Living with Mr. C.

We cruised through Braunston today when we spotted Pip and Roger's old boat NB Windsong moored up across from the service
point just past the two arched canal bridges.  I remember the last time NB Valerie was moored there.

It was January 2013 and we were full of excited plans, making our way south to spend the summer cruising on the Thames. It was while we were moored here that Les experienced his first overt symptoms of colon cancer.  We didn't know what was making him so ill, but as someone who could have died from a micro-perforation of my bowel due to diverticulitis and a massive infection which resulted in surgery to remove 18 inches of my sigmoid colon and resection of my bowel  I knew that whatever was after Les was severely serious in nature.

True to form as a typical man Les ignored these symptoms until they became so debilitating and painful that he was beating his forehead on the counter, begging the pain to stop. Only then would he listen to me and finally see a doctor. That was seven months later. I cannot pass this mooring spot in Braunston now without a shudder of disquiet and I don't believe I can ever feel happy or comfortable mooring up in this spot again.  This is Les' story so he will continue this narrative now...


It`s now been two years and eight months since I had my initial diagnosis of Colo-rectal Cancer. As regular readers know, it moved to my liver and then my lungs. Now after two major surgeries, Sepsis, and two Radio Frequency Ablation procedures to burn away four cancerous lung lesions plus about a dozen scans each accompanied by bloods being taken it seems my lodger Mr. C. has shall we say got shy and gone into hiding.

My latest scan results show no growth in the one remaining lung lesion over the last six months. Now please don`t think I am cured because many many years would need to pass before I would feel able to use that word. I am very much aware that somewhere in my body Mr. C. lurks but is for the moment unable to settle in and thrive.

No matter what choice of treatment you choose be it conventional or alternative, having a healthy immune system doesn't allow cancer to make itself a home in your body. Expert opinion states the average person develops cancerous cells in their body several times in their life but a healthy immune system denies those cells the ability to settle in and grow.

So at the moment I feel happy to be free of wondering at every three month scan if Mr. C. has moved on from the lungs or remained and brought in reinforcements. But what about at the beginning, 32 months ago; what did I think then and more important how might things have been different if I had still been a bachelor boater.

I remember walking back from the hospital a little wet eyed but that was because I had just two years previously married Jaq, and was not ready to die; life was just beginning again. Jaq and I had an idea of the diagnosis and we had discussed traditional versus alternative treatments that I might follow.  Jaq would back my decision 100%.

Sadly my life had already been destroyed by pancreatic cancer when it took my wife Valerie in 2000 after she went through sessions of chemotherapy. Several times Valerie was in Mt. Vernon cancer unit; sometimes as an in-patient and the sights and stories told by other patients informed my decision eleven years later. Straightforward.....No chemo. In my mind it was crystal clear to have surgery to remove the tumour since the scans showed no other parts of my body infected.

Less than a year later it had spread to my liver requiring another major operation. A short time after that it had reached my lungs. Since before the bowel surgery, we had changed my diet dramatically and I was taking supplements so this was all very depressing but having made a decision of alternative treatment coupled with surgery all Jaq and I could do was carry on with our plan. At each stage as the cancer progressed, my doctors would release additional bits of information that led Jaq to tweak my diet and change my supplements and therapy.

All I ever wanted as every hurdle appeared, was to get over it and go boating and that was what we did even though most times it was for very short periods.

This experience has been a joint effort but I do wonder how different things have been if I had been a single man boating alone. I do think after initially refusing chemo and just having surgery,  I would have consented to chemo after the liver surgery.

We will  never know how that might have unfolded but I do feel no one would be reading this. One sure thing is the Sepsis would no doubt have been the end because without Jaq I would not have known the danger I was in.  I would have just gone to bed feeling rough and died in my bed. In the UK 40,000 die from sepsis each year, multiply this figure by 5 for the U.S.

