Hi, on a very bright Sunday morning of August 8th. This will, in all probability, be the final blog from Pillings as we’ll be moving on to Mercia next Thursday or Friday, depending on the weather.
My legs are feeling very much better and I even allowed my good wife to drive me into Quorn yesterday morning. What a treat to be home and to get about again. Mind you I’m not getting a lot of sleep at night, mainly because of the interminable ache in the legs; and neither is Sheila for that matter; and I’m suffering from swollen legs and feet. This latter malady I put down to the painkillers, a problem I had a while ago and managed to almost eliminate by stopping the use of one particular drug. On Wednesday I will be going into Quorn to have my staples removed and will ask Claire our Practice Nurse, if there’s anything that can be done to reduce the swelling. It really is becoming a nuisance and I am still spending more time sleeping in the armchair than in bed.
Tuesday 10th August and what a wet night we had here, cats and dogs does not do it justice, it really pelted down and not for a short shower either.
The week is almost half way through and Brian and Marian will be back on Monday, they are currently enjoying temperatures in the mid 80’s, so they will look more like Greeks than the Greeks when they get back. Following on from their return they will be doing a bit of cruising and then, around the 27th, which is Marian’s birthday, they’ll be stopping by to escort us to Mercia Marina. So it will be goodbye Pillings and hello Mercia.
We are quite looking forward to the move, where we will enjoy full security, a small store and café on site and a chandlery that is open 24/7. Mercia Marina is also somewhat cheaper to moor at, despite its greater size and obvious more expensive upkeep.
Electricity is charged at cost, plus an annual service charge and the mooring fees are considerably less. We will even enjoy a 10% discount at several of the commercial establishments in Willington, the nearby village, which is only a short walk from the marina. Our mail will also be delivered to the store by the local Post Office for about the same as Paul charges here for a Box Number, £5 per month. And they don’t charge more for parcels, whereas a charge of £1 per parcel is now having to be paid here at Pillings.
In addition there are several WiFi posts around the site and so, if reception is poor through the dongle, we can pay the subscription fee of £85 per annum and enjoy speedy Internet access.
We will be moored next door to Brian and Marian, with side hatches facing each other. I have severe reservations about this arrangement because I have visions of Sheila and Marian giggling at each other across the gap like a pair of fish wives. There is also the fact that Marian is well into 60’s music and likes the volume high rather than low. Should be fun!!
Wednesday 11th August and I have to say, what with the much cooler and wetter weather we’ve had of late, it doesn’t seem like high summer. However, even though the sun has yet to rise over the trees by the canal, it looks like a bright start to the day is in the offing.
So there we were yesterday evening, relaxing in front of the telly at about half past eight, when my phone rang. This is not so unusual when you consider Alan, Carole, Barbara and even Brian or Marian, all of whom are apt to call me or Sheila on occasion.
The very last person I would have expected to call was Brian, who is supposed to be enjoying a holiday in Corfu. But, sure enough, that’s who it was. After the usual banter where Brian pretends to be in a pub, knowing full well I was not, I asked what the hell he was doing phoning us from there. It seems that Corfu is about two hours ahead of UK, so they were just getting ready for bed and, since he had nothing better to do, he thought he’d give us a bit of a surprise.
There aren’t too many new and very good friends that would telephone from holiday abroad, most folks would have more sense than to waste their money on such long-distance calls. But that’s Brian and Marian for you, always expect the unexpected from them.
Happily, instead of going off cruising as soon as they get home, they’re going to drop in on us first. Now, that conversation, especially between Sheila and Marian, could take a while.
Sorry to say I had a very uncomfortable night last night, all aches and pains again and I finally went to bed with quite badly swollen calves and feet. This is probably because, having taken a walk out to the car and back, after our trip to Tesco yesterday morning, I didn’t spend any time in a horizontal position, which I should have done on a couple of occasions in order to encourage circulation.
Still, I’m off to have the staples removed this afternoon, so I will be able to ask Claire, the Practice Nurse, if there’s anything to be done about the swelling. It could be that the Co-codomol painkillers are having that effect, in which case I may have to see the doctor with a view to changing them. (Echo! Echo!).
I am really suffering the effects of old age and seem to be repeating myself but, having quickly scanned the earlier pages of this entry, I don’t think I mentioned that I’ll be going in to Glenfields Hospital on Friday for some more physio. Personally I think it’s a little too soon after the op, but they should know best. I also have an appointment with the Surgeon, Mr Power, for Tuesday 14th September to assess my progress.
Sunday 15th August and, although overcast, it has started out as a calm day.
With the lousy weather we’ve had of late, I’ve not been off the boat for two days. Hopefully, if the forecasters are right, it will brighten up later and I will get my Sunday lunchtime drink. Obviously, being somewhat limited in my ability to get about, I didn’t make it last week. And, since they don’t run any kind of pub run from the hospital; more’s the pity; I missed out on the Sunday before, so I have some catching up to do.
I should have paid a visit to Glenfields Hospital on Friday for a physio session. Unfortunately I spent a great deal of Thursday night sitting in the little room. The result of that, and I won’t go into the sordid details, was more problems with the loo.
So, on Friday morning I phoned Chris Williams – the boat safety man – and asked if he knew of anyone who could help, having first discovered that Ashley was away on holiday. He suggested the boatyard at Foxton and an engineer named Sam Matts.
Good old Sam turned up later and fixed the problem and, during our chat over a cuppa, we touched upon the boat safety certificate. According to Chris Williams it is essential to have a cut-off valve between the fuel tank and the heater system. But, on mentioning that Chris had failed our boat for that reason, Sam said he was sure this was not a requirement.
To cut a long story short, he phoned Webasto, the manufacturers of our system and asked them about it. They in turn assured him the valve was not necessary and sent him an email to confirm this, which Sam sent on to me. I am now waiting until tomorrow morning, to phone Chris and ask for our certificate, which he kept until we had rectified the problem.
It’s strange is this, because The New Boat Company, who supplied the boat from new, would surely have included such a valve when they fitted the boat out. Hopefully Chris will check what I tell him and issue us with our certificate, saving us a few quid in the process. We don’t want to upset the man, because he carried out a couple of small jobs for us, also to do with boat safety, without charging us extra.
Monday 16th August and, although it started out as a fine and sunny morning, it is now, at 07.00 and heavily overcast. Not to worry though because, apart from a visit to the local quack followed by a bit of shopping, we have no plans for anywhere exciting to visit.
To the doctors this morning because I really must try to find a way to reduce the swelling in my calves and feet, some evenings the situation is almost unbearable and I simply don’t know what to do to enjoy a bit of comfort. Aaah!!
I have no doubt that, if Brian has his mobile with him, he’ll give us a bell from the airport when they land. If not, then it won’t be long after they get back to Mercia.
Now, as we have less than a fortnight to go before we leave for Mercia Marina, I will keep this blog going for another week or so. Of course, this means it may be rather long and so it will give you all something to keep you busy for a while.
Tuesday 17th August and the sun is taking much longer to rise these days. Pretty soon I’ll be getting up in total darkness.
I phoned Chris Williams about the shut-off valve for the heater system and he promised to look into it. He phoned Webasto and received the same info as I did but, on checking with the boat safety people was informed that the valve is necessary. So, we’ll be trundling off to Sileby Marina to pick one up. Since I’ll find it rather difficult to climb down into the engine bay, our other neighbour Clive has offered to do the honours.
Brian eventually phoned yesterday evening to say they would be paying us a visit today at around lunchtime.
Thursday 19th August and yesterday marked the fourth week since the op. I though Tuesday night was bad in terms of aches and pains keeping me awake, but last night now has that honour. It seems that the discomfort pops up in different parts of my legs every night and last night was the turn of my right foot to show its displeasure. I think I managed about three hours in the armchair and have dozed in bed since then. It is now just gone 05.00 and I’m tapping away at this thing when I should still be asleep. I suppose I must have tossed and turned for about another three hours in bed, so Wifey didn’t get much sleep either. It was unlike her to doze off in the armchair yesterday evening whilst watching telly, but that’s what she did.
Anyway, Brian and Marian finally turned up yesterday afternoon, having first to get his new car checked over. Upon their arrival at the airport the car wouldn’t start due to a flat battery. They then discovered the exhaust was blowing and had to stop off to get that checked. Naturally our pair of reprobates arrived bearing gifts; a T-shirt for me and a mug for Sheila; as if we don’t already have enough mugs on the boat, and I don’t mean us two.
My T-shirt reads ‘Not a day goes by without me meeting someone to p… me off’. And the mug for Sheila? When she removed the tissue paper inside, she was faced with a rather beautifully crafted phallus. Hmmm! Typically Greek I suppose and an indication as to the state of mind of our new friends.
Friday 20th August and we’ve just suffered another night of rain. We are supposed to be moving the boat to Mercia Marina next Thursday/Friday but, if we get much more of this, the Soar will be in flood and we’ll be stuck somewhere along the canal. We will still have to go though, because we have now cancelled our Standing Order for this place. Hallelujah!!
Today, just for a change, we’re going to Morrison’s to shop. We haven’t been there for several weeks now, but we do need petrol and they are the cheapest around. I don’t know that I’ll be able to walk round the store with Wifey, so I’ll probably have to sit in the car. Still, with me out of the way she probably won’t spend as much.
Ivan came to the rescue yesterday and fitted our shut-off valve to the diesel line that feeds the heater. We timed him and it took him about seven minutes. He also gave us his opinion as to why Chris Williams has insisted on one being fitted.
Apparently the Webasto heating system was designed for trucks, where the fuel supply would be drawn from the top of the tank. Therefore, if a fracture occurred in the feed line the system would automatically shut itself off and any fuel in the pipe would siphon back into the tank.
This is not the case with the boat, because the fuel pipe comes horizontally from near the top of the tank and, should a fracture occur, all the fuel in the tank above the pipe would dribble out into the engine bay. So, why didn’t Chris tell us that?
Saturday 21st August and yet more rain is falling. Will it never end?
Eight pages later and I think it’s time I posted this blog. Ooops, and sorry, Internet access is a bit slow today, so this posting will have to wait.
Monday 23rd August and yet more rain, absolutely chucked it down last night and has been raining on and off for most of today.
I have now decided to wait until Wednesday or Thursday before posting this blog. Well, hell, that’s only a couple of days away, so there seems no point posting just yet and besides, I still have a bit to say about this place.
You will notice dear reader, that I have refrained from mentioning anything to do with this marina. There’s a very good reason for this, I simply can’t be bothered and the situation is becoming rather boring. So, instead of a 15 page blog, it will now boil down to 10 or 11 pages.
So, all we’re waiting for is to get my appointment with the Physiotherapists out of the way on Wednesday and, assuming it’s not pouring with rain again and the river is not in flood, we’ll be out of her in the afternoon. With luck and a following wind we’ll be miles away from here come tea time. The only time we’ll have to come back is for the car and any mail.
Tuesday 24th August and, with a little luck, our final full day here. Tomorrow, after seeing the physios and, if it is a fine enough day, we will, at long last, be making our way to Mercia Marina. I know I keep harping on about this and I’m sure you are all bored to bits, but the mere thought of getting away from here and the atmosphere is enough to put a big cheesy grin on my face.
Unfortunately I don’t think the physio is going to be too pleased with my progress. Sadly, because of the swollen calves and feet, I am unable to progress through the exercises they gave me and my movements are somewhat restricted. Perhaps they can come up with an answer to this problem, I don’t think that one water tablet a day is doing much to alleviate the problem.
Before going on holiday Marian gave me a small bowl to paint for her. Now, as much as I would like to have done this in time for her birthday, with all the painkillers I’m taking my hands are just not steady enough. There are other items I want to paint also, but they too will have to wait until I lose the dt’s.
Tomorrow, whatever happens, I will be posting this blog, the longest one yet.
3pm the same day.
Sheila and I have decided to move the car to Mercia tomorrow, immediately after my physio session, we just don’t feel safe leaving it here. To this end Brian will be fetching us back from Mercia and, assuming the weather is fine and not blowing a gale, we will be on our way and thank goodness for that.
Wednesday 25th August. This is it folks, the last day but one at Pillings Lock Marina.
My main objective today is to satisfy the Physiotherapist about my progress. The only problem with this objective is the fact that my legs are still swollen and are therefore impeding that progress. As a result of this swelling I am unable to carry out some of the exercises I have been told to do. No matter, all will be well eventually.
This morning before we go off to the hospital, we will need to turn the boat around so as to make easy our escape on Thursday morning. Yesterday was far too windy for us to carry out that manoeuvre but, as it is calm right now, I am hopeful it will stay that way until later this morning.
Tomorrow morning we will take the car to Mercia Marina, as early as possible so as to avoid heavy traffic. We had intended doing so later today, but the timing would have made it difficult for Brian to get to work on time. He will bring us back here and we will then be on our way, never to return. All that will be left to do then is pay for the last pump-out. However, rather than go through the niceties of a farewell chat with Paul and his staff, we have decided to put the cash and invoice in an envelope with a covering letter.
Thursday 26th August and despite the overnight rain, once we have taken the car to Mercia we will be on our way. If the river is in flood we’ll spend a few days moored up at whatever place we reach and we’ll decide with Brian and Marian, what to de next. It is still raining now and I rather think the river Soar at least will be a little high. We’ll either have to leave our departure until later today, or even tomorrow morning and, if we do that we’ll miss Marian’s birthday.
Not to worry, I will now try to post this and, if necessary, text everybody concerned as to what’s happening.
