Sunday 23rd December
I paid a pre-Christmas visit to Harlow on Friday. This included a stop off to visit Les and Colette and the usual scrounged cuppa and a chat. When you read this, I do hope you had a good time at Christmas and enjoy a pleasurable and easy going 2013.
Alan and I were supposed to be meeting his workmates in Old Harlow that lunchtime but, for some reason this was called off, so we popped along to the White Admiral pub, which has been run by the same woman for the past 30 years. Her name is Les and, when her and her husband Dave Roberts took it on, they were pretty successful. Some years ago Dave passed away and Les has a new partner named Ray.
Monday evenings at the Admiral are always pretty busy, probably because the beer is only £2 per pint. Friday and Saturday evenings are also pretty busy, but that’s because it’s such a darn good pub to spend a few hours in. The Admiral has always been a family pub and, I’m pleased to say, it still is. There are very few now that can claim that distinction.
The drive home on Saturday morning, all 135 miles of it, was horrendous, with rain all the way. This was probably the worst driving I have ever experienced, unless you consider a 100 mile trip in the back of a Mercedes, with my life in the hands of an African mine worker back in the late 60s. Now, that was an experience never to be forgotten. The speed that man reached, sometimes on nothing but dirt tracks had to be seen to be believed, scary doesn’t even come near to describing it.
Tuesday 25th December Christmas Day
Quite a few boaters have gone away for the next couple of days and our immediate neighbours have driven up to Blackpool, so we won’t hear anything from them. It’s another quiet Christmas for us this year and, to be honest, we rather prefer it that way.
Wednesday 26th December, Boxing Day
Christmas Day turned out to be most enjoyable, with a sudden urge to visit a pub in Willington. Had we known about the roast spuds and pigs in blankets, we probably wouldn’t have had to cook a proper Christmas dinner. Well, you know what I mean!
Apart from the dinner though, Christmas day was much like any Sunday, except it was Tuesday, which kinda messes things up for the rest of the week. Personally, I think Christmas Day should always come on a weekend, like Easter does. But, of course, that would spoil it for folks who still go to work, because they wouldn’t have all those extra days off. Shame!!
I had intended to back up the laptop this morning but, as usual, I was inundated with emails, all of which need to be replied to or dumped and so, once that’s been sorted, I don’t now have enough time before Wifey gets up.
Dinner today will be cold meat and bubble ’n’ squeak with pickles, our usual Boxing Day fare. No doubt we’ll finish off the bottle of wine from yesterday.
Thursday 27th December
Well, that’s it for another year. Christmas is over and the New Year is almost upon us. As usual, we will not be sitting up to see it in. It’s going to come anyway, now that the End of the World scare has fizzled out, so why wait to welcome it?
We still have loads of turkey left over from the crown Alan bought us and we still have a bacon joint to cook, so we won’t go without food for a while. Yesterday was the usual cold turkey and bubble, along with pickles and pickled onions. Lovely!
Saturday 29th December
Well, we are having fun at the marina. We have gale force winds and it’s been raining for most of the night. There are still loads of flood warnings in place up here in Derbyshire, as there are further south of us.
Yesterday we popped into Burton and whilst walking around the shops I spotted an Acer laptop in the display window of the newest electronics second hand shop. This is very similar to the Cash Converter shops, but laid out in a far more professional manner. Most of the items on sale are games and mobile phones, but the Acer gave us pause for thought.
At £310 it seemed a bit high priced for a second hand unit, and so we decided to check it out online and found a company that sell refurbished laptops with the same item for £270. However, when reading up on this particular model, a V3-531, some of the comments were pretty off-putting and we were not too impressed.
We then looked further down the list of items and found a Sony VAIO for the same price. I have now scanned the Internet for comparison prices between the two and have discovered that the Sony is usually priced at about £200 more than the Acer. Also, the spec on the VAIO is much higher and has Windows 7 Professional installed – we’ve read too many adverse reports about Win 8 to even think about any laptop with it installed. Besides, I don’t like touch screens, any more than I like touch pads, much preferring a mouse. I’m a wee bit old fashioned in that respect.
I had a touch screen phone for a very short while and every time I attempted to scroll to the item I wanted, the damn thing would open up on the first thing I touched. Similarly with the touch pad on the laptop, so I prefer to stick with the mouse. Maybe I’m a bit ham-fisted.
So, later today, rather than re-formatting the Toshiba, I’ll be purchasing the refurbished Sony. At £270 and with Win 7 Pro installed, I think this is a very fair price, and it comes with a 3 month guarantee.
Sunday 30th December
Well, we took the plunge yesterday and ordered the Sony laptop. But, we then had a bit of a scare. You know how it is when shopping online, especially when buying from a new source? You are never really sure if they are Kosher until you receive the goods.