Just to finish can I say that Cancer is a nasty disease and the way each person deals with it is a very personal thing. No one has the right to tell others what treatment is the best choice for them. All we can do is share our experiences and hopefully others may benefit from it. All I can say is read as much as you can on top of what you are told by doctors and make your decision. Be positive all the way through to what we hope is a good result.
Best wishes and thank you all.
Les

Salad

Just a pack of Romaine Lettuce but what caught my eye was the information at the bottom of the pack.
Produce of USA.
Now here in the UK this pack cost £1.25.Convert to U.S. and you get $1.75 using $1.40 to the £1.
That is 87cents each. Checking the price in Safeway Tacoma over on the west coast the price of a pack of three is $2.99 or 99cents each.
Most of the U.S. harvest of Romaine lettuce is grown in California and Arizona and is available year round. How does this lettuce travel 5,000 miles, by air, and end up cheaper in the UK by 12cents. Small amount I know but it`s been flown across the the pond. Tacoma Safeway is only 900 miles from California but can`t beat Tesco UK on price.
Are you as posh as Nb Valerie having your lettuce flown in.
 Recently purchased lettuce are produce of Spain, same price. Not quite the same having to say our lettuce came by truck through the Euro Tunnel.

 This boat is along the Puddle Banks at Braunston. I`m pretty sure it`s the same one that was sunk on the towpath opposite although I could be wrong. For sure it has taken on so much water the owners have emptied it with the contents spread across the grass. Very expensive hobby keeping a boat of this age and construction floating.

From Our Keyboard to Our Front Door

"I love ordering things online because when they arrive it's like a present to me, from me. " ~ Anon.

   As Les mentioned previously, the spot near Birdingbury Wharf and the Boat Inn pub on the North Grand Union Canal is a great place for having items delivered to a boat. It offers easy access from the road, a house address right across the lane from the canal, plenty of space for a delivery van to park, and a good gap in the hedge to bring things through to the boat. We had some crucial items that required an easy delivery location but we also needed to be in Braunston to take advantage of the Midland Chandler's Freaky Friday Sale offering 20% off everything in the store.
   It was decided that we would cruise up the three Calcutt locks onto the North Oxford Canal, stopping at Napton to spend two more nights visiting with our friends Andy and Tina, and then cruise into Braunston for the sale, after which we would come back to Wigram's Turn, down the Calcutt flight and moor up near the Boat Inn again for our deliveries, then turn around and go back up the flight, cruise back through Braunston, meet up with family and then cruise off North to Rugby and beyond. We thought we would escape the North Grand Union quickly after my knee healed but our old boat has other ideas. The batteries are knackered and need replacing, and we have to purchase the things we need for boat jobs when they are on sale. Such is life on a narrowboat.

Birdingbury Wharf is the good delivery place near the Boat Inn, on the Northern Grand Union Canal. The green line is our boat moored up. The Calcutt Lock flight takes you down toward Birdingbury Wharf and on into Warwick, or up towards Napton-on-the-Hill. The small red circle at the bottom is near Wigram's Turn where the Northern Grand Union and the North Oxford canal meet. It is also where Napton-on-the-Hill is located. The red circle on the upper right is in Braunston where Midland Chandlers is located. The double canal bridge arches are across from the Chandlers.

   We arrived in Braunston shortly after the chandlers opened at 8 a.m. and two refrigerators were already heading out the door on trolleys. Luckily since we arrived early we were able to moor up at the chandlery. We had a list of items, and were paid up and out the door fifteen minutes later, with Les hoiking a huge tin of bitumen on a trolley. We have blacking to do soon.

Freaky Friday Goods!

   We moved the boat ahead ten feet to the service point and dumped our rubbish, filled up with water and watched the new owners of author Terry and Monica Darlington's boat Phyllis May II cruise past. 
   As we were setting off, I spied NB Millie M. on the chandlery moorings. Maffi was in town so we breasted up next to his boat and had a quick natter as he came back from the sale with his goods in tow, then we headed off in different directions; and that is often how things happen on a narrowboat--time enough for a short chinwag and then everyone cruises off.

Saying goodbye! Maffi, dog Mollie, and his boat NB Millie M. He backed up stern first through the left arch in order to turn back towards Braunston Marina. We came through the right arch with our bow pointed back down toward Napton, Wigram's Turn and the junction with the Northern Grand Union and yes--once again the Calcutt locks. The roof of Midland Chandlers is poking up above the footbridge, their mooring empty now that we have all moved on. 

