before they follow suit. Aren’t they wonderful?

Tuesday 27th October 2009 at 06.30 and it looks like being a calm but cloudy day, unlike yesterday which started out quite blustery. As you know, we had promised Carole that, if at all possible, we would meet her at Loughborough in the boat and treat her and Lucia to a short cruise. They would be arriving at the station at about 12.15 and, since it would take at least 1 ½ hours for us to get there, we really couldn’t leave our departure any later than 10.30. By 1o.15 it was still a little blowy, but we decided to risk it.

The point of all the previous palaver was to lead up to an explanation as to why we are reluctant to travel in windy weather. Being moored in a marina does have its compensations but, if it is windy and if, as is aour mooring position, the wind is coming at the boat broadside, it can be pretty difficult to move off because, as you will appreciate, as fast as you push the boat out, the wind pushes it back in. In the event all was well and we did get the boat moving and left at 10.15.

I have to say that our Lucia is quite a charmer but, just like many seven year olds, she does try to push the boundaries as to what is allowed and what is not. However, in her case, these efforts are pretty mild and just add to her charm. Just like her mother and grandmother, Lucia is a vegetarian and so, as you can imagine, we were at a loss as to what to feed them for lunch. As it happens though, there is a pretty good café on site and they do a selection of veggie food. They also do a pretty good curry and a beef stew and dumplings, the first of which I thoroughly enjoyed and the second of which Wifey polished off. I tell you I really don’t know where she puts it all, and all without putting on any extra weight. I suppose it could be something to do with the fact that she takes Rusty for some pretty long walks.

And that, as they say, is that and the end of this blog.

Best wishes to all from,

Dave, Sheila and Rusty