Shiralee: Crick Marina # 5

 

13^th December to 31^st December 2013

Sunday 15^th December

A good time was had by all on Friday, although Alan was in some discomfort with his knee. I got to meet most of the girls and I have to say, they are a disparate bunch, which is always a good thing for workmates. Sadly there was no one there that I recognised, which means that, apart from Alan, they’ve had a complete turnover of staff since my last visit.

The celebration was held at The Marquis of Granby pub in Harlow which, most fortuitously, is just across the road from the University Campus. Ooh, that does sound posh, doesn’t it?

Anyway, after the cebrelations (hic), it was back to Alan’s house and a rather tasty stew for dinner and off to bed early. 9.30 pm is early, even for me.

I can’t say I enjoyed the drive down in the morning though, because the traffic was rather heavy. Coming back on Saturday morning was also pretty busy but, once past Milton Keynes the traffic eased off and I was home by about 09.30, to a warm welcome by Wifey and an equally welcome cup of tea.

Tuesday 17^th December

Over the past couple of years I have put together a recipe book, comprised entirely of English recipes from around the Counties and Shires. Last year I listed the book on eBay but, since I had no response, I shelved it and thought no more about it.

Last week I copied the book to a CD and gave it to Nikki when I met her on Friday afternoon. She had shown an interest in it when Alan mentioned it to her. In a follow-up email to me she was so enthusiastic in her praise for the book that I’ve decided to have another stab at selling it. However, after reading what Debbie Henry had to say about eBay and their new rules regarding listings, I’m going to try listing it on Etsy instead.

The book has about 470 recipes in it and comes in three volumes. I’ve had to do this because the programme I’ve compiled it in – eBook Starter – does not allow for a huge number of pages. It doesn’t allow for Mac computers either but, since it is fairly secure against plagiarism, this is a small price to pay.

I haven’t decided on a price yet, but then I’m not quite ready to post it on Etsy yet either, because I need to buy some CD labels, or find the ones that I think we have somewhere on the boat.

Today we are driving to Northampton and the Hobby Craft store. Wifey has decided to while away her spare time with knitting, and possibly crocheting, whilst I need some more pastel pencils.

Wednesday 18^th December

Yesterday morning we took the bus into Northampton, initially for the buying of Christmas Presents for each other. The bus was about 10 minutes early, or so we thought, which is probably why our passes wouldn’t work in the machine. We later discovered that it was late and that the bus had broken down on the way. This therefore gave us an extra 10 minutes in town.

Anyway, when we arrived, we wandered around the town and walked through a few shops, then had a coffee and sticky bun in one of the shop café’s. At the end of an hour of just strolling about, we managed to find a decent sized biscuit tin, a present to us both. After which we decided to catch the bus home. We were not inspired and didn’t find anything we really wanted as a present.

Any other year we would have gone our separate ways and ended up with several presents for each other, I can’t imagine what the problem is this year. Not to worry though, I’ve ordered something online for Wifey, but it won’t arrive until after Christmas. That’ll be a nice surprise, won’t it? I’ll have a look around in Harlow on Sunday instead. I’ve got to go down in any case, if only to collect our turkey breast, and have a Sunday lunchtime drink with Alan of course.

Friday 20^th December

 At the moment, what with it being so close to Christmas, we don’t seem to be doing much. I’m carrying on with my painting of Rusty first thing in the morning, and I’m also converting my recipe books to PDF. Other than that life plods along as usual, with nothing much to write home about.

 I suppose I could chunter on about all the mushy rubbish that’s been spoken about Nelson Mandela, but my views on that man aren’t really printable, and besides I was always told not to speak ill of the dead. Nuff said!!

 On Sunday I’ll be driving down to Harlow, my main reason being to collect a turkey crown but, if you believe that then you need to change your name to Harry Gullible. Let’s just say that I won’t need my arm twisting to pay a visit to the White Admiral for a few sherbets.

 Tuesday 24^th December

 Well, Christmas Day is almost here and the weather is atrocious. So, what’s new about that? Well, I only mention it because I went down to Harlow on Sunday which, as days in Harlow go was pretty good. I joined Alan and his mob for breakfast in The Stow – although since I had already had mine, I simply settled for a cup of tea, and sat back to watched them all gorge themselves.

 By the time they had finished eating, the pubs were open, so it was straight down to the Admiral, where Val, joined us later.

 So, what does the weather have to do with all this? Well, now that you ask, the run back to Crick yesterday was not pleasant. What with everybody making a mad dash to go away for Christmas, the rain and spray, especially from lorry tyres, did not make for a good journey.

 All lanes were full and, at some points, we were lucky to exceed 50mph. I suppose I should consider myself fortunate, because I got home well before the heavy rain and high winds began.

 Today there’s a good chance we’ll take the bus into Rugby, just for something to do.

 Thursday 26^th December (Boxing Day)

 Crick Marina is pretty much deserted at Christmas, or so it seems, because there are very few cars in the car parks and we’ve only seen a few boaters around. So, apart from spending a very pleasant hour or so at the club, Christmas day passed quietly for us. Looking on the bright side, we received quite a few cards and I actually got to speak to Alan for a few minutes.

