Hi Folks, well, it’s been a while since last I posted. An old year has gone and a new one has begun. So, this is the first of the new year and, I hope, not the last. Here’s to you and yours.
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Well now, how are you all now that another end of year festivities are over? We’re fine too, thanks for asking.
When I posted the last blog of ’09 earlier today I had something of a problem logging in to my Google Account. Goodness knows why because I’ve been using the wretched thing for long enough now.
Anyway, with Wifey looking over my shoulder and me becoming more and more impatient (a sure sign I’m on the mend after the ‘bug’) I went through all the rigmarole and folderole of re-setting my password. The first thing they do at Google is send an email with info on how to reset your password. This, in itself, simply does not work. What they don’t tell you, anywhere at all on either page, is that you have to wait for another email to finish the process. This I duly did, but why can they not send the password once they know you are the right person to send it to, instead of going around the houses to get there?
Tomorrow is shopping day, only three days late but we’ll get there in the end. Sunday will, of course, see us at the Quorndon Fox for lunchtime tipples. Tuesday is Glenfield Hospital in Leicester for a knee inspection. Thursday I’m off to Harlow for the next jam session at The Purple Emperor. Naturally I’ll keep you up to date on happenings as they happen.
Today is Saturday 2nd January 2010 and at last, after four days of discomfort, my tummy has settled down, although I don’t think it is sufficiently settled down for our Sunday lunchtime tipple tomorrow. But that’s no problem really as I’ll be sure to enjoy Thursdays one even more.
Today we awoke to freezing temperatures, by 10 o/clock it had brightened enough to go into Quorn for supplies, by 10.45 it was snowing and around 2 o/clock it had started raining, so don’t let anybody, anywhere in the world, tell you that they have more weather than we Brits.
By the way before I forget, our cousin Pauline, for whom I asked those readers of a praying disposition to say one for her, is now on the mend and home with her family. I’m sure a full recovery will take some time yet, but we all wish her well.
Now, back in about February of last year I purchased a programme called GMX Photopainter, which converts photographs to art in all its many styles, including watercolour, oils and even pen and ink drawings, which is the style I intend to investigate. Unfortunately, despite the fact that I always keep registration details of any programme I purchase, this one seems to have gone missing. Over the Christmas period I emailed the company but, so far have had no reply. Hopefully, now that everybody is back at work, even those living in Brazil, which is where the programme originates, another email should do the trick. And that’s what I’m about to do. Cheers for now.
Tuesday 5th January 2010 and we have snow – not a lot, but it’s a start.
On Sunday, despite the nasty, threatening weather, we did go to the pub as usual. Can’t keep a good man down you know!
Monday we managed to get over to Morrisons for our half weekly shop; half because I really didn’t feel up to it on Saturday, and so we took a short run into Quorn instead.
Today was the occasion of my trip to Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, to have the surgeon take a look at my knees, when he would decide what needs doing. Having studied my X-rays and given them both a good wiggle, he declared them both to be about as bad as each other and that, if I wish for more freedom of movement and mobility, the only thing to do would be to replace them. When I asked if they could both be replaced at the same time, he said he would be happy to do so just so long as the Anaesthetist was happy with my state of health. That’s a big whoopee then!
In order to decide if I was fit enough to go under the knife sometime in March, he sent me off for a blood test. Unfortunately my Haemoglobin is a little low – no doubt as a direct result of my recent tummy bug – so I have to see my GP to have that normalised first. He then gave me a card that effectively gives me a six month open invite to book in again and set a date. I now await an invitation from my GP, where I’m sure the appropriate medication will set my blood on the right track. Meanwhile, assuming the weather is kind to me on Thursday I shall pop off to Harlow and force myself to imbibe a few pints of the Irish Girder, thus ensuring a goodly level of iron in the blood. Hic! Hic! Hooray! I say.
Wednesday 6th January and we’ve had snow, according to my better half, about an inch of the stuff. But that was last night, we don’t know if we’ve had any more whilst we slept. So, it looks like my trip to Harlow is, once again, a no no!
No particular plans for today, except to chase up the GMX Photoart people who still haven’t replied to my first or second emails and, of course, re-working the recipe book and correcting my big mistake.
I don’t believe I’ve explained how this book editor and compiler works, so I’ll give it a go. If and when you ever receive a copy of the finished work you will find that, on your computer screen it actually opens like a book. Each recipe is set in a double sided page and it has an intro and contents page and, well, everything you would expect to see in a physical book. It really is quite cute.
The reason it is taking so long to complete is because, unlike some folks I didn’t read the full instructions pertaining the double sided templates. As a result, whilst I was thinking it had double sided pages upon which to enter two separate recipes, in fact each recipe should take up both pages.
The table of contents will allow you to click on any recipe and go straight to it, or you can follow the arrows at the top and wade through the book that way. All in all there are almost 340 recipes from almost all the English Counties that existed before the 1974 reshuffle of boundaries. All except Middlesex that is, and this is because most of Middlesex was absorbed into the newly created County of London. Although that alone should not mean there are none from Middlesex, it’s just that I have been unable to find any that do exist. Fear not dear friends, I will have another look on the Internet before I finish.
Friday 8th January and, I don’t know about you lot, except perhaps Wee Mac Sis in Scotland, but we still managed to get out for a bit of shopping yesterday.
There are two things that present problems to us boaters during these freezing days, and they are the questions of pumping out our waste tanks and filling up our water tanks. On the Shiralee our water tank, which holds just under 100 gallons, will last us about a week. The waste tank is a little less predictable, especially with my latest tummy upset, but it holds 75 gallons and, under normal circumstances, last about two weeks.
Hopefully, come Monday Paul will have had our pump-out barge repaired and we can empty the waste and top up with diesel, but water is another matter. As marinas go Pillings Lock is quite big and each bay has a stand pipe with which to top water tanks up. In this cold snap though, all the pipework is frozen and it is not possible to use them. Fortunatel, with a little arm twisting, Paul had Steve go off and pick up some extra pipes and fittings so that he could lay it all out and reach most boats from his own water outlet by the office building.
Now, it has to be said, that our Paul has something of an attitude problem towards us boaters. I can’t imagine why because, after all, we are his bread and butter. But it shows itself in small ways, such as his preferring the company of outsiders to the restaurant, where he charges them £3.40 for a pint of, rather inferior, Italian draught lager.
Or, take the example of yesterday when Brian advised him that we were all becoming desperate for water, when he kind of shrugged it off as of no consequence. Eventually he has to do something, that’s if he doesn’t want a riot on his hands. From what we’ve been told, his father, who used to run the place, wanted it for the boaters and leaned over backwards to help. I suppose it all points to the fact that bhe doesn’t actually live on a boat, unlike the staff at many other marinas that we’ve used on our travels. If he were to give it a go, even for just a year, he would appreciate us more, I’m sure.
Anyway the cold snap looks set to continue for at least another week, but at least we are not snowed in up here. The weekend is upon us and I really would like my usual Sunday pint or three.
Saturday 9th January and we have snow.
This morning, at my dearly beloved’s suggestion, we decide to go into Quorn a little earlier than normal; around 8.30 instead of 10 o/clock. This was not a very good idea as it turned out because, despite the fact that Flesh Hovel Lane had been salted by our esteemed marina manager, the road outside it had most decidedly not been gritted by local council. As a result our wee Alfa was not very steady on it’s feet and, after due consideration, the aforementioned dearly beloved suggested I drop her at the roundabout and leave her to do the shopping, whilst I returned to the boat. I have to confess, I was most happy to comply.
The roundabout in question is at the bottom of the hill and only a couple of hundred yards from the end of the lane, and that fact was not in my favour, especially as the ABS had frozen up, which limited my control even further. Also, I had a darn great bus bearing down on me from behind – a fact I neglected to advise Wifey about – so the question of where to stop to let Wifey out did give me pause for thought. However, the judicious application of the hazard warning lights must certainly have given the driver of said charabanc cause to ponder his options.
Naturally I came to a stop as soon as I could, which just so happened to be to my left and half way across the immediate left exit road. Did I really see a slight wobble in that bus, or was it my imagination? Whatever, the bus and following cars safely negotiated the roundabout and I went home and left my dear wife to trudge through the snow. Do you know, she even called me from Quorn to ask if I’d arrived back without problems? And me a professional driver as was!!
It is now 2 pm and it has been snowing, on and off, for most of the day. Looking out of the window towards the other boats, I have some difficulty believing I am actually in a marina, because all I can see is a huge expanse of snow, around which there is a half circle of narrow boats. It really is a peculiar sight.
If the weather stays as it is and we get even more snow, it’s very doubtful that we’ll be pubbing it at lunchtime. However, should it stay bright; which it is at the moment; and if it doesn’t drop any more snow, come lunchtime the roads should be safe enough to travel.
Monday 11th January and it is still pretty cold, but nowhere near as cold as the forecasters have predicted. Certainly, in the northern parts of Scotland, they have been experiencing some horrendous conditions, with temperatures down to – 10 or more (or, should that be less?). Yesterday we even saw some more snow, but we also saw the ice starting to thaw, so we do not believe we have another week or more of this big freeze.
This is our first time of living in a marina community, but we are fast discovering just how helpful boaters are towards each other, and that’s more than can be said for the manager of the place, as I have already reported.
Yesterday however, after discovering that the extended pipe-work could not reach all the boats, it was down to the rest of us to offer up our on board hose reels in order to extend the marinas new pipe. They even Shanghaid our one, blooming cheek! And, not surprisingly, the thing returned when finished with. Hooray for common sense.
There’s nothing our wee pooch likes more, than to frolic in new laid snow. Unfortunately, as with most dogs, she also tends to gobble it up and, as a result, finds herself with an upset tummy and unable to eat. But, being our Rusty she won’t be told and, as usual, we had a moaning Minnie of a dog, who wandered around the boat yesterday, in great discomfort and unable to settle. Eventually, just before time for bed, she found her appetite again and settled down for the night. This morning she is her normal, bouncy self, thank goodness.
Now, I’m pretty sure I had something else to report, something of great importance, I’m sure, but I’m hanged if I can remember what it was.
However, here’s something you may be able to help me with, but only if you have Windows 7 and the latest version of MS Word. To my recollection, having had several versions of this programme on past computers and laptops, when writing to MS Word it has always been possible to save the new document to the Desktop. Not so with the new one. Well, it may be possible but, as at this moment, I can’t seem to do so. Perhaps it simply needs setting up correctly, but I am unable to discover how to do so. Your help would be most appreciated.
Actually, as I have just discovered having downloaded a programme from the Internet, I cannot save anything to the Desktop, not even downloads. What the heck is happening here? I was certainly able to do so last time I tried.
Tuesday 12th January and it is still quite cold, although the ice around us seems to be thawing a little. Whether that is a sign that the big freeze is coming to an end, is a different gether altomatter!
Yesterday we did get into Quorn for a little bit of shopping and, when we returned, we bumped into Brian and asked about the computer whiz that he knows. Lo and behold, the very man was approaching us from behind. Anyway, having asked if he knew what the problem could be regarding ‘saving to desktop’, his opinion was that Microsoft had probably made a bit of a boo boo and would, eventually, come up with a patch to put it right. We can only hope. Later today and, with luck and a tail wind, I’ll be able to post this blog. It is now nine pages long, so it will give you all a five minute break from routine.
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Friday, 1 January 2010
Pillings Lock Marina#7
Pillings Lock Marina 2009#7
Boxing Day 2009 and at last the ice is melting, which means we can now go out and buy a paper and a loaf. Bread is, as they say, the staff of life and you would expect on large loaf to last a pair of old wrinklies like us for several days, wouldn’t you? But then the vast majority of wrinkly olduns are not surrounded by ducks and moorhens, and I simply cannot resist the little darlin’s. Sometimes, when we do a big shop at Morrisons or Tesco, we buy a small, sliced, white loaf just for them. Well, what is life all about, if not for sharing?
Last Wednesday, when we dined at the marina restaurant, I went out of my way to ask the manageress there if all tables had been booked for Christmas Day. She assured me that, although the 3 pm sitting was fully booked, they had left some spaces in the 12 noon booking, although she didn’t say why they had done so. “That’s good” said I, “that means we’ll be able to come over for a couple of drinks before we have our own dinner” “You’d be more than welcome” she replied.
Armed with her blessing, or so I thought, we popped along yesterday just as they were opening the doors and, what did we find? Yes, you guessed it, all tables were laid out for dinners and, as a consequence, we were obliged to sit outside. Naturally I reminded the nice lady of our previous conversation but, as you would expect, saving time and making money were the order of the day and, on this one, special day of the year, residents of the marina could make do with a cold seat outside. We had one drink and went home. Needless to say the restaurant has seen us for the last time.
Other than that we had a really good day and made sure that, just for a change, we maintained a sensible level of food consumption. Wifey bought me a couple of CD’s whilst I purchased for her a new watch, which will need about four links removed because she has such slim wrists.
Today we can look forward to a mixture of turkey and duck with our bubble and squeak, along with pickles, which is our usual Boxing Day fare. Oooh! I do like my cold meat and pickles on Boxing Day.
And that, as they say, is that. It’s all over for another year and life can return to normal, whatever that is!!
Monday 28th December 2009 and we’re off to find Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, which is where I have an appointment on 5th January. This is to see a specialist about having a knee replacement, but first, having been warned about limited parking on site, we need to recce the area for alternatives. According to the nice liaison lady I spoke to a few days ago, most people go there by public transport and so we also need to check out bus time-tables. The board on the bus stop at Quorn showed times of departure but, for some stupid reason, neglected to tell us when they arrive. And, in any case, they only go into the town, which means we also have to discover when they leave Leicester and when they arrive at Glenfield.
Yesterday, after our usual Sunday visit to the Quorndon Fox; which showed a much reduced client base; we returned to a chill-out afternoon. For our late meal we once again dived into the turkey and duck leftovers. This time my beloved wife’s offering included pasta with an Italian sauce. Pretty good actually. Today it will be the turn of a meat pie containing more of the leftover birds, and we’ll follow that on Tuesday with a leftover bird meat curry. We will finally run out of the stuff on Wednesday when we have the second half of the pie, this time with a pile of chips and to hell with the blood sugar levels.
Talking of which, I’m still awaiting a home visit from a so-called expert on the condition to determine whether an alternative Insulin regime would bring my readings under better control. It’s very true what they say about Insulin dependency, the amount injected seems to be forever increasing. From my original 40 units I am now on 50 units, twice a day and with no improvement whatsoever. Even though I do not overdo the carbs, my readings still hit double figures most days and, short of going on the Atkins Diet, I’m at a loss as to what to do for the best. Cutting down on carbs would probably do the trick, but the experts tell us we shouldn’t do so but, if I don’t hear from this person soon, then that’s what I’ll have to do.
At this point I was going to give my take global warming, but I’ve changed my mind. It really is such an emotive subject and gets me steaming, that I’m quite likely to call the so-called experts a few choice invectives. So, for now, I’ll put it on the back burner.
Tuesday 29th December 2009 and, with it being market day, we trotted off to Melton Mowbray, a trip that is now becoming something of a habit.
Listening to the news and weather forecast before leaving, we were undecided whether to make the trip or do our weekly shopping at Morrison’s. However, since Wifey’s Christmas present needed a few links taken out of the wristband, and since, despite the website telling us they do exist, there are no jewellers in Loughborough, we decided to go.
Later today, or so they would have us believe, we can expect heavy snow showers which, apparently, will be coming in from Wales, a wee principality that lies to our west. Strangely, the clouds I now see scudding across the sky are actually coming from the east. We have had a few drops of rain but, at present, the temperature is hardly conducive to snow. So, we shall have to wait and see. Tomorrow we will go shopping although, should the 10 inches or more of snow actually appear overnight, that adventure is not a foregone conclusion. Wifey has kindly informed me that, even should we be confined to barracks for a few days, we won’t starve. Now that’s a comforting thought!!