Cheers for now.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Friday, 6 August 2010
Pillings Lock Marina 2010 #14
Tuesday 20th July and I now have just eight days to go before my knee operations.
Just recently, when people ask about the op, some seem to think I am being pretty brave in having both knees replaced at the same time. Nothing could be further from the truth because, being the coward that I am, I can see no advantage in suffering the after effects of the operation, on two separate occasions. Believe me, having had one knee sorted out, I would be pretty reluctant to go back for more.
Yesterday I took our friend Brian up to Huddersfield to collect a car that he had bought through eBay. Personally I would rather go through a dealer than travel over 100 miles at the behest of an eBay trader. In this instance though, Brian seems to have struck lucky. The car he bought was an ‘R’ registration Renault Scenic, although the back plate said Megane. Apart from a few light scratches to the bodywork, the £500 he paid looked to be money well spent.
I expected to travel about 90 miles each way, which is why I agreed to go. Unfortunately and unbeknown to me, the car was in Linthwaite and so the total round trip was just under 230 miles. What a day! The only saving grace was the climate control in the 147, otherwise I would probably have been even more cream-crackered than I was.
Wifey is out with Marian again today and they have gone to Derby. I don’t expect to see her now until about five or six o/clock.
Monday 26th July and just two days to go for the op. Wifey is out with Marian today instead of her normal Tuesday. This is because she feels she should be here with me on Tuesday to help prepare all the stuff I need to take to hospital with me on Wednesday morning.
Amongst other things; which do not include the laptop; I shall be taking a small notebook, into which I intend to enter all the nice and nasty happenings. As soon as I am able after arriving home; Saturday, I hope; I shall bring this offering up to date and post it, along with all the gory details.
I am assuming of course, that I actually live through the experience. Of course, if you are reading this scribe then I obviously satisfied the Powers that Be that I am worth keeping on this planet for a while longer. Do they not know what a pain in the ‘arris I can be?
On Tuesday evening, before retiring to bed and on the orders of the hospital hierarchy, I am to take a shower – a strip-wash will have to suffice here I’m afraid - using their special soapy liquid and I am to also wash my hair with said liquid. I can follow this with my own shampoo if I so wish but, since I would only normally was my hair once in any given day, I think I’ll skip the shampoo bit. And besides, I really don’t have much hair left to bother with. No self-respecting bug would even dream of taking up residence there.
On Wednesday morning, immediately upon climbing out of my pit, I am supposed to repeat the above procedure. I shall of course endeavour to do so but, at 05.30 I’m none too sure that I’ll be up to the job, I do have to be at the hospital by 07.30 you know. I understand perfectly the hospital’s need to ensure that the nasty bug they call MRSA does not find its way into the hospital, but they may as well pass all their in patients through a sheep dip immediately upon arrival, thus saving everybody a whole lot of time.
So, for now, I will draw this feeble attempt at levity to a close and look forward to completing and posting this latest blog.
Tuesday 3rd August and I am finally home from the meat-grinding factory, a not very comfortable experience. People have said to me, on a number of occasions, what a brave fellow I am to have a bi-lateral knee replacement. Such is not really the case. Even had I known that the anaesthetist was going to make a hash of fitting of the epidural, I would still have had both knees done at the same time. I really could see no good reason to endure this amount of pain a second time; once was enough for me, thank you very much.
The epidural is an injection that goes into the spinal column and deadens all of the body below the waist, that’s assuming it is placed in precisely the correct position. Any deviation, as I found to my cost, means that one side of the lower body comes awake much earlier than the other. In my case this was the left leg, which soon made me aware of its existence.
After much dithering and farting about, it was decided that perhaps the epidural should be re-positioned, which gave almost immediate relief from the pain. Sadly this did not last very long and the darn thing had to be removed, at which time they then tried regular injections through a vein in the arm, which only added to my distress because, each time an injection was made, back came the shrieking pain. Finally, at great cost my well-being, they decided to give me oral morphine, which seemed to – almost- do the trick. Whilst the right leg was still well and truly dead, I could still feel a nagging ache in the left, but life was a little better.
Glenfields Hospital in Leicester boasts a second-to-none reputation with regards to MRSA and other such bugs so, why did they single me out for a urine infection? They hadn’t done enough damage already? Yaveh! Sheila, poor lass, will attest to my rantings and ravings whilst this infection took hold, because she was sitting by my side at the time. It didn’t take them long to recognise the symptoms and take prompt action, but one’s body can only be subjected to so much bouncing around like a demented grasshopper, before it gives up and goes bye bye. So, more intra venal injections, this time with some serious antibiotics.
These ‘minor’ setbacks cost me an extra two days in hospital, but I have to praise the dedication of the doctors and nurses at Glenfields, without which I would not be hobbling around on crutches.
I kept a sort of diary whilst I was in there, which I will try to sort out at a later date. Meanwhile I really think I should tell you about the after effects of the op.
Initially getting out of bed is a triumph of ambition over reason, after all those nasty men with scalpels, hammers and chisels, had been mauling my legs about for about 3½ hours. The resultant damage to muscles and ligaments made everything associated with my knees somewhat fragile and unable to do what they were made for. However, with some assistance from the aforementioned nurses, I made it to the edge of the bed and the awaiting transport, which came in the shape of a wheeled zimmer frame, a wonderful contraption that eventually saw me shuffling along to the bathroom at breakneck speed.
After this came the crutches, a much preferred form of transport, albeit not much faster and the physiotherapists, in their infinite wisdom, eventually had me traipsing around corridors and giving me exercises designed to strengthen the muscles. I did so well, or so they tell me, at this particular routine, that I was allowed home yesterday afternoon. Having said that, I do believe there was a certain amount of reluctance to do so, because I heard murmurings to that effect, and they were not too far from my ears. But, I was having none of it and insisted that ‘today’s the day’, I’m going home and home is where I am at. I now have a regular exercise regime to follow, which should see me walking without crutches, within the next six to eight weeks.
Incidentally, I now have a very pretty row of staples running vertically up both knees, which are due to be removed on Wednesday 11th August, just two weeks after the op. By the looks of it I will be left with a rather jagged scar, but looks can be deceiving, can’t they? And anyway, who’s going to be looking at my ancient knees?
Looking on the bright side, we’re due to move to Mercia Marina at the end of the month, which we will do with the help of our very good friends, Brian and Marian and Clive. Even more so are we anticipating the pleasures of once again cruising the waterways next summer. Bring it on!
Wednesday 4th August and my legs are so painful that I am still unable to perform even the most gentle of exercises. This doesn’t mean I can’t get around the boat, it just means I am delaying the stretching of muscles until the pain has lessened somewhat.
Sleeping is problem right now. I am only allowed a certain amount of painkillers, and they don’t really alleviate the aches in my knees, especially on top where the scars are. I therefore find I am spending an hour or so in bed, followed by a similar period in the armchair. I toss and turn so much in bed, that I’m sure Sheila isn’t getting much sleep. But, she’s a game lass and will soldier on until I’m well enough to make the tea and do the breakfast and lunch. At which point she will probably collapse from exhaustion.
Our good friends Marian and Brian are off to Corfu for 10 days on Friday morning. When they return they then plan some cruising, part of which will bring them to this marina; somewhere around Marian’s birthday; when they will escort us to Mercia. Along the way we’ll celebrate the birthday girl with a bar-b-q along the towpath. I’m quite looking forward to that and am hoping I am able to move about more, without the aches and pains.
Friday 6th August and enough of the mundane details re my operation, after four days of being home and spending a few sleepless nights, I now feel almost human. Last night, for the first time since Monday, I actually spent more time in bed than in the armchair, so things must be improving. The discomfort in my left leg, which has been giving me trouble since day one, seems to be easing off now although, being woken up by our pooch just as I’m dozing off, can be something of a nuisance, as I’m sure you can imagine.
Before leaving the subject and before I forget, I would like to thank all of you who enquired after my state of health. Much appreciated.
Wifey has been across to pay for our pump-out of yesterday. Upon her return she informed me, that our MD, Paul Lilley, is, apparently, pretty upset at some of the comments I’ve made about him and the marina in this blog.
I have, as you all know, been writing this blog since way back in September ’09 and, although it is a public blog, it really is intended for just immediate friends and family, that’s you lot. What I hadn’t envisage was that Paul carries out the occasional search of the Internet looking for any other info – good or bad – which refers to Pillings Lock Marina and, because my blog is actually entitled Pillings Lock Marina 2010, he found it and took immediate offence.
Knowing me as you do, you will not be surprised to note, that further comments regarding this marina will be included in the next blog. Unfortunately, with Brian and Marian away in Corfu for 10 days, I have no immediate way of confirming a particular piece of information, and so it will have to wait until their return. However, being a fair minded individual, and having looked back through all 14 blogs, I will be itemising good and bad points about this place that have come to my attention over the past 11 months.
Mr Lilley will be surprised to note, that those comments even out pretty well into good and not so good. I am, as I said, a fair minded man.
All for now folks
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Just recently, when people ask about the op, some seem to think I am being pretty brave in having both knees replaced at the same time. Nothing could be further from the truth because, being the coward that I am, I can see no advantage in suffering the after effects of the operation, on two separate occasions. Believe me, having had one knee sorted out, I would be pretty reluctant to go back for more.
Yesterday I took our friend Brian up to Huddersfield to collect a car that he had bought through eBay. Personally I would rather go through a dealer than travel over 100 miles at the behest of an eBay trader. In this instance though, Brian seems to have struck lucky. The car he bought was an ‘R’ registration Renault Scenic, although the back plate said Megane. Apart from a few light scratches to the bodywork, the £500 he paid looked to be money well spent.
I expected to travel about 90 miles each way, which is why I agreed to go. Unfortunately and unbeknown to me, the car was in Linthwaite and so the total round trip was just under 230 miles. What a day! The only saving grace was the climate control in the 147, otherwise I would probably have been even more cream-crackered than I was.
Wifey is out with Marian again today and they have gone to Derby. I don’t expect to see her now until about five or six o/clock.
Monday 26th July and just two days to go for the op. Wifey is out with Marian today instead of her normal Tuesday. This is because she feels she should be here with me on Tuesday to help prepare all the stuff I need to take to hospital with me on Wednesday morning.
Amongst other things; which do not include the laptop; I shall be taking a small notebook, into which I intend to enter all the nice and nasty happenings. As soon as I am able after arriving home; Saturday, I hope; I shall bring this offering up to date and post it, along with all the gory details.
I am assuming of course, that I actually live through the experience. Of course, if you are reading this scribe then I obviously satisfied the Powers that Be that I am worth keeping on this planet for a while longer. Do they not know what a pain in the ‘arris I can be?
On Tuesday evening, before retiring to bed and on the orders of the hospital hierarchy, I am to take a shower – a strip-wash will have to suffice here I’m afraid - using their special soapy liquid and I am to also wash my hair with said liquid. I can follow this with my own shampoo if I so wish but, since I would only normally was my hair once in any given day, I think I’ll skip the shampoo bit. And besides, I really don’t have much hair left to bother with. No self-respecting bug would even dream of taking up residence there.
On Wednesday morning, immediately upon climbing out of my pit, I am supposed to repeat the above procedure. I shall of course endeavour to do so but, at 05.30 I’m none too sure that I’ll be up to the job, I do have to be at the hospital by 07.30 you know. I understand perfectly the hospital’s need to ensure that the nasty bug they call MRSA does not find its way into the hospital, but they may as well pass all their in patients through a sheep dip immediately upon arrival, thus saving everybody a whole lot of time.
So, for now, I will draw this feeble attempt at levity to a close and look forward to completing and posting this latest blog.
Tuesday 3rd August and I am finally home from the meat-grinding factory, a not very comfortable experience. People have said to me, on a number of occasions, what a brave fellow I am to have a bi-lateral knee replacement. Such is not really the case. Even had I known that the anaesthetist was going to make a hash of fitting of the epidural, I would still have had both knees done at the same time. I really could see no good reason to endure this amount of pain a second time; once was enough for me, thank you very much.
The epidural is an injection that goes into the spinal column and deadens all of the body below the waist, that’s assuming it is placed in precisely the correct position. Any deviation, as I found to my cost, means that one side of the lower body comes awake much earlier than the other. In my case this was the left leg, which soon made me aware of its existence.
After much dithering and farting about, it was decided that perhaps the epidural should be re-positioned, which gave almost immediate relief from the pain. Sadly this did not last very long and the darn thing had to be removed, at which time they then tried regular injections through a vein in the arm, which only added to my distress because, each time an injection was made, back came the shrieking pain. Finally, at great cost my well-being, they decided to give me oral morphine, which seemed to – almost- do the trick. Whilst the right leg was still well and truly dead, I could still feel a nagging ache in the left, but life was a little better.
Glenfields Hospital in Leicester boasts a second-to-none reputation with regards to MRSA and other such bugs so, why did they single me out for a urine infection? They hadn’t done enough damage already? Yaveh! Sheila, poor lass, will attest to my rantings and ravings whilst this infection took hold, because she was sitting by my side at the time. It didn’t take them long to recognise the symptoms and take prompt action, but one’s body can only be subjected to so much bouncing around like a demented grasshopper, before it gives up and goes bye bye. So, more intra venal injections, this time with some serious antibiotics.
These ‘minor’ setbacks cost me an extra two days in hospital, but I have to praise the dedication of the doctors and nurses at Glenfields, without which I would not be hobbling around on crutches.
I kept a sort of diary whilst I was in there, which I will try to sort out at a later date. Meanwhile I really think I should tell you about the after effects of the op.
