Saturday 29th October to Friday 4th
November
Saturday 29th October
We took a walk into the village this morning;
about 8.30 or so; just for the Mail and milk really. Luckily for us the weather
stayed dry, although it did look and feel as if it was about to rain. Later in
the day the sun actually came out, which was something of a blessing. For this
time of year, it’s very mild and, according to the forecast yesterday evening,
this time in 2014 the temperature hit 22⁰ C. I suspect we’re at about 15 or so,
but that’s not to be sneezed at.
Now, for the past couple of weeks, my
daughter, Teresa, has been having problems with her mobile phone, house phone
and Sky. She’s been back and forth to the EE shop in Bedford, trying to get
them to sort out the problems with the mobile. This is a new phone and has
given nothing but trouble since they foisted it off on her. Today, much to my
surprise, she called to say that this problem has now been solved. So, we
should be back to text messages soon.
Her house phone; which is connected to Sky;
has also been a problem, in that the Voice Mail box has been filling up. That
too she seems to have sorted out.
On top of the phone problems, she also had
trouble with the TV, also on Sky. However, after calling sky; who, initially
wanted to send her a new Sky Box; the problem was sorted out over the phone.
So, all three problems now seem to have been
sorted. Praise be for that.
Tomorrow lunchtime we’ll take a run over to
The Red Lion at Shackerstone, where we know we can take Alex. Although, if the
weather is as mild as today, we should be able to sit in the pub garden. Won’t
that be nice?
Sunday 30th October
Yesterday; apart from our walk into town; was
something of a bore. Why? Well, as I was passing the office on my way to
walking Alex, a fellow boater asked if I fancied joining him and others later
in the evening, for a bit of a get together. When I asked what the occasion
might be, he told me “It’s Halloween”.
Oh Boy!! Halloween!! Another round of trick
or treat. I imagined a booze up par excellence and kids banging on boats. The
whole nine yards, as our American cousins would say.
So, anyway, when I put it to Wifey,
unsurprisingly she declined the offer. Not only could we expect a load of
hooting and roaring, almost outside our boat, but kids banging on our boat
demanding, “Trick or treat”.
Of course, none of this happened. We heard
sounds of partying, but nothing untoward and certainly no kids banging on our
boat. The most unsettling thing was the barking of the dog next door. It never
ceases to amaze me, just how many people leave their dogs alone and expect them
to enjoy that loneliness. Some, like our Alex, are Ok with that and can be left
for several hours without complaint. But, some don’t enjoy being left alone and
sound very distressed.
Ah well, such is life and all its praise,
when you die you’ve had it.
Monday 31st October
Yesterday lunchtime we decided to spend an
hour in the Old Red Lion in Market Bosworth; rather that drive over to
Shackerstone. However, since we didn’t know if dogs were allowed, we left Alex
on the boat. Aaaah! In the event, we discovered that dogs are allowed, which
comes as no surprise, since most pubs in this part of the world are happy to
allow them. There are differences, of course. Some allow them in only certain
areas of the pub, usually away from people who are eating. So, next week we’ll
take Alex with us and all will be back to normal.
One man, who was sitting in the same area as
us, looked familiar and, when I asked if he was from Bosworth Marina, he agreed
that he was. His name is Daz, which is short for Darren and he’s only lived on
his boat for a couple of years. He’s self-employed and travels quite a bit in
his work, so living on a boat makes sense to him, if only for the security
aspect. Nice bloke. No doubt we’ll see him again around the marina and in the
pub.
Today, we both have our preliminary
appointments with the nurse, which is usually to discuss medication and, in my
case at least, probably make appointments regarding my diabetes.
Tuesday 1st November
First thing yesterday, straight after
breakfast, we took a walk into town for newspaper and milk. Normally our wee
pooch is happy to take this walk. But we’ve noticed lately, that he’s not so
keen on the return journey. He seems to hold back at the start of the walk,
even though he’s had a good rest while we wait for Sheila to do the shopping.
He’s only six or seven years old, and he seems to have plenty of energy left
over to chase a ball about inside the boat. Strange!
Anyway, we’ve decided to take him into town
on alternate days. Today we won’t bother because we’ll be taking the bus into
Hinckley, partly for food shopping, but also because, since I’ve now paid for
my 02 mobile, I’m probably due for an upgrade.
After paying a visit to the practice nurse yesterday,
it looks like we’re back on the medical merry-go-round. My next appointment is
with the nurse again, this time to check out my diabetes. No doubt other things
will follow, such as the Chiropodist and a retinal scan of my eyes. Thank
goodness we cruise for six months, else they would have me running around, like
the proverbial indigo for the rest of the year too.