 Today, I have no doubt will be just as quiet, but at least the Co-op is open for the Daily Mail. We’ll walk up there later this morning. We had thought to take one of the local, village walks, but we’ve had so much rain of late, that we think it prudent to avoid muddy footpaths.

 Boxing Day is one of my favourites where food is concerned, because we’ll probably have boiled eggs and toast for breakfast and then, at lunchtime it will be cold meat, mashed potato and pickles. We will also have enough turkey and ham left over for Wifey to make a pie. Great stuff!

 Saturday 28^th December

 Well, the festivities are over and thank goodness for that. We enjoyed our usual ‘Sunday’ walk to the club on Christmas Day and a really tasty dinner. The turkey crown cooked up really well and we had enough left over for cold meat and pickle on Boxing Day, plus a turkey and leek pie yesterday. The rest will go in a sandwich today, then it’s all back to normal.

 We didn’t hear from many people over the Christmas, but I did get to speak with my siblings on a couple of occasions. I can only assume everybody else is fine. If we missed any phone calls, it’s because the signal here is so poor, that the mobile doesn’t even get to ring. However, for some odd reason text messages do seem to get through.

 And that’s it for today. Not much point in posting yet, as I only have four pages of text.

 Tuesday 31^st December

 

Well, the New Year is almost upon us and we can now look forward to our next cruise. We both hope you all had a fun filled 2013 and wish you a very happy and prosperous 2014.

 For us 2013 was a pretty mixed bag, but at least we had good weather whilst cruising, which is more than can be said for the previous year.

 This winter has given us very little cause for concern, except, of course, the loss of our wee pooch, Rusty. That was a very sad couple of weeks for us, as anyone who has lost a pet will know. Whether or not we’ll get another dog is still undecided. Given the opportunity I’d start looking right away, but Wifey is unsure and it needs us both to agree. We’ll see.

 We haven’t planned our route for 2014 yet, but we still have three months in which to do so. As soon as we know, then so will you.

 And that’s just about it for this year.

 Take care folks and have a drink for us this evening if you intend seeing the New Year in. Personally I’ll be in bed and asleep long before midnight.

 Cheers folks.

 Dave and Sheila.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Crick Marina # 4

 

29^th November to

Saturday 30^th November

Yesterday was quite a busy day, although we didn’t get everything done that we wanted to.

We first had to parcel up our Toshiba laptop for my sister Carole. I had thought to post it on eBay but it occurred to me that, since Carole is studying for a degree in Archaeology, she might know someone who needs one. She did, her son Ashley. So, having agreed a price we set to and parcelled it up. Fortunately I had kept the box that the VAIO came in, so no scrambling around for cardboard.

Unfortunately I forgot to include the mains lead, so we had to unwrap it and do it again. Then having done all that and transferred the VAIO to the bag Alan gave me, I spotted the Owner’s Manual, which I slipped into a Jiffy Bag and posted separately.

After dropping those to items off at the Post Office, off we went to Daventry for shopping. My Wifey, being the awkward so-and-so that she can be decided, after we had hiked half the length of the High Street and returned the kettle to Argos, that she wanted to pay a visit to Bon Marche, which she believed was further down.

So, having walked the whole length of the High Street without finding it, we continued up the next turning, which runs parallel to it and leads to main car park and Waitrose, which is where we found Bon Marche. There are times when I could cheerfully strangle that woman. However, since she actually found what she was looking for; a zip-up cardigan; I forgave her the sin of making me walk all that way. Goodness knows I need the exercise, but I’d rather do it in my own time and at my own pace.

On our way back from Daventry we were aiming to pay a visit to Watford Gap Services, which can be accessed via a side road off the A5. Sadly, instead of turning left onto the lane opposite the one that takes us back to Crick, we took the Crick road, which didn’t actually take us where we wanted to be.

Eventually, some time this winter, we will visit Watford Gap and buy me a pair of boots. Now, having checked with Google Maps, I know where we went wrong and, with a bit of luck and a tail wind, we might get there today.

Monday 2^nd December

Yesterday, just for a change, instead of visiting the Red Lion, we walked a bit further and called in at the ex-serviceman’s club. After sussing out the atmosphere and seeing it to our liking, we joined said club. In future our Sunday drinks will be a little cheaper, with the addition of raffles and such. Hopefully we’ll get to know some other members in due course.

Today, if the weather sets fair, we’ll trot off to an out of town shopping area, to see if we can find me a decent pair of waterproof boots.

Tuesday 3^rd December

Yeah! I finally got my boots, but not at Cotton Traders as intended. Oh no, we drove to Bloom’s garden Centre, which lies just outside Rugby and, as it happened, they had a sale on.

I was looking for the same type of boot that Wifey wears but, since they didn’t have my size in those and, since I was mainly concerned that they should be waterproof, I bought a pair that look more like trainers. They are a good, wide fit with thick soles, so they should last quite a while.

It was only after we had bought what we needed at Bloom’s that we noticed a Cotton Trader’s outlet. However, they didn’t have a sale on and we therefore saved quite a bit of cash.