Initially getting out of bed is a triumph of ambition over reason, after all those nasty men with scalpels, hammers and chisels, had been mauling my legs about for about 3½ hours. The resultant damage to muscles and ligaments made everything associated with my knees somewhat fragile and unable to do what they were made for. However, with some assistance from the aforementioned nurses, I made it to the edge of the bed and the awaiting transport, which came in the shape of a wheeled zimmer frame, a wonderful contraption that eventually saw me shuffling along to the bathroom at breakneck speed.
After this came the crutches, a much preferred form of transport, albeit not much faster and the physiotherapists, in their infinite wisdom, eventually had me traipsing around corridors and giving me exercises designed to strengthen the muscles. I did so well, or so they tell me, at this particular routine, that I was allowed home yesterday afternoon. Having said that, I do believe there was a certain amount of reluctance to do so, because I heard murmurings to that effect, and they were not too far from my ears. But, I was having none of it and insisted that ‘today’s the day’, I’m going home and home is where I am at. I now have a regular exercise regime to follow, which should see me walking without crutches, within the next six to eight weeks.
Incidentally, I now have a very pretty row of staples running vertically up both knees, which are due to be removed on Wednesday 11th August, just two weeks after the op. By the looks of it I will be left with a rather jagged scar, but looks can be deceiving, can’t they? And anyway, who’s going to be looking at my ancient knees?
Looking on the bright side, we’re due to move to Mercia Marina at the end of the month, which we will do with the help of our very good friends, Brian and Marian and Clive. Even more so are we anticipating the pleasures of once again cruising the waterways next summer. Bring it on!
Wednesday 4th August and my legs are so painful that I am still unable to perform even the most gentle of exercises. This doesn’t mean I can’t get around the boat, it just means I am delaying the stretching of muscles until the pain has lessened somewhat.
Sleeping is problem right now. I am only allowed a certain amount of painkillers, and they don’t really alleviate the aches in my knees, especially on top where the scars are. I therefore find I am spending an hour or so in bed, followed by a similar period in the armchair. I toss and turn so much in bed, that I’m sure Sheila isn’t getting much sleep. But, she’s a game lass and will soldier on until I’m well enough to make the tea and do the breakfast and lunch. At which point she will probably collapse from exhaustion.
Our good friends Marian and Brian are off to Corfu for 10 days on Friday morning. When they return they then plan some cruising, part of which will bring them to this marina; somewhere around Marian’s birthday; when they will escort us to Mercia. Along the way we’ll celebrate the birthday girl with a bar-b-q along the towpath. I’m quite looking forward to that and am hoping I am able to move about more, without the aches and pains.
Friday 6th August and enough of the mundane details re my operation, after four days of being home and spending a few sleepless nights, I now feel almost human. Last night, for the first time since Monday, I actually spent more time in bed than in the armchair, so things must be improving. The discomfort in my left leg, which has been giving me trouble since day one, seems to be easing off now although, being woken up by our pooch just as I’m dozing off, can be something of a nuisance, as I’m sure you can imagine.
Before leaving the subject and before I forget, I would like to thank all of you who enquired after my state of health. Much appreciated.
Wifey has been across to pay for our pump-out of yesterday. Upon her return she informed me, that our MD, Paul Lilley, is, apparently, pretty upset at some of the comments I’ve made about him and the marina in this blog.
I have, as you all know, been writing this blog since way back in September ’09 and, although it is a public blog, it really is intended for just immediate friends and family, that’s you lot. What I hadn’t envisage was that Paul carries out the occasional search of the Internet looking for any other info – good or bad – which refers to Pillings Lock Marina and, because my blog is actually entitled Pillings Lock Marina 2010, he found it and took immediate offence.
Knowing me as you do, you will not be surprised to note, that further comments regarding this marina will be included in the next blog. Unfortunately, with Brian and Marian away in Corfu for 10 days, I have no immediate way of confirming a particular piece of information, and so it will have to wait until their return. However, being a fair minded individual, and having looked back through all 14 blogs, I will be itemising good and bad points about this place that have come to my attention over the past 11 months.
Mr Lilley will be surprised to note, that those comments even out pretty well into good and not so good. I am, as I said, a fair minded man.
All for now folks
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Pillings Lock 2010 #13
Friday 2nd July and I am waiting for Wifey to rise from the pit, so that we can decide if we want to return to Zouch Lock today. If we don’t go this morning, we are left with less time to get Clive back to the marina, he has college on Mondays. Also, if we don’t go this morning, there’s always the chance that, after all the gorgeous weather we’ve had lately, we’ll be faced with torrential rain and be locked in with the floods. One never knows, does one? The wind is coming at us broadsides on, so we’ll not find it easy turning the boat around. Won’t that be a jolly wheeze?
Saturday 3rd July and we overnighted at the top of Zouche Lock, where there is a pub called The Rose and Crown. When we arrived yesterday morning it was still warm and sunny, although it started off with quite a stiff breeze and just a smattering of rain.
Along with our travelling companion Clive, we enjoyed a light, lunchtime snack and a couple of beers. Sadly, we couldn’t moor up as close to the pub as I would have liked, and so the walk for me was very slow and rather painful. But, we can’t allow a little discomfiture to stand in the way of a liquid lunch, now can we.
For the rest of the day we simply chilled out on our respective boats.
Today we’ll be off back to Pillings Lock Marina.
Tuesday 6th July and only 22 days to my knee op, which I am rather looking forward to, well, not the operation itself and the discomfort afterwards, but having the knees done and being able to walk properly again. Having missed the opportunity the last time we were moored at Tring, which was back at the end of 2008, it’s been a long time coming.
Today Wifey will be off to Derby to meet up with Marian for their usual girls day out. I don’t suppose they’ll be doing so quite as often as before, but it won’t be long before we are also at Mercia when they’ll be able to make it a weekly trip again. No doubt they’ll also walk into Willington on occasion, and that only takes about 30 minutes, so I dare say Sheila and I will do so on Sundays.
The village has three pubs to choose from and, being moored at the marina, we also have discount cards for some of the shops and one of the pubs. Had it not been for my pending operation we would have joined the happy couple when they went on Wednesday. The really good thing about Mercia is that the pontoons are all boat length, unlike these at Pillings where they are only about 1/3rd the length. This means we will have the full length of the boat against the pontoon and, as a result, we can point the boat nose in or tail in and climb on and off at either end.
Yesterday evening our Ashley came along to take a look at what is causing our toilet to need more than one flush. When he took it apart at the back where all the gubbings are, he found the outlet pipe to be badly restricted and the flapper valve to be almost useless. It is quite probable that the pipe to the tank is also somewhat restricted, so we’ve asked him to replace that too, which he will do on Thursday afternoon.
His attempts at clearing the build up of deposits in the short pipe and valve came to nought yesterday, but it has made a small difference. Still, that toilet has been in constant use for almost four years, so it is not surprising it needs a decoke.
The alternative, according to the manufacturers of this abomination, would have been to detach the outlet pipe at the far end and pour in some descaler, leave the fluid in the pipe for at least 24 hours, then refit the pipe and flush it through, with no guarantee it would solve the problem. Having Ashley come by and do a proper job was by far the better option. Unfortunately this means another £135 outlay for repairs that really shouldn’t be necessary.
Ashley tells us that it is most unusual to find such restrictions and deposits in canal boats, although it is far more common in sea going craft. Presumably if the crew of a boat at sea were to find the toilet impossible to use, they would do a moony over the side!! Watch out for hungry sharks, eh?
Thursday 8th July.
Yesterday we met up with Alan Oxley and his wife Chris. We picked them up at the station in Loughborough, dropped them off at their B&B and brought them back to the boat. After a bit of a chat we took them off for a pub lunch at the Quorndon Fox, our Sunday watering-hole. After that we returned to the boat for even more chat, Wifey took Rusty out for a long walk with Chris then, after more tea and coffee and even more chat, we returned them to their B&B.
Today, after they get thrown out of their accommodation, we’ll pick them up and, quite probably take them to the local Railway Museum, which happens to be just around the corner to the B&B. After that, probably lunch and back to the boat for – you guessed it – more chat and tea and coffee. But, we’ll see them off about 4 pm ‘cos Ashley is coming to repair the loo.
Saturday 10th July.
Happily for me the weather up here is a wee bit cooler than down south, a fact that I am very grateful for.
Wifey has walked into Loughborough this morning, thus saving me a sweaty drive into Quorn. Some weeks ago, on a really hot day, she walked into town with Marion and, on the way back, she came over all peculiar, which she put down to a touch of sunstroke. Hopefully, with it being a cooler start to the day, she won’t have a repeat upset. On that occasion she was fortunate to meet up with some boaters returning to the marina, who very kindly gave them a lift. Good hearts we boaters, for the most part.
Well, only another 18 days to my op, before which I must but a pair of jim-jams. I can’t say I’m looking forward to the op itself, but at least I won’t know much about it. The recovery period is an even worse prospect, ‘cos I do not have a very high pain threshold and, having read the hospital leaflets about pain control, I don’t think this period will be too pleasant.
I should be in hospital for three nights and four days, so should be home Saturday. They get you out of bed within about 12 hours after the op, and they have you walking about pretty quickly. There is also quite a bit of physio during my stay and they don’t let you go home until they are confident you can cope.
Now, in my case this involves just three steps at the back of the boat and, since the hatch slides forward, climbing in and out should not present a problem. Besides which we have a few friends at the marina, so if I need any help it’s always to hand.
We had a good two days with Alan and Chris, which we hope to repeat in October, by which time I should be much more mobile and will be able to do a lot more walking. I’m hoping they will take us to see the Spitfire that used to stand at the gates to Benson airfield when I was there in the late 60’s. Hanged if I can remember where it is now, because I really do have a lousy memory these days. But, when Alan mentioned folks we knew at Benson, they came clearly to mind. I must have some weird filing system in my head, it certainly won’t open up when I need it.
My brother Alan, and his wife Val, went up to Yarmouth yesterday with the intention of taking a pre-booked balloon flight. They spent the night in their hotel, only to be told the flight had been cancelled. Big disappointment there, but at least they get a break from routine. Now they can look forward to another break when they re-book the flight again.
Monday 12th July and, after a dry but murky start, we have at last had some rain.
After repeated requests from Glo to have the recipe book turned into a physical entity, which I am unable to afford at present, I have been working on a .pdf version. I don’t know how many of you, to whom I gave a copy on CD, have actually tried any of the recipes but, if you would also like a copy in the new format, please let me know and I will email it to you.
Having spent goodness knows how much on our pesky car, only to have it start misbehaving again, we have decided to trade it in for a newer one. As much as we would like a more recent model, we are settling on a 2002 Alfa 147 which, I have been assured by the dealer, has full service history and, very importantly, has had a recent cam-belt change. Assuming it is still at the car lot on Wednesday we will be popping along for a test drive.
When Ashley came by to repair our loo last week, he extended the outlet pipe by a couple of inches. This does not appear to have been a good idea, because we now find we are having to flush more than once most of the time. He’s coming along again tomorrow evening to chop a bit out of the pipe. Hopefully this will solve the problem. It’s true what other boaters tell you, despite living expenses being fairly modest, a boat is just a big, deep hole, into which you keep pouring money.
Tomorrow, Wifey will be meeting up with Marian in Derby again. I really do think those two should get wed!!
Friday 16th July and we are now the proud owners of a 2002 Alfa Romeo 147, 1.6 litre. We finally took the plunge and gave the car a run on Wednesday and found it to be OK. Only one snag, it has been moaning at me about the number plate light being out. I get this continuous buzzer sounding for several seconds, and then it goes off. A few minutes later it goes off again and so on ad nauseum. All we have to do now is find out how to put a new one in. But, for all that, it’s a damn fine car and we got a good deal on the old one.
Only 12 days to go and I’ll be under the knife and, hopefully, free of all this discomfort.
I had hoped to post this today but, around this area the kids are off school now and the Internet is very slow. Will try again early tomorrow morning when the little blisters are still in bed.
Saturday 17th July and, prior to dropping Wifey off at Quorn to catch the bus into Loughborough, we checked the number plate light and found the bulb to be just a wee bit loose, so that’s OK then! She is going into town to buy some material for Mario; she and Brian are coming over tomorrow to join us for a Sunday drink; and to find a crocheting pattern for some narrow, strip curtains.
Apparently there is a woman at Mercia, who makes these things and sells them to other boaters. They are just a few inches wide and include the name of the boat. Rather than buy them and, since she has done quite a bit of crocheting in the past, my better half has decide to take it up again and make her own. Should keep her quiet for a few hours!
This recipe book seems to be never ending because, whenever I look up recipe sites I always seem to find some that I don’t already have. The ‘finished’ article, now in .pdf format, is almost 450 pages long, the first 17 of which are taken up with the usual Intro page and Table of Contents. Fart too big, I feel, to be put up for sale as a single item.
So, I now intend to make a concerted effort, before going in for my op, to find as many more recipes as I can then, when I am home again, turn the whole lot into two volumes, which is probably what I should have done in the first place. I really had no idea there would be so many English recipes out there. After that, I suppose I’d better have a go at the other British stuff.
We have now decided to move our boat, and ourselves of course, to Mercia Marina at the end of August. By then, I hope, I should be mobile enough to steer the boat whilst Wifey, bless her, gets on with the locks. Brian and Marian will be on holiday then and have promised to help out. They’ll come over in their boat and accompany us back to Mercia and help with the locks. Hopefully we’ll be able to take our time and hang the journey out for a week.
O.K. With seven pages done I think it’s time to post this latest scribe. Of course, it being Saturday, it may not be possible, but I’ll give it a try.