As soon as the order went through I received confirmation along with the order number and destination. To my dismay; and that of my missus; the email suggested that not only was this Order #2, but that the billing address and destination were the same, but it wasn’t our address. Ooops! I really thought we had hit a bummer there and had parted with £270 for nothing.
Now, under normal circumstances I would not have included my mobile number on an online form but, for some reason best known to my brain’s inner workings, I did so on this occasion, which was just as well. Thinking perhaps that this may have been a con job I immediately emailed the site and threatened to cancel the order if they didn’t contact me immediately. This, by the way, had been paid through PayPal, so it’s pretty secure from con artists.
When I took another look at the actual Order Form on their site I realised that the two addresses I mentioned above were actually the address of the company. Anyway, the man did phone me later in the day and apologised for the flap his confirmation email had caused. Naturally he blamed it on a computer glitch and assured me that the item would be posted off that afternoon. So, we should have our new laptop by Wednesday or Thursday of this week.
Hallelujah I say, this Toshiba is really becoming a pain in the ‘you know what’! All it really needs though is a total reformatting and reset to its original factory settings, which I shall do just as soon as the Sony arrives. After which I shall put it up for sale. Also I will then be able to grab the dongle upgrade or, assuming the WiFi is working, perhaps take their WiFi dongle instead.
Monday 31st December
Yesterday we popped along to our usual watering hole in Repton. Sadly, due to the flooded fields around here, there were none of the football lads in, so no chip butties. However, while we were sitting there my dear brother phoned, ostensibly to ask for our Aunt Mabel’s new address in Harlow. He was picking our sister Carole up and dropping her off there.
After telling him the address he then imparted some good news. Over the Christmas period the White Admiral pub ran a Lottery Bonus Ball competition of their own, something they have been doing for several years, probably since the Lottery started. Anyway, Alan bought four tickets, one each for himself, Valerie, Jason, his eldest son, and me. One of those tickets came up trumps and, after deducting the £10 ticket cost, we’re all £112.50p the richer.
So, after refurbishing the Toshiba and selling that on, with the lottery cash I have almost paid for the Sony, which means I can start building up my slush fund again.
Now, as New Years day is almost upon us, I’ll wish you all a very happy 2013. May all that you wish for yourself and loved ones come to pass. If not, well, there’s always 2014 to look forward to!!
All the best for now. See you in the New Year.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Thursday, 20 December 2012
Shiralee: Winter 2012/13 # 6
Thursday 6th December
Having posted the most recent blog yesterday morning, we then continued with our day as usual. We drove into Burton, just for something to do and then, later in the evening I opened the laptop and checked my emails. Well, according to Google, somebody at some mining installation in Devon, tried to access my account. I actually followed the IP address in order to find them. But, I then looked at the time of day that they were supposed to have tried this and, lo and behold, it was at about the same time as I posted.
I am pretty sure this is a spoof email trying to get my password details and, since Google themselves believe my password to be very good, I think I’ll ignore this email, but save it for future reference.
Friday 7th December
From an iced up marina, to heavy rain and high winds overnight. What more could we ask for as Brits?
Saturday 8th December
Yesterday I paid a visit to my doctor who, as usual, was pretty blasé about my problems. Initially I simply went along for a review of my medication but, since I am having problems with painful legs and feet, I asked if there was any way of improving my circulation, because that’s what is probably causing the discomfort.
His response was, virtually, ‘heal thyself’. In other words, get rid of some of your excess weight and exercise more. Ah well, so much for the sympathetic ear.
In response to the exercise part, we do walk around the marina every day, just so long as it’s not raining. As for the losing weight part, well, since we don’t over indulge to any appreciable degree and I’, not about to join a sports club and throw weights about, I don’t see that changing any time soon. So I guess I’ll just have to put up with the discomfort.
Monday 10th December
Yesterday we returned a dog harness to The Range. We bought it as a means for lifting Rusty out of the boat but, even at its tightest setting, as we tried lifting her, the harness slipped forward and almost over her head. And that was the smallest one they did, so not a lot of use. We’ll have to find a jacket with a handle on.
We also popped into B&Q for some 12 volt bulbs as we were running low. Now, I’m not against charities raising money through volunteers but, outside both doors of B&Q were three young people, with boxes in hand and wishing all who entered and exited a Merry Christmas. No doubt they thought to ‘pleasantly’ intimidate people into paying up but, since we absolutely detest this smarmy approach, we didn’t even bother to look and see which charity they represented.
Walk through any town centre and you will find them, but they don’t usually stand in groups. Do these charities not realise how irritating they can be? I know they have to raise money somehow, but standing in shop doorways is guaranteed to annoy and probably loses more than it gains.
Tuesday 11th December
It looks like being a very cold week, so we’ll avoid going too far, except perhaps a drive into Burton sometime.