Today I have another appointment with the nurse, this time for a proper check on my circulation.

Wednesday 4^th December

That circulation check was something I’d never come across before. My experience has been, the nurse tickling my feet and seeing if I react, then taking the pulses in both feet. This time around the nurse also used a blood pressure machine on my ankles, a most unusual feeling. I also had to lie flat for 15 minutes before she started.

I now have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow morning, probably to discuss being prescribed Statins, which I stopped taking due to adverse effects. Hmmm! Could be an interesting discussion. The problem is that the alternative to Statins is Ezetemibe, which is not as good, apparently.

One thing that surprised me is that even young children with Type 1 Diabetes are being prescribed Statins. The pharmaceutical companies must be rubbing their hands with glee.

Today is a chill out day, so we might just take the bus into Northampton. We’ve been told it’s not a nice town, by which I assume ‘not nice’ equates to ‘mucky’. We won’t know until we get there. You never know, it might have a lot more going for it than we’ve been led to believe.

Thursday 5^th December

A couple of days ago whilst walking into the village, we noticed a new bus stop outside the Post Office. How long it had been there is anybody’s guess, but since this is where passengers would stand if they were going into Rugby, we thought it was about time too.

As we neared the marina entrance on our return trip, lo and behold, we also had a new bus stop. What’s more, there was another one on the other side of the road. This was very good news, not least because it saved us a walk to the Post Office when we wanted to take the bus into town.

So, now that we had our very own bus stop, we could see no reason to avoid going to Northampton and so, at 09.35, or thereabouts, we climbed aboard the bus and arrived about an hour later. We spent a couple of hours there, during which time I had the face of the phone that Steve gave me replaced and bought a cover for it. All I have to do now is learn how to use it.

We won’t be venturing very far today, just to the doctor’s and Co-op and, since the weather promises to worsen over the next few days, I don’t suppose we’ll go anywhere, other than Daventry for shopping.

Saturday 7^th December

Well, I’ve messed up another pastel of Rusty. I had intended to paint a profile shot of her on a lead, but getting rid of the lead was going to be a problem, so I changed to another profile shot, this time where she’s in her bed, and sitting on the bow of the boat. This was before we had the cratch cover fitted and when we were moored at the top of Buckby Locks. Alas, I’ve been unable to do justice to the parts of the boat that are showing.

So, what now? Well, I’ve been going through our photos, looking for a suitable background upon which to place her; something grassy with trees in the background. This is called ‘artistic licence’.

Sunday 8^th December

My sister Carole is studying Archaeology, as you may already know. Now and again; simply because I’m quicker at it; she asks me to find the necessary books on the subject. She has now completed her studies of Ancient Rome and has moved on to Ancient Greece and asked me to find three books for her.

I was very fortunate in this search because, having tracked the first one down at Addall; where it was listed on Amazon as the cheapest; the other two were thrown up by Amazon as books other people had also purchased. So, since they were also at reasonable prices, I ordered all three. So far, so good.

The last one to arrive didn’t have an Invoice with it and, since Carole claims some tuition costs from a bursary, this meant she wouldn’t get paid, as they do insist on Invoices as proof of purchase.

So, I emailed Thrift Books in the good old US of A and was told that they do not issue printed Invoices when sending out goods. The best they could offer was that I go to my Order Details and print that information off, which I have now done. Needless to say I will be avoiding Thrift Books in the future.

Yesterday, apart from walking up to the Co-op, we did absolutely nothing. Although, having said that, I did do some printing for my pastel painting. The latest attempt at my pastel of Rusty has been another disaster. It’s that one I mentioned earlier. I now have one of her sitting on the bow of the boat, but this time she has a towel underneath her. I think this will be much easier to paint.

Monday 9^th December

Today we’re off to Rugby.

Tuesday 10^th December

Yesterday we purchased some new casual shirts for me. These are much warmer than the T-shirts I usually wear and don’t sag at the neck.

Today we’ll be returning to Bloom’s Garden centre, where I’m hoping to add a new, waterproof jacket to my wardrobe. Since losing weight earlier in the year, my warmest jacket is now too big, making me feel like a bit of a ragbag, so I’m disposing of that one, at last.

Wednesday 11^th December

Yesterday, we drove over to Bloom’s and bought a new winter coat for me, and a top for Sheila.

Thursday 12^th December

On the spur of the moment we drove into Daventry yesterday for shopping. We called into Waitrose, which must be one of the most expensive of the big supermarkets. We then called into the local bakery,  also quite expensive. For example, £1 for one sausage roll. After that it was the butcher for bacon. On the shelf in front of us was a tray of bagged up pork scratchings, of which we bought two. Only whilst Wifey was paying for our goods did I notice the price, £1.91! Ye gods and little fishes, that’s more than double what we would normally pay. So, goodbye bakery and butcher. I’m all for supporting the local independents, but I won’t be stitched up by them.

Friday 13^th December

Alan’s birthday today, so I’ll be in Harlow to celebrate with him and the girls he works with.

