Wednesday 15th September
Despite the promise of rain from the so-called experts at the Met Office, today has dawned clear but rather windy. The prevailing wind at Mercia seems to be coming at us from directly astern, which makes it rather difficult when we need to reverse out and go for a pump-out. Hopefully it will be a little calmer later today or even tomorrow morning, because we not only need the pump-out but diesel as well.
In future though, we’ll have to reverse into the mooring slot, which will place our side hatch in line with Brimar. However, I do not expect my earlier predictions, of a couple of fish-wives nattering across the gap, to amount to anything. For one thing Marian is usually far too busy to stop for a chat, except on the odd occasion when we invite her and Brian in for a coffee.
We’ve received a reply to my email to Lee Sanitation regarding the warning light in the loo. Hopefully they will be able to supply just the light, as opposed to the whole unit, which would set us back about £70. This is only the second time in the four years we’ve owned Shiralee that the LED has blown, so I suppose we shouldn’t grumble.
I am pleased to say that I am now able to drive with very little discomfort. This should help in strengthening my calf muscles a little, but I’m still concerned about the thighs, which seem rather weak. Whilst I’ve been hobbling about on dodgy knees for the past three years, they really haven’t had much to do. I suppose I’ll just have to do as much exercise as possible until they become more useful to me. I also must spend more time in a horizontal position to help alleviate the water retention problem. Perhaps my doctor, to whom I will pay a visit tomorrow, will be able to come up with some suggestions regarding both problems.
We’re having a wee problem locating a decent mini-market that is anywhere near as good as the one in Quorn. Our nearest is the Co-op in Willington which, to be honest is less than useless. The store in Repton is not much better, but the village does at least have a decent butchers.
We have yet to find a pub we like for our Sunday drink, but there are still two more to try in Willington. Sadly, neither of them has a large car park, so we may have to walk from the main one in the village.
Thursday 16th September
Sadly another rather windy and cloudy day, but then Autumn is well and truly on its way.
Like many thousands of people in the UK I have an email account at Yahoo. It’s true to say that I don’t use it very much, but it’s also true to say that it has been useful in the past.
Anyway, whilst I was online a little earlier this morning, I thought I had better catch up on any mail I might have there. Imagine my surprise when my details weren’t recognised. I’ve been with Yahoo and had the same user name and password, ever since I first had a computer that plugged into the Internet and, not once in all those years have I had this problem.
Of course I now had to go through the rigmarole of finding out why I couldn’t gain access. The first thing was to tick the box where it said my Password wasn’t recognised. This was followed by typing in those weird squiggles in a box that only somebody with wonky eyes could possibly understand. This procedure took me about 7 attempts and, with glasses, I do have pretty good sight.
Once this was done I then had to await the message Yahoo sends so that I could then go back to the same page and reset my password. I then entered the same password I originally used, which was accepted.
But it didn’t end there, oh no! I now had to set up two new security questions, a procedure that finally allowed me to access my account, only to discover I had nothing of importance in my Inbox or Spam Box. Deep Joy!
No doubt this was all as a result of not using the account for a certain period of time. There was a time, back when I was a complete novice, that I had more than 10 Yahoo accounts, but that was when I was fishing around for new money making ideas, the vast majority of which were, and still are, total rubbish.
We live and learn!!
Friday 17th September
I received an email from cousin Pauline this morning, although, with my current settings in Outlook, it found its way into my Junk box.
I have to say, she does sound positive, but also has many more visits to hospitals and a lot more treatment to endure. My own experiences with the big C were quite tame compared to what she is going through and we’re rooting for her here on Shiralee.
I’m not too sure what we’ll be doing today, apart from the pump-out and diesel top-up that is. We had planned to cruise up to Alrewas and back for a few days, but the weather does not look too promising for the weekend. Still, we do have six months here at Mercia Marina, so there will be ample time to do so later.
I’ve just taken my first look at the outside world, and all seems calm with not a trace of wind, so we should get to the pump-out station without difficulty. But that’s a couple of hours away and the situation could change dramatically by then.
Monday 20th September and another cloudy and windy day has presented itself this morning.
Sadly, although Friday started out as a very bright and mild day, the forecasters, who seem to get it right far more often than wrong these days, assured us that the weather was not set for a fair weekend, so we didn’t bother cruising off to Alrewas. This decision was a very good one as it happens because, when we tried to run the heating yesterday, it refused to start.
This system is run on diesel and is fired up electrically. The trouble with this type of system, is that it is prone to coking up inside with all the tar and such associated with diesel systems. In the four years we’ve lived on ‘Shiralee’ we’ve had the system serviced twice. Each time it has cost us over £200 and, in an effort to delay the inevitable, and on the advice of the owner of a fleet of hire boats, we installed an in line filter. This time around we have lasted about two years without a service, so the filter has certainly paid its way.
Fortunately for us the engineers here at Mercis Marina are not greedy, they charge just £140 and that includes VAT and, if necessary, the fitting of one of the pipes that can also become coked up. Had we gone off on our cruise therefore, we would have had no heating and would have had to rely upon running the engine for our hot water.
On Saturday we did much of nothing and simply chilled out, after going in to Willington to buy the paper and a few other bits. On Sunday however we decided to be a little more adventurous and drove into Findern, which is all of a mile away in the opposite direction, and we called in to The Wheel, which is their local hostelry.
From Monday to Saturday The Wheel offers up some pretty attractive fare but, on Sunday, the order of the day is a rather attractive looking Carvery. Judging by the clientele it is also an eat-as-much-as-you-can type of Carvery, because I spotted at least three customers going up for more.
The chef came out from his hidey-hole when it was necessary to carve the meat, but customers helped themselves to vegetables. There were three choices of meat there, beef, pork and gammon and it seemed that for just £5.95 a slice of each could be had. Next week or the week after could very well see us taking advantage of this very generous, state of affairs.
Yesterday afternoon I accompanied Wifey on her doggy walk and made it as far as the workshop, which is where we have to take the boat for pump-out and diesel. I do believe I overdid it a little bit, because my thigh muscles have been complaining very loudly about this treatment. Wifey assures me I am doing the right thing, but today I do not think I will be taking her up on her offer of walking to the café for a cup of coffee. Instead we’ll be driving over to Morrisson’s for some shopping, and that will be the extent of my exercise for today.
And now for our feature spot, the recipe:
Stilton Pears
This delightful dish is from Cambridgeshire
Ingredients:
Serves: 4
2 large dessert pears, ripe but firm
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 oz curd cheese
3 oz Stilton cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 pinch of mustard powder
1 pinch of sugar
1 tsp poppy seeds
Salt and pepper
Method:
Using an apple corer, remove the cores from the pears.
Sprinkle the cavities with 1 tbsp of the lemon juice.
Cream together the two cheeses.
Press as much mixture as possible into the cavities, then cover
and chill until ready to serve.