Yesterday we took the bus to Derby but, since we only get a bare hour before the bus back, we couldn’t do much by way of shopping. We called into the art shop for a particular colour pastel pencil, but they don’t sell single items, only sets. We also bought some heavy material so that Wifey can make some draught excluder curtains for the back doors. That’ll keep her busy for a while today.
Wednesday 12th December
We were expecting a very severe frost this morning, but it seems the experts have got it wrong again. They said it could be as low as -7 degrees this morning, but it’s barely hovering around zero.
We bought three items at the garden centre on Monday; two tops for Wifey and a pair of cargo pants for me – I’m changing my image! – but Wifey’s tops were both too long in the sleeve, so they had to go back yesterday. My cargo pants are lightweight and will be great for the milder weather and summer months. What I need now is a pair of lined ones for the colder weather. I’ve been wearing jeans and t-shirts for donkeys years as a matter of course, but I’m in need of a change and something of a more relaxed fit, something loser than jeans, hence the cargo pants.
I am gradually moving stuff from the laptop to my external hard drive prior to re-formatting. I’m trying to avoid buying a new one, at least until next year when we won’t have the expense of the bottom blacking on the boat.
During the course of our summer cruising I like to set money aside as a ‘slush fund’, something I’ve been doing for many years now, especially when I was bus driving for Chariots in Harlow, when any out of hours payment went into a tin. It’s always handy to have some spare cash around, especially when travelling, because you never know when it’s not possible to use a cheque or card.
When we returned to the marina back in October I had quite a bit put aside, some of which I have dived into for one thing or another. But, over the next 10 months, with a bit of luck and a tail wind, I’ll be able to buy a top of the range laptop, which means this Toshiba will have to suffice until then.
Saturday 15th December
We get The Daily Mail. We know that there are a vast amount of people who hate that particular rag, but we’ve become used to it. Yesterday we saw an ad from Staples, those office people, advertising a 32Gb Memory Stick for just £10. Gotta have one.
I have no idea where the nearest store is to us, but I’m sure I could find it if I search online. But, in the meantime I accessed their website and there it wasn’t. I am now thoroughly annoyed, because this smacks of a come-on. Advertise in the national press for a really cheap memory stick and they’ll come flooding into the stores. BUT, whatever you do, DON’T show it on our site.
Obviously, by the time I find their store locally, they will have sold out!
We called into the HMV store in Burton, hoping to pick up the Rod Stewart set of four CDs, which was also going for £10. Naturally, they too had sold out. Fortunately Wifey managed to pick one up when she took the bus into Burton later, all on her own too!!
Tuesday 18th December
We’re going on holiday! Yep, for the first time since buying ‘Shiralee’, we’re actually going somewhere other than by boat.
Next March ‘Shiralee’ goes in to have her bottom blacked. This takes four days, for which period she will be in dry dock and, since we can’t stay on board while this is happening, we’re going off for a week to a cottage in the Derbyshire Peaks. We could have, and probably would have gone much further a field but, since we’ve never holidayed in that area and, because Rusty kicks up such a stink when she’s in a car, we decided that the nearer to home, the better.
The BBC
We listen to Radio 2 and we often watch the BBC channels too. If you do too you would have noticed the increasing use of advertising throughout these radio programmes. O.K. they are advertising their own programmes and, I suppose, if they are to compete with all those other channels out there, they do need to put their own stuff across. But, do they have to spend so much time doing so? Our newspapers and magazines have programme lists, so why advertise them?
I find the radio far more galling than the television, but that’s only because the adverts break into whatever radio programme is on, whereas they only advertise between programmes on television. We particularly like to listen to the evening programmes on Radio 2, but even during an hour long programme; such as Mike Harding on Wednesday and Bob Harris on Thursday; we are subjected to at least three programme plugs. You can at least mute the TV, but have to endure this rubbish on radio.
Thursday 20th December
Well, only five days to go and it will all be over for another year.
We on Shiralee; that’s me, of course, Sheila, my wife of 30 years plus and our 15 year old Jack Russell, Rusty; wish you all a very merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2013.
Having posted the most recent blog yesterday morning, we then continued with our day as usual. We drove into Burton, just for something to do and then, later in the evening I opened the laptop and checked my emails. Well, according to Google, somebody at some mining installation in Devon, tried to access my account. I actually followed the IP address in order to find them. But, I then looked at the time of day that they were supposed to have tried this and, lo and behold, it was at about the same time as I posted.
I am pretty sure this is a spoof email trying to get my password details and, since Google themselves believe my password to be very good, I think I’ll ignore this email, but save it for future reference.
Friday 7th December
From an iced up marina, to heavy rain and high winds overnight. What more could we ask for as Brits?
Saturday 8th December
Yesterday I paid a visit to my doctor who, as usual, was pretty blasé about my problems. Initially I simply went along for a review of my medication but, since I am having problems with painful legs and feet, I asked if there was any way of improving my circulation, because that’s what is probably causing the discomfort.