My long awaited recipe book is now in the final process of compilation and, with luck and a tail wind, after adding a few essential web links, I should have it finished by the weekend.
Friday, day 1 of the new year of 2010, and I’m afraid I have been unable to post this latest blog because I have, yet again and it’s the third time this year, gone down with a bout of food poisoning.
On Tuesday, after returning from Melton Mowbray, I partook of a sausage roll, not thinking for one minute about how long since they had been baked, which was on Christmas Day. Later that day the tummy started playing up, very much the way it did on that last and best forgotten day earlier in the year.
So, out went the rest of the sausage rolls, to feed the ducks and fishes, as did the rest of the pie. Today I am almost back to normal although, in order to reach this happy pass, my bottom has been firmly planted on the lavatory seat, which has succeeded in limiting the amount of sleep I have been able to enjoy of late.
I am now firmly sworn off pork pies and sausage rolls, along with most other savoury and spicy dishes, I just don’t see that my innards are happy with them any more.
OK. You can consider this the last blog of 2009. 2010 has started out very cold with a sheet of ice covering the marina although, when Wifey took Rusty for her midday walk, the canal itself was clear.
More later and meanwhile, for the second time, we all wish you the best for 2010.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Boxing Day 2009 and at last the ice is melting, which means we can now go out and buy a paper and a loaf. Bread is, as they say, the staff of life and you would expect on large loaf to last a pair of old wrinklies like us for several days, wouldn’t you? But then the vast majority of wrinkly olduns are not surrounded by ducks and moorhens, and I simply cannot resist the little darlin’s. Sometimes, when we do a big shop at Morrisons or Tesco, we buy a small, sliced, white loaf just for them. Well, what is life all about, if not for sharing?
Last Wednesday, when we dined at the marina restaurant, I went out of my way to ask the manageress there if all tables had been booked for Christmas Day. She assured me that, although the 3 pm sitting was fully booked, they had left some spaces in the 12 noon booking, although she didn’t say why they had done so. “That’s good” said I, “that means we’ll be able to come over for a couple of drinks before we have our own dinner” “You’d be more than welcome” she replied.
Armed with her blessing, or so I thought, we popped along yesterday just as they were opening the doors and, what did we find? Yes, you guessed it, all tables were laid out for dinners and, as a consequence, we were obliged to sit outside. Naturally I reminded the nice lady of our previous conversation but, as you would expect, saving time and making money were the order of the day and, on this one, special day of the year, residents of the marina could make do with a cold seat outside. We had one drink and went home. Needless to say the restaurant has seen us for the last time.
Other than that we had a really good day and made sure that, just for a change, we maintained a sensible level of food consumption. Wifey bought me a couple of CD’s whilst I purchased for her a new watch, which will need about four links removed because she has such slim wrists.
Today we can look forward to a mixture of turkey and duck with our bubble and squeak, along with pickles, which is our usual Boxing Day fare. Oooh! I do like my cold meat and pickles on Boxing Day.
And that, as they say, is that. It’s all over for another year and life can return to normal, whatever that is!!
Monday 28th December 2009 and we’re off to find Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, which is where I have an appointment on 5th January. This is to see a specialist about having a knee replacement, but first, having been warned about limited parking on site, we need to recce the area for alternatives. According to the nice liaison lady I spoke to a few days ago, most people go there by public transport and so we also need to check out bus time-tables. The board on the bus stop at Quorn showed times of departure but, for some stupid reason, neglected to tell us when they arrive. And, in any case, they only go into the town, which means we also have to discover when they leave Leicester and when they arrive at Glenfield.
Yesterday, after our usual Sunday visit to the Quorndon Fox; which showed a much reduced client base; we returned to a chill-out afternoon. For our late meal we once again dived into the turkey and duck leftovers. This time my beloved wife’s offering included pasta with an Italian sauce. Pretty good actually. Today it will be the turn of a meat pie containing more of the leftover birds, and we’ll follow that on Tuesday with a leftover bird meat curry. We will finally run out of the stuff on Wednesday when we have the second half of the pie, this time with a pile of chips and to hell with the blood sugar levels.
Talking of which, I’m still awaiting a home visit from a so-called expert on the condition to determine whether an alternative Insulin regime would bring my readings under better control. It’s very true what they say about Insulin dependency, the amount injected seems to be forever increasing. From my original 40 units I am now on 50 units, twice a day and with no improvement whatsoever. Even though I do not overdo the carbs, my readings still hit double figures most days and, short of going on the Atkins Diet, I’m at a loss as to what to do for the best. Cutting down on carbs would probably do the trick, but the experts tell us we shouldn’t do so but, if I don’t hear from this person soon, then that’s what I’ll have to do.
At this point I was going to give my take global warming, but I’ve changed my mind. It really is such an emotive subject and gets me steaming, that I’m quite likely to call the so-called experts a few choice invectives. So, for now, I’ll put it on the back burner.
Tuesday 29th December 2009 and, with it being market day, we trotted off to Melton Mowbray, a trip that is now becoming something of a habit.
Listening to the news and weather forecast before leaving, we were undecided whether to make the trip or do our weekly shopping at Morrison’s. However, since Wifey’s Christmas present needed a few links taken out of the wristband, and since, despite the website telling us they do exist, there are no jewellers in Loughborough, we decided to go.
Later today, or so they would have us believe, we can expect heavy snow showers which, apparently, will be coming in from Wales, a wee principality that lies to our west. Strangely, the clouds I now see scudding across the sky are actually coming from the east. We have had a few drops of rain but, at present, the temperature is hardly conducive to snow. So, we shall have to wait and see. Tomorrow we will go shopping although, should the 10 inches or more of snow actually appear overnight, that adventure is not a foregone conclusion. Wifey has kindly informed me that, even should we be confined to barracks for a few days, we won’t starve. Now that’s a comforting thought!!
My long awaited recipe book is now in the final process of compilation and, with luck and a tail wind, after adding a few essential web links, I should have it finished by the weekend.
Friday, day 1 of the new year of 2010, and I’m afraid I have been unable to post this latest blog because I have, yet again and it’s the third time this year, gone down with a bout of food poisoning.
On Tuesday, after returning from Melton Mowbray, I partook of a sausage roll, not thinking for one minute about how long since they had been baked, which was on Christmas Day. Later that day the tummy started playing up, very much the way it did on that last and best forgotten day earlier in the year.
So, out went the rest of the sausage rolls, to feed the ducks and fishes, as did the rest of the pie. Today I am almost back to normal although, in order to reach this happy pass, my bottom has been firmly planted on the lavatory seat, which has succeeded in limiting the amount of sleep I have been able to enjoy of late.
I am now firmly sworn off pork pies and sausage rolls, along with most other savoury and spicy dishes, I just don’t see that my innards are happy with them any more.
OK. You can consider this the last blog of 2009. 2010 has started out very cold with a sheet of ice covering the marina although, when Wifey took Rusty for her midday walk, the canal itself was clear.
More later and meanwhile, for the second time, we all wish you the best for 2010.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Pillings Lock Marina#6
Pillings Lock Marina 2009#6
Hi folks, when you receive this blog, hopefully you will still be looking forward to the cebrelations, hic! If not then the new year will be almost upon us.
Today is Friday 18th December and we only have a week to go to the great day, but before then, this coming Sunday, I’m heading off to Harlow for a pre-Christmas drink with Alan. I’m also popping in to see my good friends Dave and Les and their daughter Colette. I’m also planning on dropping off cards to David and June.
The above statement of intent does depend upon the weather of course, and that’s not looking too rosy at present. You lot who live in the south east look set to bear the brunt of the snow, which puts me in a difficult position because, if it’s fine up here but heavy snow cover down there, I could be stuck and unable to get back to the boat.
Yesterday the timber pontoons here were pretty lethal to walk upon, although that was later in the day. We did manage to get out for the paper around midday, but our neighbour Marion had to take Rusty for walkies, because Wifey was slipping all over the place. Marion, in her infinite wisdom, has a pair of boots that grip really well on icy surfaces, whereas Wifey does not.
As you all know, I’ve enjoyed a drink or two in my time but, as I’ve grown old and, perhaps, a little wiser, I’ve slowed down considerably. Nowadays I only insist on my Sunday lunchtime tipple, and that doesn’t really amount to much, although, we do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner some nights.
The pub that we usually visit on Sundays, is the Quorndon Fox, which is quite a big place with rooms going here and there in all directions. In a normal year we would be there on Christmas Day but, since it is always quite busy on any normal Sunday, I rather think we may have trouble finding a seat, and so we might just give it a miss this year, and that will be a first. I absolutely never, ever miss Christmas Day at the pub.
Anyway, back to the weather which, at the moment is looking pretty cold and frosty and the snow will probably reach us later today. With a bit of luck and a tail wind it will have gone by Sunday morning, but that is in the lap of the gods.
Wednesday 23rd December and we’re still in the grip of bitterly cold conditions.
It’s almost 7 am and I enjoyed the best sleep in ages last night, going right through from 10 pm until 3.20 am before Mother nature intervened by insisting I do the right thing. After that it wasn’t until 5.30 that I woke up again, but that was to the sound; all too common of late; of our wee pooch scratching at the side of the bed.
Like I said, that’s the first real, good nights sleep I’ve had for a while, and that’s because the man flu has finally given my body and head back to me, with the help of plenty of Beecham’s Powders, which are always on standby in the medicine cupboard.
Yesterday, despite the icy conditions, which only really applied to our lane, we paid a quick visit to Tesco for the bulk of our Christmas shopping. We much prefer Morrison’s but, as it is across the other side of town and their turkeys and ducks are probably no better in quality or price, we took the easy option. Any other small items we need today or tomorrow, we can pick up in Quorn.
Our 12 volt refrigerator is not that big, built as it is for use in caravans, bit my dearly beloved manages, somehow, to cram everything into it every time we shop. Sadly, after all her best efforts yesterday, she was beaten by the lowly crumpets. She just could not squeeze them in and refused to remove my beer cans to make space for them. Ain’t she just the sweetest wife I could have?
Today we are dining out at the Marina Restaurant, which now has an Italian draught lager on sale. For the general public this costs – wait for it - £3.40 a pint!! Whaaat? But, to us lowly, hard-up boaters, with our 10% deduction, it’s only £3.07, which is OK by me, although even that is a bit steep when Guinness at the Fox is only £2.95. However, it does mean I don’t have to drive into the village and risk a tug by Mr. Plod.
I have to confess that, with the heavy cold gripping me for a few days, I have done nothing to the recipe book and I’ve had no guitar practice either. But that will change over the following few days, yes, even on Christmas Day. But, also due to the cold, I didn’t get to visit Harlow for our pre-Christmas drink and this is the first we’ve missed in many years, including our time on Shiralee.
Now, it is very doubtful that any of you, my dear readers, will be anywhere near your computers on Christmas Day but, since I will still be up at my usual time, that is when I intend posting this, the last blog of 2009. So, please try to be in attendance when it drops into your mail boxes.
Cheers for now!
Christmas Eve and no let up in the icy conditions but, strange to say, we had a short smattering of rain last night. Hopefully, up here in t’ north, it will thaw out soon. I really don’t care if it persists for days on end, just as long as it’s not icy or snowy.
Yesterday we managed a drive into Quorn for last minute bits and pieces, as you do and we followed that by a visit to our marina restaurant for lunch. Well, heck, it’s Christmas and we’re not likely to drive into the village tomorrow, the Quorndon Fox will be bursting at the seams.
Our restaurant though has two sittings for Christmas Dinners tomorrow, one at 12.30 and the other at 3 pm. The later one is fully booked but, in order to give some of us residents a chance to call in for a beer or three, they haven’t filled all the 12.30 spots. So, just so that I can say I haven’t missed a Christmas Day drink, I will probably be there. Whether Sheila will join me is another gether altomatter, ‘cos she just might be slaving over a hot stove.
The problem with Christmas dinner on a boat is the size of the cooker and the available work space. I think that, after the last time back in 2007, she might decide to cook the bird today and just have the veg, sausage rolls and mince pies to do tomorrow, in which case she’ll join me for a drink tomorrow.
Did you see the programme about Grumpy Old Christmas, or something like that, last night? Now, I have to agree that the whole thing is far too commercialised, but it is only once a year. Still, they do have a point when they show hoards of people manically filling up shopping trolleys, after all the shops are only shut for the one day. Then there are the family rows, the tons of wrapping paper, the left-over food and the gifts that some folks don’t really want.
On top of that, and this has nothing to do with celebrating Christmas, you have the C of E holding it’s hand out for money for a restoration project. This is one of the richest landowners in the country and their going around with the begging bowl. And it’s not just aimed at parishioners and regular church-goers, it’s also aimed at the tax payer. Here we are, virtually bankrupt as a country, indeed, we’re almost at Third World status, and this lot expect us to bail them out just like we did with the banks. Is there no end to the greed and stupidity of some of our, supposedly, highly esteemed organisations. If the church wants money then they should sell some churches and sack some cardinals and vicars, every other big organisation has had to do so, why not them?
That’s that off my chest then!
Tomorrow is another day and, to some, a time of celebration. As for me, I just go with the flow and try to enjoy the atmosphere. The only thing I’ll miss is the drink with Alan, but that will have to wait until after the festivities.
Now, we had some bad news a while ago regarding our cousin Pauline, who has now had an operation to remove a tumour from the neck of her pancreas. If any of you, my esteemed readers’, is of a praying disposition, not just now but at any time of year, please offer one up for Pauline’s speedy recovery. For anyone else, please give her a kind thought when sitting down to dinner and wish for her speedy return to her loving family.
At last, the great day has arrived and I hope you are all well. It is now 7 am on Christmas Day 2009 and, as promised, I’m going to post this, my last blog of 2009. We both hope you have had a good year so far and wish you all well for the future.
Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year to you all!
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Hi folks, when you receive this blog, hopefully you will still be looking forward to the cebrelations, hic! If not then the new year will be almost upon us.
Today is Friday 18th December and we only have a week to go to the great day, but before then, this coming Sunday, I’m heading off to Harlow for a pre-Christmas drink with Alan. I’m also popping in to see my good friends Dave and Les and their daughter Colette. I’m also planning on dropping off cards to David and June.
The above statement of intent does depend upon the weather of course, and that’s not looking too rosy at present. You lot who live in the south east look set to bear the brunt of the snow, which puts me in a difficult position because, if it’s fine up here but heavy snow cover down there, I could be stuck and unable to get back to the boat.
Yesterday the timber pontoons here were pretty lethal to walk upon, although that was later in the day. We did manage to get out for the paper around midday, but our neighbour Marion had to take Rusty for walkies, because Wifey was slipping all over the place. Marion, in her infinite wisdom, has a pair of boots that grip really well on icy surfaces, whereas Wifey does not.
As you all know, I’ve enjoyed a drink or two in my time but, as I’ve grown old and, perhaps, a little wiser, I’ve slowed down considerably. Nowadays I only insist on my Sunday lunchtime tipple, and that doesn’t really amount to much, although, we do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner some nights.
The pub that we usually visit on Sundays, is the Quorndon Fox, which is quite a big place with rooms going here and there in all directions. In a normal year we would be there on Christmas Day but, since it is always quite busy on any normal Sunday, I rather think we may have trouble finding a seat, and so we might just give it a miss this year, and that will be a first. I absolutely never, ever miss Christmas Day at the pub.
Anyway, back to the weather which, at the moment is looking pretty cold and frosty and the snow will probably reach us later today. With a bit of luck and a tail wind it will have gone by Sunday morning, but that is in the lap of the gods.
Wednesday 23rd December and we’re still in the grip of bitterly cold conditions.
It’s almost 7 am and I enjoyed the best sleep in ages last night, going right through from 10 pm until 3.20 am before Mother nature intervened by insisting I do the right thing. After that it wasn’t until 5.30 that I woke up again, but that was to the sound; all too common of late; of our wee pooch scratching at the side of the bed.