Wednesday 2nd November
We took the bus into Hinckley yesterday
morning and we were not impressed. Even though there was a brand-new Sainsbury’s
and other shops in a new precinct, the rest of the town centre looked tired and
jaded. Several of the shops were empty and, well, the place didn’t look too
bright. However, at least a start has been made, which is more than some towns
we’ve visited around the canal system.
The one good thing that came out of our trip,
was the signing up for a new iPhone for me – a Samsung Galaxy A3 6 - and we also did a bit of shopping in
Sainsbury’s. This new store is very good, with all the clothing and household
goods available, but with Morrison’s just a short drive away, we’ll only be
coming to Hinckley very rarely.
Today we’ll be chilling out, but first a walk
into Market Bosworth.
Dale; our neighbourly mechanic; will be
taking the car in on Friday and so, with a bit of luck, I’ll get to visit with
Teresa on Saturday morning. Her phones are now working; although she doesn’t
yet have her email on the go. Still, perhaps I’ll be able to rectify that on
Saturday.
Thursday 3rd November
Winter is beginning to bite now, we’ve had
frost for two mornings running, so I don’t expect to see any more heat wave
weather.
As usual on most mornings, we walked up to
the village yesterday. Wednesday is market day in Market Bosworth; although
there are only a few stalls there, which is a shame. Still, the veg stall is
useful and there’s a fresh fish van there also.
Now, although we have a fish and chip van
come to the marina on Thursdays, we prefer our own fish and chips. Or, should I
say, Wifey’s own fish and chips? Fish shops, and fish vans, don’t come close to
making crispy chips, although their fish is usually pretty good. You see, she
makes a rather good beer batter which, this time around, will be made with
Newcastle Brown Ale. Of course, I get to finish the bottle off.
Sheila also makes very good chips and insists
on Maris Piper spuds for these. No other spud seems to crisp up as well as
those. She first par boils them and then deep fries them in veg or sunflower
oil. The fish, once battered, is fried in our deep-frying pan and is
transferred to the oven while the chips are finishing off. The local veggie
shop, Rose and Radish, didn’t have Maris Piper, but the lady who served Sheila,
persuaded her to buy a different type, which, she said, do make perfect chips
and roast potatoes. The proof will be in tomorrow’s fish and chips.
I received something of a shock yesterday. I
have been having problems opening the bonnet of the Alfa of late and decided to
give the necessary linkage a WD40 spray. So, with Wifey on hand to lift the
bonnet, once I had pulled the lever, I did just that. While we were there I
also decided to check for the cause of a mysterious rattle, that I heard a
couple of days ago. This I tracked down to a loose battery cover. No doubt
Malcolm, at the garage in Crick, had to charge the battery before passing the
car back to me and didn’t replace the cover securely.
My next thought was the oil and water levels
and, to my horror, the oil was just below the minimum mark. This has never been
allowed to happen since we bought the car. However, it soon dawned on me as to
why this was so. I didn’t check the level when I collected it from Malcolm in
Crick. But, even worse, I didn’t check it before I drove down to see Alan. So,
I’ve probably done over 300 miles since it was last checked. Fortunately, I
keep a 5-litre container in the back of the car. Unfortunately, this container
was almost empty, so we’re going to have to drive down to our nearest garage
for some more. I’m only surprised that I managed all those miles, without the
oil warning light coming on. Phew!!! Still, with what I had left in my 5-litre
container, Dale will get it safely to his garage tomorrow.
I discovered something of interest yesterday
while I was chatting to Chris, the man who runs this site, with his wife Jane.
It has been the practice of about 40 boaters; along with Chris and Jane; to
walk up to the village on Boxing Day where, on that mooring, the local Hunt
passes through the village. After watching this spectacle, some, if not all the
boaters concerned, usually repair to The Red Lion Pub. Needless to say, Sheila
and I will be walking with them.
(Whether you support or abhor fox hunting is
not my concern here, so please do not comment on that subject.)
Friday 4th November
My new iPhone tells porky pies. Yesterday
morning was very cold, in fact we had frost. But, when I turned on my new
Galaxy S3 6, the temperature shown was 11⁰ C. Whereas, I’m pretty sure it was
closer to 2 or 3⁰ C. That erroneous reading continued throughout most of the
day and, it was only when I manually updated it that it came down a little.
Indeed, it didn’t rise by much throughout the rest of the day. So much for
modern technology.
Now, as you all know, since I’ve been
bleating on about it lately, our Alfa goes in for repair and service today.
Which means that, we still have that 2½ mile round trip up to the village and
back again. It’s somewhat milder this morning and could rain, but we will have
no choice because, if we want a newspaper today, that walk is essential.
The weekend is almost upon us; I’ve written
five pages of ‘stuff’ and I’ve been trying to post my blog once a week. So, let’s
get it done.
Enjoy your weekend folks.
Regards from, Dave Sheila and Alex.
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