Just before serving, whisk the oil, mayonnaise, remaining lemon
juice, mustard, sugar, poppy seeds, salt and pepper together.
Spoon on to 4 individual plates.
Cut each pear in half lengthways then slice, fan out and arrange, cut side down, in the dressing.
Serve at once.
Wednesday 22 September
Yesterday was a pretty bad day for me, all aches and pains and difficulty walking. My own fault really, because I walked too far the day before, resulting in my thighs giving me trouble. I suppose I should remember that I haven’t done any serious walking for a few years due to the dodgy knees. Now that I have new ones I’m keen to get fully mobile but, as the surgeon told me last week, this could take six months or more, so I suppose I’m just going to have to be patient.
We telephoned the local workshop yesterday to remind them about our heating problem. They have promised to come and take a look this afternoon, but although their service only costs £140 (only?) it could cost even more if the burner has to be replaced. Apparently it is best to have the unit serviced every year, preferably during the summer months when it is not being used so much.
The weather forecasters have told us to expect some really cold stuff from the north at the end of the week, so we really do need this to be carried out within the next couple of days.
I have my first appointment with the Diabetes Nurse this afternoon. Actually I’m quite proud of myself lately, especially where my blood glucose readings are concerned. I have managed to keep the readings within single figures for quite a while now, except for the occasional hiccup, which is usually due to Marian’s cakes and such. But I think I’m doing really well on that score. Now all I need is for my legs to ease up and allow me to get a proper nights sleep.
Thursday 23rd September
Well, nursey was not best pleased with me, despite my own feelings that I was doing pretty well. My cholesterol was too high at 5.4, with the good stuff being too low and the bad stuff being too high. So, more oily fish to raise the good stuff and more pills to lower the bad stuff.
Another blood test to be taken tomorrow to determine my average blood glucose level, because doctor forgot to include it in the last one. Considering the fact that the Phlebotomist had four stabs at finding a vein, finally resorting to asking a doctor to take my blood, it will probably be a lot of fun tomorrow.
The engineer turned up yesterday morning and checked the heater which, to everybody’s surprise, actually fired up. But, since it really does need a service, we asked him to take the unit away. He phoned soon after to tell us it really does need a new burner, so, instead of £140, we’re now looking at £280.
It is now almost 5.30 am and, with the weekend coming up and, with eight pages already written, I suppose it’s time to post.
Have a good weekend people.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Shiralee at Willington #2
Monday 6th September
OK, so I’ve already written about today, but that was all about our problems with the waste tank, which we will be emptying today.
I also have to report that I have an appointment with our new doctor at the surgery in Willington. In this instance I’m hoping he’ll give me something for this water retention. Actually, the extra water I’m drinking is certainly having the desired effect, but I still need some advice from an expert. I’ve also almost weaned myself off the painkillers and that’s helping too. We also need to order medication that we are currently running short of.
Incidentally, Brian finally sold his Peugeot yesterday, but he had to give it to the runner up because the winner was something of a waster. That’s two he’s had on this car alone. I don’t think I’ll be trading cars on eBay any time soon.
Tomorrow is a free day in that we have nothing specific we need to do, so we can just chill out for the day.
Tuesday 7th September and I lied, today is not a free day because I have a blood test today. The pills I am taking for water retention are not working fast enough but, if I want to increase the dose, my kidney and heart functions must be checked. Apparently, if the pills are used to excess they can damage the kidneys, although what they are likely to do to the heart I have no idea.
I am becoming increasingly fed up with my inability to sleep in bed. Although I am able to rest for up to two hours, I still find I am spending more time in the armchair. Sadly I forgot to tell the doctor about this yesterday, so it seems I am stuck with the situation. Last night we went to bed at 10 pm, I was in the armchair by 11. I went back to bed at 2.30 and was up again at 4.30. You could think that I’ve had 6½ hours sleep, but much of the time in bed is trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. As for the armchair, that’s more like cat-napping at 40 winks a time.
Sheila, bless her, is forever reminding me that I’ve had major surgery and shouldn’t expect everything to be perfect within a few weeks, and she’s right of course. But the lack of sleep is the main problem and is really getting to me. And it doesn’t help when the doctor tells me that the water retention could have been caused by mal-functioning kidneys or heart, when I thought that the test was to see if it was ok to increase the dose of the pills.
That cheerful soul who once inhabited this body has temporarily departed, leaving this miserable bugger, and this miserable bugger is beginning to wonder if he’ll ever regain full use of his legs. Of course, once the legs become fully functional, this miserable bugger will hand this body back to the cheerful soul and all will be well again.
In my present state of mind I am unable to generate any enthusiasm for anything to do with making money on eBay. There’s much I could do but I simply can’t be bothered.
Thursday 9th September
Yesterday was like an Indian summer and the trip to Glenfield Hospital for my physio session was a very pleasant one. We arrived in plenty of time for a coffee and cake at the Costa Coffee Bar.
Surprisingly enough, Michelle, the very nice physio nurse, was well impressed with my progress. Being able to bend my knees beyond a 90 degree angle was, she said, a bonus and they are usually happy enough if the 90 degrees is attained. So, I’m just a wee bit chuffed at that.
Over the two weeks since my last session, she has noticed a marked improvement in my walking and my ability to flatten my knees on the bench, although there is still room for improvement there.
I managed to drive to and from Glenfield; a journey that takes about 45 minutes each way; without too much discomfort. Wifey could be heard breathing a heavy sigh of relief when we arrived home. So, unless she needs to take herself and Marian somewhere that’s too far to walk, I am now firmly back in the driving seat.
There is only one problem with this, with my swollen feet I am unable to wear my normal shoes, so I’m going to have to buy some a size bigger until the swelling goes down.
So much for my foul mood on Tuesday and all that talk about this ‘miserable bugger’. Obviously my current situation is nowhere near as bad as I had imagined.
Rusty received an email from (not so) Big Ian yesterday, for which she was most grateful. After waking her a 5.30 am to read it to her; a state of affairs that she did not appreciate; I do believe she quite enjoyed the attention. She is not the easiest mutt to understand, but I am hopeful of conveying her meaning in the reply. I did forget however, to include our best wishes to the aforementioned family member. We all hope everything is on the up and up for him.
Our friend Brian, who managed to finally dispose of the Peugeot, now finds he has a problem with the latest acquisition, the Renault Scenic. Apparently this model has two coils, one of which has packed up. He’s ordered a new one which we will collect from some place in Derby on Friday morning. It really doesn’t pay to buy these cheapo brmm brmms on eBay.
Wifey will be off to Willington this afternoon for a hair-do, leaving me with the pooch again. Actually we get along rather well when Wifey is out, sometimes for several hours, especially when going into town with Marian. For the past couple of months however, I have been unable to take her out on those days but, now that I am walking better, especially without crutches, that situation will soon change.