Like I said, that’s the first real, good nights sleep I’ve had for a while, and that’s because the man flu has finally given my body and head back to me, with the help of plenty of Beecham’s Powders, which are always on standby in the medicine cupboard.
Yesterday, despite the icy conditions, which only really applied to our lane, we paid a quick visit to Tesco for the bulk of our Christmas shopping. We much prefer Morrison’s but, as it is across the other side of town and their turkeys and ducks are probably no better in quality or price, we took the easy option. Any other small items we need today or tomorrow, we can pick up in Quorn.
Our 12 volt refrigerator is not that big, built as it is for use in caravans, bit my dearly beloved manages, somehow, to cram everything into it every time we shop. Sadly, after all her best efforts yesterday, she was beaten by the lowly crumpets. She just could not squeeze them in and refused to remove my beer cans to make space for them. Ain’t she just the sweetest wife I could have?
Today we are dining out at the Marina Restaurant, which now has an Italian draught lager on sale. For the general public this costs – wait for it - £3.40 a pint!! Whaaat? But, to us lowly, hard-up boaters, with our 10% deduction, it’s only £3.07, which is OK by me, although even that is a bit steep when Guinness at the Fox is only £2.95. However, it does mean I don’t have to drive into the village and risk a tug by Mr. Plod.
I have to confess that, with the heavy cold gripping me for a few days, I have done nothing to the recipe book and I’ve had no guitar practice either. But that will change over the following few days, yes, even on Christmas Day. But, also due to the cold, I didn’t get to visit Harlow for our pre-Christmas drink and this is the first we’ve missed in many years, including our time on Shiralee.
Now, it is very doubtful that any of you, my dear readers, will be anywhere near your computers on Christmas Day but, since I will still be up at my usual time, that is when I intend posting this, the last blog of 2009. So, please try to be in attendance when it drops into your mail boxes.
Cheers for now!
Christmas Eve and no let up in the icy conditions but, strange to say, we had a short smattering of rain last night. Hopefully, up here in t’ north, it will thaw out soon. I really don’t care if it persists for days on end, just as long as it’s not icy or snowy.
Yesterday we managed a drive into Quorn for last minute bits and pieces, as you do and we followed that by a visit to our marina restaurant for lunch. Well, heck, it’s Christmas and we’re not likely to drive into the village tomorrow, the Quorndon Fox will be bursting at the seams.
Our restaurant though has two sittings for Christmas Dinners tomorrow, one at 12.30 and the other at 3 pm. The later one is fully booked but, in order to give some of us residents a chance to call in for a beer or three, they haven’t filled all the 12.30 spots. So, just so that I can say I haven’t missed a Christmas Day drink, I will probably be there. Whether Sheila will join me is another gether altomatter, ‘cos she just might be slaving over a hot stove.
The problem with Christmas dinner on a boat is the size of the cooker and the available work space. I think that, after the last time back in 2007, she might decide to cook the bird today and just have the veg, sausage rolls and mince pies to do tomorrow, in which case she’ll join me for a drink tomorrow.
Did you see the programme about Grumpy Old Christmas, or something like that, last night? Now, I have to agree that the whole thing is far too commercialised, but it is only once a year. Still, they do have a point when they show hoards of people manically filling up shopping trolleys, after all the shops are only shut for the one day. Then there are the family rows, the tons of wrapping paper, the left-over food and the gifts that some folks don’t really want.
On top of that, and this has nothing to do with celebrating Christmas, you have the C of E holding it’s hand out for money for a restoration project. This is one of the richest landowners in the country and their going around with the begging bowl. And it’s not just aimed at parishioners and regular church-goers, it’s also aimed at the tax payer. Here we are, virtually bankrupt as a country, indeed, we’re almost at Third World status, and this lot expect us to bail them out just like we did with the banks. Is there no end to the greed and stupidity of some of our, supposedly, highly esteemed organisations. If the church wants money then they should sell some churches and sack some cardinals and vicars, every other big organisation has had to do so, why not them?
That’s that off my chest then!
Tomorrow is another day and, to some, a time of celebration. As for me, I just go with the flow and try to enjoy the atmosphere. The only thing I’ll miss is the drink with Alan, but that will have to wait until after the festivities.
Now, we had some bad news a while ago regarding our cousin Pauline, who has now had an operation to remove a tumour from the neck of her pancreas. If any of you, my esteemed readers’, is of a praying disposition, not just now but at any time of year, please offer one up for Pauline’s speedy recovery. For anyone else, please give her a kind thought when sitting down to dinner and wish for her speedy return to her loving family.
At last, the great day has arrived and I hope you are all well. It is now 7 am on Christmas Day 2009 and, as promised, I’m going to post this, my last blog of 2009. We both hope you have had a good year so far and wish you all well for the future.
Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year to you all!
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Pillings Lock Marina 2009 #5
Today is Tuesday 1st December 2009 and, as is to be expected at this time of year, winter has arrived with a great show of frost and fog. Well, that’s how it is at the marina and, I daresay, on the canal.
Tomorrow I’m off to see my old friend John barefoot in Weston-super-Mare and will be staying overnight with his youngest son Colin and his wife Sue.
John, as I have no doubt told you, now lives in a Nursing Home because, suffering from Parkinson’s Disease as he does, he is unable to care for himself now. According to Colin, John has his good and bad days but, he assures me, he’s looking forward to my visit. I just wish it wasn’t so far away, but at least it’s mostly motorway and shouldn’t take me more than about 3 hours or so.
On Thursday, as the Emperor has its fortnightly jamming session, I’ll be staying with Alan and coming home Friday morning, after I’ve done a bit of Christmas shopping.
Tuesday 8th December 2009. Is it really a week since last I wrote to this blog? So much has happened since then that I’ve been rushed off my feet.
Last Wednesday was the start of 470 miles of driving over a three day period. My first stop was at Weston Super Mare in Somerset, as I have already mentioned. Colin and Sue have an upside-down house overlooking the valley and the Mendip Hills beyond, which is a quite spectacular view.
John however is confined to a nursing home in town and doesn’t seem too happy about it. For the most part he’s surrounded by people who seem to need far more care than he does, and who don’t have much to say for themselves. For a man who still has all his marbles, but still needs full time care, this situation must be boring him to tears.
After a most enjoyable stay with Colin and Sue, along with a pub meal, which was quite unexpected, it was off to Harlow the following morning. Although only about another 20 miles further than Weston is from the marina, the trip took me at least an extra hour than that trip. The M4 was mostly to blame for this delay due to heavy traffic and the M25 was no better. My drive was followed by a bit of shopping, which I really didn’t want to be messing with on Friday morning.
In the evening Alan and I enjoyed the jam session at the Purple Emperor. I have to say, my ears are not used to the deafening noise these days, but I simply can’t resist watching semi-professional musicians giving it their best. On the wall opposite the stage is a decibel monitor which, for the most part, was sitting in the red zone. I love it!
My first introduction to really loud music was many years ago, when my sister Carole took me to the Roundhouse at Chalk Farm. I don’t know if it is still standing, and I certainly don’t remember who we saw, but my ears were ringing by the time we left. For those of you who have never been there, The Roundhouse was built as a Shakespearian Theatre and, as the name implies, is round with the stage in the middle; well, it was then.
When we were still living in Harlow, and when Joy owned the Emperor, Alan and I spent most Thursday evenings there when they held live music sessions. Those sessions were never quiet, Folk or Country, always heavy Rock. Great times were had by all.
While I’m still in the mood for reminiscing, The Greyhound Pub in Harlow or, as we liked to call it, The Inn on the Park, because that’s where it lived, used to put on a three piece Jazz band at Sunday lunchtime. That’s where we headed after an early morning swim. Great days, sadly life ain’t like that any more, and more’s the pity.
Friday morning and it was off to the Shiralee which, despite using the A414 as far as the M1, I managed to complete in less than two hours. This journey, via the M11, M25 and then M1 would normally take a little over the two hours, so I was pretty lucky that day and I was home by 11 am.
Today we’re off to Melton Mowbray to buy some decent meat pies and such. The sausages are second to none and, it being market day, we’ll be bringing home some really strong Cheddar cheese.
After a few upsets with my book compiler, which actually refused to work for me yesterday, leaving me with no alternative than to re-install it, I’ve now started it from scratch. This is because, unbeknown to me when I purchased it, the programme is incapable of handling my 340 pages of recipes. I have therefore had to break it down into four volumes.
I have also discovered that, rather than have to convert my Word documents to web pages, they really need to be copied into Notepad and then transferred to the book compiler. This is a bit of a pain because, rather than Times New Roman as a font, which is the default in Notepad, I prefer Comic Sans. But, I’ve just thought, Notepad can be reset to an alternative font as a default, so I really must get that sorted. I’m afraid my little grey cells take a while to see the obvious these days. Youth really is wasted on the young.
Ah, but, it’s not Notepad that’s at fault, it’s the compiler that has TNR as its default. I must look into that and see if the template default can be altered.
Wednesday 9th December and I arose from my pit at 5.45 am, but only to turn the heating on. Our poor wee pooch was, at the same time, throwing up a messy white goo and, by the time I had cleared it up, I was wide awake. Besides which it was pretty obvious she needed to go out and I was pretty sure Wifey wasn’t about to undertake that task. We really must get our Rusty to the vet as soon as possible, if only to have her checked over and given a clean bill of health. We are pretty sure she’s getting a bit hard of hearing; some mornings she doesn’t even hear Sheila rattle her food dish.
Yesterday, at Melton Mowbray we managed to find a few more books that we haven’t read, which came courtesy of the Age Concern charity shop. This shop has recently been extended to include a café and, soon after sitting down, I was joined by a very nice man, who had popped into town to have his car serviced. We touched on several subjects, including boating of course, which he has some experience of as he lives close to a river. It’s not often that a complete stranger sits beside you in a café and strikes up a conversation.
Friday 11th December 2009 and winter has arrived again; outside it is foggy and frosty, which is just as the forecasters predicted. There are times when I wish they would get it wrong, with my knees I’m going nowhere on icy wooden pontoons. What I think I need, is a pair of those spiky overshoes that they use in the good old U S of A and Canada. I rather suspect that the lane leading from here to the main road will be a wee bit slippery this morning too, so the daily paper is a no-no until later.
Now, I’m sure I’ve mentioned before about my love of the guitar, goodness knows I’ve owned one for long enough, but have never been very successful at learning to play it. Probably as a result of frustration more than anything else, I’ve left it alone for a while, but I have now picked it up again and am practising for at least an hour a day, but I’m doing so in three short sessions.
At present I am using a book by Frederick Noad, which goes back many years, and is by a man who is considered to be one of the better teachers of Classical Guitar. However, the style of guitar that I also have a fondness for is the Blues, which really requires a steel strung instrument, but they come with a much narrower neck. Unfortunately the first two fingers of my left hand are somewhat bent, and I am probably the only person in the universe who can give a two fingered salute without actually spreading them. You do see my problem?
Anyway, last time I was in Harlow I called into Gig Gear, which is a shop down near Tesco and The Range, and I asked why there are no country and blues guitars with wide necks like those on a classical, nylon strung guitar. The answer came back, quick as a flash and without any hesitation that it is probably because there is only one person in the whole wide world who wants one, and that’s me.
So, it looks like I’m stuck with the classical version, at least until I am a little more adept at playing the thing and can play in higher positions where the neck is wider. Incidentally, it’s my first digit that’s bent and that’s due to a touch of arthritis. It can also become quite painful if I play for too long. Learning to play left handed is not an option because that would simply increase the pain, because I would then be using that finger for plucking the strings. Perhaps I should try learning to play a wind instrument instead but, then again perhaps not as that would probably drive my neighbours potty. Can you imagine me sitting here blasting away on a trumpet? No, me neither!
Tuesday 15th December and Christmas is only 10 days away and the weather looks all set to be much colder. I suspect though, that it will only be a covering of frost that will give us a white one.
Yesterday was our usual shopping day and off we went to Morrisons, which is further away from us than either Tesco or Sainsbury, but certainly has a far better range of goods. Their in-house bread, pies and cakes are a vast improvement on the other two and that’s for sure. They do a particularly delightful meat pie that’s in the shape of a triangle with rounded corners, filled with good sized chunks of meat.
For the past couple of visits we have had to take a detour around the housing estates to get to it due to road-works, but it’s always worth the trouble. This week the road was clear, we think they’d been strengthening a bridge for the past few weeks.
Today we have to go into Quorn or Barrow for drawing pins so that we can put up the pretty lights that we bought yesterday. What a deal that was, 100 bulbs on wire and with a mains plug, for just £4, so we bought two sets. We’ve even got a Christmas tree which stands about a foot high, is covered in snow and has flashing lights. Of course, other boaters have gone a bit potty with their decorations, Dave and Jackie have a Santa and reindeer along with a chimney stack and a snowman, so we’re small beer compared to them.
As it happens we didn’t need the drawing pins because, living on a boat, which is covered with timber boarding inside, all we had to do was to wedge the wiring between joints. With just two hooks screwed into the ceiling we were able to loop the lights across the middle, job done.
Yesterday we received a text from our old pal Pixie, who’s still at Bulbourne, to the effect that our boat is on the front cover of Canal Boat Magazine. Hopefully you will all have received an email with attached photo, if not then please let us know and we’ll re-send it.
Wednesday 16th December and, despite dire predictions from the Met Office, it is only wet out there, rather than a thick frost. However, since it’s only 7 am, that situation has lots of time to change.
Wifey is off for a boob job today. No, not an implant or reduction, just a scan, which has been set up by the NHS in Morrisons car park. I tell you this just to remind you ladies that a regular breast screening should be carried out every three years. So, if you haven’t done so, now’s the time to make that appointment.
Now, with just nine days to go to the festivities, if I post this blog some time today, I’ll just have time for another one before then. Sadly I am unable to do so tight now, because my lady Wife is about to surface and so later will have to do, if I think of it!
Cheers for now.
Well, I’ve said it many times before, this b….. modem is pretty darn useless, and today is one of those days, I simply cannot connect to the Internet and, until I can; hopefully later today or tomorrow, I can’t post, so there!!
It is now Thursday 17th December and, at last, I am able to get online. So, without further ado, and hoping it doesn’t drop out before I go there, here goes.
Hopefully I’ll get another blog in before Christmas but, just in case I don’t, here’s wishing you all a very happy one. Especially Big Ian, who is not having such a great time of it right now. We’ll all be thinking of you.
Love and Stuff
Dave, Sheila and Pooch
xxx
PS Sorry folks, still no photos 'cos this modem is running right slow - again!
Tomorrow I’m off to see my old friend John barefoot in Weston-super-Mare and will be staying overnight with his youngest son Colin and his wife Sue.
John, as I have no doubt told you, now lives in a Nursing Home because, suffering from Parkinson’s Disease as he does, he is unable to care for himself now. According to Colin, John has his good and bad days but, he assures me, he’s looking forward to my visit. I just wish it wasn’t so far away, but at least it’s mostly motorway and shouldn’t take me more than about 3 hours or so.
On Thursday, as the Emperor has its fortnightly jamming session, I’ll be staying with Alan and coming home Friday morning, after I’ve done a bit of Christmas shopping.
Tuesday 8th December 2009. Is it really a week since last I wrote to this blog? So much has happened since then that I’ve been rushed off my feet.
Last Wednesday was the start of 470 miles of driving over a three day period. My first stop was at Weston Super Mare in Somerset, as I have already mentioned. Colin and Sue have an upside-down house overlooking the valley and the Mendip Hills beyond, which is a quite spectacular view.
John however is confined to a nursing home in town and doesn’t seem too happy about it. For the most part he’s surrounded by people who seem to need far more care than he does, and who don’t have much to say for themselves. For a man who still has all his marbles, but still needs full time care, this situation must be boring him to tears.
After a most enjoyable stay with Colin and Sue, along with a pub meal, which was quite unexpected, it was off to Harlow the following morning. Although only about another 20 miles further than Weston is from the marina, the trip took me at least an extra hour than that trip. The M4 was mostly to blame for this delay due to heavy traffic and the M25 was no better. My drive was followed by a bit of shopping, which I really didn’t want to be messing with on Friday morning.
