Living Waterways Award.

The Saltisford Canal Arm Restoration Project was announced as "Commended" in the Built Environment Category at the 2016 Living Waterways Awards ceremony, held at Birmingham Town Hall on Wednesday night. This is our award certificate, which proudly hangs in the office.

Launched by the Canal & River Trust in February, and sponsored by Kier, Arcadis, CPC Civils and Fountains, the Living Waterways Awards seek to recognise the most exciting and inspiring waterway-based improvement projects across the UK of which the Saltisford Canal Arm Restoration project is one. The Saltisford Arm is here because of the volunteers who spent many hours digging out the muddy ditch. The restoration began in 1982. Those volunteers gave up their time to make the place it is today and still to this day volunteers help to look after the Arm for everyone to enjoy. Such a huge achievement and now it has been rewarded.

You can read more about the Saltisford Arm and it's history at
http://www.saltisfordcanal.co.uk/heritage/saltisford-history/

2016 Living Waterways Awards.

Last night Keith and I attended the 2016 Living Waterways Awards Ceremony at the Town Hall Birmingham with other members of the Saltisford Arm Canal Restoration team. It was quite a grand affair. As we arrived we had to sign-in and collect out name badges. We were then offered a glass of Champagne and were then free to mingle until we were call into the hall.

We were seated on table 19.

Before the awards were handed out, we were treated to a fabulous meal.

MENU.

 

Starter.

Buffalo mozzarella pearls on chargrilled vegetable salad, sweet peppers filled with soft cheese and balsamic.

 

Main Course.

Breast of chicken, filled with black olive tapenade, pancetta wrapped French beans, potato dauphinoise finished with basil essence.

 

Dessert.

Vanilla and white chocolate crème brulee, balsamic strawberries and biscotti biscuit.

 

Coffee and Tea.

 

It was all very well cook and we were well looked after by the staff on hand.

 

After the gala dinner came the awards. Declan Curry, journalist, presenter and businessman was our host for the evening.

 

The Categories were:

 

1. Art and Interpretation
2. Contribution to the Built Environment
3. Community and Volunteering
4. Education and Learning
5. Natural Environment
6. Recreation and Tourism
7. Restoration and Historic Environment.

 

We were in Category 2 along with Sheffield Pocket Park. The Pocket Park Won and we were "Commended", which I am very proud of, because I know others who had gone up for the awards, never even made it to the ceremony stage, so we as a group should be very, very proud.

 

The finalists for the 2016 Living Waterways Awards were:
•Birmingham Cycle Revolution
•Conserve Nantwich Aqueduct
•Dudley Canal & Tunnel Trust
•Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Gold Residential
•Essex River Wardens
•Fenny Compton
•Floating Cinema on Tour
•Helping Hedgerows
•IWA Northampton Arm Adoption
•IWA North Staffordshire & South Cheshire Work Party
•Macclesfield Canal Green Flag Award
•Mikron Theatre Annual Waterway’s Tour
•North Walsham & Dilham Canal Restoration
•Porter Brook Pocket Park
•Saltisford Arm Canal Restoration
•Stoke Bruerne Interpretation project
•Tall Ships Gloucester
•Towpath Walks
•Volunteers Flood In
•Waterworks

 

it was nice to see some long standing organisations win awards and for us to catch up with people we knew. All in all a great evening.

Weather plays its part.

The Canal Fun Weekend was all set up and sadly the weather did not play ball on Saturday.

It rained pretty much on and off all day.

I set up my stall as did the other stall holders and hoped people would come.

 

Jean and Maurice already.

We would not let the rain get us down.

Dignitaries boarded our day boat for the 11 am boat ride.

Off the Beat'n Track Samba Band from Coventry, were amazing and certainly brightened the day on Saturday.

Historic boats Nutfield and Raymond and Steam Boat Adamant were popular. Saturday was slow, but we all had a great day even though the food did not turn up. Thankfully the beer tent was popular.

 

Sunday

 

What a difference a day makes.

The sun shone from dawn until dusk and this bought the public out.

The Samba band enjoyed another trip on the day boat. The noise was fantastic.

The trading boats unfortunately did not have a lucrative weekend, but that is sometimes how it goes. I think the footfall was not enough.

Simon the Blacksmith hard at work.

With the sun out and the music, food and beer flowing it was a fabulous day for everyone. I did alright on my stall, so can say I had a good weekend. Looking forward to next years now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canal Fun Weekend set up.

It has been a day full of cheer and hard work.
Tomorrow is the first day of our Canal Fun Weekend. So this morning it was all systems go to get the site set up.
Trading Boats Flavoursafloat along with Shine on the Water and Teazle will be trading at the Saltisford Arm Canal Heritage Weekend tomorrow and Sunday. Steam Boat Adamant along with Historic Working Boats Nuffield and Raymond are here too. The pop-ups are all up and the bunting is hung. I went off with Jacky our administrator to get the ice creams, cans of drink etc, so no one will go without.

Nutfield and Raymond arrived this afternoon.

It is fabulous to have them at our event and we know they will be popular.

Even Bernard has his bunting scarf on.

 

I am having a stall and so I have been pricing everything up and making sure I have all the things I need. It is going to be full on but fun.

Countdown has begun.

Thursday morning and the Saltisford Canal Trust is on countdown for the Canal Fun Weekend. I got a decent nights sleep last night, which was most welcome, because of late due to the Menopause problems, I have been sleeping very little. So awake at 7.15 am and first cuppa of the day was drunk whilst watching the BBC1 news. Raindrops began dancing on the roof of the back cabin, which is a sound I really did not want to hear. We can do without rain, especially over the weekend.