Now would be a good time to include a recipe. For this blog I have chosen the Bedfordshire version of Spare Ribs.
Spare Ribs
This recipe is also from Bedfordshire
Probably as good, if not better, than the modern day Chinese
variety.
Ingredients:
2½ lbs meaty pork spare ribs
1 finely chopped onion
Garlic to taste
Juice of a lemon
1 teaspoon ginger
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar, rounded
6 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 dessertspoons French mustard
Pinch of celery salt
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons water
Method:
Preheat oven to medium heat and roast off the excess fat from the ribs
Soften the onion and combine with the other ingredients
Pour off the excess fat from the ribs
Add the other ingredients with the ribs and cook for 2 hours at Gas Mark 4/180C/350F turning occasionally
These ribs go well with jacket potatoes
Your comments are always welcome.
Saturday 11th September
Yesterday morning I drove Brian down to Derby to collect that coil. Even with the help of a SatNav we still managed to go wrong, but the nice lady giving us directions soon put us right again. On ‘normal’ cars of a similar age as the Scenic, the plug leads would go into the top of a distributor, but this thing has two, quite hefty looking coils that take two each of the leads. Obviously this arrangement works well because, as soon as Brian had fitted the new coil; a matter of just a couple of minutes; the car fired up easily. There was none of the distributor nonsense of ensuring the timing was OK.
Last night was another total disaster where sleep is concerned, I think I managed a total of one hour in bed, the rest of the night was spent intermittently dozing in the armchair. I’m due to see the surgeon at Glenfield on Tuesday and will ask him about this and of course the swollen feet and legs. I’m also due to see my GP on Thursday for the results of my blood test, so I will ask him also. With luck and between the pair of these experts, I should find some answers.
Sheila popped across to the shop yesterday morning before going in to Burton upon Trent with Marian, and she came back with some interesting information. There is a village called Repton not too far away and, apparently, they not only have a good village store but also a pub and a butchers shop. Of course we are going to investigate this today, assuming this infernal rain stops for long enough.
Actually, at the junction with the A38 where the Services are, there is a Beefeater kind of pub, which Sheila and I are quite fond of. We haven’t checked it out yet but, if Repton fails us we’ll probably give it a try.
Sunday 12th September
Talking about Repton has reminded me of the discs I have of Photochrom Pictures. For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, a definition is printed here for your perusal.
“What is a Photochrom Picture? It is a lithographic print made by a process which turns black and white negatives into colour photographs. This was popular during the 1890s when there was no such thing as colour photography. The finished appearance is similar to that of an 'old postcard' and has a slightly grainy appearance. (Photochroms are not crisp and clear images as we have become used to today) Photochrom pictures were made using colour impressions from multiple lithographic plates. They have a charming appearance and are sometimes mistaken for paintings.”
These three disc contain something like 3000 of these pictures, many of which are of places in the UK, one of which is of Repton, which is only a short drive from here. We’ll probably be giving the pub there a visit today and it will be interesting to compare the ancient and modern views of the village.
Yesterday was a chill-out day for we three on Shiralee, except for Wifey trotting off to fetch the paper and such. I did quite a bit of reading and finished a book by Michael Connelly called The Last Coyote, which is not, as you may imagine, about the wild west. Mr Connelly is an ex-crime reporter who writes crime novels whose hero is Heironymous ‘Harry’ Bosch, a detective with L.A P.D. And, yes, he was named after the artist of that name.
Monday 13th September
We changed our minds about Repton yesterday, instead paying a visit to the big pub at the junction of the A50 and A38. That place is huge and is similar to Beefeaters and such. It lies within a service area that also includes a hotel, garage and KFC.
I don’t think we’ll be using it again as a regular Sunday lunchtime watering hole because it is far too busy. We arrived at about 12.30 and found the car park was almost full and, with all the bodies inside, far too warm an atmosphere for me, so we sat outside. Fortunately the weather was kind to us, although it did threaten to rain at one point.
Today we will visit Repton because we want to see what the butchers shop is like. The shop should be open as they also supply fresh bread; many butchers don’t open on Mondays which is the day they go off to purchase and order their supplies for the week. Whilst we are there of course, we will investigate the local pub and any other shops they may have.
Tomorrow is visiting day with the surgeon at Glenfield Hospital and we have to be there at 9.45 I think, so we’ll have to leave earlier than I would like, in order to miss the rush hour traffic.
Tuesday 14th September, hospital day and of course it’s raining. At the moment at 6 am, it’s only a drizzle but, as promised by the forecasters, it will be bucketing down by 8 am, which is when we’ll be leaving for the drive down to Leicester. Hopefully we’ll arrive on time so we’re giving ourselves an extra half hour in order to make up for heavier traffic.
Back home in the south it’s not unusual to find yourself amongst a whole bunch of people with the same appointment time. Up here in the north however, they have notices in the hospital telling you to mention it to a member of staff if you have been waiting for more than 10 minutes over your appointment time. Also, when sending an appointment notice out, you are warned that if you are more than 10 minutes late, your appointment may be cancelled. So, best to be on time or early.
Wednesday 15th September.
We left here yesterday morning at 07.45 and arrived at Glenfields at 08.50, which is about 20 minutes longer than a normal trip outside of rush hour. The surgeon was very pleased with my progress, although he did warn me that it could take up to a year for calf and thigh muscles to recover and strengthen. Meanwhile I suppose it’s more of the armchair at night.
Now, apart from a trip to Morrison’s today, we really don’t have much to do. However, before I leave you and post this blog, I’m going to include a few adverts that came my way via and email from Carole, who received them from our cousin Pauline. Personally I found them quite hilarious, how about you?
Subject: for sale
These are classified ads, which were actually placed in a U.K. Newspaper:
FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old.
Hateful little bastard.
Bites!
FREE PUPPIES
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbour's dog.
FREE PUPPIES.
Mother, a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd.
Father, Super Dog... Able to leap tall fences in a single bound.
COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 gay bull for sale.
JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer £100.
WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE.
Worn once by mistake.
Call Stephanie.
*** And the WINNER is... ***
FOR SALE BY OWNER.
Complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica,
45 volumes.
Excellent condition.....£200 or best offer.
No longer needed; got married last month.
Wife knows f#%#%#g everything!
All abreast from Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
OK, so I’ve already written about today, but that was all about our problems with the waste tank, which we will be emptying today.
I also have to report that I have an appointment with our new doctor at the surgery in Willington. In this instance I’m hoping he’ll give me something for this water retention. Actually, the extra water I’m drinking is certainly having the desired effect, but I still need some advice from an expert. I’ve also almost weaned myself off the painkillers and that’s helping too. We also need to order medication that we are currently running short of.
Incidentally, Brian finally sold his Peugeot yesterday, but he had to give it to the runner up because the winner was something of a waster. That’s two he’s had on this car alone. I don’t think I’ll be trading cars on eBay any time soon.
