Had it out.

Having had problems with a gum infection for a few weeks, this morning I had the troublesome tooth taken out, so no more gum infection I hope. I am as you probably know by now not great at going to the dentist, but this morning it all went really well. The lady dentist put in three lots of local anesthetic before getting the pliers out to extract the tooth, which I could hear cracking under the pressure. Thankfully the tooth did come out cleanly, so I just need to keep the area clean and allow the clot to form properly over the extraction site. I was feeling a bit light headed, so made myself some soup and a roll, which made me feel better, but there will be no hard food things for a couple of days, I do however have to do salt water mouthwashes so the gum can heal. My dentist showed me the tooth afterwards and it was mainly filling, so it was probably a good thing it came out.

Strops used to lift horse from British canal

Strops used to lift horse from British canal

All's well that ends well.

UK: IWA welcomes increase in dredging by the Canal & River Trust - Dredging News Online

UK: IWA welcomes increase in dredging by the Canal & River Trust - Dredging News Online

If this happens it will be welcomed by all boaters, but especially the deeper draughted boats.

Market Harborough Flooding 1958 'England Under Water'

Ritz Cinema

This may not have been the most stunning building, but it had stood since 1939. The Ritz Cinema was the last to be planned by the Union Cinemas circuit, as they were taken over by Associated British Cinemas(ABC). The cinema was completed and opened it on 22 May 1939 and it gave pleasure to many in the area. The Ritz was fitted with with Cinemascope in 1955. In 1961 it became the ABC and as well as showing films you could get your weekly fix of Bingo. The cinema closed on 25th April 1978 with apparently a Bruce Lee film finishing its days as a cinema. It was leased to Silverline Entertainments and became a bingo club. It remained on bingo until 1982 when it was closed. Kwiksave then took it on as a supermarket, but when they left the old Ritz building fell into decline. There have been many rumours as to what it was going to be used for but the rumours have died along with the building.

This was the Ritz a few days ago.

This is the Ritz today. It stands no more. In its place there are going to be retirement apartments and shops. I think its a real shame that such a building has been knocked down, it would have been nice if at least the front of the building could have been saved and incorporated in the new build. But I guess they call it progress, we will see when it comes to selling the apartments, because Market Harborough already has a lot of retirement apartments and many are still sitting empty.

My Day.

Wednesday morning began with me waking early with tooth ache, deep joy. It appears my gum infection is kicking off again, just as well I have my dental appointment tomorrow arghhh. I did manage to get back off to sleep and woke again at 7.30am when I heard the alarm clock click to 7.30am which was when the alarm was last set for. Wide awake I got up and made the other half and I a cup of tea, which was drunk in bed whilst watching “Are you smarter than a 10 year old”. Clearly neither of us are smarter than  10 year old because we got a couple of the questions wrong. Having been depressed by my lack of knowledge I got up at 8.30am, because Paddy was stirring in his bed which meant he wanted to go out and Marmite was on the prowl for food. Paddy got his walk first along the towpath, where we met Caroline and John heading off on NB Vanyar. We would not see them again before Christmas so I wished them a happy festive time and they headed off to Foxton. Back on the boat, I laid up breakfast and fed Marmite and Paddy. Breakfast over, it was time to relight the back cabin stove and make up the saloon stove. Fires done, time for a coffee and a catch up with e-mails and blogs whilst the generator charged the batteries.

Loved this posting on Facebook, it would definitely apply to Marmite, she loves boxes and bags, as you will have seen from previous postings.

With batteries charged and e-mails sorted it was time to get some jobs done. I had to climb into the hold to get the days coal for both fires. With s being moored up close to the bank, I have the option to bring coal in everyday, if however we were moored away from the bank, I would probably bring in a weeks worth. Today was my Tesco food delivery day, so a with it being delivered between 12 noon and 1pm, I was ready for the walk to the waterfront restaurant by 12.45pm, which is where I would take my delivery. Keith pushed the trolley, whilst I carried the boxes and we waited for our food to arrive. At 12.20pm Mr Tesco man ran me to find out where I was, he was at the bottom of the road, but soon appeared around the corner. Between us Keith and I filled our plastic boxes, loaded up the trolley and then before heading back along the towpath, we said “Goodbye” to the very nice Tesco man. Using the delivery service is heaven because it means I can get tinned stuff and all the heavier items, which this time included cat litter. I do however like to go down the town to buy my fruit and veg, so I can pick it myself. Once back at the boat, I stowed away all the food and then made us toasted crumpets for a late lunch. Having done all that it was time to sit down and put my feet up until it was time to start dinner, feed the animals and make the fires up. I wonder what tomorrow will bring?

Told you So

This made me giggle. Highways Dept have the last word with drivers who ignore their flood warning signs... (via Tewkesbury Police).

A little quiet.

Sorry I have not been posting much about what I have been up to, but to be honest it has been pretty quite and this will be the case as we are moored up until the beginning of January.
On the health front, I am pleased to say that my breast infection seems to have resolved itself after the antibiotics, although I am aware that it may and probably will come back as long as I have this lump. I still have the dentist to visit this week and I know that I am going to need at least one filling and probably something done to the tooth which has been causing my gum infection. I seriously do not enjoy visiting the dentist as I am sure I have said before all due to a childhood experience with a school dentist, but needs must and so I will grin and bare it when the time comes.
Keith is having a mini celebration today. He went to one of our local pharmacies today to get his new nasal spray prescription which was given to him by the doctor last night. When it was ready they gave it to him, and didn’t ask for any payment, now that he is 60 he gets his prescriptions for free! I think he thinks that means he can be as ill as he likes. I personally do not think he should wish such a thing on himself. But growing old certainly has some advantages.
This morning we have been catching up with friends John and Caroline on NB Vanyar over coffee, cake and biscuits. It is always wonderful to chat to them and to of course put the world to right, after a couple of hours of nattering, we then supplied them with coal.
Is anyone else watching “I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here”? I am a huge fan and this year is no exception. I love Eric Bristow and the way he winds people up and they just have no idea what he is doing. He is a straight talker. I also like Rosemary Shragar, she is also a plain speaker, which I think some of the younger people in the jungle find hard to deal with. All in all it is proving to be a great show again.

With the year drawing to a close it is time to reflect on my years cruising and it has been a wonderful one.

In all we have traveled 1055 miles and I have worked 519 locks, I thought we had covered more miles but not according to Keith, it just seemed as though we had. It has been a fantastic year though and I have personally loved every mile of it. We have met some super people, who we hope to meet again some time and I for one am looking forward to 2013 and a new cruising year.