Home once more.

Firstly may we say a huge thank you for all you messages of support, either on here or on our facebook pages. We really do read them all, even if we do not manage to reply to them all.

As you can see from the title of this post. Keith is home again. Having spent the night in hospital, they sent him home on Thursday and told me he had to manage the pain at home, as they can do nothing until he has the exploritory operation, which may not be until May. The Consultants Reg, who was looking after him, did give some hope, as he is going to try and get the operation date moved forward, but neither of us will hold our breath.

The experience in A&E this time was certainly not a happy affair, when targets seemed more important than the fact that Keith was in pain and needed to be treated. We arrived in A&E at 4.05am and waited to be seen. It was very busy as always, with people screaming and shouting. Patients running off and police and security all over the place. Just a normal night in A&E. But what really got me annoyed was when I sat and listened to the sister and doctor standing in A&E arguing about my husband. The argument began because they had just five minutes left of the four hour turn around time and no decision had been taken by the doctor as to what they would do with Keith. So the sister wrote him down as going home. This of course annoyed the doctor and an argument began. It ended with the sister telling the doctor, he had five minutes to make his decision, otherwise they would be over their target time of four hours, to assess, treat, refer or send home time. As it turned out having gone ten minutes over the turn around time, the doctor sent Keith up to the SAU (Surgical Assessment Unit) for the surgeons to assess him. The sister then wrote on the board that Keith was referred at 8 ish, just so she could keep her target time of being seen within the four hours. Infact she was out by a good ten minutes. Who says they fiddle their target times???

So having been transferred to SAU, he was given a Morphine injection and put on a Paracetamol drip, which did nothing to easy his pain. The Consultants Reg saw him later in the evening and agreed that Keith needed the exploritory operation and would do his best to bring it forward. Keith had a comfortable night and on Thursday morning was told he could come home, as there was nothing more they could do for him. He has to manage his pain at home.

Back on the boat, things have settled down once more and he is coping with the pain. I am sure he is rattling with all the pills he is taking. As he felt more comfortable we moved Hadar from one side of the basin to the other, to help Debbie with mooring issues. She had a 70ft hire boat coming in over the weekend and needed our space. We are now moored near the Sanitary Station, out of the way. It is actually a quieter mooring and of course closer to the bins etc. We are not complaining, because Debbie has been so wonderful at allowing us to stay.

We have enjoyed visits from friends Al and Del on Derwent No6. It is always a pleasure to see them both. Thank you for the Easter Egg. We will think of you as we tuck into it on Easter Day.
We will now wait and hope that an appointment comes very soon. So that Keith can get rid of his pain and we can get on with cruising the system.

Have a fantastic week everyone.

Back In Hospital

This is just a quickie to say that Keith is back in hospital. We went in by ambulance at 3am this morning as he was in such a lot of pain and they have kept him in. I left him at 12.30pm and he had been given a Morphine injection and put on a Paracetamol drip. So maybe, just maybe they will keep him in and sort him out... properly. Surely that is not to much to ask for???

Waterfront Restaurant

The recently refurbished Waterfront Restaurant here at Union Wharf reopened yesterday under new management, http://www.restaurantfoxtonlocks.co.uk/page/the_waterfront. Jo and I decided we should try it out yesterday at lunchtime, and what a treat it was. Inside the decor is tastefully done, with excellent large photos of the basin and Foxton on the walls, including one of Hadar. We sat at the table underneath this photo and now claim it as our very special table, lol. We were joined by John and Jo off of nb Acen and enjoyed a superb lunch with them for company. Jo had the Waterfront crayfish cocktail, and I had the broccoli and Roquefort cheese soup, followed by both having the wild boar sausages and mash with Tawny port jus and vegatables, superbly presented and served, it was all very tasty too. We wish the new owners every success in this new venture, and if their experience from running the Foxton Locks Inn is anything to go by they should do well.

A Rare Night Out.

Hi Folks.

Last night Keith and I enjoyed a night out with Al and Del, NB Derwent. It was a real treat, because of late we have not been out much because Keith has really not felt up to it. But yesterday was a good day, as he had no major pain, which was a miracle. So having been invited to join Al and Del at Joules Eating House for an Acoustic Night, we got dressed up and walked down to Joules Eating House with Al and Del. Despite being in Market Harborough for a while it was our first time at Joules Eating House and we were amazed by the place, it is stuck in its own time capsule. Mo and Nessa on NB Balmaha, have told us about the place and now we have seen it for ourselves.
If you ever get the chance to pop in the Joules Eating House you will be amazed by the atomosphere there. In the Restaurant the walls are covered in sheet music. It has all the charm and elegance of the bygone Victorian era.
Thank you Al and Del for a wonderful evening of chatter and excellent music. I have not laughed this much for ages. The music was supplied by some fantastic local talent, which would win any talent show all hands down.
The Joules Acoustic sessions are held throughout the year on the 3rd Thursday of every month, so if your visiting Market Harborough, go and enjoy some excellent music. It is completely free, you just have to buy your own beer.

Engine Working again

Keith collected the repaired Injector Pump yesterday and refitted it today, and the engine is running ok again now. This is the broken spring, from the pump, which has been replaced.