His response was, virtually, ‘heal thyself’. In other words, get rid of some of your excess weight and exercise more. Ah well, so much for the sympathetic ear.
In response to the exercise part, we do walk around the marina every day, just so long as it’s not raining. As for the losing weight part, well, since we don’t over indulge to any appreciable degree and I’, not about to join a sports club and throw weights about, I don’t see that changing any time soon. So I guess I’ll just have to put up with the discomfort.
Monday 10th December
Yesterday we returned a dog harness to The Range. We bought it as a means for lifting Rusty out of the boat but, even at its tightest setting, as we tried lifting her, the harness slipped forward and almost over her head. And that was the smallest one they did, so not a lot of use. We’ll have to find a jacket with a handle on.
We also popped into B&Q for some 12 volt bulbs as we were running low. Now, I’m not against charities raising money through volunteers but, outside both doors of B&Q were three young people, with boxes in hand and wishing all who entered and exited a Merry Christmas. No doubt they thought to ‘pleasantly’ intimidate people into paying up but, since we absolutely detest this smarmy approach, we didn’t even bother to look and see which charity they represented.
Walk through any town centre and you will find them, but they don’t usually stand in groups. Do these charities not realise how irritating they can be? I know they have to raise money somehow, but standing in shop doorways is guaranteed to annoy and probably loses more than it gains.
Tuesday 11th December
It looks like being a very cold week, so we’ll avoid going too far, except perhaps a drive into Burton sometime.
Yesterday we took the bus to Derby but, since we only get a bare hour before the bus back, we couldn’t do much by way of shopping. We called into the art shop for a particular colour pastel pencil, but they don’t sell single items, only sets. We also bought some heavy material so that Wifey can make some draught excluder curtains for the back doors. That’ll keep her busy for a while today.
Wednesday 12th December
We were expecting a very severe frost this morning, but it seems the experts have got it wrong again. They said it could be as low as -7 degrees this morning, but it’s barely hovering around zero.
We bought three items at the garden centre on Monday; two tops for Wifey and a pair of cargo pants for me – I’m changing my image! – but Wifey’s tops were both too long in the sleeve, so they had to go back yesterday. My cargo pants are lightweight and will be great for the milder weather and summer months. What I need now is a pair of lined ones for the colder weather. I’ve been wearing jeans and t-shirts for donkeys years as a matter of course, but I’m in need of a change and something of a more relaxed fit, something loser than jeans, hence the cargo pants.
I am gradually moving stuff from the laptop to my external hard drive prior to re-formatting. I’m trying to avoid buying a new one, at least until next year when we won’t have the expense of the bottom blacking on the boat.
During the course of our summer cruising I like to set money aside as a ‘slush fund’, something I’ve been doing for many years now, especially when I was bus driving for Chariots in Harlow, when any out of hours payment went into a tin. It’s always handy to have some spare cash around, especially when travelling, because you never know when it’s not possible to use a cheque or card.
When we returned to the marina back in October I had quite a bit put aside, some of which I have dived into for one thing or another. But, over the next 10 months, with a bit of luck and a tail wind, I’ll be able to buy a top of the range laptop, which means this Toshiba will have to suffice until then.
Saturday 15th December
We get The Daily Mail. We know that there are a vast amount of people who hate that particular rag, but we’ve become used to it. Yesterday we saw an ad from Staples, those office people, advertising a 32Gb Memory Stick for just £10. Gotta have one.
I have no idea where the nearest store is to us, but I’m sure I could find it if I search online. But, in the meantime I accessed their website and there it wasn’t. I am now thoroughly annoyed, because this smacks of a come-on. Advertise in the national press for a really cheap memory stick and they’ll come flooding into the stores. BUT, whatever you do, DON’T show it on our site.
Obviously, by the time I find their store locally, they will have sold out!
We called into the HMV store in Burton, hoping to pick up the Rod Stewart set of four CDs, which was also going for £10. Naturally, they too had sold out. Fortunately Wifey managed to pick one up when she took the bus into Burton later, all on her own too!!
Tuesday 18th December
We’re going on holiday! Yep, for the first time since buying ‘Shiralee’, we’re actually going somewhere other than by boat.
Next March ‘Shiralee’ goes in to have her bottom blacked. This takes four days, for which period she will be in dry dock and, since we can’t stay on board while this is happening, we’re going off for a week to a cottage in the Derbyshire Peaks. We could have, and probably would have gone much further a field but, since we’ve never holidayed in that area and, because Rusty kicks up such a stink when she’s in a car, we decided that the nearer to home, the better.