Tomorrow is a free day in that we have nothing specific we need to do, so we can just chill out for the day.
Tuesday 7th September and I lied, today is not a free day because I have a blood test today. The pills I am taking for water retention are not working fast enough but, if I want to increase the dose, my kidney and heart functions must be checked. Apparently, if the pills are used to excess they can damage the kidneys, although what they are likely to do to the heart I have no idea.
I am becoming increasingly fed up with my inability to sleep in bed. Although I am able to rest for up to two hours, I still find I am spending more time in the armchair. Sadly I forgot to tell the doctor about this yesterday, so it seems I am stuck with the situation. Last night we went to bed at 10 pm, I was in the armchair by 11. I went back to bed at 2.30 and was up again at 4.30. You could think that I’ve had 6½ hours sleep, but much of the time in bed is trying to get comfortable enough to sleep. As for the armchair, that’s more like cat-napping at 40 winks a time.
Sheila, bless her, is forever reminding me that I’ve had major surgery and shouldn’t expect everything to be perfect within a few weeks, and she’s right of course. But the lack of sleep is the main problem and is really getting to me. And it doesn’t help when the doctor tells me that the water retention could have been caused by mal-functioning kidneys or heart, when I thought that the test was to see if it was ok to increase the dose of the pills.
That cheerful soul who once inhabited this body has temporarily departed, leaving this miserable bugger, and this miserable bugger is beginning to wonder if he’ll ever regain full use of his legs. Of course, once the legs become fully functional, this miserable bugger will hand this body back to the cheerful soul and all will be well again.
In my present state of mind I am unable to generate any enthusiasm for anything to do with making money on eBay. There’s much I could do but I simply can’t be bothered.
Thursday 9th September
Yesterday was like an Indian summer and the trip to Glenfield Hospital for my physio session was a very pleasant one. We arrived in plenty of time for a coffee and cake at the Costa Coffee Bar.
Surprisingly enough, Michelle, the very nice physio nurse, was well impressed with my progress. Being able to bend my knees beyond a 90 degree angle was, she said, a bonus and they are usually happy enough if the 90 degrees is attained. So, I’m just a wee bit chuffed at that.
Over the two weeks since my last session, she has noticed a marked improvement in my walking and my ability to flatten my knees on the bench, although there is still room for improvement there.
I managed to drive to and from Glenfield; a journey that takes about 45 minutes each way; without too much discomfort. Wifey could be heard breathing a heavy sigh of relief when we arrived home. So, unless she needs to take herself and Marian somewhere that’s too far to walk, I am now firmly back in the driving seat.
There is only one problem with this, with my swollen feet I am unable to wear my normal shoes, so I’m going to have to buy some a size bigger until the swelling goes down.
So much for my foul mood on Tuesday and all that talk about this ‘miserable bugger’. Obviously my current situation is nowhere near as bad as I had imagined.
Rusty received an email from (not so) Big Ian yesterday, for which she was most grateful. After waking her a 5.30 am to read it to her; a state of affairs that she did not appreciate; I do believe she quite enjoyed the attention. She is not the easiest mutt to understand, but I am hopeful of conveying her meaning in the reply. I did forget however, to include our best wishes to the aforementioned family member. We all hope everything is on the up and up for him.
Our friend Brian, who managed to finally dispose of the Peugeot, now finds he has a problem with the latest acquisition, the Renault Scenic. Apparently this model has two coils, one of which has packed up. He’s ordered a new one which we will collect from some place in Derby on Friday morning. It really doesn’t pay to buy these cheapo brmm brmms on eBay.
Wifey will be off to Willington this afternoon for a hair-do, leaving me with the pooch again. Actually we get along rather well when Wifey is out, sometimes for several hours, especially when going into town with Marian. For the past couple of months however, I have been unable to take her out on those days but, now that I am walking better, especially without crutches, that situation will soon change.
Now would be a good time to include a recipe. For this blog I have chosen the Bedfordshire version of Spare Ribs.
Spare Ribs
This recipe is also from Bedfordshire
Probably as good, if not better, than the modern day Chinese
variety.
Ingredients:
2½ lbs meaty pork spare ribs
1 finely chopped onion
Garlic to taste
Juice of a lemon
1 teaspoon ginger
4 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar, rounded
6 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 dessertspoons French mustard
Pinch of celery salt
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons water
Method:
Preheat oven to medium heat and roast off the excess fat from the ribs
Soften the onion and combine with the other ingredients
Pour off the excess fat from the ribs
Add the other ingredients with the ribs and cook for 2 hours at Gas Mark 4/180C/350F turning occasionally
These ribs go well with jacket potatoes
Your comments are always welcome.
Saturday 11th September
Yesterday morning I drove Brian down to Derby to collect that coil. Even with the help of a SatNav we still managed to go wrong, but the nice lady giving us directions soon put us right again. On ‘normal’ cars of a similar age as the Scenic, the plug leads would go into the top of a distributor, but this thing has two, quite hefty looking coils that take two each of the leads. Obviously this arrangement works well because, as soon as Brian had fitted the new coil; a matter of just a couple of minutes; the car fired up easily. There was none of the distributor nonsense of ensuring the timing was OK.
Last night was another total disaster where sleep is concerned, I think I managed a total of one hour in bed, the rest of the night was spent intermittently dozing in the armchair. I’m due to see the surgeon at Glenfield on Tuesday and will ask him about this and of course the swollen feet and legs. I’m also due to see my GP on Thursday for the results of my blood test, so I will ask him also. With luck and between the pair of these experts, I should find some answers.
Sheila popped across to the shop yesterday morning before going in to Burton upon Trent with Marian, and she came back with some interesting information. There is a village called Repton not too far away and, apparently, they not only have a good village store but also a pub and a butchers shop. Of course we are going to investigate this today, assuming this infernal rain stops for long enough.
Actually, at the junction with the A38 where the Services are, there is a Beefeater kind of pub, which Sheila and I are quite fond of. We haven’t checked it out yet but, if Repton fails us we’ll probably give it a try.
Sunday 12th September
Talking about Repton has reminded me of the discs I have of Photochrom Pictures. For those of you who aren’t familiar with them, a definition is printed here for your perusal.
“What is a Photochrom Picture? It is a lithographic print made by a process which turns black and white negatives into colour photographs. This was popular during the 1890s when there was no such thing as colour photography. The finished appearance is similar to that of an 'old postcard' and has a slightly grainy appearance. (Photochroms are not crisp and clear images as we have become used to today) Photochrom pictures were made using colour impressions from multiple lithographic plates. They have a charming appearance and are sometimes mistaken for paintings.”
These three disc contain something like 3000 of these pictures, many of which are of places in the UK, one of which is of Repton, which is only a short drive from here. We’ll probably be giving the pub there a visit today and it will be interesting to compare the ancient and modern views of the village.