   We headed back down toward Napton and down the Calcutt locks to moor up near the Boat Inn in order to take delivery of a few things we needed: groceries from Tesco and four new batteries from Advanced Battery Supplies. Many thanks to our friend Robert Rogers for sharing this excellent web site. They offer reasonable prices and free next day delivery. Currently they have a special offer going for narrowboat batteries and the prices include VAT. 
   As it happened, just as we moored up our alternator crapped out on us! Good thing we were in the perfect location for River Canal Rescue (RCR) to pay us a call. An engineer removed the alternator and took it away for testing. It turned out to be knackered beyond repair and we ended up with a brand new alternator--not a refurbished unit. The alternator was covered under parts replacement by RCR and we were only liable for the £50 pound excess/co-pay.  

Tesco delivers to NB Valerie.

NB Valerie, new batteries, and the courier with his van. Easy-peasy!

Each battery weighs 25 Kilos/55 Lbs. each!

   After taking our Tesco groceries aboard, the four new batteries arrived soon after and the new alternator was fitted later the following morning. Sorted! 
   In the mean time, feeling like extras in a British re-make of the movie Ground Hog Day, we worked our way back up the Calcutt locks, and moored up in Braunston. A delightful day was spent in the company of our family who came up from Watford to visit over a lunch of fresh baked bread, homemade Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup, and Brownies. Did we get pictures? Well of course not because we did our usual Les and Jaq thing: we had such a good time with our daughter in law, her mom, and our grandson, that we forgot to take pictures!!! 

The Stockton Lock Flight.

As you work through the Stockton flight of eight locks that allow for a change in level of 55 feet in less than half a mile it`s hard to imagine the industrial past that existed on the offside.The flight is marked on the map below as 4-11. Up until the 1930`s they were all single locks. The double locks were installed alongside and the old singles take excess water into the next pound.
These quarries relied on the canal to bring coal for the Lime burning and taking away limestone and cement.

Looking at the map above you can see how the railway took a lot of the canal trade by putting sidings into all the works along it`s route.
 Boaters might have noticed on the map Sitwell`s Arm almost opposite the Kaye`s Arm, traces of it can still be found. Also the two Blue dotted arms past lock 4. The first one is now Kate Boats marina and the second one past the bridge has not been that kind in leaving clues but I will have another look. Google earth shows the filled in quarry so you can get an idea of the canal arm`s position. I would like to find evidence of the railway crossing the arm.

The above map of the same area is 1885/86. This LINK will take you to the maps where you can zoom and view the whole area for a better view.

A  Kaye`s arm.  B  Sitwell`s arm.  C  Greaves Bull and Lakins works.  D Griffin`s works

E is bridge 21 the Rugby Southam road, Boat Inn pub, Kate Boats and to the right of the bridge the site of the old quarry arm I want to investigate more.

The section above the Red line enclosed by the road and canal was owned in 1792 by the church. Part of it was sold to the Warwick and Napton canal company for £52 and the rest to a Mr. Tomes and Mr. Hanley for £885.
Thomes a solicitor was chairman of the canal company and Hanley the chief engineer. They also in 1819 were responsible for digging the Kaye`s arm that serviced the Southam works. At one time the intention was to take the canal into Southam village but it never happened.

By 1841 the land belonged to a Captain Lamb and he leased it to William Griffin on a lease of £100 per year based on 4,000 tons of Limestone being excavated per year. On the death of the captain the land was bought by the Nelson family who owned Nelson`s works further along the canal.

This is a zoomed in section of E and D above. To the lower left are the Lime kilns at Griffin`s works. The higher quarry near the Boat Inn that became Kate Boats is the section sold by the church. The quarry to the right of the boat inn is where one of the old quarry arms entered that are marked in Blue dots on the map at top of page.

Below two zoomed in views of C. This is the Greaves, Bull and Lakin works alongside locks 10/11. Notice the very wide pound(section of canal between locks) where the buildings are next to the canal. You can see the Kilns(circles next to canal) alongside what must have been a wharf. Also there appears to be a tramway running past the kilns alongside the canal to a building.

The first map is dated 1886 and the second 1904. (click dates for link to each map)
Notice how the railway has now appeared and the works has trebled in size with extra Tramways and the railway entering the works. The works became an Aluminium smelting works and today is used by Dowdswell who make ploughs.

Remains of kilns at the Greaves site near the bottom of the flight.