The next offering will be after my op and will include as much of the gory details as I can commit to paper and/or memory.
Cheers for now!
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Saturday 3rd July and we overnighted at the top of Zouche Lock, where there is a pub called The Rose and Crown. When we arrived yesterday morning it was still warm and sunny, although it started off with quite a stiff breeze and just a smattering of rain.
Along with our travelling companion Clive, we enjoyed a light, lunchtime snack and a couple of beers. Sadly, we couldn’t moor up as close to the pub as I would have liked, and so the walk for me was very slow and rather painful. But, we can’t allow a little discomfiture to stand in the way of a liquid lunch, now can we.
For the rest of the day we simply chilled out on our respective boats.
Today we’ll be off back to Pillings Lock Marina.
Tuesday 6th July and only 22 days to my knee op, which I am rather looking forward to, well, not the operation itself and the discomfort afterwards, but having the knees done and being able to walk properly again. Having missed the opportunity the last time we were moored at Tring, which was back at the end of 2008, it’s been a long time coming.
Today Wifey will be off to Derby to meet up with Marian for their usual girls day out. I don’t suppose they’ll be doing so quite as often as before, but it won’t be long before we are also at Mercia when they’ll be able to make it a weekly trip again. No doubt they’ll also walk into Willington on occasion, and that only takes about 30 minutes, so I dare say Sheila and I will do so on Sundays.
The village has three pubs to choose from and, being moored at the marina, we also have discount cards for some of the shops and one of the pubs. Had it not been for my pending operation we would have joined the happy couple when they went on Wednesday. The really good thing about Mercia is that the pontoons are all boat length, unlike these at Pillings where they are only about 1/3rd the length. This means we will have the full length of the boat against the pontoon and, as a result, we can point the boat nose in or tail in and climb on and off at either end.
Yesterday evening our Ashley came along to take a look at what is causing our toilet to need more than one flush. When he took it apart at the back where all the gubbings are, he found the outlet pipe to be badly restricted and the flapper valve to be almost useless. It is quite probable that the pipe to the tank is also somewhat restricted, so we’ve asked him to replace that too, which he will do on Thursday afternoon.
His attempts at clearing the build up of deposits in the short pipe and valve came to nought yesterday, but it has made a small difference. Still, that toilet has been in constant use for almost four years, so it is not surprising it needs a decoke.
The alternative, according to the manufacturers of this abomination, would have been to detach the outlet pipe at the far end and pour in some descaler, leave the fluid in the pipe for at least 24 hours, then refit the pipe and flush it through, with no guarantee it would solve the problem. Having Ashley come by and do a proper job was by far the better option. Unfortunately this means another £135 outlay for repairs that really shouldn’t be necessary.
Ashley tells us that it is most unusual to find such restrictions and deposits in canal boats, although it is far more common in sea going craft. Presumably if the crew of a boat at sea were to find the toilet impossible to use, they would do a moony over the side!! Watch out for hungry sharks, eh?
Thursday 8th July.
Yesterday we met up with Alan Oxley and his wife Chris. We picked them up at the station in Loughborough, dropped them off at their B&B and brought them back to the boat. After a bit of a chat we took them off for a pub lunch at the Quorndon Fox, our Sunday watering-hole. After that we returned to the boat for even more chat, Wifey took Rusty out for a long walk with Chris then, after more tea and coffee and even more chat, we returned them to their B&B.
Today, after they get thrown out of their accommodation, we’ll pick them up and, quite probably take them to the local Railway Museum, which happens to be just around the corner to the B&B. After that, probably lunch and back to the boat for – you guessed it – more chat and tea and coffee. But, we’ll see them off about 4 pm ‘cos Ashley is coming to repair the loo.
Saturday 10th July.
Happily for me the weather up here is a wee bit cooler than down south, a fact that I am very grateful for.
Wifey has walked into Loughborough this morning, thus saving me a sweaty drive into Quorn. Some weeks ago, on a really hot day, she walked into town with Marion and, on the way back, she came over all peculiar, which she put down to a touch of sunstroke. Hopefully, with it being a cooler start to the day, she won’t have a repeat upset. On that occasion she was fortunate to meet up with some boaters returning to the marina, who very kindly gave them a lift. Good hearts we boaters, for the most part.
Well, only another 18 days to my op, before which I must but a pair of jim-jams. I can’t say I’m looking forward to the op itself, but at least I won’t know much about it. The recovery period is an even worse prospect, ‘cos I do not have a very high pain threshold and, having read the hospital leaflets about pain control, I don’t think this period will be too pleasant.
I should be in hospital for three nights and four days, so should be home Saturday. They get you out of bed within about 12 hours after the op, and they have you walking about pretty quickly. There is also quite a bit of physio during my stay and they don’t let you go home until they are confident you can cope.
Now, in my case this involves just three steps at the back of the boat and, since the hatch slides forward, climbing in and out should not present a problem. Besides which we have a few friends at the marina, so if I need any help it’s always to hand.
We had a good two days with Alan and Chris, which we hope to repeat in October, by which time I should be much more mobile and will be able to do a lot more walking. I’m hoping they will take us to see the Spitfire that used to stand at the gates to Benson airfield when I was there in the late 60’s. Hanged if I can remember where it is now, because I really do have a lousy memory these days. But, when Alan mentioned folks we knew at Benson, they came clearly to mind. I must have some weird filing system in my head, it certainly won’t open up when I need it.
My brother Alan, and his wife Val, went up to Yarmouth yesterday with the intention of taking a pre-booked balloon flight. They spent the night in their hotel, only to be told the flight had been cancelled. Big disappointment there, but at least they get a break from routine. Now they can look forward to another break when they re-book the flight again.
Monday 12th July and, after a dry but murky start, we have at last had some rain.
After repeated requests from Glo to have the recipe book turned into a physical entity, which I am unable to afford at present, I have been working on a .pdf version. I don’t know how many of you, to whom I gave a copy on CD, have actually tried any of the recipes but, if you would also like a copy in the new format, please let me know and I will email it to you.
Having spent goodness knows how much on our pesky car, only to have it start misbehaving again, we have decided to trade it in for a newer one. As much as we would like a more recent model, we are settling on a 2002 Alfa 147 which, I have been assured by the dealer, has full service history and, very importantly, has had a recent cam-belt change. Assuming it is still at the car lot on Wednesday we will be popping along for a test drive.
When Ashley came by to repair our loo last week, he extended the outlet pipe by a couple of inches. This does not appear to have been a good idea, because we now find we are having to flush more than once most of the time. He’s coming along again tomorrow evening to chop a bit out of the pipe. Hopefully this will solve the problem. It’s true what other boaters tell you, despite living expenses being fairly modest, a boat is just a big, deep hole, into which you keep pouring money.
Tomorrow, Wifey will be meeting up with Marian in Derby again. I really do think those two should get wed!!
Friday 16th July and we are now the proud owners of a 2002 Alfa Romeo 147, 1.6 litre. We finally took the plunge and gave the car a run on Wednesday and found it to be OK. Only one snag, it has been moaning at me about the number plate light being out. I get this continuous buzzer sounding for several seconds, and then it goes off. A few minutes later it goes off again and so on ad nauseum. All we have to do now is find out how to put a new one in. But, for all that, it’s a damn fine car and we got a good deal on the old one.
Only 12 days to go and I’ll be under the knife and, hopefully, free of all this discomfort.
I had hoped to post this today but, around this area the kids are off school now and the Internet is very slow. Will try again early tomorrow morning when the little blisters are still in bed.
Saturday 17th July and, prior to dropping Wifey off at Quorn to catch the bus into Loughborough, we checked the number plate light and found the bulb to be just a wee bit loose, so that’s OK then! She is going into town to buy some material for Mario; she and Brian are coming over tomorrow to join us for a Sunday drink; and to find a crocheting pattern for some narrow, strip curtains.
Apparently there is a woman at Mercia, who makes these things and sells them to other boaters. They are just a few inches wide and include the name of the boat. Rather than buy them and, since she has done quite a bit of crocheting in the past, my better half has decide to take it up again and make her own. Should keep her quiet for a few hours!
This recipe book seems to be never ending because, whenever I look up recipe sites I always seem to find some that I don’t already have. The ‘finished’ article, now in .pdf format, is almost 450 pages long, the first 17 of which are taken up with the usual Intro page and Table of Contents. Fart too big, I feel, to be put up for sale as a single item.
So, I now intend to make a concerted effort, before going in for my op, to find as many more recipes as I can then, when I am home again, turn the whole lot into two volumes, which is probably what I should have done in the first place. I really had no idea there would be so many English recipes out there. After that, I suppose I’d better have a go at the other British stuff.
We have now decided to move our boat, and ourselves of course, to Mercia Marina at the end of August. By then, I hope, I should be mobile enough to steer the boat whilst Wifey, bless her, gets on with the locks. Brian and Marian will be on holiday then and have promised to help out. They’ll come over in their boat and accompany us back to Mercia and help with the locks. Hopefully we’ll be able to take our time and hang the journey out for a week.
O.K. With seven pages done I think it’s time to post this latest scribe. Of course, it being Saturday, it may not be possible, but I’ll give it a try.
The next offering will be after my op and will include as much of the gory details as I can commit to paper and/or memory.
Cheers for now!
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Thursday, 1 July 2010
Latest from Pillings
Pillings Lock Marina 2010#12
Monday 21st June and the day starts well, with lots of sunshine.
It’s been quite a while since last I wrote to the blog and much has happened, some good and some not so good. The good news includes my date for the replacement of these pesky knees, which will be the 28th July. Other good news is the repair of the laptop, which is now running as it should.
Even more good news is our decision to move the boat; and ourselves of course; to the new marina at Willington near Burton-on-Trent, the name of which is Mercia Marina. This decision came about as a result of paying the place a visit with our neighbours, Brian and Marion, Clive, Robbie and Dave Llewelyn, all of whom will also be relocating.
This all came about because the MD of this site, and I use the initials very loosely, gave Marion good cause to quit her job. Without going into too much detail, he was taking the Mickey and she was working seven days a week for most of the time.
The Mercia Marina is humungous and could probably swallow this one three times or more. But, the main thing going for it is the security; no outsiders are able to access the boats and all boaters have a security fob that opens gates to the moorings.
Additional pluses are the café and small shop and the chandlery. The fact that a pub is soon to be built on the site had no bearing whatsoever on our decision to move. Unfortunately it is quite a bit further to travel to the hospital, so we’ll have to wait until my knees are done and I can drive again.
And the bad news? Well, although the car is now running OKish, it’s still not perfect and, for some reason or other, but nothing to do with the recent repairs, the engine is showing signs of overheating. However, since the fan cuts in automatically, I’m not too worried about that. Other bad news is the water pump on Shiralee, which has taken to running on when we turn off the tap. This is not a good sign and I rather suspect we’ll be replacing that sooner rather than later. But, apart from those two items of little cheer, we really don’t have a lot to worry about.
Tuesday 22nd June and I’m counting down the days to my op. But first I have an assessment day at the hospital where I will undergo various testes to see if I’m fit enough and am not carrying the MRSA bug. I also have a sheet of paper that asks for the measurements of our furniture. Hmmm!
Anyway, on to the recipe book that I passed around to you good people, has anyone tried to print out any of the recipes, except my good friend Glo of course?
Our Glo did try and found that, with recipes that have more than a page full of text, i.e. the text is hidden below the viewing pane and therefore has to be scrolled down to in order to read, that page cannot be printed in its entirety. I even tried highlighting the whole page and then clicking the ‘print’ button, but that doesn’t work either.
Hopefully there is a simple solution because, if there is not, then the book is useless as a marketable product. I have emailed eBook Starter with the problem and am hopeful of a solution.
Friday 26th June and, according to the weather reports, it’s supposed to be the hottest day of summer so far. At this moment in time I am on my own with just Rusty for company. Wifey has walked into Loughborough with Marian for the last time because, next Wednesday she and Brian are moving their boat to Mercia Marina, which is up near Burton upon Trent.
Now, assuming the medics decide I am fit to undergo the knee replacements, and assuming I only take the six weeks or so to recuperate, we will also be moving to Mercia, at least for the winter. After that all will be back to normal and we’ll be cruising for six months and resting back at Mercia for the winter again.
If they feel I can only tolerate the replacement of just one knee this time around, I’m going to opt for the right one, because this is the one giving me the most pain and discomfort. We will then spend winter as planned and I’ll book myself in for the second op next year when we return.
The book prog is now back on track, so I can press on with the next exciting instalment of same. However, as my good friend Glo pointed out, there are one or two wrinkles with the programme that those of you who have a copy may not be aware of.
For example, should you decide to print out a recipe that is not all plain to see in the viewing pane; i.e. you have to scroll down to read the rest of it; you will not be able to do so by simply clicking on the Print button. What you must do, depending upon which page you wish to print, is to click on the space to the right of the Print button first. This will open a drop down menu where you select the page and then click on the Print button in the top left hand corner.
How many other such wrinkles are yet to be found, I have no idea, but I’m working on it. I’ll pass any on that I find.
Sunday 27th June and we look set for another scorcher, which is not my favourite kind of weather. It is also the day when Paul, the MD of this site, is throwing a going away party for Marian and, to a lesser degree, her husband Brian.
This do has come as a complete surprise to all of us, not least Marian herself, who worked for Paul up until a couple of weeks ago, when she quit because he was over working her to the extent that she was virtually a prisoner of a seven day week.
