10 out of 10 and 8 out of 10 for the blind date was relayed to the hospital where Bran Flakes had been served up this morning along with a request for a banana.
I joined the Geraghty zoom, very good to see all of Mick’s sisters, there seems to be a touch of hospital relay race going on in the family, one out, one in and another waiting to go in. Here’s hoping in a few weeks everyone will be at home and all sorted. Subjects discussed today obviously included medical things, armed guard drug deliveries, jazz hand sight tests, pulling the whistle and poo dominoes!
A good sun puddle day for Tilly
I packed a bag for Mick, our hope is that if I provided him with several clean sets of clothes he’d end up not needing them, fingers crossed. A new set of pyjamas was requested, no washing of clothes allowed on Oleanna at the moment to conserve water, plus his ear plugs. Last night after one chap had finally persuaded the staff to let him go home despite there not being a full array of his drugs to take with him (the missing one he had plenty of already at home) a new patent was admitted. Everyone on the ward has been affected in different ways by their stroke, this poor fella needed his bed changing several times during the night which obviously was quite disturbing for everyone, especially himself.
A brighter sky today
One bus company don’t run on Sundays, I had to make sure I wouldn’t end up being stranded either as the buses stopped late afternoon. A visit to Primark on the way to catch the bus then it zoomed it’s way up to Derby.
Mick was making full use of his chair, it even had an extra gel pad to sit on. No new news and no visits from a doctor of any sort, he’s just in a holding bed, or that’s what it feels like. In the bed opposite is a chap who has lost more sight than Mick. The Occupational Therapists had taken him into a kitchen on the ward and asked him to make a cuppa. ‘I wouldn’t know how, I never make tea, my wife does it’ ‘What sort of things do you cook?’ ‘I don’t, my wife does the cooking’. He was also taken for a walk down the ward then asked to find his way back to his room, ‘How am I meant to do that?’ He’s certain they have written that he is stroppy on his notes and isn’t allowed home because of this. He did offer Mick some positive news that 18 to 20% of people who have sight loss after a stroke make a full recovery, wonder if he’ll ever be capable of making his own cuppa!
We chatted, swapped clothes over. Took a photo so everyone can see he’s still with us. He insisted on me taking the photo of him pulling that funny face. Good job he was a telephone engineer and not an actor hamming it up like that! Mick ordered roast chicken for his dinner which sounded like a good idea, so I headed off to catch a bus that would have me back in Burton in time to do some shopping.
How do single people manage to shop? It’s been twenty odd years since I lived on my own. I wanted just a chicken leg to roast with some veg. I could only buy them in fours. The freezer is full of the things we had delivered last week so no room for three legs in there. I ended up buying a small chicken to roast.
Micks chicken breast looked like it had been grown in a lab, mine had tarragon and garlic under the skin. Mick had watery things that resembled sprouts, I had crunchy broccoli. Mick had gravy that had been nuked in a microwave, turned slightly chewy towards the edges, I had gravy with wine and tomato puree in it. What I didn’t have was little packets of salt and pepper though!
0 locks, 0 miles, 4 sisters, 2 buses, 1 pyjama set, 2 clean pairs of pants and socks, 1 cheese salad, 1 bored boy, 1 stroppy chap, 1 well used chair, 1 small chicken, 1 cultured chicken, 1 bored cat, 0 new neighbours on the cut, 2 boaters 1 cat with everything crossed for tomorrow.
I woke at 6 feeling a little odd, was it something I’d eaten or stress related? I haven’t had a funny turn like this is in years. Mick had a slightly quieter night in the hospital. Porridge for breakfast, not really hot, but not cold as he normally has it on the boat. When I woke I opted to collect the Saturday newspaper before having breakfast. My pace nowhere near brisk today, I felt quite rotten really, good job we’d decided I’d not head to the hospital. If I had a bug I didn’t want to take it in with me. The paper was placed on Micks side of the bed, it’s purchase not quite so much of a treat this weekend.
Hopefully these would sort my insides out
Poached eggs on toast would hopefully make things better. Then it was time to do some work. I tried rescanning things. I compared scans. The ones the print company were saying were better, were in my mind really quite bad!
Quack!
Was there a different way of scanning them? Would they need to be sent to the printers to be scanned? Not having my IT department handy wasn’t helping. I decided to do some chores instead for a while. On Oleanna, as I’m sure happens in most homes, we each have jobs we do, you could call them pink or blue jobs, but I’m really not partial to pink! It’s time we got to know each others jobs. Today the yellow water needed emptying. Which cap to take off? There are two next to each other, one connected to a gulper pump, the other for a manual pump should the gulper stop working. ‘Which ever is finger tight’ ah yes easy! Container outside the bathroom porthole and you can reach everything . Job done.
Container and hose, ready to pump
Now could I sort the bathroom cupboard? The mirrored door goes into a spring loaded push to open catch, which should release when you push the door. With aid of a screw driver pulling the door out whilst I also pushed it in it came free very easily. It might be that the door hinges need tightening. Or more likely the catch needs replacing as the spring isn’t springing anymore. For the time being the door can remain slightly open, Tilly hopefully won’t be so bored that she tries to empty the cupboard, the toilet roll will get murdered long before she discovers the cupboard.
A bit of a tuna theme with hospital meals today, a jacket potato with cheese and tuna, this came with 3 pats of butter, most probably salted. For dinner Mick opted for a tuna salad, far healthier than the chicken goujons and chips.
Butter
I battened everything down on the roof as the wind was picking up. Did my best to popper the extra poppers on the covers. This is quite difficult on 8 year old covers with my reduced grip, as the covers have shrunk and are really REALLY tight.