Chimney stands by lock five as a reminder of the Griffin works.

Down to the bottom of the lock flight and the entrance to the Sitwell Arm that led to High Clays Lime works is where the two boats are moored on the right. Kaye`s arm is on left just past the trees.I would love to know more about this arm but that will wait for another day.


Entrance to Kaye`s arm.
 

If you walk along the lane from the Blue Lias pub this lay by is a good marker for the old Sitwell arm. The tree line left and right is the route.

Follow the tree line to the right and you can just see the entrance to the Kaye`s arm slightly right of centre.

Very little left of the old canal bed.

A 1932 view from the "Britain from Above" site of the Southam cement works at the end of the Kaye`s arm. The 1886 map shows it as Long Itchington works changing on the 1904 map to Southam works. The wagons on the lower right are just about to cross the canal. It is possible to walk on along the old railway trackbed to this bridge.

Follow the Red line at the side of the pub a sharp right past the reservoir along the old rail trackbed. The rail bridge crosses the canal where the Red line crosses the Blue route of the present day Kaye`s arm. Nowadays it`s still a working site run by Cemex who still remove Limestone and Clay from the site.

The Cemex site as it was in 1904. Two farms south of the site have been swallowed up by the quarry extension pictured below.

Present day Google view. Those two farms alongside the A426 are now just quarries.

 I urge you, if interested in a bit of history, to read the article in the link as it goes into more detail of what I have mentioned in my post. Link HERE.

The Great Escape.

Here is a lady who has something to dance about. It`s raining and the wind is a blowing and that boat does not usually move in lousy weather so perhaps it`s  a sun dance.

Here`s a clue. Ok just a lock but not just any lock. This is Radford lock a boundary of the Five Mile Prison. You guessed it we are on the move following Jaq`s discharge from the Physio classes.

Quite a few of the locks had these cill protectors fitted during the winter stoppages.

Some canal art by a winter moorer who was here for a few months.

First stop for a couple of days at Long Itchington after 10 locks and 4 miles, should be far enough to escape any prison search parties.

On past the Two Boats pub.

Going up the Stockton flight of 8 locks some Lime Kilns can still be seen by the lower locks.

 Another sign of work completed during the winter are the lock chamber ladders.


Some are new but the big improvement is the cutting back of the stonework enabling more of your foot to cover each rung.


In the very rare times I have used these ladders I always felt unsafe as mostly it was the ball of your foot on the rung now it`s the arch giving a more secure feel.

Having spent many years single handing a boat I never used the ladders. Being on your own perhaps in a very remote area climbing a ladder is just another risk. So much safer to step off the boat with a centre rope as you enter the lock.
The extra depth between the rung and the wall is an excellent safety improvement.

Settled in for another couple of days. This is a good place for a Tesco delivery as there is a small car park just behind the trees with access just by the notice board at our bow.

In case you thought the boat behind had an odd looking paint job I can reveal it is in fact the Wool boat. It travels around selling wool and inviting clubs aboard for knitting sessions. The site does mention stays on board of up to seven days but the site is not clear about what this is all about.

Across from our mooring the Boat Inn pub now has a Deli stall with a range of spices.

Last year the pub was up for sale and the price of £349k  for the freehold caught my eye. Seemed cheap but reading the details it seems to not include furniture and any commercial fixtures and fittings.
 I wonder what the final sale price was.

Freedom At Last!!!

"Freedom is never given; it is won." ~ A. Phillip Randolph,  U,S, labor organizer, civil rights leader, 1917-1979