Also, since Marian is aware that it is Sheila’s birthday on Monday and our 30th Wedding Anniversary, we are lumping the two cebrelations (hic!) together. Mind you, with the weather such as it is and the fact that the draught Italian lager is about £3.09p per pint – and that’s with a 10% reduction for us boaters, I don’t suppose I’ll be overdoing the boozy bit.
Brian and Marian will be moving to Mercia on Wednesday afternoons, which puts paid to Wifey’s and Marian’s regular Thursday and Saturday walks into Loughborough. However, once my knees are sorted out and I’ve recovered to the extent that I can drive again, not to mention getting on and off the boat with some sort of alacrity, we’ll be joining them there.
On the subject of our miscreant car, we’re now looking for a decent, low mileage MG ZR, a vehicle that can be picked up for a pretty decent price for something around the year 2003/4. We are hoping the current troublesome velocipede will last us until we go off cruising next April, at which time we will try to sell the wretched Alfa thingy and, with a bit of luck and a tail wind, cancel the insurance until we return to Mercia and buy the aforementioned MG. That’s the plan anyway.
Monday 28th June, Wifey’s birthday and our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Once again it looks like being a very warm day, which is not to my liking, especially after the foreign booze I consumed last night. Brian and Marian had organised a wee get-together and had invited us along to the marina restaurant. Thankfully the patio faces about north eastish, and so the sun did not contribute to my discomfort, otherwise I might well have lost a few pounds in sweat alone.
The party got off to a rather slow start, mainly due to the fact that Marian had told everybody to be there at 7pm, and they didn’t arrive until around 7.45. Thus it was that many who intended to be there, had already done so and, seeing no sign of the happy couple, had gone back to their boats. Eventually though we probably had a good baker’s dozen around the tables.
Some parties tend to be dominated by just one person; you have probably been subjected to one such, who sits there telling jokes; and this party fell deeply into that category. The fellow concerned obviously considered the comedian, Jethro, to be something of a hero, because he had obviously studied the man to the exclusion of all others. Initially, since I much prefer to engage in small talk, with the occasional joke thrown in, I found him to be a total bore but, after a few beers I warmed to the man and, since nobody else was too interested in nattering and swapping life’s experiences, I eventually found him quite amusing. Mind you, I wouldn’t want to sit through another such marathon of humour, especially coming as it did from an imitator.
I had an experience on eBay a few days ago, when ordering some CD’s for Wifey’s birthday, some of which have already arrived and, hopefully, the others will arrive today. Now, I have been with eBay for a good ten years or more and, in all that time, I have never been asked for my telephone number. I don’t know about you but, unless a company I am planning to make a purchase from has a very sound reason for asking, I never give them that information. As anyone who deals with eBay on a regular basis will know, once you have committed to buy there is no going back. In this instance though, since my number was insisted upon AFTER I had committed to buy, I decided to backtrack and terminate the purchase.
Naturally, since I had broken eBay’s rules by cancelling the transaction, I expected and received a demand for payment. Happily, after contacting the vendor and explaining the situation, he agreed to cancel the sale. Some folks just seem to get too big for their boots, because there’s no sound, legitimate reason for expecting a buyer to divulge personal information, so why do it on an auction site? I wonder how many sales he loses as a result of this insistence!
Thursday 1st July and, after setting out from Pillings Lock Marina at 1.15 pm yesterday, we arrived at the top of Kegworth Deep lock at about 4.15. Had it not been for Clive accompanying us in his boat, we would never have been able to manage the locks on our own.
Since Clive had been here many times before, we left it to him to decide where to moor up. So, what did he do, he plonked us directly underneath the glide-path to Midlands Airport. And the aircraft, which seemed to arrive at less than 10 minute intervals, were almost low enough to pluck out of the sky with your bare hands. This invasion of our conversation did not, as Clive promised, peter out after about 8 pm. Oh no, it was still going strong after we retired to bed at about 10. However, since we were all a little knackered from the hot day of cruising, I for one did not notice much after that, and slept soundly until about 3.30, when I was interrupted by a call of nature.
It was another hot and sunny day with not too many holiday boaters about, so the trip went very smoothly. Brian and Marian, who had to sort out their finances with Paul at the marina, arrived about an hour later.
Marian took it upon herself to cook dinner, which was a kind of mish mash of sausages, pasties, chicken kievs and spuds, with a generous helping of salad. All in all a very good repast after our trip.
Today, whilst the happy couple move on to Mercia Marina, Clive and ourselves will head on back to the top of Zouch Lock, where there is a pub called the Rose and Crown, or we may go on to Loughborough and stay there for the night.
On Tuesday evening Paul threw a bar-b-que for Brian and Marian, which ran on until midnight. A good time was had by all and the beer flowed rather too freely although, I have to say, I awoke quite fresh and without a hangover.
Almost forgot, I went for my pre-op assessment on Tuesday and was given the all-clear for both knees to be replaced on Wednesday 28th July. You will, of course, keep me in your thoughts on the day, and that’s an order.
Friday 2nd July and, rather than head on back to Zouch Lock, we decided to accompany Brian and Marian on to Sawley Marina. This morning at 6 am I’m not too sure this was such a good idea, because we are now looking at heavy Rain-threatening clouds and a good, stiff breeze. Combine this with wide stretches of river, where side winds are not to be recommended for the weary traveller, and we could be in for a rough ride.
Yesterday, very soon after arriving here, our happy couple walked around to the marina café for a cuppa and snack. I stayed behind because the walk would have been too much for me. When they returned about an hour later, they decided to push on towards Mercia, hoping to make it all the way. But, having stopped off at a river side pub for fish and chips, and since they haven’t phoned, we assume they didn’t get there.
Clive joined us for dinner in the evening and we all sat out back enjoying a chat and a couple of drinks before retiring to our respective boats just before 9 pm. All in all a pretty good day, during which my better half walked into town and came back with a new kettle and a toaster. All this time at a marina, on landline electricity and we hadn’t given it a thought. With the electricity there being far cheaper than gas, we should have bought these items as soon as we arrived. You live and learn!
Well now, I have managed to get online and so, for the first time for many weeks, I’ll be posting a new blog.
Before I do, a short message for Glo. I’m working on converting the book to a .pdf file, which should be easier for you to print out. Most of the recipes will appear on a single page, or maybe two, but they won’t include the town info.
All abreast to all.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Monday 21st June and the day starts well, with lots of sunshine.
It’s been quite a while since last I wrote to the blog and much has happened, some good and some not so good. The good news includes my date for the replacement of these pesky knees, which will be the 28th July. Other good news is the repair of the laptop, which is now running as it should.
Even more good news is our decision to move the boat; and ourselves of course; to the new marina at Willington near Burton-on-Trent, the name of which is Mercia Marina. This decision came about as a result of paying the place a visit with our neighbours, Brian and Marion, Clive, Robbie and Dave Llewelyn, all of whom will also be relocating.
This all came about because the MD of this site, and I use the initials very loosely, gave Marion good cause to quit her job. Without going into too much detail, he was taking the Mickey and she was working seven days a week for most of the time.
The Mercia Marina is humungous and could probably swallow this one three times or more. But, the main thing going for it is the security; no outsiders are able to access the boats and all boaters have a security fob that opens gates to the moorings.
Additional pluses are the café and small shop and the chandlery. The fact that a pub is soon to be built on the site had no bearing whatsoever on our decision to move. Unfortunately it is quite a bit further to travel to the hospital, so we’ll have to wait until my knees are done and I can drive again.
And the bad news? Well, although the car is now running OKish, it’s still not perfect and, for some reason or other, but nothing to do with the recent repairs, the engine is showing signs of overheating. However, since the fan cuts in automatically, I’m not too worried about that. Other bad news is the water pump on Shiralee, which has taken to running on when we turn off the tap. This is not a good sign and I rather suspect we’ll be replacing that sooner rather than later. But, apart from those two items of little cheer, we really don’t have a lot to worry about.
Tuesday 22nd June and I’m counting down the days to my op. But first I have an assessment day at the hospital where I will undergo various testes to see if I’m fit enough and am not carrying the MRSA bug. I also have a sheet of paper that asks for the measurements of our furniture. Hmmm!
Anyway, on to the recipe book that I passed around to you good people, has anyone tried to print out any of the recipes, except my good friend Glo of course?
Our Glo did try and found that, with recipes that have more than a page full of text, i.e. the text is hidden below the viewing pane and therefore has to be scrolled down to in order to read, that page cannot be printed in its entirety. I even tried highlighting the whole page and then clicking the ‘print’ button, but that doesn’t work either.
Hopefully there is a simple solution because, if there is not, then the book is useless as a marketable product. I have emailed eBook Starter with the problem and am hopeful of a solution.
Friday 26th June and, according to the weather reports, it’s supposed to be the hottest day of summer so far. At this moment in time I am on my own with just Rusty for company. Wifey has walked into Loughborough with Marian for the last time because, next Wednesday she and Brian are moving their boat to Mercia Marina, which is up near Burton upon Trent.
Now, assuming the medics decide I am fit to undergo the knee replacements, and assuming I only take the six weeks or so to recuperate, we will also be moving to Mercia, at least for the winter. After that all will be back to normal and we’ll be cruising for six months and resting back at Mercia for the winter again.
If they feel I can only tolerate the replacement of just one knee this time around, I’m going to opt for the right one, because this is the one giving me the most pain and discomfort. We will then spend winter as planned and I’ll book myself in for the second op next year when we return.
The book prog is now back on track, so I can press on with the next exciting instalment of same. However, as my good friend Glo pointed out, there are one or two wrinkles with the programme that those of you who have a copy may not be aware of.
For example, should you decide to print out a recipe that is not all plain to see in the viewing pane; i.e. you have to scroll down to read the rest of it; you will not be able to do so by simply clicking on the Print button. What you must do, depending upon which page you wish to print, is to click on the space to the right of the Print button first. This will open a drop down menu where you select the page and then click on the Print button in the top left hand corner.
How many other such wrinkles are yet to be found, I have no idea, but I’m working on it. I’ll pass any on that I find.
Sunday 27th June and we look set for another scorcher, which is not my favourite kind of weather. It is also the day when Paul, the MD of this site, is throwing a going away party for Marian and, to a lesser degree, her husband Brian.
This do has come as a complete surprise to all of us, not least Marian herself, who worked for Paul up until a couple of weeks ago, when she quit because he was over working her to the extent that she was virtually a prisoner of a seven day week.
Also, since Marian is aware that it is Sheila’s birthday on Monday and our 30th Wedding Anniversary, we are lumping the two cebrelations (hic!) together. Mind you, with the weather such as it is and the fact that the draught Italian lager is about £3.09p per pint – and that’s with a 10% reduction for us boaters, I don’t suppose I’ll be overdoing the boozy bit.
Brian and Marian will be moving to Mercia on Wednesday afternoons, which puts paid to Wifey’s and Marian’s regular Thursday and Saturday walks into Loughborough. However, once my knees are sorted out and I’ve recovered to the extent that I can drive again, not to mention getting on and off the boat with some sort of alacrity, we’ll be joining them there.
On the subject of our miscreant car, we’re now looking for a decent, low mileage MG ZR, a vehicle that can be picked up for a pretty decent price for something around the year 2003/4. We are hoping the current troublesome velocipede will last us until we go off cruising next April, at which time we will try to sell the wretched Alfa thingy and, with a bit of luck and a tail wind, cancel the insurance until we return to Mercia and buy the aforementioned MG. That’s the plan anyway.
Monday 28th June, Wifey’s birthday and our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Once again it looks like being a very warm day, which is not to my liking, especially after the foreign booze I consumed last night. Brian and Marian had organised a wee get-together and had invited us along to the marina restaurant. Thankfully the patio faces about north eastish, and so the sun did not contribute to my discomfort, otherwise I might well have lost a few pounds in sweat alone.
The party got off to a rather slow start, mainly due to the fact that Marian had told everybody to be there at 7pm, and they didn’t arrive until around 7.45. Thus it was that many who intended to be there, had already done so and, seeing no sign of the happy couple, had gone back to their boats. Eventually though we probably had a good baker’s dozen around the tables.
Some parties tend to be dominated by just one person; you have probably been subjected to one such, who sits there telling jokes; and this party fell deeply into that category. The fellow concerned obviously considered the comedian, Jethro, to be something of a hero, because he had obviously studied the man to the exclusion of all others. Initially, since I much prefer to engage in small talk, with the occasional joke thrown in, I found him to be a total bore but, after a few beers I warmed to the man and, since nobody else was too interested in nattering and swapping life’s experiences, I eventually found him quite amusing. Mind you, I wouldn’t want to sit through another such marathon of humour, especially coming as it did from an imitator.
I had an experience on eBay a few days ago, when ordering some CD’s for Wifey’s birthday, some of which have already arrived and, hopefully, the others will arrive today. Now, I have been with eBay for a good ten years or more and, in all that time, I have never been asked for my telephone number. I don’t know about you but, unless a company I am planning to make a purchase from has a very sound reason for asking, I never give them that information. As anyone who deals with eBay on a regular basis will know, once you have committed to buy there is no going back. In this instance though, since my number was insisted upon AFTER I had committed to buy, I decided to backtrack and terminate the purchase.
Naturally, since I had broken eBay’s rules by cancelling the transaction, I expected and received a demand for payment. Happily, after contacting the vendor and explaining the situation, he agreed to cancel the sale. Some folks just seem to get too big for their boots, because there’s no sound, legitimate reason for expecting a buyer to divulge personal information, so why do it on an auction site? I wonder how many sales he loses as a result of this insistence!