Yesterday was a chill-out day for we three on Shiralee, except for Wifey trotting off to fetch the paper and such. I did quite a bit of reading and finished a book by Michael Connelly called The Last Coyote, which is not, as you may imagine, about the wild west. Mr Connelly is an ex-crime reporter who writes crime novels whose hero is Heironymous ‘Harry’ Bosch, a detective with L.A P.D. And, yes, he was named after the artist of that name.
Monday 13th September
We changed our minds about Repton yesterday, instead paying a visit to the big pub at the junction of the A50 and A38. That place is huge and is similar to Beefeaters and such. It lies within a service area that also includes a hotel, garage and KFC.
I don’t think we’ll be using it again as a regular Sunday lunchtime watering hole because it is far too busy. We arrived at about 12.30 and found the car park was almost full and, with all the bodies inside, far too warm an atmosphere for me, so we sat outside. Fortunately the weather was kind to us, although it did threaten to rain at one point.
Today we will visit Repton because we want to see what the butchers shop is like. The shop should be open as they also supply fresh bread; many butchers don’t open on Mondays which is the day they go off to purchase and order their supplies for the week. Whilst we are there of course, we will investigate the local pub and any other shops they may have.
Tomorrow is visiting day with the surgeon at Glenfield Hospital and we have to be there at 9.45 I think, so we’ll have to leave earlier than I would like, in order to miss the rush hour traffic.
Tuesday 14th September, hospital day and of course it’s raining. At the moment at 6 am, it’s only a drizzle but, as promised by the forecasters, it will be bucketing down by 8 am, which is when we’ll be leaving for the drive down to Leicester. Hopefully we’ll arrive on time so we’re giving ourselves an extra half hour in order to make up for heavier traffic.
Back home in the south it’s not unusual to find yourself amongst a whole bunch of people with the same appointment time. Up here in the north however, they have notices in the hospital telling you to mention it to a member of staff if you have been waiting for more than 10 minutes over your appointment time. Also, when sending an appointment notice out, you are warned that if you are more than 10 minutes late, your appointment may be cancelled. So, best to be on time or early.
Wednesday 15th September.
We left here yesterday morning at 07.45 and arrived at Glenfields at 08.50, which is about 20 minutes longer than a normal trip outside of rush hour. The surgeon was very pleased with my progress, although he did warn me that it could take up to a year for calf and thigh muscles to recover and strengthen. Meanwhile I suppose it’s more of the armchair at night.
Now, apart from a trip to Morrison’s today, we really don’t have much to do. However, before I leave you and post this blog, I’m going to include a few adverts that came my way via and email from Carole, who received them from our cousin Pauline. Personally I found them quite hilarious, how about you?
Subject: for sale
These are classified ads, which were actually placed in a U.K. Newspaper:
FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old.
Hateful little bastard.
Bites!
FREE PUPPIES
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbour's dog.
FREE PUPPIES.
Mother, a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd.
Father, Super Dog... Able to leap tall fences in a single bound.
COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 gay bull for sale.
JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer £100.
WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE.
Worn once by mistake.
Call Stephanie.
*** And the WINNER is... ***
FOR SALE BY OWNER.
Complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica,
45 volumes.
Excellent condition.....£200 or best offer.
No longer needed; got married last month.
Wife knows f#%#%#g everything!
All abreast from Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Shiralee @ Willington #1
Monday 30th August 2010 and here we are at last, at Mercia Marina near Willington in Derbyshire. We are, as arranged, moored next to ‘Brimar’, which is Brian and Marian’s boat and here we will stay, short of a severe bust-up, until April 2011.
I told you all about the trip from Pillings to here in the one-off blog I posted yesterday, so no more needs to be said about that. But, as a result of the five hours or so of cruising, I paid the price with a lousy night.
We arrived here at about 11 or 11.30 and, as you would expect, we did so in a heavy shower of rain. Sheila trotted off to do the necessary form filling, leaving me here to make the tea. Around midday our friends – whom I shall refer to as ‘Brimar’ from now on – accompanied us to the pub but, since they needed to do a bit of shopping and top the car up with go-faster juice, they also took their car. This meant Brian couldn’t have a drink, which fact didn’t, of course, prevent me from doing so.
Some time ago, as reported in an earlier blog, I accompanied Brian in a round trip of about 240 miles, so that he could collect a car he had bought on eBay for £500. Up until yesterday he still had the old Peugeot 416 Diesel and was trying to post it on eBay using his rather ancient laptop. For some reason or other, he wasn’t able to download all the necessary, which left him unable to enter the description and photos.
I do know a certain amount about the quirks and foibles concerning computers but, when he brought the laptop around to me and went through the motions, I couldn’t see what was causing the problem. I adjusted a couple of settings in IE, but they seemed to make no difference. Eventually we decided to try it through our Toshiba and, using his User Name and Password, set the thing up with no problem. We even managed to post a few photos of the car; these are all free when selling a car; by copying them to a memory stick and uploading them.
The thing I found staggering was the fact that he put the car up at a starting price of £0.99p!! Imagine, 99 pence with no reserve. “Don’t worry”, he said to his better half, “I know what I’m doing and besides, so what if it does sell for 99 pence, it’s got to go”. I suspect he’ll get something of a bidding war going over the next seven days though and I will be checking it from time to time.
I am please to say that, so far Internet access seems somewhat faster than at Pillings, which could be rather iffy at the best of times. I have yet to check on download speeds, but am hopeful of a vast improvement there. It was certainly very easy posting Brian’s car to eBay yesterday.
The telly is pretty good too, but we now have West Midlands instead of East. That’s the BBC, of course, we don’t actually watch ITV News. Brian is adamant that our boat appears on one of the news channels, but we didn’t see it yesterday. We’ll have to ask him which channel he was watching, because he was babbling on about Central, which is an ITV company. We’ve already had ‘Shiralee’ on the front cover of a boating magazine, so it would be nice to see it on telly.
Late last night while we were watching NCIS, Brian sent me a text. Apparently Rob, who’s one of oure ex-neighbours at Pillings, sent him a late message. It seems that, it being Paul’s birthday and, him having invited some gay friends up to celebrate the happy event. According to Rob there were about 100 of them cavorting about around the site. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a sudden influx of new boaters here at Mercia Marina very shortly. Several of them have already left as a result of his attitude and this could be the final straw for a few more.
Today we have to go shopping and, according to Brimar, there’s a Morrison’s about 15 minutes drive away. The same estate also boasts a PC World and other such stores and will be our first port of call. We also have several big towns not too far away and, armed with our trusty bus passes, I have no doubt we’ll be investigating those, just as soon as I have done away with the crutches. I’m hoping to dispose of them within the next two to three weeks and be behind the wheel again. I’m afraid I suffer from the same problem as many professional drivers, I don’t enjoy being driven and much prefer to do the driving.
