Coach line painted on back panel plus another quick update on Ian

It's typical! Masking done and dusted days ago and then down came the rain for the next two days!! Luckily, the low tack masking tape can withstand numerous wetting and drying out and so didn't cause any bleeding from the new paint when it was first brushed on. When the final 3rd coat was applied yesterday, the result was everything I had hoped. Now we only have the rest of this side to finish before we start all over again on the other side.

Before

and after.

We had a nice surprise today. Maureen and Terry on Nb Motex came up Langley Bridge lock just before noon. Back in July 2008 we met them at the end of the Ruford Arm as, like us, they too were also waiting to attempt the Ribble link and ultimately get onto the Lancaster canal. They told me they had been trying for weeks to reach us here at Langley, but what with the Erewash closure and then the river Trent being on red boards, they just had to stay put and wait it out. We reckon this weekend should be a hoot now that they have arrived. We're going to make the most of their visit with frequenting the local eateries and hostelry's.

Ian is doing okay. His chemo went ahead on Monday and for once we only had to wait 30 minutes before getting into 'the chair'. Unfortunately, the nurse who redressed the arm to secure his pic line, didn't quite get the adapter in the right place and consequently he suffered with some discomfort every time he rested his arm on the chair or tried to lay on his side to sleep. Next day he went back to the chemo ward to have it dressed again. The girl on the reception told him he would be seen very quickly. Well 3 hours of waiting later, he not only found a nurse and asked her how long it would be before he was seen, he also spoke to the receptionist again who repeated what she had told him 3 hours previously. By now, Ian had got himself into a right state. To change the dressing would have taken no more than 5 minutes, but it appeared that no one was going to be bothered about doing it. In the end, he told the staff exactly what he thought of their' it won't be long' speech and stormed out. By the time he returned to the boat steam was coming out of his ears, so I did no more than remove the dressing myself, adjust the pic line adapter (had some concerns that I might have dislodged something, and he would end up bleeding all over the boat) and with the lint we had in our first aid box as well as a bandage, managed to make the dressing much more comfortable. This is not quite the end of the tale, as this morning his arm under the pic line looked very red and swollen. I worried that I may have done some damage, but Ian assured me it was looking red even before I fiddled with it So Ian took himself off to the centre at Ilkeston. There they thought he may have an infection, and so they issued yet more antibiotics with strict instructions that he must inform the consultant if it doesn't get better. So now we wait for the drugs to do their job. Not sure if I'm going to enjoy going back to the chemo ward with Ian next Monday, especially after he let rip at the staff there. Still, the nurses are there to nurse and, although we are fully aware that they are rushed off their feet due to staff shortages, I'm sure one of them could have managed a 5-minute dressing change!