Thursday 1st July and, after setting out from Pillings Lock Marina at 1.15 pm yesterday, we arrived at the top of Kegworth Deep lock at about 4.15. Had it not been for Clive accompanying us in his boat, we would never have been able to manage the locks on our own.
Since Clive had been here many times before, we left it to him to decide where to moor up. So, what did he do, he plonked us directly underneath the glide-path to Midlands Airport. And the aircraft, which seemed to arrive at less than 10 minute intervals, were almost low enough to pluck out of the sky with your bare hands. This invasion of our conversation did not, as Clive promised, peter out after about 8 pm. Oh no, it was still going strong after we retired to bed at about 10. However, since we were all a little knackered from the hot day of cruising, I for one did not notice much after that, and slept soundly until about 3.30, when I was interrupted by a call of nature.
It was another hot and sunny day with not too many holiday boaters about, so the trip went very smoothly. Brian and Marian, who had to sort out their finances with Paul at the marina, arrived about an hour later.
Marian took it upon herself to cook dinner, which was a kind of mish mash of sausages, pasties, chicken kievs and spuds, with a generous helping of salad. All in all a very good repast after our trip.
Today, whilst the happy couple move on to Mercia Marina, Clive and ourselves will head on back to the top of Zouch Lock, where there is a pub called the Rose and Crown, or we may go on to Loughborough and stay there for the night.
On Tuesday evening Paul threw a bar-b-que for Brian and Marian, which ran on until midnight. A good time was had by all and the beer flowed rather too freely although, I have to say, I awoke quite fresh and without a hangover.
Almost forgot, I went for my pre-op assessment on Tuesday and was given the all-clear for both knees to be replaced on Wednesday 28th July. You will, of course, keep me in your thoughts on the day, and that’s an order.
Friday 2nd July and, rather than head on back to Zouch Lock, we decided to accompany Brian and Marian on to Sawley Marina. This morning at 6 am I’m not too sure this was such a good idea, because we are now looking at heavy Rain-threatening clouds and a good, stiff breeze. Combine this with wide stretches of river, where side winds are not to be recommended for the weary traveller, and we could be in for a rough ride.
Yesterday, very soon after arriving here, our happy couple walked around to the marina café for a cuppa and snack. I stayed behind because the walk would have been too much for me. When they returned about an hour later, they decided to push on towards Mercia, hoping to make it all the way. But, having stopped off at a river side pub for fish and chips, and since they haven’t phoned, we assume they didn’t get there.
Clive joined us for dinner in the evening and we all sat out back enjoying a chat and a couple of drinks before retiring to our respective boats just before 9 pm. All in all a pretty good day, during which my better half walked into town and came back with a new kettle and a toaster. All this time at a marina, on landline electricity and we hadn’t given it a thought. With the electricity there being far cheaper than gas, we should have bought these items as soon as we arrived. You live and learn!
Well now, I have managed to get online and so, for the first time for many weeks, I’ll be posting a new blog.
Before I do, a short message for Glo. I’m working on converting the book to a .pdf file, which should be easier for you to print out. Most of the recipes will appear on a single page, or maybe two, but they won’t include the town info.
All abreast to all.
Dave, Sheila and Rusty.
Monday, 10 May 2010
Pillings Lock Marina 2010 #11
Pillings Lock Marina 2010 #11
Saturday 8th May and Wifey’s new flowers enjoyed a good watering overnight. While she was out with Marion on Thursday, she found some rather nicely coloured Cape daisies, or rather, Auntie’s daisies, because Auntie Bob had some in her garden in Wales. The pots of them that Sheila found are an orangey pink colour.
Yesterday, at a princely cost of £120, I retrieved the car from the repair shop and, since I supplied the parts, they only charged for labour and, since I paid in cash, I escaped the dreaded VAT. Lovely!
Once again though, when I delivered it to them in the morning, I had no problems, either in slow traffic, or at a comfortable speed. When they had replaced the sensor and other bits and took it for a road test, they had no trouble either, so I still have no idea if it has been cured of the idling problem.
Hopefully, if the car behaves itself, we’ll pop along to the local nursery and pick up enough plants and soil to fill the two flower boxes. I am still working on the flower painting of the side panels, but they are coming along nicely. Mind you, this is not a quick job and could take several weeks to complete.
Monday 10th May.
This morning began with a thick frost fog, so doggy didn’t go out very early, she had to wait for me to enjoy my cuppa first. On the way out any we came across seven adult Grey Lagged Geese, along with 16 goslings of various ages. From what I recall about these birds, they tend to stay together in mixed families, with the adults forming a kind of crèche where the young are kept a beady eye on.
I had hoped to list the book on eBay over the weekend, but the laptop is now so slow that I’ve now decided to contact Comet and have it taken in for repair. It seems I am dogged by problems because, despite having finished the book, I am still unable to put it up for sale.
I was studying the print-on-demand websites yesterday and, even though I know this is the way to go, I find the sites to be not quite as helpful as I expected. For example, on arriving at the Home Page, you are invited to sign up and immediately start compiling your book. This would be perfectly OK if advice was first given as to what format your book files should take. As a result, you only get past the first couple of pages and are obliged to save your work whilst you organise your files.
I next went to Kunaki, with a view to selling the book on CD – these people have a programme to download, with which you use all the necessary files to make a CD or DVD and, after doing the necessary, you are able to see exactly what the case and innards look like on completion. Unfortunately, in order to sell your wares through the company; which they will do for any quantity for just $1 each; you need your own website. Of course, with a website you also need to advertise it. On top of this comes postage and packing costs.
Amazon will also sell physical and electronic books, and you don’t need to have a website. They will also make the physical books, but they also take 80% in fees. Yeah, right! So, until this laptop is repaired and I can start listing on eBay, I won’t be making money with it any time soon.
On the plus side it seems the car is finally running properly, which means we can go shopping at Morrison’s today and take a run out to Melton Mowbray tomorrow morning, which is their market day.
The frosty fog has now lifted and it is now bright and sunny. Whoopee!
Incidentally, although it is very slow going, I am making good progress with the panels for the flower boxes. Once they are done I’ll take photographs of same and email out to you all. It appears that I do have some talent where canal-art is concerned. Even my neighbours have commented favourably. Sadly, because of the time involved – I’m not a fast worker in this – I could never make money at it. Even so, it’s a lot of fun working on the panels, so I’m sure I’ll do some for the doors and the side hatch sometime.
Tuesday 11th May and another frosty morning presented itself when I crawled out of my pit. I thought it was summer!
Yesterday I spoke to a nice man named George, who’s the first contact at Comet’s when a customer has trouble with a computer. He explained to me that, although Comet sell laptops, they do not hold the Warranties, these are held by the manufacturer. His suggestion was, as I expected, to take this offending article to my nearest Comet store and ask them to carry out a diagnostic test, over the phone, with Toshiba.
Alternatively I could telephone Toshiba myself and do the same thing. However, since I don’t know which type of Warranty I have – is it a Carry In and Pick Up, or is it Pick up and Return – the former means Comet, or myself, carry the cost of having it sent to Toshiba for repair, whilst the latter means Toshiba pays all expenses. Personally I prefer the first one and so I will be dropping it into Comet in Loughborough on Wednesday.
Of course this means yet another full back up, just in case they decide to carry out another recovery before they repair the thing. So, sometime later today, after our trip to Melton Mowbray, I will try to post this blog. Goodness knows how long it will be before I get to write and post another one.
Meanwhile I have the dubious task of installing Nero Backup, a programme that came with the latest external hard drive. I’m doing so because I don’t fully trust the one that comes with the laptop. On several previous occasions when I have done so, we have found some files have been corrupted, and they were Wifey’s Money files, which she was not too pleased about.
OK. Lest I forget, I’m going to post this now.
Do not expect another blog for a while, goodness knows how long Toshiba will be in repairing this thingy.
Cheers for now
Dave and Sheila and Doggy.
Saturday 8th May and Wifey’s new flowers enjoyed a good watering overnight. While she was out with Marion on Thursday, she found some rather nicely coloured Cape daisies, or rather, Auntie’s daisies, because Auntie Bob had some in her garden in Wales. The pots of them that Sheila found are an orangey pink colour.
Yesterday, at a princely cost of £120, I retrieved the car from the repair shop and, since I supplied the parts, they only charged for labour and, since I paid in cash, I escaped the dreaded VAT. Lovely!
Once again though, when I delivered it to them in the morning, I had no problems, either in slow traffic, or at a comfortable speed. When they had replaced the sensor and other bits and took it for a road test, they had no trouble either, so I still have no idea if it has been cured of the idling problem.
Hopefully, if the car behaves itself, we’ll pop along to the local nursery and pick up enough plants and soil to fill the two flower boxes. I am still working on the flower painting of the side panels, but they are coming along nicely. Mind you, this is not a quick job and could take several weeks to complete.
Monday 10th May.
This morning began with a thick frost fog, so doggy didn’t go out very early, she had to wait for me to enjoy my cuppa first. On the way out any we came across seven adult Grey Lagged Geese, along with 16 goslings of various ages. From what I recall about these birds, they tend to stay together in mixed families, with the adults forming a kind of crèche where the young are kept a beady eye on.
I had hoped to list the book on eBay over the weekend, but the laptop is now so slow that I’ve now decided to contact Comet and have it taken in for repair. It seems I am dogged by problems because, despite having finished the book, I am still unable to put it up for sale.
I was studying the print-on-demand websites yesterday and, even though I know this is the way to go, I find the sites to be not quite as helpful as I expected. For example, on arriving at the Home Page, you are invited to sign up and immediately start compiling your book. This would be perfectly OK if advice was first given as to what format your book files should take. As a result, you only get past the first couple of pages and are obliged to save your work whilst you organise your files.
I next went to Kunaki, with a view to selling the book on CD – these people have a programme to download, with which you use all the necessary files to make a CD or DVD and, after doing the necessary, you are able to see exactly what the case and innards look like on completion. Unfortunately, in order to sell your wares through the company; which they will do for any quantity for just $1 each; you need your own website. Of course, with a website you also need to advertise it. On top of this comes postage and packing costs.
Amazon will also sell physical and electronic books, and you don’t need to have a website. They will also make the physical books, but they also take 80% in fees. Yeah, right! So, until this laptop is repaired and I can start listing on eBay, I won’t be making money with it any time soon.
On the plus side it seems the car is finally running properly, which means we can go shopping at Morrison’s today and take a run out to Melton Mowbray tomorrow morning, which is their market day.
The frosty fog has now lifted and it is now bright and sunny. Whoopee!
Incidentally, although it is very slow going, I am making good progress with the panels for the flower boxes. Once they are done I’ll take photographs of same and email out to you all. It appears that I do have some talent where canal-art is concerned. Even my neighbours have commented favourably. Sadly, because of the time involved – I’m not a fast worker in this – I could never make money at it. Even so, it’s a lot of fun working on the panels, so I’m sure I’ll do some for the doors and the side hatch sometime.
Tuesday 11th May and another frosty morning presented itself when I crawled out of my pit. I thought it was summer!
Yesterday I spoke to a nice man named George, who’s the first contact at Comet’s when a customer has trouble with a computer. He explained to me that, although Comet sell laptops, they do not hold the Warranties, these are held by the manufacturer. His suggestion was, as I expected, to take this offending article to my nearest Comet store and ask them to carry out a diagnostic test, over the phone, with Toshiba.
Alternatively I could telephone Toshiba myself and do the same thing. However, since I don’t know which type of Warranty I have – is it a Carry In and Pick Up, or is it Pick up and Return – the former means Comet, or myself, carry the cost of having it sent to Toshiba for repair, whilst the latter means Toshiba pays all expenses. Personally I prefer the first one and so I will be dropping it into Comet in Loughborough on Wednesday.
Of course this means yet another full back up, just in case they decide to carry out another recovery before they repair the thing. So, sometime later today, after our trip to Melton Mowbray, I will try to post this blog. Goodness knows how long it will be before I get to write and post another one.
Meanwhile I have the dubious task of installing Nero Backup, a programme that came with the latest external hard drive. I’m doing so because I don’t fully trust the one that comes with the laptop. On several previous occasions when I have done so, we have found some files have been corrupted, and they were Wifey’s Money files, which she was not too pleased about.
OK. Lest I forget, I’m going to post this now.
Do not expect another blog for a while, goodness knows how long Toshiba will be in repairing this thingy.
Cheers for now
Dave and Sheila and Doggy.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Pillings Lock Marina 2010 #10
Pillings Lock Marina 2010#10
Friday 30th April and the last day of the month has started out fine and sunny. Whether it will stay that way is another story.
Yesterday I picked the car up from the garage and was most surprised to discover I wasn’t being charged for the work. It seems that the nice diagnostics man was not going to charge them for his work, so they didn’t charge me. However, I still need a Lambda Sensor, which will set us back about £80, and we also need a new Cam Belt Kit, which will probably be about another £100 or so.
The good news is, that the car gave the garage no trouble regarding the idling speed, and it gave me no trouble on the drive back to the marina. Hopefully, once the other bits are fitted, I’ll enjoy some worry free motoring again. In any event we’ll be keeping the Alfa for some time to come, unless Wifey wins a sizeable amount on the Lottery, in which case we might upgrade to a slightly newer model. Perhaps a Lambourghini?
Yesterday, just before Wifey arrived back from her day out to Leicester, the couple who own the boat opposite us turned up with a full sized refrigerator. I have no idea what they were expecting to do with it, but there was no way it was going to go through the doors into their boat. They may have managed it with a wide-beam, but certainly not with their tatty little dinky toy. Result? They took it back from whence it came. Duh!!