   Last Tuesday was the beginning of week eight post-op for my Left knee replacement. It was also my fourth physiotherapy class at Warwick hospital, and Les had an appointment at the Royal Free Hospital in London for a scan and blood tests. We left Radford Hill Farm moorings Monday mid-day--which after four months of being stuck here in the five mile prison--we've come to think of as our country estate.
   We cruised back into town, stopping at Tesco to top up our groceries. I decided it was a good time to try shopping on my own so I took one crutch and our personal shopping trolley and went on my way while Les headed out across the street to buy diesel and top up the boat. My list wasn't long but it took me awhile to pull out a shopping cart, hang our shopping trolley on it so it wasn't in my way and steer the shopping cart with one hand while I stumped along with a crutch on my right arm. About forty five minutes later--job done! I was back at the boat with our trolley full of groceries and no one was maimed or endangered in the process.
   We continued on to moor up at the Warwick Hospital moorings--just near the footbridge over the canal about 850 feet before the bottom of Cape Locks and the water point. We set the alarm for 6:30 a.m. and both of us had a restless night's sleep. While my left knee doesn't hurt anymore, I am still keenly aware of the artificial part of it, and after a long day it is difficult to relax, let go of that awareness and fall into sleep. So Les and I tossed and turned...
   Up with the alarm and Les was out the door at 7:30 to catch three trains and one bus to arrive at the RFH by 11 am. He started the engine before he left and I washed a load of clothes and did some work before pulling myself together and heading off for the fifteen minute walk over the footbridge, up a short side street and through Warwick Hospital to the physiotherapy department to wait for my class to begin. I decided it was also a good time to try making this walk without any crutches at all.
   Physio class for the five of us women with knee replacements, consists of twelve stations in a circuit; sitting in a chair with a small ball tucked between one's ankles and lifting one's legs, standing on a balance board, sitting in a chair and getting up and sitting down repeatedly without using one's hands (bends the knee), peddling a mini set of pedals while sitting in a chair, up and down stairs, sitting in a chair with one's leg resting on another chair just across the way and a set of three pound weights draped over the replaced knee to make the leg completely straight, bicycling on a BIG bike, standing on a trampoline and doing deep knee bends, and other assorted tortures. Each exercise must be done for one minute and forty five seconds. Rock ballads from the 1950's provide background music: Why Do Fools Fall in Love, Wake up Little Suzy, There Goes My Baby, Kansas City--you get the drift.
   After completing the circuit we take a five minute break, drink water, have our incisions inspected, our knee circumference measured, along with demonstrating one's ability to straighten the leg, lift and hold it for ten seconds and offer a general report of how we're doing. Then we five spread out around a set of parallel bars for the "dance" portion of our show. 
   To a bit more rousing music we walk heel and toe, march with knees

Morecambe & Wise Dance

high, do football kicks (bring a leg back and bend it, swing it forward and high like kicking a ball), back flicks (bend a leg, bring it back and try and tap your bum with your foot), Morecambe and Wise come on, singing Bring Me Sunshine and we "do" the M & C dance to their anthem.
   Americans will probably not have a clue who these guys are or what the dance looks like. The still picture of the duo will give you an idea--a sort of alternating skip with arms back and forward. Just picture five women with recent knee replacements ranging in age from 58 to 76, dancing around in a circle like the guys in the picture. Les got such a kick out of the idea he wanted to come video us but it isn't allowed. 
   Finally we finish up to Sinatra belting out "New York, New York" while we do alternating high kicks, held for three seconds and then really high kicks with jazz hands.  TA-DAH!!! Are you knackered yet?? Well the upshot of all this is....all my hard work has paid off and I was released to go a week earlier than planned. WOOT!!
      Wednesday morning we slept in. I rose first, and jumped out of bed, and while my Best Beloved remained wrapped in the warmth of the duvet, I threw on my bathrobe and some flip flops, climbed out of the boat and started the engine--all without giving my knee or leg a single thought! I swept out the bow and the stairs, emptied the ash out of the stove and brought the fire up, and we sat grinning at each other like mad cats while we ate breakfast and talked about the power of suggestion. I wondered if it was merely the fact the Physiotherapist said, "Great Jaqueline! You are discharged. See you in September," that suddenly made me feel like Tigger on my new knee.

Manually turning a boat involves pulling it around from the stern.

   We cruised to the bottom of Cape locks, where Les turned the boat manually with the stern rope, tied up, we filled with water and off we went with me on the back beside him, coffee cups in hand. The weather was calm and windless but the air had a wet, cold, clammy feel to it. Who cares? We are cruising--and we are not turning around and coming back!!
   I've spend four months in Warwick and the nearby smaller towns and I've seen virtually none of it other than a couple of restaurants and the hospital. Good friends dropping by kept us sane as did our ability to move albeit only five miles total. So Les stopped and moored up in Royal Leamington Spa and we walked into town to see the Sights!