Up at 8 am, breakfast eaten. It was off to walk his Lordship. I am talking about Paddy of course. These days he does not walk far, so we did around the block and then back to the boat. Marmite was waiting for her breakfast and being very vocal about the fact that she was hungry. It is not like she has no food, she has a dish of dried food always on hand or should that be paw, but she always wants her wet food, which for her is fish. Marmite loves her fish, she is not a meat cat. Finally all was quiet as Marmite munched her way through her fish. Paddy never complains, he just sits in his bed and waits for his bone shaped biscuits.

With our Canal Fun Weekend almost upon us, I headed off into town to get some float money and to have a quick nosey around the charity shops, after all you never know what you will find. As it turned out I did not find anything of interest. Having arrived back at the boat, Keith and I then headed up to Warwick Parkway where Tornado was expected to pass through.

60163 Tornado is a mainline steam locomotive built in Darlington, England. Completed in 2008, Tornado was the first such locomotive built in the United Kingdom since Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built by British Railways in 1960. It is the only example of an LNER Peppercorn Class A1 locomotive in existence, the entirety of the original production batch having been scrapped without preservation. OMG she was a stunner. Although it was a case of blink and you would miss her, as she steamed her way through the station. It was such a treat.

 



After such a treat we went back to the boat. There was time for a quick lunch, before heading to the Cedar room to begin preparations for the weekend. Raffle prizes were sorted. Teddy tombola and name the Teddy were all done and then it was time to sort out who and what was going where.

Jacky, Stuart, Dawn and I worked out the site plan and Stuart drew a fabulous site plan. The flip charts were used to list who was coming and given a number, which was then added to the map. We are so well organised, I just wish we could organise the weather as well. So we are well and truly on the countdown now.

All the trading boats are in and it was lovely catching-up with them all. I will post photographs of them over the weekend.

This evenings sunset is beautiful and all is well in my world.

Adamant arrives for the Canal Fun Weekend.

It was so lovely to see Adamant cruise into the Saltisford Arm with her whistle blowing.

She is always a favourite with the public.

 

 

 

Mooring up, it is clear she needs more water, but hopefully she will come in over the next couple of days.
We now wait for the Historic working boat Nuffield and Raymond.

GP's are not always correct.

I think I may have posted before about being on HRT. I had a hysterectomy in 2004, keeping my Ovaries. Then in 2007 I began the Menopause journey. It was a journey I was coping with until a couple of years ago when the hot flushes, sleepless nights and joint pain kicked in. Now I could cope with the hot flushes and even the sleepless nights, but when it came to my ankles, knees, hips, elbows, fingers and neck hurting so much that I could not turn over in bed without moaning in pain, I needed to do something.

I was put on Estradiol 1 mg and found it worked for me. I had been ticking along quite nicely. When I got my last lot of tablets, the nurse recommended when they were almost finished, I should speak to my GP about having an HRT review, which I did on the 3rd August.
I was shocked when he said that under medical guidelines, he is not happy prescribing HRT after the age of 56. I am 54, so thought I was fine, but it then appeared I was not, because he suggested I stop taking HRT. I asked how should I go about this and his reply was "Oh you just stop taking it". I was a bit taken back, so he then suggested I take one tablet every other day. So that is exactly what I did, because after all we are supposed to trust our GP's. A couple of weeks ago I had a flair-up with my skin allergies, so went and saw the nurse and whilst discussing things, I told her about what my GP had asked me to do. She was a little horrified and said that if I had any problems to speak to one of the female GP's who specialises in HRT, which I agree to do.

I was doing just fine until the 31st August, when I began to notice my joints aching and I was having problems sleeping. Come the 1st August it was wham bam, the Menopause had hit me like a tonne of bricks. I was worse off then before I began the HRT in the first place. The hot flushes were so bad the sheets in the mornings were wet, my joints were so bad I felt like I was 90 years old and sleeping was all over the place. The OH and I spent many early mornings drinking tea.

On Monday I asked to speak to the female GP to be told she was on holiday, but I could speak to one of the other female GP, which I did. The first thing I said to her was 'Help, I need help'. The GP could not have been nicer, she was so helpful and was so sympathetic. She told me my hormones had now gone into overdrive and I was to start taking the HRT immediately. She gave me lots of wonderful advice, which including saying, that yes I would have to come off the HRT in probably a couple of years, but it would be done slowly over a 6 month period, which is fine with me. I was told to see the practice nurse, who did my weight and BP and then happily gave me a prescription for my HRT and she hoped that I would feel better soon.

So I am back on the HRT and today I have noticed a small change in my joints. However the hot flushes are soaking me and everything else.
I have decided that I am never going to see my male GP again. I have completely lost all confidence in him. How can you trust someone who gives you the wrong information?

Busy Morning.

I apologise that I have been slow at posting on the blog. When we are home on our mooring, ordinary life takes over and we tend to forget to post.

We have been busy what with having a fire in the Arms laundry a few weeks ago and lots of friends coming into the Arm to visit.

Jan and Tom on Waiouru came into the Arm last week and we spent a lovely afternoon with them on Sunday. Tom lit a Bar-B-Q and the hours then flew by, because before we knew it, it was 7pm. We had a fabulous time nattering about every known subject and yes it did include the boaters staple chat topic toilets. 

Today we decided to get on with fitting new roofing felt on our two bunkers.

I think it had been a few years since they had been done and with the bigger of the two beginning to leak, it was time to get the job done. So we have two bunkers all ready for whatever the weather throws at us.

Over the past few weeks, I have been busy painting the boat. The bow had not been done for approximately three years and so was in need of lots of TLC. 

 With the bow now finished, I am turning my attention to the stern.

This weekend is the Saltisford Arm's fun weekend. We are so looking forward to a great time.