In the evening Alan and I enjoyed the jam session at the Purple Emperor. I have to say, my ears are not used to the deafening noise these days, but I simply can’t resist watching semi-professional musicians giving it their best. On the wall opposite the stage is a decibel monitor which, for the most part, was sitting in the red zone. I love it!
My first introduction to really loud music was many years ago, when my sister Carole took me to the Roundhouse at Chalk Farm. I don’t know if it is still standing, and I certainly don’t remember who we saw, but my ears were ringing by the time we left. For those of you who have never been there, The Roundhouse was built as a Shakespearian Theatre and, as the name implies, is round with the stage in the middle; well, it was then.
When we were still living in Harlow, and when Joy owned the Emperor, Alan and I spent most Thursday evenings there when they held live music sessions. Those sessions were never quiet, Folk or Country, always heavy Rock. Great times were had by all.
While I’m still in the mood for reminiscing, The Greyhound Pub in Harlow or, as we liked to call it, The Inn on the Park, because that’s where it lived, used to put on a three piece Jazz band at Sunday lunchtime. That’s where we headed after an early morning swim. Great days, sadly life ain’t like that any more, and more’s the pity.
Friday morning and it was off to the Shiralee which, despite using the A414 as far as the M1, I managed to complete in less than two hours. This journey, via the M11, M25 and then M1 would normally take a little over the two hours, so I was pretty lucky that day and I was home by 11 am.
Today we’re off to Melton Mowbray to buy some decent meat pies and such. The sausages are second to none and, it being market day, we’ll be bringing home some really strong Cheddar cheese.
After a few upsets with my book compiler, which actually refused to work for me yesterday, leaving me with no alternative than to re-install it, I’ve now started it from scratch. This is because, unbeknown to me when I purchased it, the programme is incapable of handling my 340 pages of recipes. I have therefore had to break it down into four volumes.
I have also discovered that, rather than have to convert my Word documents to web pages, they really need to be copied into Notepad and then transferred to the book compiler. This is a bit of a pain because, rather than Times New Roman as a font, which is the default in Notepad, I prefer Comic Sans. But, I’ve just thought, Notepad can be reset to an alternative font as a default, so I really must get that sorted. I’m afraid my little grey cells take a while to see the obvious these days. Youth really is wasted on the young.
Ah, but, it’s not Notepad that’s at fault, it’s the compiler that has TNR as its default. I must look into that and see if the template default can be altered.
Wednesday 9th December and I arose from my pit at 5.45 am, but only to turn the heating on. Our poor wee pooch was, at the same time, throwing up a messy white goo and, by the time I had cleared it up, I was wide awake. Besides which it was pretty obvious she needed to go out and I was pretty sure Wifey wasn’t about to undertake that task. We really must get our Rusty to the vet as soon as possible, if only to have her checked over and given a clean bill of health. We are pretty sure she’s getting a bit hard of hearing; some mornings she doesn’t even hear Sheila rattle her food dish.
Yesterday, at Melton Mowbray we managed to find a few more books that we haven’t read, which came courtesy of the Age Concern charity shop. This shop has recently been extended to include a café and, soon after sitting down, I was joined by a very nice man, who had popped into town to have his car serviced. We touched on several subjects, including boating of course, which he has some experience of as he lives close to a river. It’s not often that a complete stranger sits beside you in a café and strikes up a conversation.
Friday 11th December 2009 and winter has arrived again; outside it is foggy and frosty, which is just as the forecasters predicted. There are times when I wish they would get it wrong, with my knees I’m going nowhere on icy wooden pontoons. What I think I need, is a pair of those spiky overshoes that they use in the good old U S of A and Canada. I rather suspect that the lane leading from here to the main road will be a wee bit slippery this morning too, so the daily paper is a no-no until later.
Now, I’m sure I’ve mentioned before about my love of the guitar, goodness knows I’ve owned one for long enough, but have never been very successful at learning to play it. Probably as a result of frustration more than anything else, I’ve left it alone for a while, but I have now picked it up again and am practising for at least an hour a day, but I’m doing so in three short sessions.
At present I am using a book by Frederick Noad, which goes back many years, and is by a man who is considered to be one of the better teachers of Classical Guitar. However, the style of guitar that I also have a fondness for is the Blues, which really requires a steel strung instrument, but they come with a much narrower neck. Unfortunately the first two fingers of my left hand are somewhat bent, and I am probably the only person in the universe who can give a two fingered salute without actually spreading them. You do see my problem?
Anyway, last time I was in Harlow I called into Gig Gear, which is a shop down near Tesco and The Range, and I asked why there are no country and blues guitars with wide necks like those on a classical, nylon strung guitar. The answer came back, quick as a flash and without any hesitation that it is probably because there is only one person in the whole wide world who wants one, and that’s me.
So, it looks like I’m stuck with the classical version, at least until I am a little more adept at playing the thing and can play in higher positions where the neck is wider. Incidentally, it’s my first digit that’s bent and that’s due to a touch of arthritis. It can also become quite painful if I play for too long. Learning to play left handed is not an option because that would simply increase the pain, because I would then be using that finger for plucking the strings. Perhaps I should try learning to play a wind instrument instead but, then again perhaps not as that would probably drive my neighbours potty. Can you imagine me sitting here blasting away on a trumpet? No, me neither!
Tuesday 15th December and Christmas is only 10 days away and the weather looks all set to be much colder. I suspect though, that it will only be a covering of frost that will give us a white one.
Yesterday was our usual shopping day and off we went to Morrisons, which is further away from us than either Tesco or Sainsbury, but certainly has a far better range of goods. Their in-house bread, pies and cakes are a vast improvement on the other two and that’s for sure. They do a particularly delightful meat pie that’s in the shape of a triangle with rounded corners, filled with good sized chunks of meat.
For the past couple of visits we have had to take a detour around the housing estates to get to it due to road-works, but it’s always worth the trouble. This week the road was clear, we think they’d been strengthening a bridge for the past few weeks.
Today we have to go into Quorn or Barrow for drawing pins so that we can put up the pretty lights that we bought yesterday. What a deal that was, 100 bulbs on wire and with a mains plug, for just £4, so we bought two sets. We’ve even got a Christmas tree which stands about a foot high, is covered in snow and has flashing lights. Of course, other boaters have gone a bit potty with their decorations, Dave and Jackie have a Santa and reindeer along with a chimney stack and a snowman, so we’re small beer compared to them.
As it happens we didn’t need the drawing pins because, living on a boat, which is covered with timber boarding inside, all we had to do was to wedge the wiring between joints. With just two hooks screwed into the ceiling we were able to loop the lights across the middle, job done.
Yesterday we received a text from our old pal Pixie, who’s still at Bulbourne, to the effect that our boat is on the front cover of Canal Boat Magazine. Hopefully you will all have received an email with attached photo, if not then please let us know and we’ll re-send it.
Wednesday 16th December and, despite dire predictions from the Met Office, it is only wet out there, rather than a thick frost. However, since it’s only 7 am, that situation has lots of time to change.
Wifey is off for a boob job today. No, not an implant or reduction, just a scan, which has been set up by the NHS in Morrisons car park. I tell you this just to remind you ladies that a regular breast screening should be carried out every three years. So, if you haven’t done so, now’s the time to make that appointment.
Now, with just nine days to go to the festivities, if I post this blog some time today, I’ll just have time for another one before then. Sadly I am unable to do so tight now, because my lady Wife is about to surface and so later will have to do, if I think of it!
Cheers for now.
Well, I’ve said it many times before, this b….. modem is pretty darn useless, and today is one of those days, I simply cannot connect to the Internet and, until I can; hopefully later today or tomorrow, I can’t post, so there!!
It is now Thursday 17th December and, at last, I am able to get online. So, without further ado, and hoping it doesn’t drop out before I go there, here goes.
Hopefully I’ll get another blog in before Christmas but, just in case I don’t, here’s wishing you all a very happy one. Especially Big Ian, who is not having such a great time of it right now. We’ll all be thinking of you.
Love and Stuff
Dave, Sheila and Pooch
xxx
PS Sorry folks, still no photos 'cos this modem is running right slow - again!
Friday, 27 November 2009
Pillings Lock blog #4
Pillings Lock Marina 2009 #4
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to this, our fourth blog from Pillings Lock, called PLM from this day forward. It is still Saturday 14th November, but we are now into the pm part of it.
Prior to posting blog #3 this morning I reported the state of our wee pooch who, once again seems to be off her food. She is now lying down at the bottom of our bed and is fast asleep. Fortunately the bed is high off the floor otherwise she would probably snuggle up under the duvet.
During the night we were buffeted a bit by the wind and the boat has had a pretty good soaking. Despite my best efforts during the summer months, a couple of our windows still leak along the top edge, as a result of which the rain tends to find its way in if we close the windows. Leaving them open does reduce the effect but, with the high winds last night, the rain was simply bouncing off the glass and finding its way inside anyway. I eventually pulled the curtains back and released them from their bottom rain and closed the windows again, this time with a towel underneath to catch the drips.
Now, since we now seem to have a decent Internet connection, and just as soon as Wifey has give names to the photos she took last year, and just as soon as I have downloaded my contribution to the gallery and named those, I will try to include some in this blog. That’s a promise!
It is now 4 pm on Saturday and we have been trying to download photos from our cameras to this nice, shiny and new laptop. Would you believe it, the card from Wifey’s little Fuji will not fit into the slot in the laptop. We do have a multi-card unit that the laptop will read and I will be able to download my card, but we have had to use the Acer; into which the Fuji card will fit; to download those pictures onto our external hard drive, and then transfer them to the Tosh. What a bloody palaver, and it’s a brand new laptop!! I really am absolutely gobsmacked.
Sunday 15th November 2009 and I am beginning to think that I will have to install the 32 bit version of Win 7 because, unfortunately some programmes simply will not run in 64 bit. Yeah, I know, it’s all gobbledegook to me too, but at least this laptop came with the disc for 32 bit, so I can at least scale it down if necessary.
Monday 16th November and, once again, we have more wind and rain. According to Ridsey, who just happens too be a close neighbour – well, that’s the name of his boat and wee JRT – we are supposed to enjoy fine weather for the rest of this week. Sadly he seems to be the only one aware of this good news because, according to TV and newspaper forecasts, we are set to endure even more wind and rain this week.
I have in my possession two programmes that I use quite a lot, one of which is Pdf 4 Create and the other being eBook Starter. The first is useful for converting Word to the universally accepted .pdf files. Not all computers are able to read MS Word documents but, apparently, the same cannot be said of .pdf. The eBook Starter programme is the one I am using to write my recipe book, and it is displayed on screen very much like an open book. Having actually paid good money for both these programmes I was somewhat miffed when, on installing them on the Toshiba, they both came up as Demo versions, this despite entering the correct registration codes for both.
Naturally I emailed both companies but have yet to receive a reply from either. The Pdf site, which is called Nuance, list the programme as past its sell by date, but that should not mean I am unable to use it on a new machine, unless of course this version is incompatible with Win 7. The same goes for eBook Starter, which I bought less than a year ago.
Watch this space because, even if I have to bombard these two companies with emails, I will eventually get satisfaction.
Our HP Printer, which we have had for a number of years now and which can copy, scan, print and fax, has not been printing in the correct colours. We have some pretty good examples of winter on the canal that we tried printing yesterday, but the clear, white and virgin snow came out a sort of bluey grey colour. We had hoped that it was the Acer at fault but, as suspected, the printer is obviously due a thorough overhaul. Instead we are going to pop into Leicester tomorrow, weather permitting, where there is a Comet and a PC World store. Hopefully we will find a cheapo printer with a flatbed scanner in it. The auto-feed scanners are OK if all you want to do is copy documents into the computer. However, if you want copies of book pages, then the flatbed is the thing to have. And anyway, the one we have is far too big and so a smaller one is an absolute necessity.
Tuesday 17th November and it is still rather blowy out there, but that won’t prevent us from going to Melton Mowbray. I know, I said Leicester for a new printer, but I had forgotten earlier plans for market day.
The good news is, that I have finally received a reply from the eBook Starter people with instruction on how to download and reinstall the programme. Apparently, despite me sending several emails complaining about this problem, my latest email is the only one they have received. Kinda makes a mockery of their support service, which sent up an error message each time I entered an email address, to the effect that it wasn’t a real one. I tried three, all of which are real and none of them was accepted. So much for technology.
I now have to download the Demo version, install this Demo version, check to find my system info and send it to them, at which time they will generate another security code for me to activate the programme. I will then be able to use it as before.
It’s a pity Nuance couldn’t be bothered to reply because, had they done so, I might have agreed to update Create 4 to Create 6 and paid a little bit extra for the privilege. Instead I have downloaded a free Pdf file maker, which seems to do the trick.
We are really being hammered by some serious winds this morning. Indeed, this all started yesterday evening and hasn’t stopped all night.
Today is Wednesday 18th November and Wifey has booked up to have her hair done this afternoon, which we’ll follow by a pub lunch. It was also our intention to go get a Daily mail so that I could have a read of it in the Fox whilst waiting for Wifey’s hair to be done, but that will now have to wait ‘cos I don’t really fancy braving these winds and the accompanying rain twice in one day.
Luckily for us yesterday was fine for our visit to Melton Mowbray and, quite naturally, we made a few delicious purchases. Sausages were top of the list and, once again, some of them contain garlic, which kinda tends to stink the fridge out even though Sheila has put them in a sealed container. I suppose we’ll have to eat them pretty soon. We also found meat pies and quiches that we have sampled in the past and the local street market, which is always run on Tuesdays, provided us with a couple of different cheeses.
W. H. Smith are offering the new Stephen King novel at a £5 reduction to £15, but I’m waiting to see if Alan can pick it up at Tesco any cheaper. Mind you it’s a huge volume but, since his accident several years ago, he really hasn’t made it back to his previous literary level of expertise. One of his first books after being run down and seriously injured was about a rogue Buick 8, but that really wasn’t up to par but, with luck and a tail wind, perhaps this latest offering called Under the Dome, might just be the one that tells us that he’s back to normal.
Thursday 19th November and the weather has gone mad with yet another blustery night.
I had hoped to receive my new coding for eBook Starter by now but, as usual, nobody seems to be in any hurry these days, especially once they have your money. Give it today and I’ll have to chase them up again.
Today we plan to do absolutely nothing, zilch, sod all, so I’ll probably try my hand at a bit of canal art painting.
The weather seems to have calmed down somewhat after all the high winds and rain, but we are promised even more of the same from the weather experts. The weekend is here again and it is now 07.10 on Saturday 21st November.
On Thursday, as I think I may have mentioned earlier, our toilet started making some peculiar rattling sounds, almost as if the motor bearings were breaking up. To be honest we were both a bit worried about it because, as you will appreciate, electric motors do not come cheap. Anyway we telephoned our friendly, but not so “neighbourhood” expert on the matter, that’s Ashley who lives in Banbury. He’s the young lad who replaced the gizmo that controls the flush a couple of weeks ago.
Come yesterday morning the loo stopped making that graunching noise, and so I texted Ashley to put him off coming at midday, which is when he was due to call. This, we thought, now left us free to go to Leicester as planned, to buy a new printer. However, as you would expect, and taking Sod’s Law into account, the damned thing ‘graunched’ again, so I had to phone Ashley again.
As promised and at the appointed time, he turned up an proceeded to dismantle the loo. Now, it’s not like my dear wife to make such a boo-boo, especially not such an expensive one but, when she poured the last of our Blue down the loo, she also dropped something else down. When you buy a 1 gallon plastic container of just about any liquid, the lid is secured by a serrated ring of plastic. Well, when Wifey first opened the container of Blue, she neglected to dispose of that plastic ring. And, my dear readers, dropping that ring down the loo is, what cost us £40.
Ah well, it’s only money!!