My apologies to anybody who hasn’t received a reply to emails sent. Normally, if my Inbox at my server has gone over quota, they would inform me. In fact, they would do so before I had run over my quota. However, since I hadn’t received any messages during that time, I logged on and discovered I was well over quota. Well, thanks very much Absolute Email.

Now, with some of the rather large emails I receive from Sandra and Alan, I do tend to check back at the server from time to time. Obviously I haven’t checked often enough.

Now, let’s see if I can get onto my blog site and post this latest edition.

Cheers for now.

Dave and Sheila.

 

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Crick Marina # 3

23^rd November to 28^th November

Saturday 23^rd November

If you’ve heard of Open Office, you’ll know that there are several varieties of this free alternative to Microsoft, one of which is called Apache. But the one that I have on disc is called Ubuntu, an African word meaning ‘shared humanity’.

I’ve already loaded Apache on the Toshiba laptop, but this morning I decided to give Ubuntu a go. This is much bigger than Apache, at 5 Gb and according to the blurb, also gives completely free and secure access to the Internet via Firefox.

It kind of mirrors what you would expect to see on a Windows screen, except that all the programme icons sit to the left hand side.

Unfortunately, with the limited time at my disposal first thing in the morning I really didn’t have enough of that commodity with which to investigate further. It seems though, as if it is necessary to manually select the means by which you wish to access to the Internet, because this didn’t come up automatically.

Looks like a long learning curve for this one. However, if you would like to try something completely different, it might be worth your while to check out Ubuntu, which can be installed alongside your current platform; be it MS or Mac; or it can be installed as your only platform, eliminating the Windows or MAC System.

I’ll certainly be taking a closer look at this over the coming weeks.

Sunday 24^th November

 With all the problems with our ‘Three’ WiFi and the weak signal from the marina one, we decided to fork out £32 for a WiFi Aerial, which arrived yesterday. So, having fitted the aerial to our top box and, having dug out the Toshiba, I plugged in the aerial but, as soon as I tried to access the Internet, I was asked for a User Name and Password, neither of which I had at my disposal.

In high dudgeon then I traipsed across to the marina office, where Noel filled out a form for me to sign, upon which were the necessary details. And that’s when my problems really started.

 Knowing I would still be unhappy at having had to chase around for UN and P, Wifey had a cup of tea ready for me. So understanding is that woman. Anyway, once again I connected to the marina WiFi, but this time when I tried accessing the Internet, no nag screen came up and, after several attempts at jiggery pokery here and there, I finally gave up on the Toshiba. I have no idea what the problem can be, but I may try carrying out a Restore sometime.

 I then dragged out the VAIO, but not for the WiFi, no, this time I wanted to do a full back-up onto an external hard drive, of which I have two, a 160Gb and a 320Gb Verbatim. For some reason, which still remains a mystery to me, neither laptop will accept the smaller of the two as a back-up unit, so I always try the 320 first. But, wouldn’t you know it, the laptop couldn’t see it. Then, when I unplugged the HDD, a nag screen came up telling me the device needed formatting and ‘would you like to format now’?

 Of course, I clicked ‘yes’ and plugged it back in, but I then had another screen telling me the item could not be formatted, by which time I’m pulling my hair out. Anyway, after much faffing around with the Control Panel, I finally got the thing to format and, because it took so long, removed laptop and HDD to the bedroom to await results.

 Eventually, after a couple of hours; or so it seemed; formatting was completed and I then instituted full back-up. This was at about 2pm, but, by the time we wanted to sit down to dinner, only about 20% of the back-up was completed, so into the bedroom it went again.

 We usually retire at about 10pm, by which time only 60% of the back-up was completed and it wasn’t until I answered a call of nature at about 2am, that I discovered it was finished.

 The good news is that, after plugging in the new aerial to the VAIO and connecting to the local WiFi, up came that nag screen asking for UN and P, which I gladly supplied. I now have a much faster, although insecure Internet access.

 Naturally, whilst I was online, up came another screen, this time from Avast, telling me I had an insecure line and offering protection for an extra £5.95 per month. This would probably be worth it, but I must first ask Wifey before committing to a regular outlay. I can always cancel it when we leave here next April.

Other news? None whatsoever, because I spent all day faffing about with the laptop.

 Today is Sunday and, after all the frustration of yesterday I really do deserve my Sunday lunchtime drink.

 Now, like most pet owners, I’m a big softy. I just can’t help it. So, when I contacted a very kind-hearted family member about Rusty’s sad demise, she mentioned something called The Rainbow Bridge. Of course, I thanked her for her kind thoughts, thinking no more about the subject.

 Realising that I obviously hadn’t even heard of The Rainbow Bridge, this kind person – whose name will remain between us, just in case she would rather not see her name in print – then offered to tell me about it. The following what she sent:

 THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

 There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called the Rainbow Bridge because of its many colours. Just this side of the Rainbow Bridge there is a land of meadows, hills and valleys with lush green grass.

 When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to this place. There is always food and water and warm spring weather. The old and the frail animals are young again. Those who are maimed are made whole again. They play all day with each other.

