Talk about a cockup!

Sunrise at 8am

 Not the best starts to the day. Appointments had been made in Sandiacre, the dentist for both of us at 10am and then a nurses appointment re vaccinations for our trip to Duhbi at 11am. With the Doctors being directly opposite the dentist one would assume that nothing could go wrong. And thereby you have it. We assumed and it all went wrong! First we hadnt put onto the equation that the dentist may have been running late, and secondly, that Ian had written the wrong time and date in the dairy! Sitting in the dentist waiting room we were on tenterhooks watching the minutes go by and we very nearly gave up on that appointment. We were just about to get up and go when we were both called in together. 15 minutes was all the time we could afford to give the dentist and, give her her due, she got both check ups done in 10 minutes. Then a 2 minute walk across the road and we were in at the doctors. The 11am, two minute silence was about to start but we had enough time to give our names and expect to be told to sit down. Thats when the second of our assumptions went wrong. Not only had Ian booked the wrong day (was for tomorrow) but the appointment Ian thought he had made to see the doctor tomorrow was actually the 11am appointment for today.(confused? yes I was too) That in itself would have been okay had it not been for the fact it was at their sister surgery 3 miles away!!!! So as soon as the two minute silence was over and with the promise from the receptionist that she would phone the other surgery, we high tailed it to Stapleford. Within a minute of arrival Ian was whisked away, saw the doctor and was out again after 5 minutes. Me thinks the doctor had got fed up waiting and wanted Ian gone as soon as possible!

So after all that hoo ha we decided to go to Dolkhom Lock and see how work was progressing. Met a lovely C&RT guy Graham Mitchell who was only to willing to tell us about the work. Apparently, with only one crane barge and both top and bottom gates being replaced, the lock had to be dewatered twice. First with the crane barge above the lock, replace those gates, refill lock, turn crane boat round at Sandiacre winding hole, drop down below lock and then dewater to replace bottom gates. 'What a  right palava' said he, 'Took us a lot longer to do then previously thought'. 'Shame we didn't have second crane barge, that would have made life easier'. I then went off taking photos leaving Ian to continue to chat with Graham. On my return Graham asked if I would like him to take some photos 'first hand'. So handing him my camera and showing him what button to press I left him to it. So first 7 photos are mine.

Temporary footpath around the work. Permission had to be given by the EA for this to be done at C&RT's cost.

  

 

Old top gate

Graham Mitchell in black

 And then Grahams photos,

Me and Ian behind bars!

New top gate

  I then got the camera back and took these last few,

Removing the safety ladder

Old bottom gates

 

Anything in there to eat?

Let me see....

Nope just a load of junk.

Toilet talk again and a meeting with fellow bloggers

Wasn't quite so bad last night. Most of the fireworks happened in a one hour period between 7 and 8pm and not half as loud as the night before. It was also very foggy, which may have put them off, and gave the basin an eerie feel to it.

Managed to get one firework going off.

 After the fog of last night we woke to clear blue skies. A glorious day for a ride out to Willington. We needed more loo stuff so a visit to Midland Chandlers was the order for today. For several years we have been using Odourlos. "Guaranteed to stop all tank odours". Now normally Ian empties the cassette because I find it too heavy to carry but on several occasions, when Ian was unable to do the job, I did it. Now to me it was far from odourless! In fact I found the smell very unpleasant. Chatting to the nice man at the Chandlers he sort of suggested that we have been using the wrong product. Odourlos is for holding tanks not cassettes! So then came the decision of what to try. Blue Loo is the product most boaters go for but again I remember my hire boat days when the smell of the Blue Loo in the holding tank was ever present in the bathroom and found the smell most obnoxious.. Not knowing whether the manufacturers had improved the odour we decided (with the recommendation of that very nice man) to try B-Fresh Blue. Will report back once we have tried it.

I may have forgotten to mention it earlier but the Chandlers are at Mercia Marina. Several blogging friends are moored there and knowing we were heading that way we contacted Roger and Pat The Cat's Whiskers. to see if they were available to see us. We met up at the Chandlers and it was suggested that coffee at the farm shop in the Boardwalk would be nice. In all intense and purposes this building should have been a right eyesore, a blot on the landscape so to speak. In fact it's anything but.  Far from being over powering I felt it blended in very well with the surroundings with a lovely view over the Marina.

Side view of the Boardwalk with Roger, Ian and Pat in the foreground.

So off we trundle to the cafe. Me being me and ever on the look out for wildlife, I spied this Cormorant diving. Luckily I had my camera with me and got this shot of the Cormorant catching a fish.

Cafe in the farm shop

It was while we were chatting away that Pat noticed Bruce Sanity Again arrive. I did no more then rush over and say hello.  We may only have had a brief chat but it was lovely to see Bruce again. Last time was in Aug 2012.  Didn't see Sheila but hopefully will when we are next over that way.

Nipped over to our daughter Christine for a spot of lunch and also to collect the post. Her address is our mailing address and quite handy when we are back at Langley. Ian had ordered the taps for the new shower, the first part of the shower to arrive. I would have included a photo but he's already taken them across to the workshop. Cant wait for the rest of the bits to arrive (shower tray, doors, wall covering etc)  And then the ceremonial breaking up of the bath. How good will that be.