The BBC
We listen to Radio 2 and we often watch the BBC channels too. If you do too you would have noticed the increasing use of advertising throughout these radio programmes. O.K. they are advertising their own programmes and, I suppose, if they are to compete with all those other channels out there, they do need to put their own stuff across. But, do they have to spend so much time doing so? Our newspapers and magazines have programme lists, so why advertise them?
I find the radio far more galling than the television, but that’s only because the adverts break into whatever radio programme is on, whereas they only advertise between programmes on television. We particularly like to listen to the evening programmes on Radio 2, but even during an hour long programme; such as Mike Harding on Wednesday and Bob Harris on Thursday; we are subjected to at least three programme plugs. You can at least mute the TV, but have to endure this rubbish on radio.
Thursday 20th December
Well, only five days to go and it will all be over for another year.
We on Shiralee; that’s me, of course, Sheila, my wife of 30 years plus and our 15 year old Jack Russell, Rusty; wish you all a very merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2013.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Shiralee: Winter 2012/13 # 5
Friday 23rd November
Yesterday afternoon and evening we had a deluge of rain. The results of Wednesday’s rain could be seen when we drove into Burton yesterday morning. We’ve been mooring at Mercia for three winters now and. although we’ve had our fair share of rain, we’ve never seen the river so high before. It was very much like Kegworth in 2007, when we were stuck in the lock for 10 days, only much, much worse. The surrounding fields were totally waterlogged, to the extent that it was difficult to see the line of the river. I have no doubt that, following last nights rain those fields will be even more flooded.
Saturday 24th November
Well, so much for my visit to Harlow this weekend. The weather forecast is for more heavy rain, which is a mere fly in the ointment when living on a boat and snugly ensconced in a marina. But, taking a 200+ mile drive could prove disastrous for me if I want to get back to Mercia on Sunday.
This morning, in complete contrast, has started out with a thick, freezing fog, but we are told the heavy rain will be with us tonight. Global warming? Maybe! Man’s fault? Nah! Just a blip in the way the planet works.
Anyway, instead of enjoying a pint or three with Alan, it’s simply a case of following a normal weekend at home, which means some more painting and guitar practice. Of course, we won’t miss out on our Sunday drinky poohs, but we’ll probably stay local. Even driving towards Burton could be problematic if the rain is as heavy as has been suggested.
Sunday 25th November
Wow! What a night. From quite early yesterday evening we had torrential rain and high winds. This continued throughout the night and, at 6.30 am it’s still raining, although not as hard. Walking Rusty a short while ago, I noticed that the grassy areas nearby are saturated. Even the water level in the marina has risen by at least a couple of inches. When we go out later for a Sunday drink and chat, if there’s no traffic coming from Repton we’ll stay in Willington. We know the road to Stenson is flooded, so The Bubble is out.
Rotherham County Council.
What a bunch of snot-nosed, interfering meanies they are. Here we have a couple who, for the past seven years have successfully fostered a number of children needing some TLC. But, completely out of the blue, this council have removed the latest three from them, just because these loving foster carers belong to UKIP.
As that nice man from the Daily Mail is wont to say, “You couldn’t make it up”.
These kids are, supposedly, Euro migrants and, in their infinite wisdom, this council decided that they should not be influenced by the foster couple’s political beliefs. So, had this council been Conservative and this couple been members of the Labour Party, do you suppose these children would still have been removed? God knows what would have been the case had Screaming Lord Such and the Monster Raving Loony Party been in charge.
I have no doubt that heads will roll, or some pillock will fall on his sword. Of course, he/she will retain their overinflated pension!! Then, in the not too distant future, they’ll be re-engaged at a much higher salary. Such are the ways of our ruling classes.
Monday 26th November
Yesterday was a really disastrous day weather wise, with plenty of overnight rain, causing floods all over the place.
In Exeter a young woman lost her life when a tree fell on her tent. The initial report suggested that she was actually living in it and, had I not seen later newscasts of this event, I would have wondered why she was living that way. As it happens this unfortunate woman was camping and two male companions were injured at that time.
Elsewhere many homes were flooded and, in one area, although I can’t recall exactly where, a flood defence system failed to kick in, with the result that where, in the past, the people living in the area would have moved their property upstairs, they instead relied upon the system to work its magic. The Environment Agency has apologised for the failure, but that’s small comfort to those people whose possessions have been damaged or ruined.
Fortunately, although the water level has risen slightly in our marina, and some of the roads around the area have flooded, we boaters have experienced just the occasional puddle at the marina. At times like these there’s a lot to be said for living on a boat. However, even with their 12 ft mooring poles, I wouldn’t want to be living along the banks of the River Avon right now. In fact I wouldn’t want to be moored on any river these days, because the situation seems to be worsening year on year.
Like I’ve said before – probably ad nauseum – this planet has its own agenda and maybe it is warming up but, if you were watching Countryfile yesterday evening, you would have seen that this is not at all unusual. The sea came rushing in and flooded huge swathes of Somerset, and that was back in 1703. I also remember the Essex floods of 1953, or was it 1958?, when Canvey Island suffered serious damage.