Apparently we’re not going shopping today, that chore has been set aside for tomorrow. Sheila and Marian have now gone off to the local boot fair instead. It’s a fair old walk to the fair and I’m not up to it just yet. There is also a regular auction in the local village hall, which is usually held on a Tuesday. But, due to the Bank Holiday weekend, it’s not being held this week.
Tuesday 31st August and, looking out of the window I can see the water giving up its heat. One thing is for sure, come the icy weather we are going to have to wait until the sun comes up before we take the car out. Anyway it looks like it could be a bright day.
We have lots to do today, Sheila will be walking into Willington with Marian this morning, first stop Doctors’ Surgery for necessary forms, followed by the Post Office for redirection form. When she gets back we have shopping to do at Morrison’s, followed by another trip into Willington to hand the aforementioned forms in. Where are we going to find the time to do all that I wonder?
I have to say that, despite having to spend a couple of hours in the armchair again last night, I did sleep better. I think I must have overdone the walking and exercise over the previous three days of travel.
Thursday 2nd September and we had a right splendid summers day yesterday and, according to the forecast, another one is due today.
We have now signed on with the Doctors’ Surgery in Willington and arranged mail forwarding, so we’re all set to sit out the next seven months, well away from the Pillings Plonker.
Our new address, should anybody wish to drop us a line or two, will be emailed to those of you who need to know. I very nearly included it in this blog, but I then thought of the possible consequences, there are some pretty weird dudes out there!!
For most of yesterday I had very little trouble with the legs and managed to get around quite easily. However, come the evening and the muscles tightened up and, for the rest of the evening and during the night, the usual discomfort. It looks like a speedy visit to the quack because, at this rate, It’ll be months, rather than weeks before I get behind the wheel.
We’re going in to Willington this morning just so that I can get some exercise somewhere different to the marina and we’ll probably pop into the local deli for a coffee and sticky bun.
Friday 3rd September
As promised by those nice weather forecasters, we have started with a misty morning. After the last two days of sunshine this comes as no surprise when living on a marina.
It is now 9.30 am and in about an hour Wifey will be off to Derby with Marian, leaving me all alone with Rusty who, I’m sorry to say, tends to sulk a bit while she is out and is not very good on conversation.
Now, just for a change, I’m going to include a recipe from my book, which now stretches to 543 pages, which is a wee bit too big for the book programme I was using at the start of the project. This means that it is now in the much more simplified .pdf format. And the first recipe is going to be one of my favourites:
Pan Haggerty
An inexpensive, warming and filling dish, this is a good choice for satisfying a hungry brood of teenagers. Desiree, Maris Piper or Romano are ideal potatoes for this dish, because they will not lose their shape at the end of cooking time.
This is the basic Lancashire version. But it can be padded out somewhat with the addition of slices of streaky bacon and/or small slices of sausage.
Ingredients:
Serves: 4
1 oz Butter
1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
1 lb Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Medium Onions, thinly sliced
4 oz Cheddar or Lancashire cheese, grated
Method:
Melt the butter and oil in a heavy frying pan
Remove from the heat and add layers of potatoes, onions and grated cheese, ending with a top layer of cheese
Cover and cook gently for about 30 minutes, when the onions and potatoes should be almost done
Remove the cover and brown under a grill
Serve immediately
Please do let me know what you think.
Saturday 4th September
Wifey had a long afternoon in Derby with Marian yesterday, leaving it midday and arriving back at about 5 pm. I do so like it when she gets out for the day, it leaves me to do what I want on the laptop, or read a book and it prevents her from being cooped up in the boat. Believe me, just as soon as I can walk without crutches and sticks, we’ll be getting out more.
I started a James Patterson book valled “Private” just after she went out and had almost finished it by the time she got home.
A few days ago Brian told us that he thinks out boat is featured on the ITV News, it’s only there for a few seconds but he’s sure it’s Shiralee. We’ve checked it out but, being on for just that few seconds at the intro to Central News, we’re still not sure. What we are going to do is set up the DVD Recorder so that we record it to the hard drive, then see if we can pause the picture. At a quick glance it certainly looks like Shiralee, but we’ll let you know for sure and see if we can’t include it in the blog.
This morning Sheila will be off again with Marian, this time to the local Boot Fair. Perhaps she’ll find something useful. Marian and Brian are also getting rid of some junk at the Sunday one and are taking some of our tat as well.
He’s very brave is our Brian, he’s listed his old Peugeot 406 on eBay and he started it at 5p with no reserve. So far it’s reached £215 and has about 30 people watching it. Considering he only paid £600 for it, he reckons he’ll be happy if it reaches £300. He did have one bidder, from the island of Malta but, when he checked back on his Feedback, it didn’t look too clever so, at his request, I went into his account and barred the man from bidding any further.
I still don’t understand what’s wrong with Brian’s laptop when he is unable to upload pictures and, in this latest issue, is unable to access the part of his account that allows him to bar bidders. Anybody out there with any ideas?
We went into Willington yesterday so that Sheila could organise our mail. Whilst she trotted off to the Post Office, I sat in the car but, not content with just sitting there, I took the car for a spin around the car park. I have to say that it was not painful at all so, sometime this weekend Ill have a bash at driving out somewhere, just to see how I get on. If I have no problems with my knees, then I’m back in the saddle, permanently and Sheila will only have to drive when we go out for a beer or three.
Sunday 5th September and another really bad night for yours truly. So much so that I doubt I enjoyed more than four hours sleep in total. It is 5.30 am and just a few minutes ago I accessed the Internet, quite an easy feat here at Mercia, and studied a few sites about ‘water retention’.
Of course some of them are out to get your money by getting you to but their remedies, but there are also a few that give general guidance as to how to alleviate the problem.
I’m a bit slow in my old age and it has taken me over six weeks to come to the decision to try to find the causes of the problem. The overuse of painkillers is one such cause, as I have suspected for some time, even before the op, which is why I had restricted my use of them well before then.
It is also advisable, according to one site, to drink more water, over and above the normal gallons of tea I consume each day. Another piece of advice is to drink a large glass of water immediately after taking a leak. This is to keep the kidneys functioning at their most efficient.
So, by cutting down on my painkillers and drinking more water – at least 1 litre, but preferably 2 per day – I should see an improvement. I have to wonder though, why my GP at Quorn didn’t advise me of this when prescribing the water tablets?
Today I have decided to be very brave and drive us to the pub at lunchtime. I really can’t allow Wifey to have all the fun although I will let her drive us home. Thank goodness she doesn’t drink otherwise we could have a mini-war on our hands.
Monday 6th September and, would you believe, today is the 6th anniversary of we two Chamberlains becoming full time boaters. It was this day in 2006 that Alan transported us and all our worldly possessions to Reading to collect our boat.