Felt a bit of a plonker

Blimey, I talked about WW111 yesterday and last night I honestly thought war had broken out. The noise was horrific! Loud bangs, booms and what sounded like canon fire going off from nearby houses. Now I'm not one for moaning as you well know (is that shouts of 'yea right'! I hear?)  but November 5th has been and gone and the fireworks should have been put away until next year. We even had to turn the sound up on the TV and no, I'm not exaggerating. So glad when it all died a death by 9ish. I expect more tonight so maybe the ear plugs will have to go in! 

What a lovely day for a walk this morning and as soon as I dropped down below the lock I was again lucky enough to see the Kingfisher. He fishes the stretch between Langley Mill lock and Eastwood lock every morning so I pretty well expect to see him on a daily basis.

The mist was rising from the water and the glare of the sun was blinding so seeing anything was difficult but what I did see when looking across Anchor bridge was what appeared to be steam rising from the fence. Nothing unusual in that but it was the way it was streaming across. Not something one sees every day.

Veering off the towpath I cut across the fields. Loads of birds around, some of which I'll post on my wildlife blog. Off course I'd forgotten about all the rain yesterday. Only had on my walking boots instead of wellies and my feet, as well as trouser bottoms, got very wet! Then I had to cut across the field of horses. This meant clambering over two stiles. Biggest problem was my legs were to short to reach over the center rail so you can imagine what happened next. I managed to get one leg over, sat on the rail and shuffled along and then promptly fell backward hard on my bum when I tried to get the other leg across! So there I was, bottom on floor and leg stuck up on the rail. Talk about feeling an idiot! Sooooo glad there was no one around to see it. Got myself down okay but then had to walk the rest of the way back to FS feeling a little moist from the waist down!

I'm showing this stile as it is an exact replica of the one I had to get over. Except the other one was by a very muddy and very wet field.

 Returning along the Nottingham canal (disused) it was nice to see horses along the route and as I was watching them pass I noticed that the meadow had small sunflowers in it. Having taken my other camera with macro lens I had a field day scanning for bugs.

So here is my bug and macro fest.

 No not the planets in the solar system but Pearl droplets on a spiders web

still a few wild flowers in bloom

Tiny fungi in the horses field

Inside the sunflower

Bug enjoying what pollen remains in the Sunflower head

A spiritual haze round the moon perhaps?

Sad day yesterday as we said farewell to Malcolm, a long standing member of the ECP&DA. He was only 67 and still to young to leave this world. It was the dreaded C that got him but he fought it tooth and nail right to the end. We turned up at the crematorium to find 100's of people lined up at the entrance. Surely they were not all there for Malcolm's funeral? But they were. We couldn't believe how popular he had been. When the hearse arrived complete with a narrowboat made of flowers resting on top, Marleen, (Malcolm's wife), stepped out of the car to a sea of faces and told us afterwards that she had been completely overwhelmed by the support. We had only known Malcolm since joining the society so knew nothing about his past life. Apparently, until he retired at 57, Malcolm had been a train driver and started his training in the days of the steam. He joined a local walking club stopping at local hostelries frequently to partake of the amber nectar , bought and ran the Royal Oak on the Erewash canal at Long Eaton when he retired, cycled everywhere as he couldn't drive and had a real passion for all things boaty. No wonder so many people came to say their farewells. In fact it was estimated 250 people had turned up with only 100 managing to get into the chapel. The rest, us included, had to stand in the reception room and listen and watch the service on TV.  He will be remembered by those in the society as a great character and one all of us will miss terribly.

Ian and Malcolm painting the bridge at the Pelsall rally June 2013.  4 months later he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a year to live. He made 1 year and 1 day.

On a lighter note, arriving back after the wake I happen to notice the moon. A wonderfully coloured haze surrounded it. I like to think it's Malcolm's spirit shinning his light over us.

All to soon it was gone and the moon returned to it'd normal self.

Today has been a total wash out. My planned walk this morning was a no brainer because of the rain but if Jade had still been with us I would have had to go! She would give me that stare that said 'come on mum, time for walkies' and continue to do so until I moved toward the back of the boat. She would then heave herself up and rush as fast as she could (which wasn't that quick toward the end) trying to push me out of the way so as to beat me to the door. I do so miss those days and would gladly have got soaked to the skin just to have her back. As you can tell it's taking me a long time to get over not having her around.

At the moment all I have done is sit in front of the TV and watch More 4's documentary's on the brave soldiers sent to fight in world war 1. To endure those awful conditions in the trench's for years and not just our men but the German soldiers as well. They all had mums, dads. wives and loved ones waiting in the hope that they would return. So many lives lost and for what! WW11 wasn't much better. Still more men on both sides all gone. Please God may there never be a WW111.

Would gladly have gone out in this if Jade was still with me.

Have reached 2000

Since starting this blog 6 years ago I have now reached my 2000th post. Some might say a lot of what I've posted has been utter drivel and I suppose I could agree with that......on some occasions anyway. Ian is always wanting to know what I find to write about as, according to him, nothing much has happened during that day. I obviously see things differently and what I find important in the day he doesn't. So I will continue to write a load of drivel and hope that you all continue to read my nonsense and maybe, sometimes, I could even make a bit of sense.