Latest from Pillings

Pillings Lock Marina 2010#12

Monday 21st June and the day starts well, with lots of sunshine.

It’s been quite a while since last I wrote to the blog and much has happened, some good and some not so good. The good news includes my date for the replacement of these pesky knees, which will be the 28th July. Other good news is the repair of the laptop, which is now running as it should.

Even more good news is our decision to move the boat; and ourselves of course; to the new marina at Willington near Burton-on-Trent, the name of which is Mercia Marina. This decision came about as a result of paying the place a visit with our neighbours, Brian and Marion, Clive, Robbie and Dave Llewelyn, all of whom will also be relocating.

This all came about because the MD of this site, and I use the initials very loosely, gave Marion good cause to quit her job. Without going into too much detail, he was taking the Mickey and she was working seven days a week for most of the time.

The Mercia Marina is humungous and could probably swallow this one three times or more. But, the main thing going for it is the security; no outsiders are able to access the boats and all boaters have a security fob that opens gates to the moorings.

Additional pluses are the café and small shop and the chandlery. The fact that a pub is soon to be built on the site had no bearing whatsoever on our decision to move. Unfortunately it is quite a bit further to travel to the hospital, so we’ll have to wait until my knees are done and I can drive again.

And the bad news? Well, although the car is now running OKish, it’s still not perfect and, for some reason or other, but nothing to do with the recent repairs, the engine is showing signs of overheating. However, since the fan cuts in automatically, I’m not too worried about that. Other bad news is the water pump on Shiralee, which has taken to running on when we turn off the tap. This is not a good sign and I rather suspect we’ll be replacing that sooner rather than later. But, apart from those two items of little cheer, we really don’t have a lot to worry about.

Tuesday 22nd June and I’m counting down the days to my op. But first I have an assessment day at the hospital where I will undergo various testes to see if I’m fit enough and am not carrying the MRSA bug. I also have a sheet of paper that asks for the measurements of our furniture. Hmmm!

Anyway, on to the recipe book that I passed around to you good people, has anyone tried to print out any of the recipes, except my good friend Glo of course?

Our Glo did try and found that, with recipes that have more than a page full of text, i.e. the text is hidden below the viewing pane and therefore has to be scrolled down to in order to read, that page cannot be printed in its entirety. I even tried highlighting the whole page and then clicking the ‘print’ button, but that doesn’t work either.

Hopefully there is a simple solution because, if there is not, then the book is useless as a marketable product. I have emailed eBook Starter with the problem and am hopeful of a solution.

Friday 26th June and, according to the weather reports, it’s supposed to be the hottest day of summer so far. At this moment in time I am on my own with just Rusty for company. Wifey has walked into Loughborough with Marian for the last time because, next Wednesday she and Brian are moving their boat to Mercia Marina, which is up near Burton upon Trent.

Now, assuming the medics decide I am fit to undergo the knee replacements, and assuming I only take the six weeks or so to recuperate, we will also be moving to Mercia, at least for the winter. After that all will be back to normal and we’ll be cruising for six months and resting back at Mercia for the winter again.

If they feel I can only tolerate the replacement of just one knee this time around, I’m going to opt for the right one, because this is the one giving me the most pain and discomfort. We will then spend winter as planned and I’ll book myself in for the second op next year when we return.

The book prog is now back on track, so I can press on with the next exciting instalment of same. However, as my good friend Glo pointed out, there are one or two wrinkles with the programme that those of you who have a copy may not be aware of.

For example, should you decide to print out a recipe that is not all plain to see in the viewing pane; i.e. you have to scroll down to read the rest of it; you will not be able to do so by simply clicking on the Print button. What you must do, depending upon which page you wish to print, is to click on the space to the right of the Print button first. This will open a drop down menu where you select the page and then click on the Print button in the top left hand corner.

How many other such wrinkles are yet to be found, I have no idea, but I’m working on it. I’ll pass any on that I find.
Sunday 27th June and we look set for another scorcher, which is not my favourite kind of weather. It is also the day when Paul, the MD of this site, is throwing a going away party for Marian and, to a lesser degree, her husband Brian.

This do has come as a complete surprise to all of us, not least Marian herself, who worked for Paul up until a couple of weeks ago, when she quit because he was over working her to the extent that she was virtually a prisoner of a seven day week.

Also, since Marian is aware that it is Sheila’s birthday on Monday and our 30th Wedding Anniversary, we are lumping the two cebrelations (hic!) together. Mind you, with the weather such as it is and the fact that the draught Italian lager is about £3.09p per pint – and that’s with a 10% reduction for us boaters, I don’t suppose I’ll be overdoing the boozy bit.

Brian and Marian will be moving to Mercia on Wednesday afternoons, which puts paid to Wifey’s and Marian’s regular Thursday and Saturday walks into Loughborough. However, once my knees are sorted out and I’ve recovered to the extent that I can drive again, not to mention getting on and off the boat with some sort of alacrity, we’ll be joining them there.

On the subject of our miscreant car, we’re now looking for a decent, low mileage MG ZR, a vehicle that can be picked up for a pretty decent price for something around the year 2003/4. We are hoping the current troublesome velocipede will last us until we go off cruising next April, at which time we will try to sell the wretched Alfa thingy and, with a bit of luck and a tail wind, cancel the insurance until we return to Mercia and buy the aforementioned MG. That’s the plan anyway.