Eventually, at about 1 pm, we set off for Leicester to purchase our new printer. Because we prefer a flat-bed scanner to the current auto-feed type, and because I have found from experience when buying the new laptop, that Comet are just a bit cheaper than P C World, we called in there first. However, when I asked the floor walker what came with their printers, he said, and I quote, “Nothing, just the printer”. “What”, I replied, “No mains lead or ink cartridges?” “No”, said he, “Just the printer, the manufacturers no longer include these items, you have to purchase them separately.” My reply to that silly statement was something like “Yeah, right, bye bye”, and off we trotted two doors away to PC World.
We found a good choice there but, on enquiring about a couple of them, the floor walker explained that, due to a recent sale, the boxes with all the bits in – like mains lead and ink cartridges – were missing. We eventually settled for an Epson at about £60, which came with all the necessary peripherals except, of course, the USB connecting lead, which has been the one item missed out from almost all electronic equipment. The thinking behind this, I think, is because most people would already own these and would have been included with the item they were replacing.
Having set it up and given it a test drive, I have to say that the results far exceeded those of the old HP that it replaced. For a start the colours were much sharper and clearer. No doubt the HP only needed a service to bring it up to scratch but, since we wanted a flat-bed scanner anyway…..!
Sunday 22nd November and winter is surely drawing nigh because, once again we have been subjected to some pretty high winds and rain.
I had intended to continue with my recipe book but, as with many things electronic, the programme I installed on the new laptop simply would not play with the files from the original, well, not immediately anyway. Even if I do say so myself I generally get my own way with computers, even if it does mean a little cussing and swearing. Eventually, after deleting folders and replacing with others, along with a bit more mucking about, I finally got it to work to my satisfaction. That’s not to say it won’t mess me about again tomorrow, but at least I seem to have all the recipes in the book.
All I have to do now is compile the thing. Compiling consists of the ebook programme taking all relevant files and turning them into a book that can be read directly from the computer screen. This finished article then becomes a stand alone book, but without all the system files and such that take up all the space on the computer hard drive. Once that is done I can then move the folder containing the files to another location, such as a DVD or external hard drive. If necessary I can then alter those files with additional recipes.
Naturally, it being Sunday, we popped off out for our lunchtime drink. It is now almost 5 pm and, if I ask Wifey very nicely, I’m sure she won’t mind putting dinner on. With a bit of luck and a tail wind I’ll be able to post this blog tomorrow, in doing so I will also try to include a photo or two.
Tuesday 24th November and, despite my best efforts, I am still having trouble with this recipe book. You would think wouldn’t you, that any book compiling programme worth its salt would be able to handle 300+ pages, but it seems that this one can’t. Today, having spent an hour or more placing all the chapters and pages in the sequence required, I then tried to save the new project to the home folder. I then received an error message telling me it couldn’t be done. So I closed it down in order to start again. However, since I have been advised that this programme doesn’t like too many pages, I have now decided to spread the book over four volumes. At present this seems to be working, but I have had to uninstall and re-install the programme first so as to really start from scratch.
Thursday 26th November and more about eBook Starter.
For some unfathomable reason, known only to those who built the programme, it still comes up with the message ‘not responding’, but, thank goodness, it does eventually respond and open up. Ditto for saving the project when I have finished faffing about with it.
I wouldn’t mind a little aggravation with the programme but, having emailed the company concerned, they had the nerve to suggest that, since I am compiling a book with more pages than it can handle!, I should perhaps consider writing it in Pdf format. It seems even they do not have a lot of faith in this baby of theirs.
Now, on to the matter of posting this blog, which, I’m very much afraid, is going to be delayed somewhat. The reason for this is the fact that our photos are rather large in information, usually 3Mb or more, which makes them rather difficult to upload at our slow speeds. I know I had several programmes on the Acer that could have dealt with this and reduced the sizes somewhat, but I am not sure if they will work with Windows 7, nothing else seems to have much joy with it and that’s for sure. Sometime soon perhaps?
It is now Saturday 28th November and we have just over a month until 2010. A few weeks ago a neighbour of ours asked if we would be going to the New Years Eve get together. At just £2.50 per head, which included a snack, we thought it would be a good idea and would allow us to get to know a few more boaters. Now the powers that be have decided to put on live music and have changed the price to £15 per head. So, that’s a no no then!
Sorry to say, what with the current problems with my ebook programme and with that wretched Information Bar, that is now blighting my very existence, I haven’t had time to organise the photographs that I want to include in the blog. And, now that the size of this blog has reached seven pages, I really think I should post it now and worry about photos next time.
If anybody reading this knows how to remove that Information Bar permanently I will be forever grateful.
Cheers for now and have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to this, our fourth blog from Pillings Lock, called PLM from this day forward. It is still Saturday 14th November, but we are now into the pm part of it.
Prior to posting blog #3 this morning I reported the state of our wee pooch who, once again seems to be off her food. She is now lying down at the bottom of our bed and is fast asleep. Fortunately the bed is high off the floor otherwise she would probably snuggle up under the duvet.
During the night we were buffeted a bit by the wind and the boat has had a pretty good soaking. Despite my best efforts during the summer months, a couple of our windows still leak along the top edge, as a result of which the rain tends to find its way in if we close the windows. Leaving them open does reduce the effect but, with the high winds last night, the rain was simply bouncing off the glass and finding its way inside anyway. I eventually pulled the curtains back and released them from their bottom rain and closed the windows again, this time with a towel underneath to catch the drips.
Now, since we now seem to have a decent Internet connection, and just as soon as Wifey has give names to the photos she took last year, and just as soon as I have downloaded my contribution to the gallery and named those, I will try to include some in this blog. That’s a promise!
It is now 4 pm on Saturday and we have been trying to download photos from our cameras to this nice, shiny and new laptop. Would you believe it, the card from Wifey’s little Fuji will not fit into the slot in the laptop. We do have a multi-card unit that the laptop will read and I will be able to download my card, but we have had to use the Acer; into which the Fuji card will fit; to download those pictures onto our external hard drive, and then transfer them to the Tosh. What a bloody palaver, and it’s a brand new laptop!! I really am absolutely gobsmacked.
Sunday 15th November 2009 and I am beginning to think that I will have to install the 32 bit version of Win 7 because, unfortunately some programmes simply will not run in 64 bit. Yeah, I know, it’s all gobbledegook to me too, but at least this laptop came with the disc for 32 bit, so I can at least scale it down if necessary.
Monday 16th November and, once again, we have more wind and rain. According to Ridsey, who just happens too be a close neighbour – well, that’s the name of his boat and wee JRT – we are supposed to enjoy fine weather for the rest of this week. Sadly he seems to be the only one aware of this good news because, according to TV and newspaper forecasts, we are set to endure even more wind and rain this week.
I have in my possession two programmes that I use quite a lot, one of which is Pdf 4 Create and the other being eBook Starter. The first is useful for converting Word to the universally accepted .pdf files. Not all computers are able to read MS Word documents but, apparently, the same cannot be said of .pdf. The eBook Starter programme is the one I am using to write my recipe book, and it is displayed on screen very much like an open book. Having actually paid good money for both these programmes I was somewhat miffed when, on installing them on the Toshiba, they both came up as Demo versions, this despite entering the correct registration codes for both.
Naturally I emailed both companies but have yet to receive a reply from either. The Pdf site, which is called Nuance, list the programme as past its sell by date, but that should not mean I am unable to use it on a new machine, unless of course this version is incompatible with Win 7. The same goes for eBook Starter, which I bought less than a year ago.
Watch this space because, even if I have to bombard these two companies with emails, I will eventually get satisfaction.
Our HP Printer, which we have had for a number of years now and which can copy, scan, print and fax, has not been printing in the correct colours. We have some pretty good examples of winter on the canal that we tried printing yesterday, but the clear, white and virgin snow came out a sort of bluey grey colour. We had hoped that it was the Acer at fault but, as suspected, the printer is obviously due a thorough overhaul. Instead we are going to pop into Leicester tomorrow, weather permitting, where there is a Comet and a PC World store. Hopefully we will find a cheapo printer with a flatbed scanner in it. The auto-feed scanners are OK if all you want to do is copy documents into the computer. However, if you want copies of book pages, then the flatbed is the thing to have. And anyway, the one we have is far too big and so a smaller one is an absolute necessity.
Tuesday 17th November and it is still rather blowy out there, but that won’t prevent us from going to Melton Mowbray. I know, I said Leicester for a new printer, but I had forgotten earlier plans for market day.
The good news is, that I have finally received a reply from the eBook Starter people with instruction on how to download and reinstall the programme. Apparently, despite me sending several emails complaining about this problem, my latest email is the only one they have received. Kinda makes a mockery of their support service, which sent up an error message each time I entered an email address, to the effect that it wasn’t a real one. I tried three, all of which are real and none of them was accepted. So much for technology.
I now have to download the Demo version, install this Demo version, check to find my system info and send it to them, at which time they will generate another security code for me to activate the programme. I will then be able to use it as before.
It’s a pity Nuance couldn’t be bothered to reply because, had they done so, I might have agreed to update Create 4 to Create 6 and paid a little bit extra for the privilege. Instead I have downloaded a free Pdf file maker, which seems to do the trick.
We are really being hammered by some serious winds this morning. Indeed, this all started yesterday evening and hasn’t stopped all night.
Today is Wednesday 18th November and Wifey has booked up to have her hair done this afternoon, which we’ll follow by a pub lunch. It was also our intention to go get a Daily mail so that I could have a read of it in the Fox whilst waiting for Wifey’s hair to be done, but that will now have to wait ‘cos I don’t really fancy braving these winds and the accompanying rain twice in one day.
Luckily for us yesterday was fine for our visit to Melton Mowbray and, quite naturally, we made a few delicious purchases. Sausages were top of the list and, once again, some of them contain garlic, which kinda tends to stink the fridge out even though Sheila has put them in a sealed container. I suppose we’ll have to eat them pretty soon. We also found meat pies and quiches that we have sampled in the past and the local street market, which is always run on Tuesdays, provided us with a couple of different cheeses.
W. H. Smith are offering the new Stephen King novel at a £5 reduction to £15, but I’m waiting to see if Alan can pick it up at Tesco any cheaper. Mind you it’s a huge volume but, since his accident several years ago, he really hasn’t made it back to his previous literary level of expertise. One of his first books after being run down and seriously injured was about a rogue Buick 8, but that really wasn’t up to par but, with luck and a tail wind, perhaps this latest offering called Under the Dome, might just be the one that tells us that he’s back to normal.
Thursday 19th November and the weather has gone mad with yet another blustery night.
I had hoped to receive my new coding for eBook Starter by now but, as usual, nobody seems to be in any hurry these days, especially once they have your money. Give it today and I’ll have to chase them up again.
Today we plan to do absolutely nothing, zilch, sod all, so I’ll probably try my hand at a bit of canal art painting.
The weather seems to have calmed down somewhat after all the high winds and rain, but we are promised even more of the same from the weather experts. The weekend is here again and it is now 07.10 on Saturday 21st November.
On Thursday, as I think I may have mentioned earlier, our toilet started making some peculiar rattling sounds, almost as if the motor bearings were breaking up. To be honest we were both a bit worried about it because, as you will appreciate, electric motors do not come cheap. Anyway we telephoned our friendly, but not so “neighbourhood” expert on the matter, that’s Ashley who lives in Banbury. He’s the young lad who replaced the gizmo that controls the flush a couple of weeks ago.
Come yesterday morning the loo stopped making that graunching noise, and so I texted Ashley to put him off coming at midday, which is when he was due to call. This, we thought, now left us free to go to Leicester as planned, to buy a new printer. However, as you would expect, and taking Sod’s Law into account, the damned thing ‘graunched’ again, so I had to phone Ashley again.
As promised and at the appointed time, he turned up an proceeded to dismantle the loo. Now, it’s not like my dear wife to make such a boo-boo, especially not such an expensive one but, when she poured the last of our Blue down the loo, she also dropped something else down. When you buy a 1 gallon plastic container of just about any liquid, the lid is secured by a serrated ring of plastic. Well, when Wifey first opened the container of Blue, she neglected to dispose of that plastic ring. And, my dear readers, dropping that ring down the loo is, what cost us £40.
Ah well, it’s only money!!
Eventually, at about 1 pm, we set off for Leicester to purchase our new printer. Because we prefer a flat-bed scanner to the current auto-feed type, and because I have found from experience when buying the new laptop, that Comet are just a bit cheaper than P C World, we called in there first. However, when I asked the floor walker what came with their printers, he said, and I quote, “Nothing, just the printer”. “What”, I replied, “No mains lead or ink cartridges?” “No”, said he, “Just the printer, the manufacturers no longer include these items, you have to purchase them separately.” My reply to that silly statement was something like “Yeah, right, bye bye”, and off we trotted two doors away to PC World.
We found a good choice there but, on enquiring about a couple of them, the floor walker explained that, due to a recent sale, the boxes with all the bits in – like mains lead and ink cartridges – were missing. We eventually settled for an Epson at about £60, which came with all the necessary peripherals except, of course, the USB connecting lead, which has been the one item missed out from almost all electronic equipment. The thinking behind this, I think, is because most people would already own these and would have been included with the item they were replacing.
Having set it up and given it a test drive, I have to say that the results far exceeded those of the old HP that it replaced. For a start the colours were much sharper and clearer. No doubt the HP only needed a service to bring it up to scratch but, since we wanted a flat-bed scanner anyway…..!
Sunday 22nd November and winter is surely drawing nigh because, once again we have been subjected to some pretty high winds and rain.
I had intended to continue with my recipe book but, as with many things electronic, the programme I installed on the new laptop simply would not play with the files from the original, well, not immediately anyway. Even if I do say so myself I generally get my own way with computers, even if it does mean a little cussing and swearing. Eventually, after deleting folders and replacing with others, along with a bit more mucking about, I finally got it to work to my satisfaction. That’s not to say it won’t mess me about again tomorrow, but at least I seem to have all the recipes in the book.
All I have to do now is compile the thing. Compiling consists of the ebook programme taking all relevant files and turning them into a book that can be read directly from the computer screen. This finished article then becomes a stand alone book, but without all the system files and such that take up all the space on the computer hard drive. Once that is done I can then move the folder containing the files to another location, such as a DVD or external hard drive. If necessary I can then alter those files with additional recipes.
Naturally, it being Sunday, we popped off out for our lunchtime drink. It is now almost 5 pm and, if I ask Wifey very nicely, I’m sure she won’t mind putting dinner on. With a bit of luck and a tail wind I’ll be able to post this blog tomorrow, in doing so I will also try to include a photo or two.
Tuesday 24th November and, despite my best efforts, I am still having trouble with this recipe book. You would think wouldn’t you, that any book compiling programme worth its salt would be able to handle 300+ pages, but it seems that this one can’t. Today, having spent an hour or more placing all the chapters and pages in the sequence required, I then tried to save the new project to the home folder. I then received an error message telling me it couldn’t be done. So I closed it down in order to start again. However, since I have been advised that this programme doesn’t like too many pages, I have now decided to spread the book over four volumes. At present this seems to be working, but I have had to uninstall and re-install the programme first so as to really start from scratch.
Thursday 26th November and more about eBook Starter.
For some unfathomable reason, known only to those who built the programme, it still comes up with the message ‘not responding’, but, thank goodness, it does eventually respond and open up. Ditto for saving the project when I have finished faffing about with it.
I wouldn’t mind a little aggravation with the programme but, having emailed the company concerned, they had the nerve to suggest that, since I am compiling a book with more pages than it can handle!, I should perhaps consider writing it in Pdf format. It seems even they do not have a lot of faith in this baby of theirs.
Now, on to the matter of posting this blog, which, I’m very much afraid, is going to be delayed somewhat. The reason for this is the fact that our photos are rather large in information, usually 3Mb or more, which makes them rather difficult to upload at our slow speeds. I know I had several programmes on the Acer that could have dealt with this and reduced the sizes somewhat, but I am not sure if they will work with Windows 7, nothing else seems to have much joy with it and that’s for sure. Sometime soon perhaps?