Time to get back to panto. Chatgpt suggested using a setting I’d tried on the scanner, it should allow me to scan at 1200 dpi if I dug deep enough. Just how to turn off the thumbnail viewer though?. There were suggestions, but the right things didn’t appear on menus, a bit like veg in hospital meals! The scanner wanted to update itself, I let it. Then hey presto the thumbnail viewer had vanished! The first scan took forever, a good sign. The file size bigger in pixels as well as DPI and half a GB. Before I lost whatever settings I’d set I made sure I scanned everything I could find.
Us girls holding the fort
A try out to see if Mick would be able to join the Geraghty zoom tomorrow from his hospital room. At Christmas he was given a headband which has built in speakers. This is so you can lie in bed without having headphones in your ears, much more comfortable. The headband has proved useful in hospital as it also can be worn over your eyes. Mick wanted to try it out with his phone to see if he could talk on zoom without his room in the hospital being able to hear everything. Well I was audible across the ward, Mick was only occasionally audible here in Burton and he was nowhere to be seen on screen. So sadly he won’t be able to chat to his sisters in the morning.
The chilly wind outside spurred me on to light the stove. So as the gales and downpours hit, Tilly and I sat all cosy inside Oleanna. I spent the rest of the evening tidying up the cyc for Panto, if the printers say it’s better I need to find the time to rework all the other things they’ll be printing.
0 locks, 0 miles, 0.5 water tank, 1 Saturday newspaper, 1 wobbly Pip, 1 bored Mick, 1 sausage day for Tilly, 13 minutes brisk walking, 18.6grams Butter, 1 cosy warm stove, 1200dpi, 1 scanner fooled into working beyond itself.
When Mick had talked to the GP on Tuesday they had decided to change a blood pressure drug he was on. Unfortunately this drug wasn’t available in the stroke unit, but there was a prescription waiting for him at Boots in Burton which would mean he’d be able to take one today.
Tidying things up
I had the morning checking proofs for panto that had been sent to me. One looked like they’d used a version that I hadn’t touched up. Had they used the wrong file, I certainly didn’t want there to be water drops in the sky! Tilly had been given two hours shore leave. The first hour she really wasn’t interested, but then something caught my eye, that needed further investigation!
Bass on the pavements
Mick had seen the consultant this morning. Mr K (as he’s known on the ward) was happy with Mick’s stroke. However, some of the symptoms Mick had described to do with his eyes were not typical symptoms of a stroke. He’s definitely had a stroke, but could there be something else happening? He was referred to an Ophthalmologist in the hospital. After that he’d have his medications reviewed and be sent home! Great news.
Coopers Square
He also saw a Physiotherapist, who didn’t bother to even walk him around the room as his mobility hasn’t been affected, it’s just his vision. He was advised that he’d not be allowed to drive for a month, standard after a stroke. Then he’ll need to see a GP to be assessed before knowing whether he’ll have to revoke his licence or not. Looks like I’m going to have to put my big girls pants on, I’ve not driven for about 8 years!
Quite serious downpours of rain at times today, all quite short lived
Tilly had got herself busy. I called and called for her. I really wanted to head to the hospital. I waited, it’s not so easy waiting for a cat as it is the NHS! I started with some work again, chatted to a boater from up the way, then she returned, ‘AN HOUR LATE!!!’ Somebody needs to reset their internal clock!
Shobnall Stores is the closest shop to the canal, I bobbed in to see what newspapers they sell. They get one copy of our Saturday paper. Was I from a boat? He’d add another to his order for me. Brilliant, we can have a Saturday newspaper on a Saturday morning!
Traffic was chaos in town. I picked up Micks drugs and headed to the nearest bus stop. The bus took ages to arrive, some road works somewhere. But once on the bus it shot along the A38 depositing me back at the hospital.
Bran flakes for breakfast today with a banana I’d bought for him, then a ham and egg sandwich for lunch. He was still waiting to be seen by Ophthalmology. I took his box of new drugs to the desk and said I’d managed to score in town, paperwork was filled out, computers checked and a pill was dispensed.
Such a messy bed!
A chap across the way was refusing to sit in a very special chair, the most comfortable chair in the hospital. He was adamant. The lady across the way was sleeping, then got taken for a scan. The fourth bed had already had one patient overnight but they’d been discharged. A chap was wheeled in, then wheeled out again. Another fella arrived, lots of questions, it was a return visit for him. He chatted away to the nurses. A menu was brought for him, far bigger than Mick had been offered. This chap had missed the normal ordering of dinner. He selected, there was a comment of ‘we’re the NHS you know!’ Then a hostess arrived, said he’d been given the wrong menu. She reeled off the options, nothing was suitable for him. Eye’s rolled. More options were offered, a cheese and tomato omelette maybe. It sounded like he was expecting a glass of red wine to arrive with his meal!
Mick was informed that it was now unlikely that he’d be seen in Ophthalmology today, they might do a clinic on Saturday morning, but not guaranteed. However he would be moving again. He was in a room where people are kept under observation 24/7, he doesn’t need that and is very independent, so he’d be given his own room! Mick got things packed, then we waited. Dinner arrived, chilli, some veg in the rice. Not sure what the picky chap got in the end, maybe they’d had to send out for a Michelin starred chef!