Tuesday 27th November
Well, after even more rain yesterday evening and through the night, I doubt if we’ll be getting to Derby today. From what I have seen and been told, the road to Repton is still closed, as is 18 miles of the A38 and part of the M1. The bus between Burton and Derby may still be running, but it will probably take a detour or two, so we might not see it through here at Willington. Still the Derby trip is not urgent, but I do wonder if I’ll make it to Harlow this coming weekend.
Wednesday 28th November
On the whole, with the exception of a walk around the marina, yesterday was a pretty boring day. Some of it I spent trying to decide how best to approach my painting of Shiralee. Some I spent trying my hand at the dreaded ‘C’, ‘F’ and ‘G’ chords and some I spent reading.
Where the guitar is concerned I have always had problems with those three, very essential chords, and have never managed to master them. The situation is even worse now, what with my arthritic fingers. They’re not painful, but they are somewhat bent in places, making it difficult to place them where I want on the fretboard. So, what to do? Well, at my age I really don’t want to be spending months and months trying to master them, so I’m going to resort to the capo. You’ve probably seen these used by many guitarists, especially the folk and country singers. The capo wraps around the fretboard and can be moved along it to a position where the player can use easier chords for the same key. It’s not laziness that prompts these musicians to use the capo; it’s just easier and enables the player to concentrate on his/her singing, rather than the chords. And, no, I have no plans for singing!!
So, with that in mind I can now concentrate on playing some of the stuff I’ve downloaded from Mike Herberts’ site, using the keys of ‘A’ or ‘D’, where the key of ‘C’ is called for. Simple!!
Today, assuming the A38 is now fully open after the latest floods, we’ll drive to Morrison’s for our weekly shop. Sad to say we have not been able to take the bus to Derby, nor have we been able to drive into Burton. Hopefully today will be fine.
Thursday 29th November
The cold, dry weather is back, so I should be able to make that trip to Harlow tomorrow morning. Friday is a good day to go, because I get to have a drink with Alan and his son Jason.
Alan phoned me yesterday and asked me if I wanted a turkey crown. When I said ‘no way’ to his £20 price tag, he told me it was probably too big and would be happy to cut it in half. That’s better! He’ll keep it in his freezer for me, which gives me an excuse, if any were needed, to pay him another visit before Christmas.
Today, now that the roads to Burton are clear of flood water, we’ll be taking a drive into town. We have some books to unload onto a charity shop and, having bought two bags of dog food at Ellesmere some time ago; a dog food that until that point our wee pooch had been happy to eat, but then decided she hated; we will now be taking those to the PDSA. She really can be so ungrateful at times!
Friday 30th November
We drove into Burton yesterday and, on the way there called into the butcher’s at Repton. Unfortunately he had no pork pies ready and suggested we call again on our way back from town. So, having disposed of the dog food to the PDSA, picked up a few bits and pieces of shopping, and enjoyed a coffee and scone, we arrived back at Repton a couple of hours later. We were just in time to watch the butcher pour the jelly liquid in to the, still hot pies.
Sheila had to carry the hot pies in a box and, when we got back to the boat Rusty’s nose twitched at the aroma. Funnily enough Clarissa Dixon-Wright was on the One Show last night and said that she considered the pork pies from Melton Mowbray were the best in the country. Obviously she hasn’t sampled those from Repton, which are far superior in flavour. In fact I will try to locate her website and inform her of her mistake.
Sunday 2nd December
I drove down to Harlow on Friday morning and expected to arrive at about 12.30. However, with all the road works finished while we’ve been cruising, I shaved about 30 minutes off my usual time, even though I stopped off at a service area on the way.
So, having nothing better to do with my time while I waited for Alan to get home, I popped in The Admiral for a drop of sherbet, where he joined me later. Of course, we enjoyed a few pints and then went home to his place. We returned to the Admiral in the evening, fully expecting Jason to join us, but he cried off just after we arrived. This was most unfortunate because, had he told us earlier we probably wouldn’t have bothered. I’m not at my best when I’ve just eaten and didn’t really enjoy the extra drinks. I’ll know better next time.
Monday 3rd December
Yesterday we decided to drink at The Bubble at Stenson. We haven’t been there in a few weeks, so we thought it would make a nice change. The last thing on my mind when we left home was having lunch there but, quite out of the blue I said to Wifey, “Of course, we could always have lunch here”. To which she replied, “What a good idea”. So, that’s what we did and enjoyed their carvery. At £8.99 we think it’s a bit expensive, but we do know it is much cheaper during the week. Hey, what the heck, we can indulge ourselves now and again.