Monday 28th June, Wifey’s birthday and our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Once again it looks like being a very warm day, which is not to my liking, especially after the foreign booze I consumed last night. Brian and Marian had organised a wee get-together and had invited us along to the marina restaurant. Thankfully the patio faces about north eastish, and so the sun did not contribute to my discomfort, otherwise I might well have lost a few pounds in sweat alone.

The party got off to a rather slow start, mainly due to the fact that Marian had told everybody to be there at 7pm, and they didn’t arrive until around 7.45. Thus it was that many who intended to be there, had already done so and, seeing no sign of the happy couple, had gone back to their boats. Eventually though we probably had a good baker’s dozen around the tables.

Some parties tend to be dominated by just one person; you have probably been subjected to one such, who sits there telling jokes; and this party fell deeply into that category. The fellow concerned obviously considered the comedian, Jethro, to be something of a hero, because he had obviously studied the man to the exclusion of all others. Initially, since I much prefer to engage in small talk, with the occasional joke thrown in, I found him to be a total bore but, after a few beers I warmed to the man and, since nobody else was too interested in nattering and swapping life’s experiences, I eventually found him quite amusing. Mind you, I wouldn’t want to sit through another such marathon of humour, especially coming as it did from an imitator.

I had an experience on eBay a few days ago, when ordering some CD’s for Wifey’s birthday, some of which have already arrived and, hopefully, the others will arrive today. Now, I have been with eBay for a good ten years or more and, in all that time, I have never been asked for my telephone number. I don’t know about you but, unless a company I am planning to make a purchase from has a very sound reason for asking, I never give them that information. As anyone who deals with eBay on a regular basis will know, once you have committed to buy there is no going back. In this instance though, since my number was insisted upon AFTER I had committed to buy, I decided to backtrack and terminate the purchase.

Naturally, since I had broken eBay’s rules by cancelling the transaction, I expected and received a demand for payment. Happily, after contacting the vendor and explaining the situation, he agreed to cancel the sale. Some folks just seem to get too big for their boots, because there’s no sound, legitimate reason for expecting a buyer to divulge personal information, so why do it on an auction site? I wonder how many sales he loses as a result of this insistence!

Thursday 1st July and, after setting out from Pillings Lock Marina at 1.15 pm yesterday, we arrived at the top of Kegworth Deep lock at about 4.15. Had it not been for Clive accompanying us in his boat, we would never have been able to manage the locks on our own.

Since Clive had been here many times before, we left it to him to decide where to moor up. So, what did he do, he plonked us directly underneath the glide-path to Midlands Airport. And the aircraft, which seemed to arrive at less than 10 minute intervals, were almost low enough to pluck out of the sky with your bare hands. This invasion of our conversation did not, as Clive promised, peter out after about 8 pm. Oh no, it was still going strong after we retired to bed at about 10. However, since we were all a little knackered from the hot day of cruising, I for one did not notice much after that, and slept soundly until about 3.30, when I was interrupted by a call of nature.

It was another hot and sunny day with not too many holiday boaters about, so the trip went very smoothly. Brian and Marian, who had to sort out their finances with Paul at the marina, arrived about an hour later.

Marian took it upon herself to cook dinner, which was a kind of mish mash of sausages, pasties, chicken kievs and spuds, with a generous helping of salad. All in all a very good repast after our trip.

Today, whilst the happy couple move on to Mercia Marina, Clive and ourselves will head on back to the top of Zouch Lock, where there is a pub called the Rose and Crown, or we may go on to Loughborough and stay there for the night.

On Tuesday evening Paul threw a bar-b-que for Brian and Marian, which ran on until midnight. A good time was had by all and the beer flowed rather too freely although, I have to say, I awoke quite fresh and without a hangover.

Almost forgot, I went for my pre-op assessment on Tuesday and was given the all-clear for both knees to be replaced on Wednesday 28th July. You will, of course, keep me in your thoughts on the day, and that’s an order.

Friday 2nd July and, rather than head on back to Zouch Lock, we decided to accompany Brian and Marian on to Sawley Marina. This morning at 6 am I’m not too sure this was such a good idea, because we are now looking at heavy Rain-threatening clouds and a good, stiff breeze. Combine this with wide stretches of river, where side winds are not to be recommended for the weary traveller, and we could be in for a rough ride.

Yesterday, very soon after arriving here, our happy couple walked around to the marina café for a cuppa and snack. I stayed behind because the walk would have been too much for me. When they returned about an hour later, they decided to push on towards Mercia, hoping to make it all the way. But, having stopped off at a river side pub for fish and chips, and since they haven’t phoned, we assume they didn’t get there.

Clive joined us for dinner in the evening and we all sat out back enjoying a chat and a couple of drinks before retiring to our respective boats just before 9 pm. All in all a pretty good day, during which my better half walked into town and came back with a new kettle and a toaster. All this time at a marina, on landline electricity and we hadn’t given it a thought. With the electricity there being far cheaper than gas, we should have bought these items as soon as we arrived. You live and learn!

Well now, I have managed to get online and so, for the first time for many weeks, I’ll be posting a new blog.

Before I do, a short message for Glo. I’m working on converting the book to a .pdf file, which should be easier for you to print out. Most of the recipes will appear on a single page, or maybe two, but they won’t include the town info.

All abreast to all.

Dave, Sheila and Rusty.