In the early hours of this morning we celebrated the happy event in grand style. Not long after we had settled into our moorings at Keckys’s Farm in Sawbridgeworth, we were confronted with a rather smelly problem. Although our waste tank has a warning light, telling us we only have a couple of days to go before it needs emptying, on this occasion the warning bulb had blown. Assuming, as we did, that the warning light was OK, after all we had only bought a few weeks before, we carried on using the loo. Until, of course, the aforementioned ‘smelly problem’ reared its ugly head.
Anyway, the same thing happened during yesterday but, since it wasn’t too strong and we intended getting a pump-out today, we went to bed. However, I really couldn’t sleep with that dreadful pong under my nose, and so we pulled the bed apart and, lo and behold, the tank had a pronounced swelling on top.
Now, four years ago when we experienced this problem, we checked and found the filter to be wet and, in the pipe from the filter down to the tank, some water. This meant that the fumes from the tank were unable to escape and we were suffering as a result. Also on the last occasion, when I removed the pipe to empty the water, we had a gasp of air from the tank and everything was OK.
This time was different, and I mean really different, we had a veritable fountain of dark and dingy water erupt from the top of the tank, which meant another hour clearing up the mess. By the time we had enjoyed a well-earned cuppa we finally got back to bed at about 3.30 am. What a way to celebrate our anniversary. Who needs a warning light when all we have to do is wait for that smell?
Yesterday I drove for the first time since having my op, and I took us out to a pub at Barrow on Trent. No problems with the knees, I’m pleased to say, so I should be alright to drive to Leicester on Wednesday for my physio session. The pub was alright if you want a meal, but it’s not one that I would want to spend my Sunday lunchtime in on a regular basis. We will just have to keep looking because the one we used last week, The Green Dragon or some such in Willington, was so draughty that we don’t think we’ll be going back.
Just look at that, we’ve only been here a week and already I have 10 pages of blog. Time to post methinks.
All abreast from
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
I told you all about the trip from Pillings to here in the one-off blog I posted yesterday, so no more needs to be said about that. But, as a result of the five hours or so of cruising, I paid the price with a lousy night.
We arrived here at about 11 or 11.30 and, as you would expect, we did so in a heavy shower of rain. Sheila trotted off to do the necessary form filling, leaving me here to make the tea. Around midday our friends – whom I shall refer to as ‘Brimar’ from now on – accompanied us to the pub but, since they needed to do a bit of shopping and top the car up with go-faster juice, they also took their car. This meant Brian couldn’t have a drink, which fact didn’t, of course, prevent me from doing so.
Some time ago, as reported in an earlier blog, I accompanied Brian in a round trip of about 240 miles, so that he could collect a car he had bought on eBay for £500. Up until yesterday he still had the old Peugeot 416 Diesel and was trying to post it on eBay using his rather ancient laptop. For some reason or other, he wasn’t able to download all the necessary, which left him unable to enter the description and photos.
I do know a certain amount about the quirks and foibles concerning computers but, when he brought the laptop around to me and went through the motions, I couldn’t see what was causing the problem. I adjusted a couple of settings in IE, but they seemed to make no difference. Eventually we decided to try it through our Toshiba and, using his User Name and Password, set the thing up with no problem. We even managed to post a few photos of the car; these are all free when selling a car; by copying them to a memory stick and uploading them.
The thing I found staggering was the fact that he put the car up at a starting price of £0.99p!! Imagine, 99 pence with no reserve. “Don’t worry”, he said to his better half, “I know what I’m doing and besides, so what if it does sell for 99 pence, it’s got to go”. I suspect he’ll get something of a bidding war going over the next seven days though and I will be checking it from time to time.
I am please to say that, so far Internet access seems somewhat faster than at Pillings, which could be rather iffy at the best of times. I have yet to check on download speeds, but am hopeful of a vast improvement there. It was certainly very easy posting Brian’s car to eBay yesterday.
The telly is pretty good too, but we now have West Midlands instead of East. That’s the BBC, of course, we don’t actually watch ITV News. Brian is adamant that our boat appears on one of the news channels, but we didn’t see it yesterday. We’ll have to ask him which channel he was watching, because he was babbling on about Central, which is an ITV company. We’ve already had ‘Shiralee’ on the front cover of a boating magazine, so it would be nice to see it on telly.
Late last night while we were watching NCIS, Brian sent me a text. Apparently Rob, who’s one of oure ex-neighbours at Pillings, sent him a late message. It seems that, it being Paul’s birthday and, him having invited some gay friends up to celebrate the happy event. According to Rob there were about 100 of them cavorting about around the site. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see a sudden influx of new boaters here at Mercia Marina very shortly. Several of them have already left as a result of his attitude and this could be the final straw for a few more.
Today we have to go shopping and, according to Brimar, there’s a Morrison’s about 15 minutes drive away. The same estate also boasts a PC World and other such stores and will be our first port of call. We also have several big towns not too far away and, armed with our trusty bus passes, I have no doubt we’ll be investigating those, just as soon as I have done away with the crutches. I’m hoping to dispose of them within the next two to three weeks and be behind the wheel again. I’m afraid I suffer from the same problem as many professional drivers, I don’t enjoy being driven and much prefer to do the driving.
Apparently we’re not going shopping today, that chore has been set aside for tomorrow. Sheila and Marian have now gone off to the local boot fair instead. It’s a fair old walk to the fair and I’m not up to it just yet. There is also a regular auction in the local village hall, which is usually held on a Tuesday. But, due to the Bank Holiday weekend, it’s not being held this week.
Tuesday 31st August and, looking out of the window I can see the water giving up its heat. One thing is for sure, come the icy weather we are going to have to wait until the sun comes up before we take the car out. Anyway it looks like it could be a bright day.
We have lots to do today, Sheila will be walking into Willington with Marian this morning, first stop Doctors’ Surgery for necessary forms, followed by the Post Office for redirection form. When she gets back we have shopping to do at Morrison’s, followed by another trip into Willington to hand the aforementioned forms in. Where are we going to find the time to do all that I wonder?
I have to say that, despite having to spend a couple of hours in the armchair again last night, I did sleep better. I think I must have overdone the walking and exercise over the previous three days of travel.
Thursday 2nd September and we had a right splendid summers day yesterday and, according to the forecast, another one is due today.
We have now signed on with the Doctors’ Surgery in Willington and arranged mail forwarding, so we’re all set to sit out the next seven months, well away from the Pillings Plonker.
Our new address, should anybody wish to drop us a line or two, will be emailed to those of you who need to know. I very nearly included it in this blog, but I then thought of the possible consequences, there are some pretty weird dudes out there!!
For most of yesterday I had very little trouble with the legs and managed to get around quite easily. However, come the evening and the muscles tightened up and, for the rest of the evening and during the night, the usual discomfort. It looks like a speedy visit to the quack because, at this rate, It’ll be months, rather than weeks before I get behind the wheel.
We’re going in to Willington this morning just so that I can get some exercise somewhere different to the marina and we’ll probably pop into the local deli for a coffee and sticky bun.