A Team Leader arrived, Sister possibly in old language. She was going to move Mick as he was unlikely to now be seen until Monday, his bed was needed for someone else. He’d be moved to a bay. We asked if there was a possibility that he could go home and return to the hospital on Monday? This was swept away without comment. Okay then, his own room, great! Except she wouldn’t allow that! She checked her sheet. Had he been seen by a Physio? Yes, he was independent, no mobility issues. But as his problem was his eyesight she wasn’t going to allow him to have his own room. In a room he’d only see staff when they came round for drugs, food or obs. Should he have a fall he could be there for four hours before being spotted, then possibly end up needing to be in hospital longer than just the weekend! She wasn’t quite as stern as Hattie Jacques in the Carry On Films, but close.
Beware of the Hattie Jacques stare!
A bay it was, where staff come and go to see the four patients. His table, cupboard then his bed with him in it were moved from one end of the ward right to the other, no stopping off on the way to join in with the dancing session going on. None of his new neighbours seemed to be chatty, no machines that go BING! so that was good.
The bus took a different route back into town, a longer walk back to Oleanna. I cooked up a veg stir fry with yellow pea noodles whilst catching up with Frank who’d started his next lot of treatment today, he was quite buoyant about it all and kept going off on tangents as he does! Messages to catch up on, then a look at the artwork for panto. Somehow whilst I was thinking I’d scanned them to a higher resolution, I’d actually done the opposite. This weekend I’d best see if I can resolve it. Damn!
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 boats gone, 1 new boat, 1 paper on order, 2 buses, 1 box of drugs, 1 awol cat, 1 more move, 5th room in the hospital, 1 chair, 1 very excited Mick, 12 weeks not 6 months for Frank, at the moment, 1 glove to be kept handy.
There was a message from Mick when I woke. At 2:30am he’d had the news that he was being moved to a different part of A&E. Here he would have a bed rather than a reclining chair but more importantly he’d be moving away from Chatty Man who hadn’t stopped talking!
There seems to be a thing about crocodiles around here
I packed a bag with all the things I should have packed yesterday, neither of us had thought he’d be staying in the hospital for long. The X38 bus works on a loop, so I returned to the station and climbed aboard, the destination on the front of the bus was Burton but it would carry on back to Derby on a slightly different route. Blimey it doesn’t half whiz along the A38 back to the hospital! Now I just had to find firstly where A&E was then ‘C side’. It really doesn’t help when the staff refer to part of the hospital as side, rather than area which is on the signs. Logic had me walking into the right bit of the hospital in the end.
Mick was in the second bay, a wide bay all to himself! Peace and quiet too, well apart from when the hospital had woken up around him. Breakfast, blood pressure checks. He’d seen a doctor from the stroke unit, had similar tests as yesterday. Hopefully soon he’d be on his way up to the ward.
Phone was put on charge, there were things for us to talk about. It’s times like this you stop and think about things that have been on your mind but other things, everyday things get in the way, so they get filed away to the side. We’ve been meaning to sort out Power of Attorney for each other for the last few years, but never got round to it. There were other things to discuss as well.
Sandwich comparison
Yummy! Lunchtime. Hot food or a sandwich?
Egg and Ham on white sliced for Mick, the side of the packet said ‘Just For You’! My chicken mayo sandwich brought from home looked a lot more appetising!
Still we waited, we’ve got waiting down to an art form now!
The number of messages we’ve received from friends sending healing wishes and love, offers of fish pie from Australia, offers of company, offers of help with the boat from our boating friends has been very humbling. Thank you all so much for your support. Social media has it’s problems, but in our nomadic life it is a great connection to our friends and family. If there is anything people can help with I will most certainly ask, for now we’re fine.
A phone call from Frank, little signal so I went outside to chat to him. Medical PA Duties for two clients now. Frank had had a procedure this morning, but was more interested in how Mick was doing.
Speeding through x-ray
As I walked back to Mick’s bay there was a porter and nurse, bags packed and he was about to be moved up to the Acute Stroke Unit. Blimey that porter must get plenty of brisk minutes walking in every day, I managed to keep up, many wouldn’t have! Along one corridor, a handbreak turn onto another. A short cut through xray, Micks bed swinging round corners, one poor chap in an electric wheelchair had to quickly get out of the way. Did this porter have blue flashing lights going? The only time we stopped was when we reached the lifts to climb to the forth floor.
Round a few more corridors to the ward. ‘Who’s this?’ ‘That way’ ‘In Here’. A tourniquet (collective noun?) of nurses and medical staff stood at the entrance to the room where Mick was to be. As his bed approached they swarmed round him, mobbing him. I was directed to a waiting area, I’d be called when they finished.
Don’t think he needs conditioner
All wired up to his own BING! machine. He was now in the right place for tests, observations and crockery with his meals. We waited. I headed out to see if I could find small bottles of shower gel and shampoo. Nothing in the hospital, an Aldi across the road. Shampoo choices were amusing. I selected and returned. It didn’t seem like there would be much more happening today so I left him with the jolly staff, hoping to be able to give Tilly some shore leave when I got back to Oleanna.
Tilly has her own fur super hero mask, unlike this cat
Photos of hospital not-so healthy food were sent to me. He had CHIPS! I made do with chicken pasta. A shower was taken then he was rigged up to a super dooper heart monitor, results taken to a doctor. Three BING! machines in the room reduced to two which gradually worked them selves to be in unison. Time for him to try to catch some sleep and me to cast on the next pair of socks.
Pair 104?
0 locks, 0 miles, 2 buses, 1 boat across the way, 1 hours shore leave, 2 bottles of toiletries, 1 ft of tubing, 40 minutes brisk walking, 1 super speedy porter, 5 handbrake turns, 1 near miss, 1 mob of nurses, 1 boyfriend with Kevin Keegan hair, BING!