It is now Saturday 28th November and we have just over a month until 2010. A few weeks ago a neighbour of ours asked if we would be going to the New Years Eve get together. At just £2.50 per head, which included a snack, we thought it would be a good idea and would allow us to get to know a few more boaters. Now the powers that be have decided to put on live music and have changed the price to £15 per head. So, that’s a no no then!
Sorry to say, what with the current problems with my ebook programme and with that wretched Information Bar, that is now blighting my very existence, I haven’t had time to organise the photographs that I want to include in the blog. And, now that the size of this blog has reached seven pages, I really think I should post it now and worry about photos next time.
If anybody reading this knows how to remove that Information Bar permanently I will be forever grateful.
Cheers for now and have a good weekend.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Pillings Lock blog #3
Pillings Lock Marina 2009 #3
Today is Wednesday 28th October 2009 and we have been at these moorings for just a month. Unlike our stay at Bulbourne for the previous two years, we have actually spread our wings a little and investigated three different pubs, two of which are in Quorn and one in Barrow. So far, of the three, we still prefer The Fox in Quorn, which has a big frontage but looks no different to most other pubs inside. This is the pub I took Alan to on the day we bought the Alfa.
Now, as most of you will be well aware, I have a lousy memory and so you will have to pardon me for not remembering the names of the other two pubs. However, the second pub we visited was also in Quorn and, although very friendly, it was very small and somewhat crowded, with footballing kids. I have to say I quite enjoyed the experience, and I do like a pub that is popular, so I dare say we’ll go there again.
The third pub is in Barrow right by the River Soar and, once again, seems pretty popular, especially where food is concerned. Obviously it has a very good reputation in that regard.
Today I’m going to carry on with the building of our new roof top flower boxes, which are going to be good and sturdy at around 21”long by 11” wide and nine” tall. Yesterday I completed the bases, which leaves me to connect the ends and sides, after which there’s the painting to do. Goodness knows where we’re going to store them once they are built but, wherever it is, they need to be covered until they have been painted. They certainly can’t stay inside the boat.
Tomorrow morning, which will be Thursday 29th October, we have a 7.30 appointment for blood tests, followed later in the morning with a visit to my old RAF pal from Germany, who has now bought a flat over her at Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is right next door to Stoke on Trent.
The weekend is here again and it has started out very much as the forecasters predicted, cooler and very much wetter. However, even though we won’t be going very far today, I still have plenty to keep me occupied. I have now built the two flower boxes for the roof and all I have to do now is paint them.
Today is Saturday 31st October and our visit to Alan and Chris on Thursday went very well. Unfortunately, having ignored my own map directions, we took a wrong turn and, what should have been a journey of an hour or so, took us almost two. But we had a good visit with a rather decent lunch laid on by our hosts. Hopefully, some time next year, perhaps we can meet up and we can return the favour.
Alan and Chris have only had the flat for a short time but, just recently they ordered a sofa. Now, you would think that a man of Alan’s calibre would have thought to take a few measurements before buying. But, since we did exactly the same at Westfield, with the result that my dear brother had to remove a front window to get ours in, I suppose I really shouldn’t crow. Anyway, having sent the object back for the upholsterer to play with, they finally managed to get it through the front door. But, once again, they ran into trouble. You see, their flat is one floor up with just a straight flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs there is a low wall which, unfortunately, they could not get the sofa over. They are now back to square one and, as Alan informed me by text last night, he is not amused.
No doubt, when the saga is over, he will see the funny side of it, but it might take some time.
Well, my good wife has condescended to arise from our pit, so I had best get breakfast prepared but, before I go, let me tell you about my visit to the clinic yesterday.
Sheila went in to collect my prescription yesterday and, when she emerged, she said they wanted to see me. So, in I went and the receptionist told me that, having studied my recent blood test, the good doctor wanted me to take a Glucose Tolerance Test. This entails starving myself for 12 hours, having a blood sample take, drinking a 330 ml bottle of Lucozade, waiting for another two hours without food, at which time I would have another blood sample taken.
Naturally, being diabetic, I protested, at which point the receptionist suggested that she have a word with the GP and phone me back. The result of which was to say that, not having studied my notes, the doctor had not realised I was diabetic. Future dealings with the clinic are not looking too rosy. Anyway, no need for the test, surprise, surprise!
After a very blustery and wet Sunday, Monday 2nd November dawned bright and breezy.
I have several books stored on the laptop that are in the public domain, but even though they are in Word and Pdf formats, they are not very pleasing to the eye, because the left an right margins are far too wide. Anyway, I thought that, with a little jiggery pokery, it shouldn’t be too difficult to copy and paste them to new Word documents. How wrong I was because all that happens is that they end up with the same margins.
So, I gave it some thought and, after much deliberation, I decided to copy and paste to Notepad and then copy and paste to Word. Magic! That worked well. Well, it did until I wanted to transfer pictures from the original document to the new one, which is when everything went cockeyed.
Individual pictures will copy and paste, but if they are side by side in the original, they will be above and below in the new document.
I then tried copying and pasting into WordPad, with the same effect and I’m darned if I know what to do next. Here am I, with all these books that need re-doing, and I can’t re-do them. My next step will be to contact The Pirates and see what they can suggest. Who are the Pirates? Well, they are an American couple who are deeply into selling material that is in the Public Domain and they are the people who supply me with all the books I now have on my laptop.
It is now a rather wet and windy Tuesday 3rd November 2009 and I’m looking forward to going shopping. Who’s a big sissy? I’m looking forward to it because we have finally decided to purchase a new laptop. This, of course, does depend upon us finding a suitable one to buy. There is no PC World in Loughborough, and besides, the last time I checked in their store in Harlow, I found them to be considerably dearer that Currys, so we’ll be giving their store a visit instead.
Despite having the aforementioned problems with our existing Acer, I’m rather keen on buying another one, but I want it wit much more memory. Of course, I could simply increase the memory in this one, but that will not eliminate the underlying problems.
One thing is for sure, I won’t be installing Norton on the new one, it really is too much trouble and seems to take over the computer. Every time I am forced to shut it down with the OFF button, it goes through a disk check and, in amongst all the gobbledegook is Norton, so I no longer trust that particular programme. Instead I’ll be installing a programme called Avast, which is completely free and has very good reports. Although, having said that, if we buy a new laptop and it has the new Windows 7 system installed, we can download the new Microsoft security programme and install that instead. At least it will be compatible with the Microsoft operating system.
Friday 6th November and I have had a pretty busy week thus far, especially with the flower boxes, which both now have shiny and new coats of red paint.
Having discovered that the Halifax Bank; of which we are customers of long standing; are to introduce a £1.00p per day charge on the use of guaranteed overdraft facilities, we decided to take the advice of the money gurus at the Daily Mail and switch to the Alliance and Leicester. We received a letter this morning which refused our application. The reason for the refusal was given as ‘going on the information we had submitted’. They surely could not be discriminating against us because we are pensioners, so we believe they could only have done so because we live on a boat and, as such, do not have a permanent, land-based, address. We have been advised that we could appeal against this decision, but giving them two bites of this particular cherry, we feel, would be giving in to their misguided policy. I shall, of course, be emailing the Mail asking for their opinion, since they are the ones who suggested Alliance and Leicester in the first place.
Having had as much as I can stand with the problems with this laptop, we have now invested in a new one and it will be delivered next Tuesday at my brother’s address in Harlow. So, instead of paying him a visit the week after, I am now going there on Monday and will await delivery of same on Tuesday. Hopefully they will not make me the last delivery of the day.
As this blog is only four pages long I won’t be posting it just yet. However, with the way the internet has been behaving of late, I’m not too sure if I would be able to do so. For the first six weeks or so at this marina we have had no problems getting online but, just recently it has been very difficult. Indeed, I was having so much trouble ordering the new laptop that I finally decided to do the ordering by ‘phone. One of our immediate neighbours confirms that he too is having the same problem but, there is a glimmer of hope. It seems the marina has its own network set up especially for us boaters. All we have to do is settle ourselves in the café with a cup of coffee, plug in to the mains and get on with it. So, when I am ready to post, I will do so from the café and that will probably be some time early next week.
I’ve also been talking to another boater about this problem and he believes it has nothing to do with signal strength, but has more to do with bandwidth. The service providers, such as Three and Vodafone, have sold so many of these new-fangled dongles that the systems can’t cope with all the people trying to get online, especially at evenings and weekends. So, for the rest of our stay here, if we have something important to do online, we’ll just have to grab a cup of coffee at the café and plug in to the network. Hopefully it will be secure.
Now, all of the foregoing about Internet access has been typed on this clear and calm Sunday 8th November and I had hoped to post this blog today. However, it being a Sunday with everybody and his uncle wanting to be online, I can’t even get my dongle to connect, never mind find my homepage. So, most unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until Tuesday. Meanwhile I will now transfer this scribe to my external hard drive in readiness for setting up the new laptop.
Saturday 14th November 2009 and we’ve had a pretty stormy night. Unfortunately, we’ve also had a pretty hectic week, which has mostly been taken up by sorting out our new laptop. Have you bought a new PC or laptop lately?
We bought ours online at Comets and, true to their word, it arrived last Tuesday morning, which meant, since they would not deliver to an address other than the one at which the payment card was registered, a trip into Harlow, all 240 miles round of it.
I also ordered the new MS Office Home and Student at half price, which is just as well, since I would not have been happy paying full price for this load of rubbish. Unlike the 2003 Professional, which we had on the Acer and which has all the bells and whistles, this version comes with just four programmes, only one of which is of any use to the average Home user and that’s MS Word. The result of this discovery was to uninstall the new one and install 2003 Pro.
The next step was to install all the programmes and documents, and that takes an awful lot of time. I came up against just one serious problem with this and that was my Recipe Book Programme, which is called eBook Starter. Try as I might, despite entering the correct key codes, I could not make it come up as the Pro version, only the Demo, I now await info from the company regarding what the problem may be. I suspect that it is not set up for the new Windows 7, or it just might not recognise the new system onto which I have installed it. I do know that the programme can only be installed on one PC or Laptop, so I will probably need a different key code.
Another wee problem setting up this Toshiba Satellite was with MS Outlook and my Three USB Modem. For a start the laptop was reluctant to open the modem, which was not very helpful, because the Acer was pretty reluctant in this regard either. Anyway, once we got connected, I set up Outlook with the necessary info and, lo and behold, I was unable to send emails. What is more, when I tried to do so with the Acer, that wouldn’t do it either. After going back and forth between laptop without success I telephoned the Three Helpline and, unsurprisingly since it was based at a foreign call centre, I received no practical help whatsoever.
Going back to the drawing board I finally managed to persuade the Acer to send and receive but, as you would expect, the Toshiba would have none of it. Eventually, after much jiggery pokery and shutting down of Tosh, I finally got it to run properly. The result of all this is that we simply will not try sending or receiving emails on the Acer. Not that we need to you understand, but that option is now taboo.
Now, when I’m sitting here first thing in the morning, I usually bring the blog up to date which, as you can see from the delay since the last posting, I have not had time to do. Following on from that I would then play a few games of Mahjong until Wifey surfaces. Sadly my old favourite of MJWIN, which I have been playing since the Big Bang, is not compatible with Windows 7. I have to confess that I was pretty fast on that one, usually finishing in a little under two minutes. The game that comes with Tosh, and there are quite a few in the Games folder, is much more difficult, so lots of practice is called for.
Later on today I will attempt the impossible and post this blog. I say impossible because just lately getting online has not been easy. We are not the only ones to have suffered, so we suspect the company maintaining the servers or transmitters ahave been carrying out maintenance work.
Doggy seems to be off her food again today, but it has nothing to do with the tinned food because she didn’t have that last night. Still, she still has a wet nose and sparkling eyes, so I suppose she just doesn’t need as much food these days. She is, after all, almost 12 years old now.
OK, so, let’s post this blog and wish you all a really good weekend although, judging by the weather forecast, it’s going to be a bit blustery and wet for most of us.
Cheers for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Today is Wednesday 28th October 2009 and we have been at these moorings for just a month. Unlike our stay at Bulbourne for the previous two years, we have actually spread our wings a little and investigated three different pubs, two of which are in Quorn and one in Barrow. So far, of the three, we still prefer The Fox in Quorn, which has a big frontage but looks no different to most other pubs inside. This is the pub I took Alan to on the day we bought the Alfa.
Now, as most of you will be well aware, I have a lousy memory and so you will have to pardon me for not remembering the names of the other two pubs. However, the second pub we visited was also in Quorn and, although very friendly, it was very small and somewhat crowded, with footballing kids. I have to say I quite enjoyed the experience, and I do like a pub that is popular, so I dare say we’ll go there again.
The third pub is in Barrow right by the River Soar and, once again, seems pretty popular, especially where food is concerned. Obviously it has a very good reputation in that regard.
Today I’m going to carry on with the building of our new roof top flower boxes, which are going to be good and sturdy at around 21”long by 11” wide and nine” tall. Yesterday I completed the bases, which leaves me to connect the ends and sides, after which there’s the painting to do. Goodness knows where we’re going to store them once they are built but, wherever it is, they need to be covered until they have been painted. They certainly can’t stay inside the boat.
Tomorrow morning, which will be Thursday 29th October, we have a 7.30 appointment for blood tests, followed later in the morning with a visit to my old RAF pal from Germany, who has now bought a flat over her at Newcastle-under-Lyme, which is right next door to Stoke on Trent.
The weekend is here again and it has started out very much as the forecasters predicted, cooler and very much wetter. However, even though we won’t be going very far today, I still have plenty to keep me occupied. I have now built the two flower boxes for the roof and all I have to do now is paint them.
Today is Saturday 31st October and our visit to Alan and Chris on Thursday went very well. Unfortunately, having ignored my own map directions, we took a wrong turn and, what should have been a journey of an hour or so, took us almost two. But we had a good visit with a rather decent lunch laid on by our hosts. Hopefully, some time next year, perhaps we can meet up and we can return the favour.
Alan and Chris have only had the flat for a short time but, just recently they ordered a sofa. Now, you would think that a man of Alan’s calibre would have thought to take a few measurements before buying. But, since we did exactly the same at Westfield, with the result that my dear brother had to remove a front window to get ours in, I suppose I really shouldn’t crow. Anyway, having sent the object back for the upholsterer to play with, they finally managed to get it through the front door. But, once again, they ran into trouble. You see, their flat is one floor up with just a straight flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs there is a low wall which, unfortunately, they could not get the sofa over. They are now back to square one and, as Alan informed me by text last night, he is not amused.
No doubt, when the saga is over, he will see the funny side of it, but it might take some time.
Well, my good wife has condescended to arise from our pit, so I had best get breakfast prepared but, before I go, let me tell you about my visit to the clinic yesterday.
Sheila went in to collect my prescription yesterday and, when she emerged, she said they wanted to see me. So, in I went and the receptionist told me that, having studied my recent blood test, the good doctor wanted me to take a Glucose Tolerance Test. This entails starving myself for 12 hours, having a blood sample take, drinking a 330 ml bottle of Lucozade, waiting for another two hours without food, at which time I would have another blood sample taken.
Naturally, being diabetic, I protested, at which point the receptionist suggested that she have a word with the GP and phone me back. The result of which was to say that, not having studied my notes, the doctor had not realised I was diabetic. Future dealings with the clinic are not looking too rosy. Anyway, no need for the test, surprise, surprise!
After a very blustery and wet Sunday, Monday 2nd November dawned bright and breezy.
I have several books stored on the laptop that are in the public domain, but even though they are in Word and Pdf formats, they are not very pleasing to the eye, because the left an right margins are far too wide. Anyway, I thought that, with a little jiggery pokery, it shouldn’t be too difficult to copy and paste them to new Word documents. How wrong I was because all that happens is that they end up with the same margins.