Later…
We took the bus into Derby this morning and one of the first things we did was to look in the market for vacuum cleaner bags. This was a good move, because, quite close to that stall was another one selling second hand laptops. The prices look to be pretty reasonable and so, if he has what I want and offers a
decent guarantee, I could save myself some money. I rather like the look of the Acer Aspire he had in the window and if it’s still there next time we go I just might make a few enquiries about it.
Wednesday 5th December
Well, at eight pages long I really should get this blog posted and wish you all well until next time.
All abreast from:
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
Yesterday afternoon and evening we had a deluge of rain. The results of Wednesday’s rain could be seen when we drove into Burton yesterday morning. We’ve been mooring at Mercia for three winters now and. although we’ve had our fair share of rain, we’ve never seen the river so high before. It was very much like Kegworth in 2007, when we were stuck in the lock for 10 days, only much, much worse. The surrounding fields were totally waterlogged, to the extent that it was difficult to see the line of the river. I have no doubt that, following last nights rain those fields will be even more flooded.
Saturday 24th November
Well, so much for my visit to Harlow this weekend. The weather forecast is for more heavy rain, which is a mere fly in the ointment when living on a boat and snugly ensconced in a marina. But, taking a 200+ mile drive could prove disastrous for me if I want to get back to Mercia on Sunday.
This morning, in complete contrast, has started out with a thick, freezing fog, but we are told the heavy rain will be with us tonight. Global warming? Maybe! Man’s fault? Nah! Just a blip in the way the planet works.
Anyway, instead of enjoying a pint or three with Alan, it’s simply a case of following a normal weekend at home, which means some more painting and guitar practice. Of course, we won’t miss out on our Sunday drinky poohs, but we’ll probably stay local. Even driving towards Burton could be problematic if the rain is as heavy as has been suggested.
Sunday 25th November
Wow! What a night. From quite early yesterday evening we had torrential rain and high winds. This continued throughout the night and, at 6.30 am it’s still raining, although not as hard. Walking Rusty a short while ago, I noticed that the grassy areas nearby are saturated. Even the water level in the marina has risen by at least a couple of inches. When we go out later for a Sunday drink and chat, if there’s no traffic coming from Repton we’ll stay in Willington. We know the road to Stenson is flooded, so The Bubble is out.
Rotherham County Council.
What a bunch of snot-nosed, interfering meanies they are. Here we have a couple who, for the past seven years have successfully fostered a number of children needing some TLC. But, completely out of the blue, this council have removed the latest three from them, just because these loving foster carers belong to UKIP.
As that nice man from the Daily Mail is wont to say, “You couldn’t make it up”.
These kids are, supposedly, Euro migrants and, in their infinite wisdom, this council decided that they should not be influenced by the foster couple’s political beliefs. So, had this council been Conservative and this couple been members of the Labour Party, do you suppose these children would still have been removed? God knows what would have been the case had Screaming Lord Such and the Monster Raving Loony Party been in charge.
I have no doubt that heads will roll, or some pillock will fall on his sword. Of course, he/she will retain their overinflated pension!! Then, in the not too distant future, they’ll be re-engaged at a much higher salary. Such are the ways of our ruling classes.
Monday 26th November
Yesterday was a really disastrous day weather wise, with plenty of overnight rain, causing floods all over the place.
In Exeter a young woman lost her life when a tree fell on her tent. The initial report suggested that she was actually living in it and, had I not seen later newscasts of this event, I would have wondered why she was living that way. As it happens this unfortunate woman was camping and two male companions were injured at that time.
Elsewhere many homes were flooded and, in one area, although I can’t recall exactly where, a flood defence system failed to kick in, with the result that where, in the past, the people living in the area would have moved their property upstairs, they instead relied upon the system to work its magic. The Environment Agency has apologised for the failure, but that’s small comfort to those people whose possessions have been damaged or ruined.
Fortunately, although the water level has risen slightly in our marina, and some of the roads around the area have flooded, we boaters have experienced just the occasional puddle at the marina. At times like these there’s a lot to be said for living on a boat. However, even with their 12 ft mooring poles, I wouldn’t want to be living along the banks of the River Avon right now. In fact I wouldn’t want to be moored on any river these days, because the situation seems to be worsening year on year.
Like I’ve said before – probably ad nauseum – this planet has its own agenda and maybe it is warming up but, if you were watching Countryfile yesterday evening, you would have seen that this is not at all unusual. The sea came rushing in and flooded huge swathes of Somerset, and that was back in 1703. I also remember the Essex floods of 1953, or was it 1958?, when Canvey Island suffered serious damage.
Tuesday 27th November
Well, after even more rain yesterday evening and through the night, I doubt if we’ll be getting to Derby today. From what I have seen and been told, the road to Repton is still closed, as is 18 miles of the A38 and part of the M1. The bus between Burton and Derby may still be running, but it will probably take a detour or two, so we might not see it through here at Willington. Still the Derby trip is not urgent, but I do wonder if I’ll make it to Harlow this coming weekend.