Poorly engine to match her owner.

Hadar is coming out in sympathy with Keith now. Keith tried to start Hadar's engine over the weekend and it ran only on one cylinder again. We stripped it down this morning to isolate it to one of the fuel injector pumps not working. Keith removed it from the engine and is taking it to Tony Redshaw tomorrow to get it fixed. David on NB First Fruits, has kindly offered to take Keith to Tony's in the morning. With us not being able to go anywhere at the moment, it is as good a time as any to get this problem sorted out.

Mother's Day and Good Friends.

Hi folks.

Firstly Happy Mother's Day to Mum's everywhere.

We have not posted much of late because when your stationary, there is very little to write about. I am quite sure you would get quite bored with our daily routine of walking the dog and stoking the fires. Or should that be fire, as we have let the back stove out, because it was getting a little too warm at night.

Over this past few days, I have been busy with boat jobs, such as painting and cleaning, whilst Keith is still working on his Rag Rugs. He is building up a nice collection now.

Mo and Vanessa on NB Balmaha are on the towpath for the weekend. It is always wonderful to see them both. We tend to spend time putting the world to right in our conversations and of course we chat about boating as well. Yesterday I delivered them some coal, to keep them warm in the evenings, which are drawing out nicely. Mo and Nessa are leaving on Monday for a few weeks. But we will see them again in April and will have more things to chat about no doubt.
Today was a real treat, because we had a surprize visit from Merleen and Paul who used to have NB Lady Celine. It has been a good few months since we saw them last. If I remember correctly it was back last summer, when we were in the Saltisford Arm for a few days. We welcomed them both onboard and sat chatting over a cuppa. Catching up is always so much fun. They no longer miss the boat and are enjoying their new life in Warwick. We will catch up with them again, the next time we are down Warwick way.

Keith is still very much the same, his pain is up and down on a daily basis. There is no progress on his operation date, so I will be ringing the hospital tomorrow, to see if I cannot push things along a little.

Cold Coal Delivery

We are both up early this morning for another coal delivery. It dropped to -6.7C here overnight and the canal has frozen over yet again, winter is not giving up just yet. Fortunately we are only having 3 tonnes delivered this morning so won't be out in the cold too long!

Down to earth with a bang

Yesterday we had a restless night, as Keith was not so good through the night. We were disturbed once more at around 7am, by a crash, bang wallop on the roof. My first thought was a duck. So when I climbed out of the boat to walk Paddy, I was not surprised to see a Mallard lying on the roof. We reckon she had probably landed heavily on the boat, to get away from a randy drake. On closer inspection, I noticed that she was in fact limping. Whether the injury was caused by landing on the roof heavily or she got this injury somewhere else we did not know. The decision was taken, to leave her be and just keep an eye on her. If she became distressed or her limp got worse, we were prepared to call either the RSPCA or the local wildlife rescue. She stayed put for most of the morning, but close to lunchtime, she walked to the edge of the roof and leapt off. Her limp did not look too bad, so hopefully she will be fine. I will keep an eye open for her over the next few days.

Life goes on.

The going's on in our lives, can best be described as a little boring at the moment. But that is just how it is. I wish I could say we were moving on and setting the system a light with the sound of Hadar's engine. But unfortunately that is not the case, and will not be the case for a while whilst Keith is unwell. So we are having to make the best of our time here in Market Harborough. It has to be said that everyone here has been wonderful and has made us feel very welcome.
The weather for the past two days has been , what can only be described as glorious. We have had two very frosty mornings, which have turned into fantastic sunny days. Yesterday I cleaned the boat's brass and smothered a layer of Vaseline over it to stop it tarnishing so quickly. I also got the usual boat jobs done. Keith is still very busy making Rag Rugs. He is making another large one at the moment and it looks fantastic.

March usually see's people beginning to move out of their winter moorings and so yesterday Chris and Richard and Rio (dog) on NB Digitalis slipped their winter mooring, said their farewells and left for a summer of cruising. It was sad to see them go, because it has been nice to have had their company. They are such a lovely couple and a real laugh. No sooner had they left, Irene and Ian on NB Freespirit arrived on the towpath, they had come to get some shopping done, before they were moving off to pastures new. It was nice to catch up with them and hear the excellent news that Ian is free from treatment, so they can enjoy their cruising this year. Ann and Kev on NB Endeavour arrived later in the afternoon and are staying for a few days, so we will have a chance to catch up with them and their news.

Today I walked along the towpath with the mutt and said good morning to a kingfisher, squirrel, magpie and the swans. Along with the sunshine, seems to come good cheer from everyone I met. My jobs today have included painting the mushroom vents on the roof. I have done three of them to cut down on the amount of brass I have to clean. I washed the boat down and spent a good couple of hours chatting to people in the basin. At the moment I have a green curry cooking in the back stove for tonights dinner. We will have that with some rice. I have just delivered some coal to Sue and John on NB Nuthatch, they are moored further up the towpath. It was lovely to stand and have a chat to them. I think we managed to put the world to right in 15 minutes ha ha ha.

So although we are not moving far at the moment, we are both doing as well as can be expected. Life goes on and at the end of the day, we will soon be on the move once more.