So, I gave it some thought and, after much deliberation, I decided to copy and paste to Notepad and then copy and paste to Word. Magic! That worked well. Well, it did until I wanted to transfer pictures from the original document to the new one, which is when everything went cockeyed.
Individual pictures will copy and paste, but if they are side by side in the original, they will be above and below in the new document.
I then tried copying and pasting into WordPad, with the same effect and I’m darned if I know what to do next. Here am I, with all these books that need re-doing, and I can’t re-do them. My next step will be to contact The Pirates and see what they can suggest. Who are the Pirates? Well, they are an American couple who are deeply into selling material that is in the Public Domain and they are the people who supply me with all the books I now have on my laptop.
It is now a rather wet and windy Tuesday 3rd November 2009 and I’m looking forward to going shopping. Who’s a big sissy? I’m looking forward to it because we have finally decided to purchase a new laptop. This, of course, does depend upon us finding a suitable one to buy. There is no PC World in Loughborough, and besides, the last time I checked in their store in Harlow, I found them to be considerably dearer that Currys, so we’ll be giving their store a visit instead.
Despite having the aforementioned problems with our existing Acer, I’m rather keen on buying another one, but I want it wit much more memory. Of course, I could simply increase the memory in this one, but that will not eliminate the underlying problems.
One thing is for sure, I won’t be installing Norton on the new one, it really is too much trouble and seems to take over the computer. Every time I am forced to shut it down with the OFF button, it goes through a disk check and, in amongst all the gobbledegook is Norton, so I no longer trust that particular programme. Instead I’ll be installing a programme called Avast, which is completely free and has very good reports. Although, having said that, if we buy a new laptop and it has the new Windows 7 system installed, we can download the new Microsoft security programme and install that instead. At least it will be compatible with the Microsoft operating system.
Friday 6th November and I have had a pretty busy week thus far, especially with the flower boxes, which both now have shiny and new coats of red paint.
Having discovered that the Halifax Bank; of which we are customers of long standing; are to introduce a £1.00p per day charge on the use of guaranteed overdraft facilities, we decided to take the advice of the money gurus at the Daily Mail and switch to the Alliance and Leicester. We received a letter this morning which refused our application. The reason for the refusal was given as ‘going on the information we had submitted’. They surely could not be discriminating against us because we are pensioners, so we believe they could only have done so because we live on a boat and, as such, do not have a permanent, land-based, address. We have been advised that we could appeal against this decision, but giving them two bites of this particular cherry, we feel, would be giving in to their misguided policy. I shall, of course, be emailing the Mail asking for their opinion, since they are the ones who suggested Alliance and Leicester in the first place.
Having had as much as I can stand with the problems with this laptop, we have now invested in a new one and it will be delivered next Tuesday at my brother’s address in Harlow. So, instead of paying him a visit the week after, I am now going there on Monday and will await delivery of same on Tuesday. Hopefully they will not make me the last delivery of the day.
As this blog is only four pages long I won’t be posting it just yet. However, with the way the internet has been behaving of late, I’m not too sure if I would be able to do so. For the first six weeks or so at this marina we have had no problems getting online but, just recently it has been very difficult. Indeed, I was having so much trouble ordering the new laptop that I finally decided to do the ordering by ‘phone. One of our immediate neighbours confirms that he too is having the same problem but, there is a glimmer of hope. It seems the marina has its own network set up especially for us boaters. All we have to do is settle ourselves in the café with a cup of coffee, plug in to the mains and get on with it. So, when I am ready to post, I will do so from the café and that will probably be some time early next week.
I’ve also been talking to another boater about this problem and he believes it has nothing to do with signal strength, but has more to do with bandwidth. The service providers, such as Three and Vodafone, have sold so many of these new-fangled dongles that the systems can’t cope with all the people trying to get online, especially at evenings and weekends. So, for the rest of our stay here, if we have something important to do online, we’ll just have to grab a cup of coffee at the café and plug in to the network. Hopefully it will be secure.
Now, all of the foregoing about Internet access has been typed on this clear and calm Sunday 8th November and I had hoped to post this blog today. However, it being a Sunday with everybody and his uncle wanting to be online, I can’t even get my dongle to connect, never mind find my homepage. So, most unfortunately, I’ll have to wait until Tuesday. Meanwhile I will now transfer this scribe to my external hard drive in readiness for setting up the new laptop.
Saturday 14th November 2009 and we’ve had a pretty stormy night. Unfortunately, we’ve also had a pretty hectic week, which has mostly been taken up by sorting out our new laptop. Have you bought a new PC or laptop lately?
We bought ours online at Comets and, true to their word, it arrived last Tuesday morning, which meant, since they would not deliver to an address other than the one at which the payment card was registered, a trip into Harlow, all 240 miles round of it.
I also ordered the new MS Office Home and Student at half price, which is just as well, since I would not have been happy paying full price for this load of rubbish. Unlike the 2003 Professional, which we had on the Acer and which has all the bells and whistles, this version comes with just four programmes, only one of which is of any use to the average Home user and that’s MS Word. The result of this discovery was to uninstall the new one and install 2003 Pro.
The next step was to install all the programmes and documents, and that takes an awful lot of time. I came up against just one serious problem with this and that was my Recipe Book Programme, which is called eBook Starter. Try as I might, despite entering the correct key codes, I could not make it come up as the Pro version, only the Demo, I now await info from the company regarding what the problem may be. I suspect that it is not set up for the new Windows 7, or it just might not recognise the new system onto which I have installed it. I do know that the programme can only be installed on one PC or Laptop, so I will probably need a different key code.
Another wee problem setting up this Toshiba Satellite was with MS Outlook and my Three USB Modem. For a start the laptop was reluctant to open the modem, which was not very helpful, because the Acer was pretty reluctant in this regard either. Anyway, once we got connected, I set up Outlook with the necessary info and, lo and behold, I was unable to send emails. What is more, when I tried to do so with the Acer, that wouldn’t do it either. After going back and forth between laptop without success I telephoned the Three Helpline and, unsurprisingly since it was based at a foreign call centre, I received no practical help whatsoever.
Going back to the drawing board I finally managed to persuade the Acer to send and receive but, as you would expect, the Toshiba would have none of it. Eventually, after much jiggery pokery and shutting down of Tosh, I finally got it to run properly. The result of all this is that we simply will not try sending or receiving emails on the Acer. Not that we need to you understand, but that option is now taboo.
Now, when I’m sitting here first thing in the morning, I usually bring the blog up to date which, as you can see from the delay since the last posting, I have not had time to do. Following on from that I would then play a few games of Mahjong until Wifey surfaces. Sadly my old favourite of MJWIN, which I have been playing since the Big Bang, is not compatible with Windows 7. I have to confess that I was pretty fast on that one, usually finishing in a little under two minutes. The game that comes with Tosh, and there are quite a few in the Games folder, is much more difficult, so lots of practice is called for.
Later on today I will attempt the impossible and post this blog. I say impossible because just lately getting online has not been easy. We are not the only ones to have suffered, so we suspect the company maintaining the servers or transmitters ahave been carrying out maintenance work.
Doggy seems to be off her food again today, but it has nothing to do with the tinned food because she didn’t have that last night. Still, she still has a wet nose and sparkling eyes, so I suppose she just doesn’t need as much food these days. She is, after all, almost 12 years old now.
OK, so, let’s post this blog and wish you all a really good weekend although, judging by the weather forecast, it’s going to be a bit blustery and wet for most of us.
Cheers for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Monday, 26 October 2009
Pillings Lock Marina-Winter 2009/10 Blog#2
Pillings Lock Marina
Winter 2009/10
Blog#2
Well, here we are at the start of our second blog from PLM and it is now almost 3.30 pm on Sunday 11th October 2009. At around 12.30 we popped into Quorn for our usual Sunday tipple and, after picking up the paper, called into The Apples and Pears pub. This place is even smaller than the White Admiral in Harlow, but it is far busier than I’ve ever known the Admiral to be, even on a Sunday. Although quite small it still boasts two bars and, by the time we left at about 1.30, it was really filling up. Anyway, all in all a very friendly pub, which I feel sure we’ll visit again.
We are now looking for alternative places to do our shopping, well, the butchery and bakery stuff anyway, and I’ve just been checking out Melton Mowbray which, as everyone knows, is most famous for its pork pies and we’ve found from their website that they actually have a place called The Olde Pie Shoppe. Hopefully they do other stuff as well, such as Stilton Cheese perhaps. They have market days on Tuesdays and Saturdays, so we’re pretty spoiled for choice.
Tomorrow we’ll probably take another run into Loughborough, because I want to price up the timber I’ll need for Wifey’s plant pots and the stern storage compartments I want to make.
We seem to be surrounded by dog owners on both sides of these moorings, which causes our own pooch to give vent to her displeasure, when they all start sounding off. It’s getting so bad I’m now thinking of fitting her with a Bark Buster. For some reason best known to herself, before Sheila has even put her lead on, she gets all excited and continues to bark until she’s outside the boat but, when I take her she’s as quiet as a mouse, well, almost. It doesn’t seem to matter what Sheila says to her to try and quieten her down, she just keeps it up. Well, I’ve had enough, I’m going to dig out that Bark Buster, which we’ve never even tried on her, and see if we can’t put a stop to her shenanigans, so there!
It is now 4 pm on Wednesday 14th October and I’ve had a really lazy day, which is more than can be said for Wifey, who’s been working like a slave. Well, why keep a dog and bark yourself? She’s been pondering how to clean the windows on the offside; that’s the side nearest open water; and finally, after three years behind the mast, the penny dropped because, all she had to do was remove the bit that opens inwards, when she found she could just about reach all of the lower pane with a bit of a stretch. I don’t think she relished the thought of walking along the gunwale and she didn’t want to ask me to do it which, being the very nice man that I am, I would have agreed to without a murmur.
She has taken down the old curtains and taken them over to the laundry, and she’s replaced them with the pretty, flowery summer ones. Well, she would, wouldn’t she?
As for me, well, I’ve been trying to catch up on the recipe book, which is already well over 300 recipes long and seems to be getting longer by the day. This is because I keep finding more information to add to the thing. Anyway, what started out as a bit of a hobby seems to have taken over since we arrived at the moorings. I now automatically set the laptop up just as soon as I’m dressed in the morning, even before I’ve made our first cup of tea. Now, that’s dedication for you.
Thursday 15th October and the weather is quite miserable today, with drizzly rain and slippery surfaces underfoot. No matter, we’ll simply stay on the boat.
Wifey is, as usual, keeping herself busy, this time she’s giving the brass curtain rails a clean with Brasso. As for myself, I’ve been sat at the laptop for several hours now, partly working on the recipe book and partly checking out e-Bay for a new laptop. I’m torn between a brand new Acer and a refurbished one. Unfortunately, since e-Bay changed the feedback rule so that it is virtually impossible to give BAD feedback, I’m not even sure I want to take the chance. Anyway, when I go over to Harlow next Thursday I can take a look in PC World and all the other stores that sell laptops.
We now have a Box number for our mail so please feel free to drop us a line while we’re here, the number is 45 and the full address is:
Mr. and Mrs. D.J.Chamberlain
Box No. 45
Pillings Lock Marina
Flesh Hovel Lane
Quorn
Leicestershire
LE12 8FE
We look forward to hearing from you.
Today is Saturday 17th October and the weather promises to be fine for the weekend. This is just as well, because we paid a visit to B&Q yesterday and bought the necessary timber and other bits and pieces, with which to make Wifey’s flower boxes. This now means I have to practice some canal type painting, because she’s going to insist on the proper decoration.
Rusty has not been too chipper of late, as I reported a few days ago. It seems to be a tummy problem because, when I offer her her usual snack in the morning, she refuses to eat it and just mopes around. On two occasions she’s woken me up very early, obviously in distress and wanting to be taken out. It’s not that I object to this, but the area of grass used for poohing is a bit far for my dodgy knees to take me, especially first thing in the morning. Also, if the decking is wet, I have to be extra careful.
We are suspicious of the fact, that this problem only seems to show itself after an evening when we’ve given her the juices off our plates, which she has always been treated to since we adopted her. The upshot of this is, that we have now stopped these treats and, hopefully, we’ll have no more of these early walks
The ducks in this marina are very friendly, though not yet hand tame. They obviously recognise a generous human being when they see one, because they have been clustering around our boat ever since we arrived. We even have a regular visit from a young moorhen, who sits on the decking by the galley window waiting for its breakfast. Even as I type this the ducks are nattering amongst themselves outside the hatch. Yesterday, whilst shopping at Morrison’s, we bought a small, white loaf just for feeding these hungry critters.
Ah well, must dash, my fans await!
It is now 6.45 am on Sunday 18th October and we’ve had no sign of winter as yet. I have to say though, I was somewhat disappointed in yesterday, especially after being told, that the whole of the country would be bathed in sunshine. Nothing could have been further from the truth, cloudy all day. I had hoped to be cutting up the timber for the flower boxes but, alas, without a proper work bench or a couple of trestles, it was impossible and I had no intention of doing so inside the boat. Hopefully my dear brother will help me out on Thursday.
Now, I really must dash, because I have a programme to download called Paragon System backup 2010, which promises to take a snapshot of the hard drive.
Thursday 22nd October and I’ll be off to Harlow later this morning. I have lots to do when I get there, including a tour of computers at PC World, because this thing is giving me no end of trouble. After that a couple of things at B&Q and The Range and then, as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve got to check out just how much stuff we left at Alan’s workshop when we bought the boat.
Had a call from my old Air Force pal Alan yesterday, to tell me he and his missus are over from Germany for three weeks, so we have to plan a visit to see them before they go back. I’ve also promised my old and dear friend John Barefoot, that I’ll pay him a visit soon, and he lives in Weston super Mare, and that is about 200 miles away. Mooring here at Pillings Lock and so far away from folks is proving rather expensive.
Fortunately Harlow is only 2 hours away and mostly motorway, whilst Alan Oxley is only about an hour away at Newcastle under Lyme, so those two are not a problem. Last year I was able to visit my brother every other week, but this year I’m reduced to once a month. However, as the local pub has a jamming session on alternate Thursday evenings, that is when I’m visiting. Besides which, when visiting from Bulbourne we would have a couple of drinks at lunchtime, after which I would sit around for a couple of hours before going home. This year I will be staying overnight instead and leaving mid morning, which makes a lot more sense.
Another weekend has arrived and, at 07.00, on Saturday 24th October, it is persisting again. Of course the gardens need it but, I have to say, the canal has plenty. Also it is shopping day and, with the decking a bit like a greasy pole, it will be a hazardous trip just to get to the car. I realise that it would probably add a few thousand pounds to the cost of the build, and that most folks are pretty steady on their feet, come rain or shine, but for those of us who suffer from a bit of old age wobbliness, a coating of non-slip bitumen paint would not have gone amiss. Nuff said!!
Thursday evening in Harlow was a revelation. The Purple Emperor hosted a jam session of musicians and the experience took me back to the days when Joy was running the pub. She had regular, weekly live band nights and hired them at something like £400 a time. But our Martin, who is an ex cabbie and a local man, is just a little bit craftier than most. Instead of paying an agency to book proper bands for the evening, he’s thrown his doors open to musicians who want a place to practice, hence the jamming sessions. This means that the music makers are not having to hire a hall for their sessions and Martin doesn’t have to pay for a band.
O.K. so he doesn’t get a top flight band or duet, but he certainly gets a wide range of talents. For instance, we had the privilege of watching a 14 year old strut his stuff on electric guitar and, for a lad that age, he was absolutely mesmerising. We also had a 17 year old on drums who have done with a solo spot, but didn’t get it. Still, from what I saw of him and the young guitarist, they’ll both make a name for themselves.
I took the timber to Harlow with me and Alan very kindly cut it all to shape for me and now, all I have to do is sand it all down and put it together. Of course my dear Wifey wants a proper paint job, which means at least a few roses in the style of canal craft, and I might even paint a couple of castles on the ends. But first I have to practice the art, and that could take some time and a commodity I’m somewhat short of, and that’s patience. It also means that the recipe book will have to take a back seat for a while. But that is something of a hobby really and is not quite as important. Once the boxes are finished I will try to post a picture of them.