Wednesday 28th November
On the whole, with the exception of a walk around the marina, yesterday was a pretty boring day. Some of it I spent trying to decide how best to approach my painting of Shiralee. Some I spent trying my hand at the dreaded ‘C’, ‘F’ and ‘G’ chords and some I spent reading.
Where the guitar is concerned I have always had problems with those three, very essential chords, and have never managed to master them. The situation is even worse now, what with my arthritic fingers. They’re not painful, but they are somewhat bent in places, making it difficult to place them where I want on the fretboard. So, what to do? Well, at my age I really don’t want to be spending months and months trying to master them, so I’m going to resort to the capo. You’ve probably seen these used by many guitarists, especially the folk and country singers. The capo wraps around the fretboard and can be moved along it to a position where the player can use easier chords for the same key. It’s not laziness that prompts these musicians to use the capo; it’s just easier and enables the player to concentrate on his/her singing, rather than the chords. And, no, I have no plans for singing!!
So, with that in mind I can now concentrate on playing some of the stuff I’ve downloaded from Mike Herberts’ site, using the keys of ‘A’ or ‘D’, where the key of ‘C’ is called for. Simple!!
Today, assuming the A38 is now fully open after the latest floods, we’ll drive to Morrison’s for our weekly shop. Sad to say we have not been able to take the bus to Derby, nor have we been able to drive into Burton. Hopefully today will be fine.
Thursday 29th November
The cold, dry weather is back, so I should be able to make that trip to Harlow tomorrow morning. Friday is a good day to go, because I get to have a drink with Alan and his son Jason.
Alan phoned me yesterday and asked me if I wanted a turkey crown. When I said ‘no way’ to his £20 price tag, he told me it was probably too big and would be happy to cut it in half. That’s better! He’ll keep it in his freezer for me, which gives me an excuse, if any were needed, to pay him another visit before Christmas.
Today, now that the roads to Burton are clear of flood water, we’ll be taking a drive into town. We have some books to unload onto a charity shop and, having bought two bags of dog food at Ellesmere some time ago; a dog food that until that point our wee pooch had been happy to eat, but then decided she hated; we will now be taking those to the PDSA. She really can be so ungrateful at times!
Friday 30th November
We drove into Burton yesterday and, on the way there called into the butcher’s at Repton. Unfortunately he had no pork pies ready and suggested we call again on our way back from town. So, having disposed of the dog food to the PDSA, picked up a few bits and pieces of shopping, and enjoyed a coffee and scone, we arrived back at Repton a couple of hours later. We were just in time to watch the butcher pour the jelly liquid in to the, still hot pies.
Sheila had to carry the hot pies in a box and, when we got back to the boat Rusty’s nose twitched at the aroma. Funnily enough Clarissa Dixon-Wright was on the One Show last night and said that she considered the pork pies from Melton Mowbray were the best in the country. Obviously she hasn’t sampled those from Repton, which are far superior in flavour. In fact I will try to locate her website and inform her of her mistake.
Sunday 2nd December
I drove down to Harlow on Friday morning and expected to arrive at about 12.30. However, with all the road works finished while we’ve been cruising, I shaved about 30 minutes off my usual time, even though I stopped off at a service area on the way.
So, having nothing better to do with my time while I waited for Alan to get home, I popped in The Admiral for a drop of sherbet, where he joined me later. Of course, we enjoyed a few pints and then went home to his place. We returned to the Admiral in the evening, fully expecting Jason to join us, but he cried off just after we arrived. This was most unfortunate because, had he told us earlier we probably wouldn’t have bothered. I’m not at my best when I’ve just eaten and didn’t really enjoy the extra drinks. I’ll know better next time.
Monday 3rd December
Yesterday we decided to drink at The Bubble at Stenson. We haven’t been there in a few weeks, so we thought it would make a nice change. The last thing on my mind when we left home was having lunch there but, quite out of the blue I said to Wifey, “Of course, we could always have lunch here”. To which she replied, “What a good idea”. So, that’s what we did and enjoyed their carvery. At £8.99 we think it’s a bit expensive, but we do know it is much cheaper during the week. Hey, what the heck, we can indulge ourselves now and again.
Later…
We took the bus into Derby this morning and one of the first things we did was to look in the market for vacuum cleaner bags. This was a good move, because, quite close to that stall was another one selling second hand laptops. The prices look to be pretty reasonable and so, if he has what I want and offers a
decent guarantee, I could save myself some money. I rather like the look of the Acer Aspire he had in the window and if it’s still there next time we go I just might make a few enquiries about it.
Wednesday 5th December
Well, at eight pages long I really should get this blog posted and wish you all well until next time.
All abreast from:
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
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