 There is only one thing missing. They are not with their special person who loved them so on Earth. So, each day they run and play until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up! The nose twitches! The ears are up! The eyes are staring! And this one suddenly runs from the group!

 You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet, you take him, or her, in your arms and embrace. Your face is kissed again and again and again, and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.

 Now, isn’t that just so slushy and warm? I love it.

 Monday 25^th November

 We have to take the bus into Rugby today. Why? Because, after just eight days of use, the new electric kettle we bought from Argos has packed up. What makes this so annoying is that we searched high and low, amongst all kinds of shops and stores, for a 1 litre kettle, which took us several weeks, only to find one in Argos and that one’s no good.

 I made a start on my pastel of Rusty and, so far so good. This time though, instead of starting at the top and working down, I started at the point where I made my big mistake, her eye. After spending half an hour filling in the water and reflections last time, I made a right mess of her eye and had to tear the paper up. This time it’s looking pretty good and I can always turn the paper upside down to work on the water.

 This Crick WiFi Hotspot is working quite well through the new aerial. It’s a funny operation though, when it comes to connecting. When I plug the aerial in I have to wait a while until the signal is recognised by the laptop. I then have to click ‘connect’ on the appropriate icon. However, in order to make a proper connection, I then have to go onto the web and sign in. If I don’t do that first then I am unable to download my emails through Outlook. Still, it works and that’s the point of shelling out £32 for the aerial. My ‘Three’ WiFi unit is now back in its box until we leave here in April.

 Tuesday 26^th November

 Sister Carole is studying Archaeology and has asked me to find some books for her. This is OK, I’m happy to help. I use a site called Addall, which has access to most of the other online book sellers, so it’s usually easy tracking down out of print books.

 This morning, nice and early, I accessed the site and easily found the first of three books that Carole wants. After that, slooooow, with the screen sitting there, all blank and with the cursor circling like a demented gnat. Will try again later.

 Meanwhile, Wifey has a fasting blood test this morning at 8.30, so she’s going to be ravenous when she gets home.

Later……

 After much faffing about at Addall and, after overcoming my dear sister’s incorrect info, I finally managed to order her books, all from Amazon although, after that Panorama programme, I must admit to hesitating about that.

   “Two women called at my door and asked what bread I ate. When I said white they gave me a lecture on the benefits of brown bread for 30 minutes.   I think they were those Hovis Witnesses.”

Wednesday 27^th November

 Well, I once again set up the Toshiba and attempted to get online via local WiFi, but still with no luck. The procedure for doing so goes like this:

 1/ Plug in the aerial lead and click on the little triangular icon in the System Tray

2/ Click ‘Connect’ on the marina WiFi icon
3/ Click on Internet Access
4/ Fill in the User Name and Password.

 Simple? No!

 At stage 3/ of the proceedings a blank Internet screen comes up and my cursor, once again, sits there whirring away like a demented gnat. Then after what must be at least a minute, up comes the sign-in screen.

 So, not too happy with this state of affairs, I carried out a Restore on the Toshiba, but still had the same problem. I have now given up on the Toshiba for now.

 Back to the VAIO and, because I had already signed in on that one, I had no problems getting online. Ah well, you can’t have everything.

 Thursday 28^th November

 You may remember me mentioning a 1 litre kettle that we bought from Argos recently? Well, a few days ago we returned that kettle for a replacement, because it simply stopped working.

 Today we’ll be returning the replacement for another kettle, but this time for a different make and model, because the replacement sprung a leak. Not just any old leak though, oh no, this was around the base and ran onto the base that’s connects the kettle to power. You can imagine the result had we not noticed the leak and switched it on. At the very least the fuse would have blown but, since this is 13 amp, the charge could well have bypassed the fuse and blown our Inverter/Charger or tripped out the outside supply. Nasty!!

 Considering the fact that this particular model of kettle is unreliable and potentially dangerous, I have reported the matter to Argos Customer Services. As to whether they will take it up with the manufacturers, well, we can only hope.

 After returning said kettle this morning we’ll be heading for Watford gap Services, where I’m hoping to find a decent pair of boots.

 On that happy note I think I’d better post this blog.

 Happy days from Dave and Sheila.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Crick Marina # 2

13th November to 23^rd November

Wednesday 13^th November.

N.B. Any jokes you see in this and future blogs, will probably come from my good friend Alan.

Well, winter has arrived and we have a frosty start to the day, part of which we’ll be spending in Daventry. Our MOT is due in February but, since I know we need two front tyres and will be travelling down to Harlow on several occasions before then, we’re going to get them changed sooner, rather than later. We also need a new radio aerial for the boat, which is something I should have bought whilst I was in Harlow on Saturday.

The steroids are doing wonders to Rusty, she’s far more alert and active now, so much so that even our nearest neighbour has passed comment. It can’t last of course, but at least her quality of life has improved.

“Since the snow came all the wife has done is look through the window.  If it gets any worse, I'll have to let her in.”