I was delivered a cuppa in bed this morning, Mick was having breakfast, he then set off to hopefully catch the A&E department at Queens Hospital Burton early. It’s about a fifteen minute walk to the hospital and across the busy A38. He was triaged quickly at about 8:30, the screen saying that the waiting time to see a clinician was currently 17 minutes!
Very autumnal
Twenty minutes later he moved to the Urgent Treatment Centre waiting area. I got up and started to do some work on panto. Today with Mick out of the way for a while I was going to sort out stretching the artwork for the front cloth. With Tilly out I had the peace and quiet to find a solution and start work on it.
By 9:30 Mick was waiting for a CT scan to make sure he’d not had a stroke, they didn’t think he had.
Opposite the moorings started to empty out. I considered moving over but the wind was building and I didn’t fancy fighting to tie Oleanna up. Plus there was a group of youths chasing each other around the fields holding large firework rockets in their hands, the rockets aimed at each other.
An empty waiting room
11:30 Mick joined the queue for a scan. Fifteen minutes later the fire alarm went off and he was put in a wheelchair to move him to somewhere safe, this is when Mick seemed to become attached to wheels. Just after midday he’d had his scan, just had to wait for the results. The waiting room emptied out until he was the sole person there, had everyone gone for lunch?
Then at 2pm he was given the results, he’d had a small stroke. They were deciding what to do with him, where to refer him to. I headed over to be his back up memory, my second client as a Medical PA, I’d already caught up with Frank this morning. Mick’s messages suggested he didn’t think he’d be there long, he didn’t want me to take lunch, I took a banana and not much else. Have to say the result wasn’t that much of a surprise to me as my Dad had a stroke that affected his vision, he couldn’t see Judith Stamper one of the Look North presenters on TV one night. Mick’s problem had been similar, but his blank spots had come and gone.
Ambulance 4851
Finding the A&E department was quite complicated, just as I got close he said he was being sent to Derby Hospital to the stroke unit there, they were arranging transport. Then I was given the number of the ambulance he was about to be put in, we met just as he was being pushed up the ramp into it. Neither of us had expected him to going somewhere overnight.
Our second ambulance ride and third hospital in two weeks. It didn’t take that long to reach The Royal Derby Hospital where he was popped on a trolley in the middle of the A&E Majors. Pretty soon a nurse from the Acute Stroke Unit arrived, she chatted things through. Did various visual tests and others for stroke victims. She’d seen his CT scan and they wanted him to stay for tests to try to find out why it had happened, maybe it was connected to our previous trip to hospital ten days ago, or it might just be a coincidence.
Finally someone asked him to move to a room with reclining chairs, he was allowed to actually walk there. He was given some food, pasta carbonara … possibly! We waited, there had been mention that there was a bed for him up on the ward and it would only be an hour before he could move. We waited, a few people came and went, we waited. Nothing else was going to happen today so I opted to leave and head back to feed Tilly, we made a list of things he’d be needing. A very handy express bus back to Burton, a bit of shopping and I was back on board within an hour. I had a nice homemade chicken curry old style for my dinner.
By the time I headed for bed, Mick was still sat in his recliner, a man was asking everyone who arrived what they were there for, he was obviously an expert in everything and seriously annoying! His chat up line for the nurses, ‘They grow pears in America, they grow apples there too. But it takes a place like (insert where the nurse comes from) Swadlincote to grow a peach like you.’
Willington Visitor Mooring to Opposite Shobnall Fields
Our wet morning view
Proper old fashioned rain woke us this morning! Do you remember it? Only half an hour, but still it was a step in the right direction. Still in bed, with cuppas in hand we watched as more boaters came with rubbish, more rubbish added to the ground of the compound. Then a Biffa wagon arrived, today with a crew of two. They looked at the state before them, walked round to the side and opened up one of the sides, from here they could move one of the skips to be emptied without having to move any of the bags on the ground. It was emptied, positioned close to the compound but not in it, as now the mountain of bin bags had fallen over. Photos were taken and the crew of two climbed back in their cabin and headed off to the next site.
Soon the locals were around to inspect the compound. One lady arrived and added a bag to the floor mountain, then chatted away to a chap who’d come to take photos. According to him the bins had been emptied on Friday, did he know that Biffa had been yesterday? They chatted for a while, he was on the case with CRT and had been asked to take photos for them.
Willington
A while later two more people arrived with bin bags. One just dropped their bag on the floor, the other actually found the empty skip and used that. Later a couple arrived, the empty skip was manoeuvred closer and the chap spent a while filling it with bags from the floor, the skip was then slotted back into the compound, not all bags of rubbish were off the floor, but a tidy up might mean the skips could be accessed now to be emptied.
There are several problems with the bins. Biffa only empty bins, they don’t move rubbish. Boaters feel it is okay to add their rubbish to an already overfull compound, yet this just means the bins don’t get emptied. If boaters kept their rubbish and came back the next day the bins might all be empty. Sorting waste on board means you can get rid of the smelly things more often, after all we are one of few boaters using the food waste bins, so there’s plenty of room! Bin compounds are fewer than they used to be, boaters still produce the same amount of rubbish, so the compounds maybe should be of a larger capacity to cope. Fly tipping is also a problem, both by general public and boaters. We do our bit, if only others would do the same.
We obviously had time on our hands this morning whilst we waited for Sainsburys to arrive with our shopping. A handy picnic bench meant we could see their arrival whilst watching boats come and go, but thankfully be away from constantly watching the bins!
It was after 2pm by the time everything was stowed onboard, sadly I’d omitted to buy some smoked mackerel! I’d looked at it, bought all the other things to go with it but not added some to our basket!