It is now 2.15 pm on Saturday afternoon and we’ve done the shopping but, as we left the car park, I noticed that my brake warning light was flickering. Obviously, not wanting any problems with braking, we consulted the hand book to see what it was trying to tell us. It seemed to be saying that our brake pads had reached a point of wear where they needed to be checked.
So, off we went to do the shopping at Morrisons with the intention of giving our friendly, neighbourhood mechanic a call when we returned. On our way back to the car park at Morrisons we noticed we had a flat tyre and, after trying to pump it up, without success, asked where the nearest tyre repair depot was. Armed with this information we drove off, still on a flat tyre, to a little place next door to Halfords. Sure enough, there on the wall, in plain sight for everyone to see, was a sign assuring everybody who might be interested in this service, that they do indeed carry out tyre repairs. So, we called in to reception and asked if they could help us and, guess what, “Sorry”, said the guy at the counter, “we don’t do tyres”.
Hm! Now what? Well, not wishing to antagonise the bloke, since I needed to know where the next nearest place was, I asked and he pointed us in the right direction. The upshot of all this was that we needed a new tyre, at the princely cost of £55. I asked the manager of this place – Speed Fit – why my brake warning light should be flickering, fully expecting further expense to have it checked out and his reply was that the brake fluid level could be low. Well, once the tyre was fitted and the car was on an even keel, the light went out and so it seems that this light also points to a flat tyre!!
We have just discovered that the Halifax is now going to charge £1 per day if their customers actually have the nerve to use their agreed overdraft. Up until recently the charge was about 1.4% per month, but they now expect you to pay £7 per week. We are now looking for a new bank and so, if any reader can suggest a suitable alternative, we would be very much obliged. We do have an agreed overdraft limit, which we very rarely use, but this is just being greedy. Some banks do charge 50p per day, and that’s bad enough, but £1 is a bit OTT we think.
The problem is that Lloyds TSB actually own the Halifax, and Wifey has an account there, so it won’t be long before they follow suit. Aren’t they wonderful?
Tuesday 27th October 2009 at 06.30 and it looks like being a calm but cloudy day, unlike yesterday which started out quite blustery. As you know, we had promised Carole that, if at all possible, we would meet her at Loughborough in the boat and treat her and Lucia to a short cruise. They would be arriving at the station at about 12.15 and, since it would take at least 1 ½ hours for us to get there, we really couldn’t leave our departure any later than 10.30. By 1o.15 it was still a little blowy, but we decided to risk it.
The point of all the previous palaver was to lead up to an explanation as to why we are reluctant to travel in windy weather. Being moored in a marina does have its compensations but, if it is windy and if, as is aour mooring position, the wind is coming at the boat broadside, it can be pretty difficult to move off because, as you will appreciate, as fast as you push the boat out, the wind pushes it back in. In the event all was well and we did get the boat moving and left at 10.15.
I have to say that our Lucia is quite a charmer but, just like many seven year olds, she does try to push the boundaries as to what is allowed and what is not. However, in her case, these efforts are pretty mild and just add to her charm. Just like her mother and grandmother, Lucia is a vegetarian and so, as you can imagine, we were at a loss as to what to feed them for lunch. As it happens though, there is a pretty good café on site and they do a selection of veggie food. They also do a pretty good curry and a beef stew and dumplings, the first of which I thoroughly enjoyed and the second of which Wifey polished off. I tell you I really don’t know where she puts it all, and all without putting on any extra weight. I suppose it could be something to do with the fact that she takes Rusty for some pretty long walks.
And that, as they say, is that and the end of this blog.
Best wishes to all from,
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
Winter 2009/10
Blog#2
Well, here we are at the start of our second blog from PLM and it is now almost 3.30 pm on Sunday 11th October 2009. At around 12.30 we popped into Quorn for our usual Sunday tipple and, after picking up the paper, called into The Apples and Pears pub. This place is even smaller than the White Admiral in Harlow, but it is far busier than I’ve ever known the Admiral to be, even on a Sunday. Although quite small it still boasts two bars and, by the time we left at about 1.30, it was really filling up. Anyway, all in all a very friendly pub, which I feel sure we’ll visit again.
We are now looking for alternative places to do our shopping, well, the butchery and bakery stuff anyway, and I’ve just been checking out Melton Mowbray which, as everyone knows, is most famous for its pork pies and we’ve found from their website that they actually have a place called The Olde Pie Shoppe. Hopefully they do other stuff as well, such as Stilton Cheese perhaps. They have market days on Tuesdays and Saturdays, so we’re pretty spoiled for choice.
Tomorrow we’ll probably take another run into Loughborough, because I want to price up the timber I’ll need for Wifey’s plant pots and the stern storage compartments I want to make.
We seem to be surrounded by dog owners on both sides of these moorings, which causes our own pooch to give vent to her displeasure, when they all start sounding off. It’s getting so bad I’m now thinking of fitting her with a Bark Buster. For some reason best known to herself, before Sheila has even put her lead on, she gets all excited and continues to bark until she’s outside the boat but, when I take her she’s as quiet as a mouse, well, almost. It doesn’t seem to matter what Sheila says to her to try and quieten her down, she just keeps it up. Well, I’ve had enough, I’m going to dig out that Bark Buster, which we’ve never even tried on her, and see if we can’t put a stop to her shenanigans, so there!
It is now 4 pm on Wednesday 14th October and I’ve had a really lazy day, which is more than can be said for Wifey, who’s been working like a slave. Well, why keep a dog and bark yourself? She’s been pondering how to clean the windows on the offside; that’s the side nearest open water; and finally, after three years behind the mast, the penny dropped because, all she had to do was remove the bit that opens inwards, when she found she could just about reach all of the lower pane with a bit of a stretch. I don’t think she relished the thought of walking along the gunwale and she didn’t want to ask me to do it which, being the very nice man that I am, I would have agreed to without a murmur.
She has taken down the old curtains and taken them over to the laundry, and she’s replaced them with the pretty, flowery summer ones. Well, she would, wouldn’t she?
As for me, well, I’ve been trying to catch up on the recipe book, which is already well over 300 recipes long and seems to be getting longer by the day. This is because I keep finding more information to add to the thing. Anyway, what started out as a bit of a hobby seems to have taken over since we arrived at the moorings. I now automatically set the laptop up just as soon as I’m dressed in the morning, even before I’ve made our first cup of tea. Now, that’s dedication for you.
Thursday 15th October and the weather is quite miserable today, with drizzly rain and slippery surfaces underfoot. No matter, we’ll simply stay on the boat.
Wifey is, as usual, keeping herself busy, this time she’s giving the brass curtain rails a clean with Brasso. As for myself, I’ve been sat at the laptop for several hours now, partly working on the recipe book and partly checking out e-Bay for a new laptop. I’m torn between a brand new Acer and a refurbished one. Unfortunately, since e-Bay changed the feedback rule so that it is virtually impossible to give BAD feedback, I’m not even sure I want to take the chance. Anyway, when I go over to Harlow next Thursday I can take a look in PC World and all the other stores that sell laptops.
We now have a Box number for our mail so please feel free to drop us a line while we’re here, the number is 45 and the full address is:
Mr. and Mrs. D.J.Chamberlain
Box No. 45
Pillings Lock Marina
Flesh Hovel Lane
Quorn
Leicestershire
LE12 8FE
We look forward to hearing from you.
Today is Saturday 17th October and the weather promises to be fine for the weekend. This is just as well, because we paid a visit to B&Q yesterday and bought the necessary timber and other bits and pieces, with which to make Wifey’s flower boxes. This now means I have to practice some canal type painting, because she’s going to insist on the proper decoration.
Rusty has not been too chipper of late, as I reported a few days ago. It seems to be a tummy problem because, when I offer her her usual snack in the morning, she refuses to eat it and just mopes around. On two occasions she’s woken me up very early, obviously in distress and wanting to be taken out. It’s not that I object to this, but the area of grass used for poohing is a bit far for my dodgy knees to take me, especially first thing in the morning. Also, if the decking is wet, I have to be extra careful.
We are suspicious of the fact, that this problem only seems to show itself after an evening when we’ve given her the juices off our plates, which she has always been treated to since we adopted her. The upshot of this is, that we have now stopped these treats and, hopefully, we’ll have no more of these early walks
The ducks in this marina are very friendly, though not yet hand tame. They obviously recognise a generous human being when they see one, because they have been clustering around our boat ever since we arrived. We even have a regular visit from a young moorhen, who sits on the decking by the galley window waiting for its breakfast. Even as I type this the ducks are nattering amongst themselves outside the hatch. Yesterday, whilst shopping at Morrison’s, we bought a small, white loaf just for feeding these hungry critters.
Ah well, must dash, my fans await!
It is now 6.45 am on Sunday 18th October and we’ve had no sign of winter as yet. I have to say though, I was somewhat disappointed in yesterday, especially after being told, that the whole of the country would be bathed in sunshine. Nothing could have been further from the truth, cloudy all day. I had hoped to be cutting up the timber for the flower boxes but, alas, without a proper work bench or a couple of trestles, it was impossible and I had no intention of doing so inside the boat. Hopefully my dear brother will help me out on Thursday.
Now, I really must dash, because I have a programme to download called Paragon System backup 2010, which promises to take a snapshot of the hard drive.
Thursday 22nd October and I’ll be off to Harlow later this morning. I have lots to do when I get there, including a tour of computers at PC World, because this thing is giving me no end of trouble. After that a couple of things at B&Q and The Range and then, as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve got to check out just how much stuff we left at Alan’s workshop when we bought the boat.
Had a call from my old Air Force pal Alan yesterday, to tell me he and his missus are over from Germany for three weeks, so we have to plan a visit to see them before they go back. I’ve also promised my old and dear friend John Barefoot, that I’ll pay him a visit soon, and he lives in Weston super Mare, and that is about 200 miles away. Mooring here at Pillings Lock and so far away from folks is proving rather expensive.
Fortunately Harlow is only 2 hours away and mostly motorway, whilst Alan Oxley is only about an hour away at Newcastle under Lyme, so those two are not a problem. Last year I was able to visit my brother every other week, but this year I’m reduced to once a month. However, as the local pub has a jamming session on alternate Thursday evenings, that is when I’m visiting. Besides which, when visiting from Bulbourne we would have a couple of drinks at lunchtime, after which I would sit around for a couple of hours before going home. This year I will be staying overnight instead and leaving mid morning, which makes a lot more sense.
Another weekend has arrived and, at 07.00, on Saturday 24th October, it is persisting again. Of course the gardens need it but, I have to say, the canal has plenty. Also it is shopping day and, with the decking a bit like a greasy pole, it will be a hazardous trip just to get to the car. I realise that it would probably add a few thousand pounds to the cost of the build, and that most folks are pretty steady on their feet, come rain or shine, but for those of us who suffer from a bit of old age wobbliness, a coating of non-slip bitumen paint would not have gone amiss. Nuff said!!
Thursday evening in Harlow was a revelation. The Purple Emperor hosted a jam session of musicians and the experience took me back to the days when Joy was running the pub. She had regular, weekly live band nights and hired them at something like £400 a time. But our Martin, who is an ex cabbie and a local man, is just a little bit craftier than most. Instead of paying an agency to book proper bands for the evening, he’s thrown his doors open to musicians who want a place to practice, hence the jamming sessions. This means that the music makers are not having to hire a hall for their sessions and Martin doesn’t have to pay for a band.
O.K. so he doesn’t get a top flight band or duet, but he certainly gets a wide range of talents. For instance, we had the privilege of watching a 14 year old strut his stuff on electric guitar and, for a lad that age, he was absolutely mesmerising. We also had a 17 year old on drums who have done with a solo spot, but didn’t get it. Still, from what I saw of him and the young guitarist, they’ll both make a name for themselves.
I took the timber to Harlow with me and Alan very kindly cut it all to shape for me and now, all I have to do is sand it all down and put it together. Of course my dear Wifey wants a proper paint job, which means at least a few roses in the style of canal craft, and I might even paint a couple of castles on the ends. But first I have to practice the art, and that could take some time and a commodity I’m somewhat short of, and that’s patience. It also means that the recipe book will have to take a back seat for a while. But that is something of a hobby really and is not quite as important. Once the boxes are finished I will try to post a picture of them.
It is now 2.15 pm on Saturday afternoon and we’ve done the shopping but, as we left the car park, I noticed that my brake warning light was flickering. Obviously, not wanting any problems with braking, we consulted the hand book to see what it was trying to tell us. It seemed to be saying that our brake pads had reached a point of wear where they needed to be checked.
So, off we went to do the shopping at Morrisons with the intention of giving our friendly, neighbourhood mechanic a call when we returned. On our way back to the car park at Morrisons we noticed we had a flat tyre and, after trying to pump it up, without success, asked where the nearest tyre repair depot was. Armed with this information we drove off, still on a flat tyre, to a little place next door to Halfords. Sure enough, there on the wall, in plain sight for everyone to see, was a sign assuring everybody who might be interested in this service, that they do indeed carry out tyre repairs. So, we called in to reception and asked if they could help us and, guess what, “Sorry”, said the guy at the counter, “we don’t do tyres”.
Hm! Now what? Well, not wishing to antagonise the bloke, since I needed to know where the next nearest place was, I asked and he pointed us in the right direction. The upshot of all this was that we needed a new tyre, at the princely cost of £55. I asked the manager of this place – Speed Fit – why my brake warning light should be flickering, fully expecting further expense to have it checked out and his reply was that the brake fluid level could be low. Well, once the tyre was fitted and the car was on an even keel, the light went out and so it seems that this light also points to a flat tyre!!
We have just discovered that the Halifax is now going to charge £1 per day if their customers actually have the nerve to use their agreed overdraft. Up until recently the charge was about 1.4% per month, but they now expect you to pay £7 per week. We are now looking for a new bank and so, if any reader can suggest a suitable alternative, we would be very much obliged. We do have an agreed overdraft limit, which we very rarely use, but this is just being greedy. Some banks do charge 50p per day, and that’s bad enough, but £1 is a bit OTT we think.
The problem is that Lloyds TSB actually own the Halifax, and Wifey has an account there, so it won’t be long before they follow suit. Aren’t they wonderful?
Tuesday 27th October 2009 at 06.30 and it looks like being a calm but cloudy day, unlike yesterday which started out quite blustery. As you know, we had promised Carole that, if at all possible, we would meet her at Loughborough in the boat and treat her and Lucia to a short cruise. They would be arriving at the station at about 12.15 and, since it would take at least 1 ½ hours for us to get there, we really couldn’t leave our departure any later than 10.30. By 1o.15 it was still a little blowy, but we decided to risk it.
The point of all the previous palaver was to lead up to an explanation as to why we are reluctant to travel in windy weather. Being moored in a marina does have its compensations but, if it is windy and if, as is aour mooring position, the wind is coming at the boat broadside, it can be pretty difficult to move off because, as you will appreciate, as fast as you push the boat out, the wind pushes it back in. In the event all was well and we did get the boat moving and left at 10.15.
I have to say that our Lucia is quite a charmer but, just like many seven year olds, she does try to push the boundaries as to what is allowed and what is not. However, in her case, these efforts are pretty mild and just add to her charm. Just like her mother and grandmother, Lucia is a vegetarian and so, as you can imagine, we were at a loss as to what to feed them for lunch. As it happens though, there is a pretty good café on site and they do a selection of veggie food. They also do a pretty good curry and a beef stew and dumplings, the first of which I thoroughly enjoyed and the second of which Wifey polished off. I tell you I really don’t know where she puts it all, and all without putting on any extra weight. I suppose it could be something to do with the fact that she takes Rusty for some pretty long walks.
And that, as they say, is that and the end of this blog.
Best wishes to all from,
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
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