A view of the Royal Pump Rooms as it was originally in 1814 when it was first built by the River Leam,courtesy of warwickdc.gov.uk.

A photograph courtesy of the BBC.co.uk, of The Pump Room Baths on the right, in 1914.

Current picture of the Royal Pump Rooms looking back to St. Nicholas Parish

Once the Royal Spa where wealthy folks came to take the waters, this is now a lovely museum  offering a glimpse into the town of Royal Leamington Spa, the spa itself, and an art gallery with a  nice small collection of paintings, several of which date back to the 17th century.  There was also a fascinating exhibition  titled through the Shop Window, offering a glimpse at what shopping in town was like from 1880-1980.

This is part of the museum's bit about Taking the Cure which was so popular Queen Victoria visited the spa as a young woman--hence the title "Royal" added to the town's name.

Outside and across the street from the Pump Rooms is Jephson Gardens and grass park where the well-to-do took the air to see and be seen. Originally farmland, the owner set aside 10 acres for public access to locals from 7-10 a.m. and paying patrons of the spa and bath house for the remainder of the day. In 1836 the site was expanded to a total of 18.5 acres and a right of way was sunk through the middle to provide access to anyone who wanted to walk through the lush and lovely scenery without trampling the gardens. Over the decades the boating lake, the fountains, a tea room and an aviary were added. The later two are now gone. The Gardens were named after Dr. Jephson who promoted the town's healing waters and built homes for the poor.

The right of way today. I have to tell you the air was magnificent! Although it was cold, clammy and overcast, the air smelled divine with a base note of fresh moving water, green grass, spring flowers, finishing off with a sweet top note of licorice from some Sweet Cicely growing in the wilder corners.I call it Parfum for the spirit!

The lake now sports a fountain in the middle. Once upon a time visitors played croquet, practiced archery, oohed and aahhed over fireworks displays, and sailed model boats here. I love how many benches there are everywhere! This is a park that invites one to step out into a bit of human contrived nature to relax and enjoy one's self.

Children frolic along the edge of the lake with the spires of All Saints Parish church rising across the way. While the church in its present form dates from the 1800's there has been a church here since the 12th century-back when the tiny hamlet was called Lamintone. In 1349 The Black Death visited the village and three successive vicars were laid to rest due to the plague. Today the church is a thriving and vital presence in the center of town. NighLight is a weekly project offering free hot drinks and a listening ear to those out and about at night. It's based at All Saints' and runs every Friday night from 10.00 pm, closing normally by 2.00am on Saturday.

The Glasshouse is a conservatory or hot house as we say in the States. What awaits us inside?

Fantastic Bird of Paradise flowers greet us as we enter.

Airy walkways wander amongst coffee, banana and other exotic trees and ferns.

I don't know what species this is but I was captivated by the white flowers.

Bright Clivia stand near a hidden waterfall.

A goldfish pond offers tantalizing views of the bright fish along with reflections of the glass plated ceiling and the sky. 

The black pipe is a bee portal! It is blocked in winter and opened in late spring so bees can come and go, pollinating the plants and carrying some back to their hive to make honey. What a brilliant idea!

This is the doorstep for the bees on the outside of the building, leading into the black pipe along the wall inside. I wonder what the bee dance offering instructions to this little paradise looks like!

There are outdoor walkways and all kinds of fascinating places to walk, bike, rollerskate, jog, climb, and discover.

The Mill Bridge over the River Leam. The glass house is directly behind me as I took this picture. the gardens are out of sight off to the right.Below is an inlet allowing river water to flow unimpeded. Great for fish and other wildlife.

The view across the river from the Mill Bridge.  One can just see the boat ramp in the foreground on the left immediately past the closest house .

Noted Leamington artist Fred Whitehead painted this scene in 1844 from the bank of the river Leam. The garden is in its infancy on the right, only created a decade previously. The Mill Bridge would be behind the artist. The three arched bridge and the Royal Pump Room spa is in the background on the right upper side. Courtesy of Leamington History Group.

The church tower from my short perspective.

Looking up at a vaulted window.

Gothic spires were added in the late 19th century

...but the original square tower is still there.

This is an 1810 water color of All Saints in the town of Lymington Prior as it was then known. The house in the back ground backs on to the river Leam. Courtesy of Leamington History Group.