CRT came to inspect too
We opted to move on, back to the mooring towards Burton, Mick had a GP phone appointment about some medication, so maybe it was better to move sooner than later, phone signal patchy here and the internet quite dodgy. As we made ready to push off a CRT van arrived, more photos taken of the compound, they then climbed back in their vehicle and drove away. We winded, cruised just over a mile to the stretch of armco, tied up, put the kettle on and gave Tilly the good news 3 whole hours! Time for a very late lunch.
Pootle
I’d spotted a sign on the towpath the other day, a circular walk round a nature reserve. I stripped the chicken, so I could drop off the carcass in the food waste bin back in Willington, plenty of space in that bin! Mick had his phone call. He wanted to chat about various things that have been happening in the last week or so, including his trip in the ambulance. They chatted through the cough that has come on, maybe a side effect of a rise in his medication. He was given a link to a community optician that he might be able to access in Burton for other symptoms rather than having to return to Scarborough.
After finding an optician and calling them, describing what was happening, they suggested he should be seen at A&E. The nearest Emergency Department is in Burton, just across the way from Shobnall Fields. We apologised to Tilly for curtailing her shore leave and closed the rear hatch, but we wanted to move on into Burton today.
Baaa!
Under one of the road bridges are four murals designed by local children. I especially liked the sheep on one of them. Not much else to note on the walk back into town that I hadn’t seen before. We followed behind a single hander who I leant a hand to at Dallow Lock, then worked us up behind. As I walked round to close the bottom gates my right foot felt funny. It wouldn’t follow me as it normally did. It felt like I was dragging it, a quick look and a sit down on a bollard and I found the problem a big fishing hook had got caught in the sole of my shoe, I was now attached to something at the other end of the lock. I managed to undo myself and collected the long line of line, that would have seriously hurt if I’d been wearing sandals.
Dallow Lock again
It being after 6pm Shobnall Fields was just about full, well a good smattering of git gaps. We opted to pull in opposite, this would mean Mick could head to the hospital in the morning and I could do some work for panto.
Hook, line but no sinker
1 lock, 4.9 miles, 1 wind, 37 photos of a bin compound, 2 Biffa, 1 Crt, 27 more bags of rubbish, I do wonder how much less rubbish there would be if people used the food waste bin!! 4 boxes wine, 3 hours curtailed to 1! 1 disgruntled cat, 0 mackerel, 1 new drug, 1 dropped, 1 visit put off till tomorrow.
We opted to have our tea with breakfast today as we wanted to cover some ground. As we pushed off a narrowboat at the other end of the pontoon had their engine running, but their dog was still lapping up it’s breakfast, would they be heading the same way as us?
Holme Lock
Upstream, under the Radcliffe Viaduct, when we reached the 5km mark Mick radioed ahead to Holme Lock, it would be ready for us, ‘come in on the green’. Once in the lock we were asked to wait, there was another narrowboat behind us, they’d be ten fifteen minutes. Holme Lock is vast and on previous experience it takes quite a while to fill and empty, so we were happy to wait. The following boat didn’t take too long to arrive and turned out to be the boat from Stoke Lock, NB Kettle.
Kettle
As the lock filled and the noise waned there was chance to chat with our lock partners, firstly to find out if they would be carrying on up stream and into Nottingham. They were, we’d have someone to share the locks with. Now NB Kettle is not only black, but it has always stood out from the crowd because of it’s sign writing. We’ve seen her about on the network through the years and the rabbits and moon have left a lasting impression. I chatted to Claudia, they’d bought NB Kettle back in March this year, they’d done no boating before picking her up on the Trent and Mersey. The previous owners had been a writer and illustrator, so the sign writing had been designed by them, possibly even painted by them. Earlier this year Claudia and Lee repainted the boat, as she is know by many they kept the sign writing. Good on them!
Loads going on at the weir
We led the way upstream. There is a mass of scaffolding on the big weir and further upstream at Lady Bay Bridge you have to use the most southerly span as works are on going there too. Approaching Meadow Lane Lock we could see there were no moorings available below the lock, the steps on the other side of Trent Bridge also looked very busy, a mental note taken for future weeks.
Just finishing going up in the lock were a couple of cruisers, they pulled in just above the lock. Was another boat coming down? No-one made a move. Claudia and I set the lock for our boats. One of the chaps asked if we were both coming up, err yes! They seemed to have been wanting to use the lock again, but with no obvious boat waiting?! ‘Can you get two boats in these locks?’ Claudia asked, they were new to boating, this possibly their first uphill manual lock ever, it had taken a while for them to find their windlass.
Just as we were closing the gates the top paddle was being lifted by one of the chaps from the cruisers, half cut on drink or other substances. I walked up to the top end. ‘You get on we’ll do it for you’. He may well have been capable but… ‘My boat my lock and anyway I boat to work locks. Thank you anyway’ The chaps stood back and once the noise had faded we talked quite amicably, he was however suggesting we’d barged in as they had a couple more boats to move up the lock.
Sharing Castle Lock
We paused to use the elsan for our yellow water, then had just about caught up with NB Kettle at the 90 degree bend. Here’s hoping we won’t be making a visit to the Urgent Care Centre here, we’ve already used it three times! Castle Lock had just been vacated by a cruiser so we could go straight in. A narrowboat arrived shortly before we left so the gates could be left open for them. Time to wave our lock partners goodbye, they were heading into Castle Marna for a few days to explore Nottingham. We found ourselves a space on the moorings by Sainsburys and headed off to stock up for the next few days. Thankfully it is still possible to get your trolley back to the boat. We had lunch and then headed on further.