Today we are going to chance our arm and drive into Quorn and, if the car behaves itself we’ll also pop into Loughborough. The mechanic at the garage told me yesterday that, since we are going to replace the cam belt, which also entails removing the fan belt, we may as well fit a new one of those as well. So we will call in to Halfords for one of those. At this rate we’ll never be able to afford the radiators and such that we need for the boat.
Sunday 2nd May and it’s been a rather horrid, windy day. We had intended to take the Day Boat down to Loughborough for the Boat Festival but, since Sheila and Marion found it to be a load of rubbish when they walked into town yesterday, it didn’t seem worth the trouble. Instead, Wifey and I did our usual Sunday lunchtime thingy, and went for a drink instead.
The bad news is that, after a couple of days with no problems with the car, it decided to play up again today. Actually, it didn’t misbehave when I took it to the garage last week, and it didn’t misbehave for the mechanic either. All they found wrong was the Lambda Sensor, which I’m not convinced is causing my current idling speed problem.
The car will be going in again on Friday and, at the cost of £200 for parts, they will fit the Sensor and, along with it, a new Cam Belt kit and Fan Belt. Actually, I may fit the Sensor myself, if I can locate the darn thing that is. Then, if the car still plays up, I’ll know that the Sensor is not the problem and the Diagnostics Man will have to check it out again.
The good news about the garage is that, since the Diagnostics Man didn’t charge them for his time last week, they didn’t charge me for the work carried out.
The other bad news is that the laptop is still a load of rubbish, as it has been almost from the day we bought it. I’ve had a chat with Ivan again – he must be getting a little weary of me by now – and he’s said he will take the laptop away sometime this week, just to check which drivers he needs to download and, once that’s done, he will format this useless laptop and load the good old, reliable Windows XP.
I am seriously beginning to regret getting rid of the Acer. However, since I wasn’t aware that Ivan had anything to do with computers, I really had nowhere else to turn. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Time for Lewis now.
Thursday 6th May and we’ve had a wee drop of rain this morning.
For several weeks now, our pooch has had no problems in the early mornings; there was a period she went through where she needed a call of nature as soon as I got out of bed, her tummy growling and giving me cause to believe I had better get her out pdq. This morning she seems to have reverted to those inconsiderate days, after all, I do prefer a cuppa before considering such mundane tasks. Even after relieving herself, she refused her usual pre-breakfast snack, so Tug Boat Annie will just have to take her out again, and probably before she has her breakfast too.
The promised parts for the car did not turn up on Tuesday, but then I really didn’t expect them to, not with a Bank Holiday weekend before it. However, peeking out of our window yesterday, we did see a delivery man take a couple of parcels into the restaurant; the office doesn’t open on Wednesdays; so I’m hoping my bits have arrived. If they have and the rain keeps off, I’ll see if I can fit the Lambda Sensor which, I hope, will cure our problems. If I don’t do the job, the garage will do so on Friday, along with the Cam Belt and Tensioners.
Today, as is her wont, Wifey will go out for the afternoon with Marion. If it wasn’t for the fact that Marion works, I dare say they would be out all day, which would be fine by me, because I have loads to do with the painting of the flower boxes and starting another recipe book. I am unable to post the new one yet, because I am waiting for Ivan to finish painting his boat, at which time he will have another go at sorting out this laptop. He is almost convinced that the trouble lies with hardware rather than software, which could be just about anything. He’s going to run some more diagnostics and, if it is hardware, it will have to be returned to Comet for repair.
I daren’t post the book on eBay because, if the laptop has to go for repair, I will have no access to the Internet, and will have no way of knowing if I have any buyers. But, at least I can start work on the next book.
Meanwhile I have started painting the side panels for the flower boxes, and I fully intend making a good job of them. I had intended to paint castles on the end panels but, having made a complete hash of it, I might paint roses on those also.
Friday 7th May and today is the day the car goes in for repair, again. £200 worth of parts turned up yesterday, including a Lambda sensor which, I have been assured, can certainly contribute to the problems I have been having with the idling speed. Also in the package was a fan belt and a cam belt kit, the fan belt because, when they replace the cam belt and tensioners, they also have to remove the fan belt, so it is just as well to replace that too.
If anybody reading this blog is concerned about their important and personal files being hacked into by outside interests, I’ve found, via Computer Active Magazine, a programme that deals with such things. And, since I will probably be sending this laptop away for repair soon, it seemed a good idea to ensure our bank details are secure from prying eyes.
The programme is called East-Tec Eraser 2009 and is completely free from www.computeractive.co.uk/eraser/index. When you get to this page and download the programme, you will need a serial number with which to activate the programme. This can be found at www.snipca.com/x1301. The free version is only available until 14th May 2010, so you don’t have much time. You will be given the opportunity to upgrade to the full version on the same page.
Returning to the problems with this laptop, Ivan; who is currently spending a couple of weeks painting his boat, and who has been trying his best to cure my problems; is now of the opinion that the problem is hardware related. Possibly memory, possibly something wrong with the mother board but, whatever it is, it isn’t software. So, my next step is to contact Comet and arrange to have it repaired under warranty. I think their nearest repair shop is in Nottingham so, until the car is sorted, I’ll have to wait a while before I telephone them.
Now, since I am online and, because the Eraser prog is pretty important, I’m now going to post this blog.
All abreast for now from
Dave and Sheila and the Pooch.
Friday 30th April and the last day of the month has started out fine and sunny. Whether it will stay that way is another story.
Yesterday I picked the car up from the garage and was most surprised to discover I wasn’t being charged for the work. It seems that the nice diagnostics man was not going to charge them for his work, so they didn’t charge me. However, I still need a Lambda Sensor, which will set us back about £80, and we also need a new Cam Belt Kit, which will probably be about another £100 or so.
The good news is, that the car gave the garage no trouble regarding the idling speed, and it gave me no trouble on the drive back to the marina. Hopefully, once the other bits are fitted, I’ll enjoy some worry free motoring again. In any event we’ll be keeping the Alfa for some time to come, unless Wifey wins a sizeable amount on the Lottery, in which case we might upgrade to a slightly newer model. Perhaps a Lambourghini?
Yesterday, just before Wifey arrived back from her day out to Leicester, the couple who own the boat opposite us turned up with a full sized refrigerator. I have no idea what they were expecting to do with it, but there was no way it was going to go through the doors into their boat. They may have managed it with a wide-beam, but certainly not with their tatty little dinky toy. Result? They took it back from whence it came. Duh!!
Today we are going to chance our arm and drive into Quorn and, if the car behaves itself we’ll also pop into Loughborough. The mechanic at the garage told me yesterday that, since we are going to replace the cam belt, which also entails removing the fan belt, we may as well fit a new one of those as well. So we will call in to Halfords for one of those. At this rate we’ll never be able to afford the radiators and such that we need for the boat.
Sunday 2nd May and it’s been a rather horrid, windy day. We had intended to take the Day Boat down to Loughborough for the Boat Festival but, since Sheila and Marion found it to be a load of rubbish when they walked into town yesterday, it didn’t seem worth the trouble. Instead, Wifey and I did our usual Sunday lunchtime thingy, and went for a drink instead.
The bad news is that, after a couple of days with no problems with the car, it decided to play up again today. Actually, it didn’t misbehave when I took it to the garage last week, and it didn’t misbehave for the mechanic either. All they found wrong was the Lambda Sensor, which I’m not convinced is causing my current idling speed problem.
The car will be going in again on Friday and, at the cost of £200 for parts, they will fit the Sensor and, along with it, a new Cam Belt kit and Fan Belt. Actually, I may fit the Sensor myself, if I can locate the darn thing that is. Then, if the car still plays up, I’ll know that the Sensor is not the problem and the Diagnostics Man will have to check it out again.
The good news about the garage is that, since the Diagnostics Man didn’t charge them for his time last week, they didn’t charge me for the work carried out.
The other bad news is that the laptop is still a load of rubbish, as it has been almost from the day we bought it. I’ve had a chat with Ivan again – he must be getting a little weary of me by now – and he’s said he will take the laptop away sometime this week, just to check which drivers he needs to download and, once that’s done, he will format this useless laptop and load the good old, reliable Windows XP.
I am seriously beginning to regret getting rid of the Acer. However, since I wasn’t aware that Ivan had anything to do with computers, I really had nowhere else to turn. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Time for Lewis now.
Thursday 6th May and we’ve had a wee drop of rain this morning.
For several weeks now, our pooch has had no problems in the early mornings; there was a period she went through where she needed a call of nature as soon as I got out of bed, her tummy growling and giving me cause to believe I had better get her out pdq. This morning she seems to have reverted to those inconsiderate days, after all, I do prefer a cuppa before considering such mundane tasks. Even after relieving herself, she refused her usual pre-breakfast snack, so Tug Boat Annie will just have to take her out again, and probably before she has her breakfast too.
The promised parts for the car did not turn up on Tuesday, but then I really didn’t expect them to, not with a Bank Holiday weekend before it. However, peeking out of our window yesterday, we did see a delivery man take a couple of parcels into the restaurant; the office doesn’t open on Wednesdays; so I’m hoping my bits have arrived. If they have and the rain keeps off, I’ll see if I can fit the Lambda Sensor which, I hope, will cure our problems. If I don’t do the job, the garage will do so on Friday, along with the Cam Belt and Tensioners.
Today, as is her wont, Wifey will go out for the afternoon with Marion. If it wasn’t for the fact that Marion works, I dare say they would be out all day, which would be fine by me, because I have loads to do with the painting of the flower boxes and starting another recipe book. I am unable to post the new one yet, because I am waiting for Ivan to finish painting his boat, at which time he will have another go at sorting out this laptop. He is almost convinced that the trouble lies with hardware rather than software, which could be just about anything. He’s going to run some more diagnostics and, if it is hardware, it will have to be returned to Comet for repair.
I daren’t post the book on eBay because, if the laptop has to go for repair, I will have no access to the Internet, and will have no way of knowing if I have any buyers. But, at least I can start work on the next book.
Meanwhile I have started painting the side panels for the flower boxes, and I fully intend making a good job of them. I had intended to paint castles on the end panels but, having made a complete hash of it, I might paint roses on those also.
Friday 7th May and today is the day the car goes in for repair, again. £200 worth of parts turned up yesterday, including a Lambda sensor which, I have been assured, can certainly contribute to the problems I have been having with the idling speed. Also in the package was a fan belt and a cam belt kit, the fan belt because, when they replace the cam belt and tensioners, they also have to remove the fan belt, so it is just as well to replace that too.
If anybody reading this blog is concerned about their important and personal files being hacked into by outside interests, I’ve found, via Computer Active Magazine, a programme that deals with such things. And, since I will probably be sending this laptop away for repair soon, it seemed a good idea to ensure our bank details are secure from prying eyes.
The programme is called East-Tec Eraser 2009 and is completely free from www.computeractive.co.uk/eraser/index. When you get to this page and download the programme, you will need a serial number with which to activate the programme. This can be found at www.snipca.com/x1301. The free version is only available until 14th May 2010, so you don’t have much time. You will be given the opportunity to upgrade to the full version on the same page.
Returning to the problems with this laptop, Ivan; who is currently spending a couple of weeks painting his boat, and who has been trying his best to cure my problems; is now of the opinion that the problem is hardware related. Possibly memory, possibly something wrong with the mother board but, whatever it is, it isn’t software. So, my next step is to contact Comet and arrange to have it repaired under warranty. I think their nearest repair shop is in Nottingham so, until the car is sorted, I’ll have to wait a while before I telephone them.
Now, since I am online and, because the Eraser prog is pretty important, I’m now going to post this blog.
All abreast for now from
Dave and Sheila and the Pooch.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Pillings Lock marina 2010#9
Wednesday 21st April and we have another beautiful, sunny morning.
I received a reply from those nice Typeitin people this morning. Paul informed me, something he should have taken the time to inform me about much earlier than this, that my version of the prog is not compatible with Windows 7!! Oh boy!
So, I downloaded the latest version and tried to install it. No such luck. I then tried uninstalling the earlier version, but no luck there either. Why? Because my computer tells me it can only be uninstalled in 64 bit, but I am now running 32 bit.
I then tried deleting the folder from programme files, but, as you would expect from this recalcitrant machine, that didn’t work either.
But, not to worry, help is at hand in the shape of my boater pal, Ivan, who has promised to wipe the HDD and install Windows XP, along with MS Office 2003 Professional and will give me a copy of both.
Say what you like about XP, but at least it had a good run before Vista and 7 came along, and it was much more reliable. Also, with 3Gb of memory, it should run pretty darned fast. Despite certain family members’ protestations to the contrary, Windows 7 sucks, at least on this laptop it does. I shan’t be sorry to see the back of it.
I am now awaiting the arrival of a new external hard drive, which is twice the size of the one I have now. I propose transferring all my backups to the new one and using the old one for saving important files and other installation programmes.
Meanwhile, back at the buildings, I am hoping my AFM arrives today and, more importantly, that it cures the fault. If not, and we find a repair will be too expensive for the car’s value, we will have to start looking for another one. Shame really, I do like the Alfa, having enjoyed driving one when I was still a working stiff. I dare say the super, duper model I saw in Autotrader has now been sold, because I would dearly love to get my hands on that one.
It is now 9.45 am and the Postman has been but, since Wifey met him outside the office, and hasn’t reported back to me, I must assume the part for the car has not turned up. This really is becoming something of a bore, because I can’t decide about the Alfa that is advertised until I know whether the new part solves the problem, by which time it will probably have been sold.