Friday 15^th November

Our radio has been playing up of late, on occasion we find the volume goes down and the sound is somewhat scratchy. We have a wooden box on top of the cratch cover, mounted upon which is a holding tube for the TV aerial and a separate aerial for the radio. Unscrewing one side of the box and looking inside, I could see that the wire from the radio aerial had come off and so, not wanting to take the whole box apart to fix the problem, off we trotted to Daventry for a new aerial. We also stopped off at the tyre place and had the back two replaced.

That was on Wednesday morning, after the ice had cleared, of course.

Yesterday we didn’t do much of anything so, as you can plainly see, life in a marina is pretty humdrum.

However, it’s not so humdrum that we’re totally bored. I still have my paintings, guitar and ukulele and Wifey has her Sudoku books. Rusty has her regular hourly walks, on the hour most of the time. Last evening she was wandering around, obviously looking for somewhere to pee, but I nipped that idea in the bud, pretty sharpish I can tell you.

How very strange that she can still go all night!!

Sunday 17^th November

Yesterday, as far as the Internet was concerned, was an out and out disaster. Crick Marina is a real dead spot where ‘Three’ is concerned but, since they do have the most transmitting towers, there would be no sense in changing.

Anyway, more in hope than expectation, I even tried taking the WiFi onto the roof and connecting it up to the laptop, even so the download speed was only running at a maximum of 150Kb/sec. I then tried using the old dongle, but found that to be even worse. Then later in the afternoon, with the WiFi still in its little pod, I stood it on the biscuit tin, on the ‘wrong’ side of the lounge and, lo and behold, I had a signal, and a strong one at that.

Now, when I say the ‘wrong’ side of the boat I mean that, when I hang the unit in the window on that side, I get no reception at all. But it seems that, by placing it lower down, it’s picking up the signal through the opposite window, which is where I would usually hang the darn thing. Me no understandee!

In addition to the strong signal, the email I tried sending yesterday; one that had a picture in it, which can be difficult sometimes; that went out too. So, leave it on the biscuit tin.

Last night, just about half an hour after retiring to bed, along came Rusty and spewed up on the carpet. Then after she had been out again, she then wandered down to our bedroom and started scratching on the carpet. It was then necessary for Wifey to take her back to bed, and it was left to yours truly to put the usual barrier up to prevent further night time wanderings. It’s now almost 6am and she’s sound asleep.

Would you believe it, I just tried sending an email and noticed that the signal had dropped then, after a couple of minutes it came back. What a bummer!!

Monday 18^th November

We took our wee pooch to the Vet today and, since the pills seem to be doing her good, she’s on them for another month, with the proviso that, should she take a turn for the worse, we are to take her back. So far so good and a month’s supply of pills is only £2.38p. Gotta be the cheapest Vets around.

Tuesday 19^th November

That trip to the Vet totally exhausted our Rusty, so much so that she spent most of the day sleeping, then managed to down some food much later. As a consequence of which she needed to go out during the night. At times she’s really quite chipper and her ‘normal’ self, at others she all morose and quiet, which does worry us.

I took her out again first thing this morning, but she needed to be carried all the way, so she’s certainly not enjoying life right now.

Now, the Internet, which is something of a joke, here at Crick Marina. I’ve been at the laptop since about 6.15 this morning and, in that hour I’ve just managed to download 8 emails and shopped for some pastel pencils at Turner’s of Stockport. It doesn’t matter where I put the WiFi unit, everything is very slow and the signal keeps dropping out. Not good, not good at all!!

If I thought it would be safe to leave Rusty on her own today, I would accompany Wifey into Rugby and call into the Three shop, but I think she’ll be going on her own.

Wednesday 20^th November

Yesterday was a very sad day for us, because we finally had to part with our beloved pet, Rusty. Her condition had become too serious for us to allow her to go on any longer. We’ll miss her dreadfully and will have many fond memories of her. The end of a very happy relationship, with a dog with an attitude problem, never letting us forget who was boss.

Thursday 21^st November

 

Naturally, at the passing on of our wee pooch, we decided we would like a pastel painting of her. So, having scrolled through the multitude of such photos, here’s the one I’m going to do. It could take some time, because I really will have to do her justice.

 

Friday 22^nd November

You know how I’ve been having trouble accessing the Internet and downloading stuff? Well, as a result of having to call into the Marina Office to sort out a power failure, I asked Noel about the strength of their own WiFi signal, with a view to moving closer to it. The upshot of the conversation was, that their unit has a booster unit quite close to our small marina, so I should get a good, strong signal here, which I’m not.

Being something of a Technophobe where these things are concerned, Noel’s question as to whether I had a WiFi aerial on the boat, rather took me by surprise, since I wasn’t aware that I needed one, thinking, in my ignorance, that my WiFi would pick up on the marina signal.

Oh no it doesn’t! It’s the computer that picks that signal up and, without an aerial any signal I do receive will be very weak.

So, I have now ordered an aerial, which means that, for the duration of our stay here at Crick, I will not be needing the ‘Three’ WiFi unit at all and I should have no problems with emails or the Internet. Whoopee!