Now Nottingham used to have a reputation, we tend not to take much notice of reputations and rely on our feelings for a place. We’ve stopped by Sainsburys numerous times, making sure the boat is well secured before heading off to explore Nottingham. Today it felt just that bit different. A tent on one of the grassy banks where the students used to have lunch. Dilapidated cruisers (which have always been about) are more plentiful and their possessions strewn across the towpath into the hedges, cans of beer being drunk and a heavy smell in the air. Today we’d have moved on anyway, which was the original plan, especially as I’d just booked a table for a meal tonight.
I walked ahead able to scout out moorings nearer to Beeston. Boats were pulled in at places I’d not noted before, their mooring spikes hammered into the bank whether it be grass, tarmac, concrete or stone. The first mooring was pretty well occupied, up ahead closer to our meal there was plenty of room, Tilly wouldn’t be impressed but we’d still let her out.
Oh it’s Nottingpants! Super fast Toms on their wheels had me running for the cat walk, time after time. A wall, one of those with little if any grip! Zero friendly cover. Pants!!!
The menu for today
A walk into Beeston to The Victoria. We hadn’t expected it to be that busy, but by the time our food had arrived every table in the pub was full. The menu here is not your average pub food. Yes there is sausage and mash, you can choose one or two Bangers, they are not your average bangers, they are long hotdog length but quality Lincolnshire sausages. I checked what I could eat and was given a list of dishes. Paella, sadly they’d just served the last one. Hot Fish platter, with salmon, hake and halibut, very nice. All accompanied by a pint of beer each from the local brewery, their session IPA is gluten free, very wise brewers. No room for pudding so we headed back to the boat.
Levels at Derwent Mouth Lock were still low, maybe tomorrow they will have improved enough.
3 locks, 9.6 miles, 1 right, 90 degrees, 1 kettle black, 2 new owners, 1 shopping trolley back to the boat, 2 lots paracetamol, 1 box aspirin (just in case), 89 minutes brisk, 1 pants mooring, 1 table for 2, 3 fish, 2 bangers, 2 beers, 1 pleasant evening.
Not much sleep to be had on Oleanna last night. I got about an hours worth before Mick woke me, he’d had none. He had chest pains.
999 was dialled, ambulance requested, our what3words location given to them, nearest road access, that we were on a narrowboat, they chatted to Mick about his symptoms, I chatted again to them. There would be a two hour wait for the ambulance, could we make it to hospital ourselves? No car, not sure we’d be able to get Mick off the boat without suitable assistance, we’d be happy (as much as you can be in these situations) to wait. We were only to call back if his symptoms worsened. I told them about the gate across the weir bridge that I’d need to unlock for them, this was added to the notes for the ambulance crew.
Could we actually move the boat for better access? The mooring by the pub in Fiskerton had been empty when I’d walked there yesterday, not guaranteed to still be empty now, anyhow we’d already given our location. The well deck needed sorting, our chairs had been popped in there after the barbeque last night, stuff that had been in the shower whilst on tidal waters had been put back. I turned the outside light on to help them spot us and for me to see, I rolled the covers up fully out of the way, making the best access I could.
Inside phones were put on charge. The floor on either side of the bed cleared for people to stand. I got dressed, my wallet put in my bumbag, our big strong torch got ready, all whilst Mick rested. The two hours seemed to go quite quickly and before it had elapsed my phone rang, the crew were at the gate.
Tilly was put in the main cabin, both bathroom doors closed, a double barrier to stop any possibility of escape. Don’t rush, be careful, don’t drop the key of power. The crew were pulling a stretcher out from the ambulance, I guided them with our big torch through the gate over the bridge, they’d not get the stretcher much further. It was left by the bottom gates of the lock, the walkway wide, but not wide enough. Mind the drop, these are big steps, we got to the boat and the two of them stepped down inside, leaving me sat on the bank.
An ECG, an aspirin, a spray under his tongue to open his arteries up and increase his oxygen levels. Conversations inside could only be partly heard. They wanted him to go to hospital, a cardiac episode suspected, he needed a blood test. Could he manage to get off the boat, climb up the big steps? Would I be going with them too? Slowly Mick was helped off the boat, back up from the fire brigade wasn’t needed, they’d already been out to help on another shout this evening.
I picked up the essentials, locked the boat, giving Tilly back access to the bathroom saying I’d be back sometime, ‘look after the boat Tilly’. Mick managed the walk to the ambulance where the ecg wires were hooked up again, blood pressure taken, then we were on our way. No flashing lights or sirens, just very bumpy roads for most of the way to Kings Mill Hospital in Mansfield. The paramedic chatted away about various things, occasionally popping in a medical question, all the time keeping an eye on the patient.
There’s not much to take photos of on such a night
Mick was taken through the doors into the Majors part of the Emergency Department and I was left sitting in a corridor with only our big torch for company. A while later the ambulance crew re-emerged with their stretcher, wished us well and headed off, not much of their shift left so they’d most probably return to base in Newark now. I thanked them, such reassuring people.
Mick had had a blood test and another ECG, once he was settled I was allowed to join him in a big room with about seven cubicles. Each cubicle had two people in them, curtains and screens positioned in a way to try to give some privacy, but none was really to be had. We waited. I stood. We chatted a bit. I stood. We watched the staff. We waited.
More patients arrived on trolleys, at least fifteen people. There were the two old chaps, both able to sleep through everything going on around them, both with their heads tilted to the right and snoring, they could have been twins. There was the lady with her brother, her wedding ring needed to come off, but try as they might her 90 year old joints had grown too big, the ring needed to be cut off. The only words she said in all the hours we were next to her was ‘you’re filthy’ to an Asian nurse, the nurse dealt with it pretty well, saying she was very clean and was here to help her.
