Thursday 1st October to Saturday 3rd
October 2015
From one extreme to the
other – whereas I had not long finished saying that not a whole lot was
happening and hence the reason for the time delay between one blog to the next,
here we are and three days in a row and I have been quite busy.
First up on Thursday I had a
doctors appointment to check out a long standing problem with my back, and
before anyone says that this has only happened since Diane has been away, it
actually goes back almost 6 months and she had been onto me about getting
something done about it.
Even from 20,000 kms away
she has a way of getting things done and so finally I made a doctors
appointment.
In my defence as to why I
had not anything before now was the fact that I was still on an ancestry visa
and quite clearly stated “No access to public funds” and I take that to quite
literally mean that I should not access the NHS services. Now that my status
has changed I decided to seek a medical opinion to confirm my own or offer
something different.
It appears to be muscular –
obviously having to do too much work – probably too many locks – but I need to
have an X-ray and physiotherapy.
Without wanting to suggest
that the NHS system could do with a shake-up, the doctor said that she would
arrange an appointment time for the X-ray and for the physio to start and would
advise me – but it was quite clearly advised that the X-ray would take a couple
of months and the physio might be a month.
I would give you the example
that Diane has just gone through with her Dad back in Australia – he needed a
blood test and an X-ray – after they came out of the doctor’s surgery they
walked around the corner and had both done within an hour and would be able to
go back in to see the doctor withgin 24 hours – all results having been fully
checked by qualified medical staff to assess the results.
This has been the norm for
us over the past 25 years (and longer).
I fail to see why I need
someone else to set up an appointment for me when, in all likelihood the time
and date may not be suitable and I would need to ring and re-arrange another
date and time; and why does it take so long to actually get an appointment.
In addition I had to ask the
doctor to supply me with a set of back exercises that I can start in
preparation for any physio but also just to help relieve some of the stiffness
and soreness that I have.
Oh, and by the way, the
doctor agreed with my assessment of my situation – I am waiting for my medical
qualifications to arrive in the mail.
Friday was moving day – but not
too far.
The primary reason was the
need to empty two full cassettes before the final one became full as well – it would
have been another 4 or 5 days but the weather forecast was good so it was an
excellent reason to move – down to Batchworth Lock where the water tank was
filled and the cassettes emptied – a good result and I was away within 25
minutes but just as far as Tesco where I moored for a quick trip into the
supermarket.
Unlike the usual situation
on Ferndale
Anyway, I wasn’t overly
concerned and the short stop meant that there was milk in the fridge once
again.
The last time I was here,
the TV reception was almost non-existant for me and so I had thought before
getting here in Rickmansworth that it would not be worthwhile stopping – just as
well I had that mindset – the moorings were all full anyway.
So I continued a bit further
along to a mooring site that I had seen when down this was just a few weeks ago
– just after going through Stockers Lock and rounding the bend there are
excellent mooring spots with a southerly view across the canal and no trees to
block the sun; TV reception is good so my schedule of recording TV shows for
Diane can continue – thus preventing any problems upon her return.
The remainder of Friday was
glorious with the temperature eventually reaching over the 20C mark – more like
22-23C – and the sun was streaming in through the windows and through the solar
panels.
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| the outlook - obviously not when it was sunny, but still very open |
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| Looking back - just around the corner is Stockers Lock |
From the list of jobs that
still remain for me to take care of before the end of October, I made a few
notes on some of them that I can complete during this coming week with most of
the work being able to be completed over the weekend.
It is all a matter of timing
and arranging things to be done in the right order – as some of these jobs
involved sanding I would need to have the engine running, so tie that in with
having to charge the batteries.
The front-well deck and the
rear deck both needed to be sanded back and repainted, so after walking back to
Batchworth to deposit the rubbish in the bins there and of course popping into
Waitrose for free coffee, walking back – engine started, both decks sanded and
then two coats of primer/undercoat have been finished and now fully drying
through ready for top-coating tomorrow.
A real sense of achievement
and I have to say the the look of it is pleasing as well.
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| The front deck after one coat - getting there |
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| Back deck after one coat |
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| back deck after two coats |
So it has been anything but
relaxation here on Ferndale
Never any rest for the male
of the species
GO THE WALLABIES!!!
GO THE WALLABIES!!!
2 Miles, 4 Locks
YTD: 814 Miles (1310 km) , 518 Locks, 14 Tunnels, 11 Lift Bridges ,
16 Swing Bridges
Total: 3708 Miles (5967 km) , 2639 Locks, 112 Tunnels, 45 Lift Bridges ,
167 Swing Bridges
All that sanding/painting, you will have bad knees to go with the bad back soon !!
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