Now, this current situation leaves me on the horns of a dilemma. Do I a) cut the plywood up for the pretty panels on Sheila’s flower boxes or, do I b), get on with reformatting this laptop and installing Windows 7 again or, do I c), simply ensure I have all my files and programmes available on the external hard drive, and turn the laptop over to Ivan for the installation of Windows XP? Of course, I could go for option d) and simply do nothing. Hmm! Hmm! That’s another fine mess you’ve got me into, Stanley!
What I will do, is save this blog to the external hard drive until I need to update it, which could be a few days.
Thursday 22nd April and, while Wifey has been in Nottingham, I have been carrying out the long and laborious task of recovering the laptop, yet again. I have to say though, that I am getting awfully close to asking Ivan to install Windows XP, because this is still not right. Even as I type this in Word 2003, I’m finding the cursor dragging behind my typing, and when I stop typing, and then go on to a new paragraph, the cursor disappears for a few seconds.
As for the car, well the part arrived this morning and I went straight out to fit it. Strangely, when I ran the engine and waited for the automatic choke to cut out, the idling speed fluctuated for a very short while but, while I allowed the engine to warm up to normal temperature, it didn’t do so again. I tried again this afternoon and had the same result. All I need to do now is take the car for a run and see what happens.
Saturday 24th April and, despite Ivan’s attempts at sorting out this laptop, I still have the same old problems. Still the cursor trails behind my typing, still the cursor disappears when I press Enter and still the document will not scroll down when I first open it. OK, so, I have installed Office 2003 again but, since I am running the 32 bit version of 7, this should not be a problem. I am now considering uninstalling 2003 and putting 2007 Home and Student. But, if I do that, I will still have to install 2003 Publisher, because I like to use it for re-sizing photos and, if you try that trick in Word, the picture always sits to one side of the paper, never in the middle.
I have just been running the inbuilt Compatibility Module on this infernal machine, not for the first time I might add and, all of a sudden, the cursor is keeping track of my typing and Word scrolls down without a hiccup. Also, I ran the Module for .pdf files and they seemed OK too. So, what am I to make of this? Well, the only way to find out is to reboot the laptop and try again, just to see if it really has taken effect.
Nope, I just pressed Enter for a new paragraph, and the cursor disappeared for a few seconds.
Sunday 25th April and, as we are supposed to be taking our boats outside the marina for a bar-b-q later today, it’s raining. No surprise there then?
Yesterday, after much fiddle farting about with this laptop, in a serious attempt to speed up the workings of MS Word, I seem to have had a modicum of success. I am typing here, at a fairly rapid pick and peck rate, and the cursor is keeping up with me. The only thing not quite right, is if I hesitate between sentences, which is when it still hesitates, and when I hit Return for a new paragraph, it still disappears for a few seconds. I really don’t know what else I can do, and so I am going to have to live with it until I can get it into a proper repair shop, or buy another one.
It is now 1.30 pm and, having arranged to use the apartment, instead of taking the boats out for our bar b q, the sun has come out. No turning back now, it’s the apartment or nothing.
I have had in my possession for a very long time now, a disc full of autographed photographs of sports stars and other well known people. This particular disc does not show the names of all the people depicted, which is a shame because, even though I recognise many of them, without their name those photos are pretty useless.
Anyway, there was I, blithely going through my disc boot, when I found another disc that also claimed to hold thousands of pictures of well known people. However, when I opened it I found, much to my surprise, that almost all the pictures are titled. Whoopee! This means that, when I can get around to it, I can arrange the photos in separate folders according to their vocations, and then sell them as prints on eBay.
Tuesday 26th April and today is the day the car goes into the garage. Hopefully they will solve the problem without undue cost to us but, whatever the case, we have decided to keep the Alfa, rather than look for another car. Better the devil you know… etcetera!
As for the book, that is now finished and ready for sale on eBay. I have now reduced it to just one volume of 200 recipes, but I have loads more where they came from, so I can compile a second volume as and when it takes my fancy. If the book does well then that will be in about six months time. I might also publish it as a physical book and sell it through Amazon.
Our bar b q should have been held outside the marina but, due to early rain, it was decided to hold it in the marina apartment. This usually would have cost us a few quid but, as Marion works at the marina and, since nobody was in residence at the time, Paul let us use it free of charge.
It’s just as well we held it there because, with the amount of food Marion put out, she would never have managed it on her boat, or even on both our boats, had Sheila helped with the cooking.
This was a very enjoyable evening, with plenty of laughter going around. One particular funny bit stuck in my mind, and that was when Brian was reading through the Guest Book. One wag had scrawled across a page, “Elvis is not dead. I heard him on the radio” We all pretty much creased up at that one.
The view from the apartment is pretty good, especially on a bright, spring or summer evening, so you can imagine our surprise at another entry that read, “This is a right rat hole”. Some folks are just never satisfied, but we didn’t let that spoil our enjoyment. We all, finally, came away with sizeable doggy bags, so Monday was a snack day. Unfortunately I have been left with a dicky tummy, no doubt from the pork pies and sausage rolls. I suppose I shall simply have to leave them alone completely from now on.
Having run the Compatibility Mode on this wretched machine, I now find that Word runs almost perfectly, except for the odd occasion when the cursor disappears, but I can live with that. However, certain other programmes are still not right, especially Internet Explorer and Outlook, which are both rather slow in responding. So, I shall have to do the same to them to see if I can speed them up.
Wifey has now surfaced, so I must assume it is now breakfast time.
It is now 3.30 pm and I am awaiting the verdict about the car from our local garage. Believe it or not, when I ran the engine this morning, prior to taking it in, it behaved itself, even when I left it running up to normal temperature. When I took it to the garage, it didn’t misbehave once. Goodness knows if they’ll find a fault although, when I mentioned the nasty sounding rattle, they said it could be the Universal Joint. Oh, deep joy!
Well, since I am online, I may as well post this latest screbe.
Cheers me dears from
Dave, Sheila and the Mutt.
I received a reply from those nice Typeitin people this morning. Paul informed me, something he should have taken the time to inform me about much earlier than this, that my version of the prog is not compatible with Windows 7!! Oh boy!
So, I downloaded the latest version and tried to install it. No such luck. I then tried uninstalling the earlier version, but no luck there either. Why? Because my computer tells me it can only be uninstalled in 64 bit, but I am now running 32 bit.
I then tried deleting the folder from programme files, but, as you would expect from this recalcitrant machine, that didn’t work either.
But, not to worry, help is at hand in the shape of my boater pal, Ivan, who has promised to wipe the HDD and install Windows XP, along with MS Office 2003 Professional and will give me a copy of both.
Say what you like about XP, but at least it had a good run before Vista and 7 came along, and it was much more reliable. Also, with 3Gb of memory, it should run pretty darned fast. Despite certain family members’ protestations to the contrary, Windows 7 sucks, at least on this laptop it does. I shan’t be sorry to see the back of it.
I am now awaiting the arrival of a new external hard drive, which is twice the size of the one I have now. I propose transferring all my backups to the new one and using the old one for saving important files and other installation programmes.
Meanwhile, back at the buildings, I am hoping my AFM arrives today and, more importantly, that it cures the fault. If not, and we find a repair will be too expensive for the car’s value, we will have to start looking for another one. Shame really, I do like the Alfa, having enjoyed driving one when I was still a working stiff. I dare say the super, duper model I saw in Autotrader has now been sold, because I would dearly love to get my hands on that one.
It is now 9.45 am and the Postman has been but, since Wifey met him outside the office, and hasn’t reported back to me, I must assume the part for the car has not turned up. This really is becoming something of a bore, because I can’t decide about the Alfa that is advertised until I know whether the new part solves the problem, by which time it will probably have been sold.
Now, this current situation leaves me on the horns of a dilemma. Do I a) cut the plywood up for the pretty panels on Sheila’s flower boxes or, do I b), get on with reformatting this laptop and installing Windows 7 again or, do I c), simply ensure I have all my files and programmes available on the external hard drive, and turn the laptop over to Ivan for the installation of Windows XP? Of course, I could go for option d) and simply do nothing. Hmm! Hmm! That’s another fine mess you’ve got me into, Stanley!
What I will do, is save this blog to the external hard drive until I need to update it, which could be a few days.
Thursday 22nd April and, while Wifey has been in Nottingham, I have been carrying out the long and laborious task of recovering the laptop, yet again. I have to say though, that I am getting awfully close to asking Ivan to install Windows XP, because this is still not right. Even as I type this in Word 2003, I’m finding the cursor dragging behind my typing, and when I stop typing, and then go on to a new paragraph, the cursor disappears for a few seconds.
As for the car, well the part arrived this morning and I went straight out to fit it. Strangely, when I ran the engine and waited for the automatic choke to cut out, the idling speed fluctuated for a very short while but, while I allowed the engine to warm up to normal temperature, it didn’t do so again. I tried again this afternoon and had the same result. All I need to do now is take the car for a run and see what happens.
Saturday 24th April and, despite Ivan’s attempts at sorting out this laptop, I still have the same old problems. Still the cursor trails behind my typing, still the cursor disappears when I press Enter and still the document will not scroll down when I first open it. OK, so, I have installed Office 2003 again but, since I am running the 32 bit version of 7, this should not be a problem. I am now considering uninstalling 2003 and putting 2007 Home and Student. But, if I do that, I will still have to install 2003 Publisher, because I like to use it for re-sizing photos and, if you try that trick in Word, the picture always sits to one side of the paper, never in the middle.
I have just been running the inbuilt Compatibility Module on this infernal machine, not for the first time I might add and, all of a sudden, the cursor is keeping track of my typing and Word scrolls down without a hiccup. Also, I ran the Module for .pdf files and they seemed OK too. So, what am I to make of this? Well, the only way to find out is to reboot the laptop and try again, just to see if it really has taken effect.
Nope, I just pressed Enter for a new paragraph, and the cursor disappeared for a few seconds.
Sunday 25th April and, as we are supposed to be taking our boats outside the marina for a bar-b-q later today, it’s raining. No surprise there then?
Yesterday, after much fiddle farting about with this laptop, in a serious attempt to speed up the workings of MS Word, I seem to have had a modicum of success. I am typing here, at a fairly rapid pick and peck rate, and the cursor is keeping up with me. The only thing not quite right, is if I hesitate between sentences, which is when it still hesitates, and when I hit Return for a new paragraph, it still disappears for a few seconds. I really don’t know what else I can do, and so I am going to have to live with it until I can get it into a proper repair shop, or buy another one.
It is now 1.30 pm and, having arranged to use the apartment, instead of taking the boats out for our bar b q, the sun has come out. No turning back now, it’s the apartment or nothing.
I have had in my possession for a very long time now, a disc full of autographed photographs of sports stars and other well known people. This particular disc does not show the names of all the people depicted, which is a shame because, even though I recognise many of them, without their name those photos are pretty useless.
Anyway, there was I, blithely going through my disc boot, when I found another disc that also claimed to hold thousands of pictures of well known people. However, when I opened it I found, much to my surprise, that almost all the pictures are titled. Whoopee! This means that, when I can get around to it, I can arrange the photos in separate folders according to their vocations, and then sell them as prints on eBay.
Tuesday 26th April and today is the day the car goes into the garage. Hopefully they will solve the problem without undue cost to us but, whatever the case, we have decided to keep the Alfa, rather than look for another car. Better the devil you know… etcetera!
As for the book, that is now finished and ready for sale on eBay. I have now reduced it to just one volume of 200 recipes, but I have loads more where they came from, so I can compile a second volume as and when it takes my fancy. If the book does well then that will be in about six months time. I might also publish it as a physical book and sell it through Amazon.
Our bar b q should have been held outside the marina but, due to early rain, it was decided to hold it in the marina apartment. This usually would have cost us a few quid but, as Marion works at the marina and, since nobody was in residence at the time, Paul let us use it free of charge.
It’s just as well we held it there because, with the amount of food Marion put out, she would never have managed it on her boat, or even on both our boats, had Sheila helped with the cooking.
This was a very enjoyable evening, with plenty of laughter going around. One particular funny bit stuck in my mind, and that was when Brian was reading through the Guest Book. One wag had scrawled across a page, “Elvis is not dead. I heard him on the radio” We all pretty much creased up at that one.
The view from the apartment is pretty good, especially on a bright, spring or summer evening, so you can imagine our surprise at another entry that read, “This is a right rat hole”. Some folks are just never satisfied, but we didn’t let that spoil our enjoyment. We all, finally, came away with sizeable doggy bags, so Monday was a snack day. Unfortunately I have been left with a dicky tummy, no doubt from the pork pies and sausage rolls. I suppose I shall simply have to leave them alone completely from now on.
Having run the Compatibility Mode on this wretched machine, I now find that Word runs almost perfectly, except for the odd occasion when the cursor disappears, but I can live with that. However, certain other programmes are still not right, especially Internet Explorer and Outlook, which are both rather slow in responding. So, I shall have to do the same to them to see if I can speed them up.
Wifey has now surfaced, so I must assume it is now breakfast time.
It is now 3.30 pm and I am awaiting the verdict about the car from our local garage. Believe it or not, when I ran the engine this morning, prior to taking it in, it behaved itself, even when I left it running up to normal temperature. When I took it to the garage, it didn’t misbehave once. Goodness knows if they’ll find a fault although, when I mentioned the nasty sounding rattle, they said it could be the Universal Joint. Oh, deep joy!
Well, since I am online, I may as well post this latest screbe.
Cheers me dears from
Dave, Sheila and the Mutt.
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