There was another lady, her shoulder extremely painful, she was scared. Her son smiled so lovingly into her eyes. ‘Oh Dear Gladys’ ‘Oh Gladys’ the poor lady said, she was given some pain killers and told she’d be having an x-ray once the pain had eased. There was a chap stood by his mum’s trolley, he’d been stood there for hours waiting for them to find a bed for her. He was brought a chair, he’d rather stand. I decided to make use of the chair, our torch had a rest on Micks trolley.
We waited, blood tests take about two hours to come back, surely Mick’s would be back by now? More trolleys arrived, only a few patients were sent home. The shift changed at 7am, maybe more would start to happen as the hospital woke up with more staff on hand. Cups of tea! Cereal if Mick wanted it. He didn’t.
Chest x-ray
Around about 10am, a nurse practitioner arrived. She pushed the trolleys either side of Mick away and pulled the curtain round. His blood test was back, but they like to have a second one for comparison. They wanted to do a chest x-ray. Lots of questions. She listened to his heart, his back, his belly, another ECG. The blood test would take about an hour and a half this time.
We talked about what to do if Mick was to stay in hospital. Our mooring not ideal for hospital visits. Oleanna would need to be moved. Could we ask to double up with NB Avalon Two when they came past, they are now on a mission to return to their home mooring? They’d be long gone by now. I suggested Bridget and Storm, Lizzie, Paul before many other names came to mind. But we needed to know what was going to happen first. Mick’s chest pain had dulled after he’d had medication from the paramedics, it was now returning and was stronger when he moved.
I headed off to try to find some breakfast. A walk outside, just where is Mansfield? Just where was the Emergency room again? Mick soon had a chest x-ray and was brought back into the room, now a total of twenty people. They may not have many cubicles, but they do have plenty of trolleys!
Next an ultra sound, easier to walk there than take his trolley. A second opinion. Then the lovely nurse practitioner returned with the verdict. Nothing can be 100%, but it was believed that Mick had strained some muscles which had given him similar symptoms to a heart attack. He was to take it easy, listen to his body, take paracetamol, if the symptoms worsened then he should head straight back to A&E.
So, with great relief we left the Majors section of A&E. The standing man was still standing. The 104 year old lady had new batteries in her hearing aids which was helping a great deal. The man kept smiling that loving smile to his Mum, hopefully her shoulder pain would start to ease soon. We’d never now find out who Gladys was.
I’d left those just in case they never came back!
A taxi back to Oleanna, I followed us on a map, I now knew where Mansfield was! Around 2pm we were back walking over the bridge by the weir, taking our time to climb down the steps to the boat. Everyone wanted some food including Tilly.
A good weathervane on my walk
A quiet afternoon, Mick left snoozing on the sofa, Tilly exploring the brambles, I had a walk along the river bank. The only place we’d be going today would be to bed, there’s a nights sleep to be caught up on.
0 locks, 0 miles, 8 brisk minutes before 5am, 1 torch, 3 enquiries about the torch, 2 blood tests, 4 ECGs, 1 x-ray, 1 ultrasound, 0 heart attack, 1 strain, £41 taxi fare, 12 hours to be back home and on the mend, 2 very grateful boaters, 1 wonderful NHS.
Cuppa in bed, then we decided to get moving before breakfast as it would be hot today. We had our eyes on a mooring that might just give us some shade for part of the day. As we’d just pushed off a boat came into view heading up the canal, we wondered if they’d be stopping, but no they carried onwards.
I walked as Mick brought Oleanna. Back along the fairy footpath. The signs of a new marina more evident from this direction, it looks like it could be quite big if it ever gets completed. Maybe the couple of the bench have been waiting to get a mooring there for sometime!
Nearly all the harvest is in
Dog walkers were busy making the most of the cool, one lady said she’d seen more people this morning than she’d ever seen all put together. We pulled in after 2 miles to where we’d stayed back in April, a bit bendy, but some armco and trees, sadly not on a good angle to create useful shade, at least there’d be some shade to sit out in. An old fella walked past saying how seeing boats on the canal made his heart sing as there’d been so few after the pandemic.
Inside the curtains were drawn, shore leave rules recited to Tilly who was given a couple of hours before we were likely to want her in and out of the sunshine, even if she was headed for the friendly cover!
Sitting on the shady side
Medical PA duties took up a bit of this morning along with checking on my own app for results. Why do they say Patient informed when I haven’t been? Yes I can look at the app, I understand no further action, but when something isn’t at normal levels I’d like to know what it might mean please.
The day got hotter, the inside of Oleanna got hotter, we were glad not to be out in it. Mick tried sitting in the shade for a while, when he came in he said it was cooler indoors. I got on with touching up the scans for panto. These will be enlarged onto fabric 25 times bigger than my model and somehow I seem to manage to get hairs all over them. What seems to be a very small hair could end up looming out at the audience, so it’s best to try to get rid of them.
I get 30 days trial with this one
Two years ago I used Photoshop for this. Today I tried Paint.net, but didn’t really get on with it so looked around for a free trial of something else. Paintshop Pro had a pretty good tool I could use so I down loaded that and started with one of the portals. I’m so hoping I’ve scanned them to a high enough standard to get a good image. I managed to touch one up and was quite pleased with the outcome.