Friday 3rd September
As promised by those nice weather forecasters, we have started with a misty morning. After the last two days of sunshine this comes as no surprise when living on a marina.
It is now 9.30 am and in about an hour Wifey will be off to Derby with Marian, leaving me all alone with Rusty who, I’m sorry to say, tends to sulk a bit while she is out and is not very good on conversation.
Now, just for a change, I’m going to include a recipe from my book, which now stretches to 543 pages, which is a wee bit too big for the book programme I was using at the start of the project. This means that it is now in the much more simplified .pdf format. And the first recipe is going to be one of my favourites:
Pan Haggerty
An inexpensive, warming and filling dish, this is a good choice for satisfying a hungry brood of teenagers. Desiree, Maris Piper or Romano are ideal potatoes for this dish, because they will not lose their shape at the end of cooking time.
This is the basic Lancashire version. But it can be padded out somewhat with the addition of slices of streaky bacon and/or small slices of sausage.
Ingredients:
Serves: 4
1 oz Butter
1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
1 lb Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Medium Onions, thinly sliced
4 oz Cheddar or Lancashire cheese, grated
Method:
Melt the butter and oil in a heavy frying pan
Remove from the heat and add layers of potatoes, onions and grated cheese, ending with a top layer of cheese
Cover and cook gently for about 30 minutes, when the onions and potatoes should be almost done
Remove the cover and brown under a grill
Serve immediately
Please do let me know what you think.
Saturday 4th September
Wifey had a long afternoon in Derby with Marian yesterday, leaving it midday and arriving back at about 5 pm. I do so like it when she gets out for the day, it leaves me to do what I want on the laptop, or read a book and it prevents her from being cooped up in the boat. Believe me, just as soon as I can walk without crutches and sticks, we’ll be getting out more.
I started a James Patterson book valled “Private” just after she went out and had almost finished it by the time she got home.
A few days ago Brian told us that he thinks out boat is featured on the ITV News, it’s only there for a few seconds but he’s sure it’s Shiralee. We’ve checked it out but, being on for just that few seconds at the intro to Central News, we’re still not sure. What we are going to do is set up the DVD Recorder so that we record it to the hard drive, then see if we can pause the picture. At a quick glance it certainly looks like Shiralee, but we’ll let you know for sure and see if we can’t include it in the blog.
This morning Sheila will be off again with Marian, this time to the local Boot Fair. Perhaps she’ll find something useful. Marian and Brian are also getting rid of some junk at the Sunday one and are taking some of our tat as well.
He’s very brave is our Brian, he’s listed his old Peugeot 406 on eBay and he started it at 5p with no reserve. So far it’s reached £215 and has about 30 people watching it. Considering he only paid £600 for it, he reckons he’ll be happy if it reaches £300. He did have one bidder, from the island of Malta but, when he checked back on his Feedback, it didn’t look too clever so, at his request, I went into his account and barred the man from bidding any further.
I still don’t understand what’s wrong with Brian’s laptop when he is unable to upload pictures and, in this latest issue, is unable to access the part of his account that allows him to bar bidders. Anybody out there with any ideas?
We went into Willington yesterday so that Sheila could organise our mail. Whilst she trotted off to the Post Office, I sat in the car but, not content with just sitting there, I took the car for a spin around the car park. I have to say that it was not painful at all so, sometime this weekend Ill have a bash at driving out somewhere, just to see how I get on. If I have no problems with my knees, then I’m back in the saddle, permanently and Sheila will only have to drive when we go out for a beer or three.
Sunday 5th September and another really bad night for yours truly. So much so that I doubt I enjoyed more than four hours sleep in total. It is 5.30 am and just a few minutes ago I accessed the Internet, quite an easy feat here at Mercia, and studied a few sites about ‘water retention’.
Of course some of them are out to get your money by getting you to but their remedies, but there are also a few that give general guidance as to how to alleviate the problem.
I’m a bit slow in my old age and it has taken me over six weeks to come to the decision to try to find the causes of the problem. The overuse of painkillers is one such cause, as I have suspected for some time, even before the op, which is why I had restricted my use of them well before then.
It is also advisable, according to one site, to drink more water, over and above the normal gallons of tea I consume each day. Another piece of advice is to drink a large glass of water immediately after taking a leak. This is to keep the kidneys functioning at their most efficient.
So, by cutting down on my painkillers and drinking more water – at least 1 litre, but preferably 2 per day – I should see an improvement. I have to wonder though, why my GP at Quorn didn’t advise me of this when prescribing the water tablets?
Today I have decided to be very brave and drive us to the pub at lunchtime. I really can’t allow Wifey to have all the fun although I will let her drive us home. Thank goodness she doesn’t drink otherwise we could have a mini-war on our hands.
Monday 6th September and, would you believe, today is the 6th anniversary of we two Chamberlains becoming full time boaters. It was this day in 2006 that Alan transported us and all our worldly possessions to Reading to collect our boat.
In the early hours of this morning we celebrated the happy event in grand style. Not long after we had settled into our moorings at Keckys’s Farm in Sawbridgeworth, we were confronted with a rather smelly problem. Although our waste tank has a warning light, telling us we only have a couple of days to go before it needs emptying, on this occasion the warning bulb had blown. Assuming, as we did, that the warning light was OK, after all we had only bought a few weeks before, we carried on using the loo. Until, of course, the aforementioned ‘smelly problem’ reared its ugly head.
Anyway, the same thing happened during yesterday but, since it wasn’t too strong and we intended getting a pump-out today, we went to bed. However, I really couldn’t sleep with that dreadful pong under my nose, and so we pulled the bed apart and, lo and behold, the tank had a pronounced swelling on top.
Now, four years ago when we experienced this problem, we checked and found the filter to be wet and, in the pipe from the filter down to the tank, some water. This meant that the fumes from the tank were unable to escape and we were suffering as a result. Also on the last occasion, when I removed the pipe to empty the water, we had a gasp of air from the tank and everything was OK.
This time was different, and I mean really different, we had a veritable fountain of dark and dingy water erupt from the top of the tank, which meant another hour clearing up the mess. By the time we had enjoyed a well-earned cuppa we finally got back to bed at about 3.30 am. What a way to celebrate our anniversary. Who needs a warning light when all we have to do is wait for that smell?
Yesterday I drove for the first time since having my op, and I took us out to a pub at Barrow on Trent. No problems with the knees, I’m pleased to say, so I should be alright to drive to Leicester on Wednesday for my physio session. The pub was alright if you want a meal, but it’s not one that I would want to spend my Sunday lunchtime in on a regular basis. We will just have to keep looking because the one we used last week, The Green Dragon or some such in Willington, was so draughty that we don’t think we’ll be going back.
Just look at that, we’ve only been here a week and already I have 10 pages of blog. Time to post methinks.
All abreast from
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
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