I made my first attempt at painting my photo of Rusty this morning and, after filling in the water and reflections, I made a start on her face. Oooops! I failed miserably, making a right mess of her eye and, if you can’t get the eye right, there’s little point in continuing. So, later today I’ll have to prepare another sheet of paper and start again tomorrow morning.

Saturday 23^rd November

Our neighbour on our port side, is Martin and his wife on Coriolis and a very nice couple they are too. When we came back from shopping yesterday, they were in the process of taking their boat into dry dock for work on the waterline paint. It will only be there for a few days, which is a pity really because, as I discovered later when I hung the WiFi in the window, it’s their boat that’s blocking our signal. This also tells me that, if I want to use ‘Three’ for Internet access, I’ll have to find a longer lead and put it on the roof, nearer to the front of the boat. Can’t wait for that aerial!

Now, whilst I still have a strong signal, I’ll post this blog.

Have a great weekend.

Dave and Sheila

 

 

 

 

Shiralee: Crick Marina # 1

 

1^st November to

 Saturday 2^nd November

 After walking to the Health Centre on Thursday; which we figure to be about 1½ mile round trip; I swore I would not do so again. However, since I really do need the exercise, I recanted that decision and walked there again yesterday morning in order to collect my medication, and I’m glad I did because I felt all the better for it.

 This also means that, at Sunday lunchtime, assuming it’s not peeing with rain, we’ll be able to walk to the pub. Now that I think about it though, the walk from Mercia marina into Willington would have been no longer and it’s flat for the most part.

 Carrying Rusty out to the car park is OK at present, but I dread to think what it will be like in icy conditions. She’s not a heavy dog by any means, but it only needs one slip and we’ll both suffer. So, we’ve either got to ask Noel for a move to a different pontoon; one that’s nearer to some grass; or I’ve got to buy a decent pair of boots, before that icy stuff turns up.

 Actually, the boaters in this small marina are really friendly, so I’m really not that keen on moving. Watch this space!!

 We had a chat with our neighbour yesterday and discussed the problem we’ve been having with our water pump. Now, since the expansion tank sits over the hot water tank, (Clorifier, in boating terms), we didn’t consider that the pressure there could possibly affect the cold tap. However, for some complicated reason that I have now forgotten, Martin suggested that we check this out and, lo and behold, the pump now works perfectly.

 We have suffered that problem ever since we left Mercia, and it’s been getting worse, so, why did we not think of that earlier? Dumb and dumber!!

 Andy will be returning the car on Sunday morning and, while he’s here he’ll be removing our water filter and inserting a length of pipe. We don’t want a recurrence of the broken filter any time soon. He was also going to sort out our batteries for us, but he’s going straight to his sister’s place after fitting the pipe. This is not a problem since we are now on mains power, but it will have to be sorted out before we go cruising again.

 Talking about mains power, we have now rescued our toaster from the bowels of our cupboard and, having bought some of those lovely square toasting crumpets from Asda, I’m quite looking forward to seeing how they turn out. Sadly, our electric kettle packed up just before we left Mercia, so we’ve got to buy a new one. There are plenty of them about, but they all seem to be 1.7 litre capacity, whereas my awkward wife wants a 1.0 litre one. Go figure!

 Sunday 3^rd November

 Joy, oh, joy, only very distant sounds of fireworks last night, unlike Mercia, where they usually hold their own display and we have to suffer the smoke next morning. I guess I’m getting old!!

 Well, the one thing I had hoped would be OK, isn’t. I’m having problems with the Internet. OK, we had a problem when we were moored up a couple of days ago, but we expected that but, we didn’t anticipate problems here in the marina. Indeed, not only does our signal from ‘Three’ drop out, but the local, free WiFi signal is even weaker than ‘Three’.

 This morning I tried sending an attachment to Emma in NZ, but it simply wouldn’t go out. Looking at the icon in the System Tray, I noticed it had been crossed out, meaning ‘No Signal’. So, after re-positioning the unit, I tried again. Still no joy. So, I then rebooted the unit and the laptop and, hey presto, the message went out, along with the attachment. This kind of situation really does become quite tiresome. I might have to put the WiFi unit into its little box and screw it to the Topbox on the roof and then plug it into the laptop. What a palaver!!

 Monday 4^th November

 Andy and Sandy popped in yesterday, on their way to Andy’s sister in Cambridge, and brought the Alfa with them. We had a real good chat, catching up with the gossip and our separate escapades on the cut.

 The car is running well, she’s old but happy; a bit like me really; so I suppose, after all the money we’ve spent on her since we bought it about three years ago, we had better keep her for a while longer. Besides which, we’re not yet in a position to trade up; or down as the case may be!!

 We popped into The Wheatsheaf pub at lunchtime and, whilst it wasn’t as busy as the Red Lion, it seems like a friendly enough pub; parent’s with kids and football kit etc.

 Tuesday 5^th November

 We’ve discovered something else about Crick, that’s just a wee bit disagreeable, and that’s getting our cassette to the disposal point. As I mentioned before, at the end of the pontoons and through to the car park the pathway is all loose gravel, which makes it pretty difficult when wheeling a sack barrow. Then, having driven up to the disposal point, we have to drag the barrow around the office block, or heft it out of the car and carry it there, which is no mean feat considering the full-up weight of the thing.