During the afternoon a hire boat came and moored behind us, a couple more boats passed, quite busy for a very hot day. Mick had another sit outside and when it started to feel cooler outside we opted to move onwards. Tomorrow morning we’ll be away with the tide so we’d rather be closer to West Stockwith lock than an hour and a half away. I walked on ahead, key of power and windlass in hand seeing the same dog walkers as I’d seen this morning.
Sunsetting on our visit to the Chesterfield Canal.
Both the Misterton Locks needed filling. Three canoeists arrived and thought about going round the lock via the bywash, but nets have been put up, presumably to help keep swan families apart. Their boats were lifted out and carried round. As Mick brought Oleanna towards the lock the sun was starting to make its way towards the horizon, our last sunset on the Chesterfield Canal, it made for a nice picture.
The last lock before West Stockwith tomorrow
A dog walker congratulated us for keeping the swans from entering the locks, careful opening and closing of the bottom gate ensured none of them could sneak past us. They weren’t bothered about the lower lock, so I think they are quite happy in the pound between.
What a calm, hot evening
Walking on ahead I went to the basin to see if the visitor mooring there was free, but two short boats were already sharing it. Other spaces along the way were just about full, bar the one we’d used when we got soaked on our arrival on to the Chesterfield Canal. Mick pulled in there and we settled down for the evening, a cold couscous salad for our evening meal.
2 locks, 3.3 miles, 2 cruises, 33C inside the boat, 65 brisk minutes, 2 hot to be outside, 1 neighbour, 1 portal touched up, 2 walks, 1 family kept in the right place, 100grams couscous, 2 hot boaters, 1 hot cat, 1 last space taken, 1 hire boat after dark.
The Geraghty zoom included more about Alastair’s under croft, oil pumps, contactless access and Berlin. We then started to do chores about the house. Some curtains required some attention, just as Adam appeared to say his farewells. Chance to say how much we’d enjoyed the show last night, apparently a few bits had gone array during the show, but from the audiences point of view it is all so bonkers and seemingly array we really couldn’t tell. A shame not to have had chance to chat with him more, but he was headed for a well earned brunch and we needed to crack on. Adam scores an 8/9 on the lodger tally.
It was dry just in time
Bedding and towel washing, shower cleaning, easiest done whilst in the shower, but I didn’t need to have two showers! Gardening, dusting, a touch of hoovering, the kitchen cupboards needed a de-fingerprint as ever, kitchen floor washed. We gave ourselves a little break and headed out to buy something for lunch and this evening, plus stock up on a few things for the house, bumping into a few friends as we shopped. Time was ticking for our first arrival and I think we got there by the skin of our teeth, still a pile of ironing to be done, but that was fine.
All ironed in the end
Liza arrived having driven up from Norfolk. A quick look round the house for her to choose which side she’d prefer to be on, decision made then we helped her unload a very full car. Liza has been to Scarborough numerous times before, so she’s aware of how the seasons are likely to change over her 9 weeks, she has brought a coat for every eventuality.
An hour later Stuart arrived, having travelled by train his luggage wasn’t quite so comprehensive. I’ve worked with them both but quite sometime ago now, Liza was in ‘Life and Beth’ and ‘Snake in the Grass’2008 and Stuart ‘Game Hunter’2003, then he toured in ‘Improbable Fiction’2006. There was lots to talk about, lots of mutual friends. Of course there was the show they are here to rehearse, Alan Ayckbourn’s 91st play Earth Angel. The big question was, were they playing sister and brother or husband and wife? This was soon cleared up and the ironing could resume.
Tides out, so’s the sun!
Monday morning, costume fittings for Stuart and Liza whilst we packed up, finished a bit of gardening then headed for medical appointments. I took a detour down to the beach, the tide was out and most of the holiday makers were close to the waters edge meaning I had plenty of room to brisk walk across the sands to the Spa, then up through the gardens listening to the brass band playing in the Sun court. I’ve not had a proper summers day in Scarborough for years! Around the houses to one which today was guarded by a unicorn. Duncan was at home for me to deliver sock pair 102 for Jaye. Nice to have a quick catch up, enough for a mention in the blog!
A right good sunny seaside day
Once lunch was eaten we had two things left on our Scarborough list. First one a visit to see Frank. We only just caught him before he was heading out to see a friend. It’s been a few months since we last saw him and he looked pretty good. Rather than getting a bus into town we gave him a lift to see his mate, all a little bit quick, but at least we’d checked in on him in person and seen what we could see.
Unicorn on guard
Next the oil from the engine service was dropped off at the tip. Jobs completed, blood test done, dentist, 1 lodger out, 2 more in, 1 new oil pump delivered, 1 box of panto delivered and scanned, Frank seen, show seen, EatMe eaten, beach walked on, time to head back to Oleanna.
A slight detour was made to Thorne Boat Services to buy 15 litres of red diesel which would make us both feel happier heading out onto the Tidal Trent in a few days. The Chesterfield is a lovely canal, but the lack of someone selling diesel canal side is a negative especially when you don’t normally have a car.
A boot full of boaty things
Back at Oleanna, the doors were opened up, Tilly could have some shore leave. Have to say she’d done quite a good job of keeping the boat cool, but it soon warmed up with the doors and windows open.
The last of the steak and kidney gravy from the pie went in with some mushrooms and some pasta, a good quick meal after a busy weekend.
0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire car, 30L cat litter, 2 clean and tidy houses, 1 oil pump, 1 pair socks, 3 lots of blood, 1 dentist, 1 hygienist, 3 actors, 1 Frank, 1 lift, 4 lots of bed linen ready for next time, 2 beds changed, 2 clean houses, 63 brisk minutes, 1 more mention of what’s’is’name, 1 husband and wife.