 As an aside, I do hope the management here are not like Paul Lilley at Pillings Lock, who trawls the Internet for signs of adverse comments about his beloved marina.

 Today we’re taking the bus into Rugby for our big shop. From what our neighbour, Martin tells us, Daventry is well worth a visit for small shopping expeditions, so we’ll probably give that town a try later in the week.

 Friday 8^th November

 Yesterday was one of those days where we didn’t do much of anything. Well, after the excitement of Wednesday we thought we’d take it easy.

 I think I’m getting the hang of this pastel painting, and it’s taken me long enough, I have to say. I don’t plan on posting everything I do, but I thought you might be interested in this latest offering.

 

 This is of Cheddar Gorge and is taken from a photochrome photo from about 1900. When I showed the photo to Wifey, she assured me that, apart from the road now being paved, the scene will be pretty much as shown. At least, the cottages are still there. I can’t be sure about this because, although we have visited Cheddar and other parts of Somerset, any photos we took at the time seem to have been mislaid.

 The next pastel I do will be something of a surprise for my mentor, Emma. I’m not even going to show here what it’s of until it’s finished.

 This afternoon I will be obliged to undergo a New Patient Review at my local Medical Centre. That should be fun. Hopefully they will leave my medication as is, rather than behave like a new broom.

 Saturday 9^th November

 Yesterday became rather tyersome. No, I haven’t misspelled that last word. Tyresome is what I said and tyresome is what I meant.

 We drove up to the Co-op yesterday morning, rather than walk, which was when we encountered our slice of bad luck. In order to pull into the lay bye outside the shop, it was necessary for me to mount the pavement, but when I did so I put the front wheel over the storm drain and down went the tyre.

 Naturally I panicked at this, simply because the changing of car wheels is not at all easy for me, since I can’t kneel down on the new knees, and that’s when our slice of good luck turned up, in the shape of two young Latvian lads.

 I once possessed a spider tyre iron, but that seems to have disappeared. I also should have had a straight one with the jack, but no such thing abides in my boot. Then along comes my second slice of luck, this time in the shape of a local mum, who loaned us hers.

 Those two lads eventually managed to change the wheel but, even though I didn’t want to embarrass them, I felt I should at least offer them some recompense for their trouble, but they wouldn’t take it and the elder of these two; brothers as it turned out; had already said goodbye and walked off.

 Believe me I’m not usually that lucky. Having a flat tyre would normally occur on an open road, miles from the nearest habitation so, hallelujah for those two Latvians.

The new tyre, incidentally, meant a drive over to Daventry and cost me £48. And, that’s not the end of it either, because I know we need to change the two back ones before the car will pass its MOT.

 Monday 11 November

 I paid a visit to Alan on Saturday and tried to do some shopping. I need a pair of boots, I also need pastel paper and a few pencils and I wanted an in-car t.v. arial. After much fighting through traffic, which can be rather horrendous on a Saturday, we managed to find most of the pastel stuff we needed, but not the boots or the aerial.

 Hobby Craft supplied the pastel stuff and, since Alan also wants to give pastels a try, he bought loads of stuff. Unfortunately, as with many big stores, they all stock the same stuff, so I couldn’t get the individual pastel pencils that I want.

 We called into Maplin’s too but, when I asked a staff member about the aerial, he looked at me as if I was potty. However, when I mentioned that it runs on 12 volts, he pointed to just one of them and walked away. In the event we found about five of this type of aerial, so I have to wonder what sort of training these stores give.

 The evening, as you would expect, was spent supping pints at The White Admiral, which was followed by a very pleasant repast of chicken and chips. We then watched some drivellish film about a disastrous flood, followed by some great Status Quo and retired quite late, by which time we were all quite knackered.

 The trip to Harlow took 1¾ hours and, by the time I arrived back at the marina, I still had more than half a tank of juice, so moving to Crick is saving quite a bit of dosh.

 My next trip to Harlow will be on Alan’s birthday on 13^th December, so I guess I’d better buy a card and pressy.

 Today we have a trip to the vet, which we’re not really looking forward to.

 Tuesday 12^th November            

 Well, the visit to the Vet was not a happy one. Our wee pooch has been diagnosed with a Lymphoma, which accounts for the lumps we have found under her neck and the other lumps elsewhere. She doesn’t seem to be in pain, although she is rather shaky on her legs. The Vet has given us Steroid pills and we have to take her back next week, to see how they are working. At the age of 17, whatever the Vet does for her will only be for short term relief. He said, she could live another four months, or four years with the condition, although the latter is most unlikely. Still, we’ve enjoyed her company for the past 11 years and are most grateful for that. Whatever happens during the immediate future, you may be certain that we won’t let her suffer.

 As for the weather today, well, after a miserable day yesterday and rain overnight, the sky is now clear and the sun is shining.

 Now, at six pages long I suppose I really ought to post this blog.

 Enjoy the rest of your week.

 Dave, Sheila and Rusty.