All change at the junction.

First stop after leaving our reservoir mooring was the service point at what was Marsworth Canal and River Trust maintenance yard now referred to as Marsworth Wharf by the developers.

Marsworth wharf 1930. Picture from CRT archives. The buildings on the right are next to the Aylesbury arm top lock.

 Here is a picture I took  in 2009. The part nearest the canal is the CRT yard and the site to the rear many years ago manufactured concrete piles for canal bank strengthening. All that remains now is the carpenters workshop to the extreme left and the boaters service point on the right of the picture.

Back in 2009 planning application was made and now after six years 13 homes are due to be completed in April. Nb Valerie is 58feet and as you can see we are in front of the first two houses. If the whole frontage of the houses is open and another boat pulls in behind waiting their turn at the services can you not see complaints arising from residents.

We are moored beneath the living room balcony and ten feet from two of the ground floor bedroom windows. The complaints will be either smoky chimneys or engine noise or boaters walking up and down in front of their bedroom windows.

Behind the existing elsan point new buildings are being built. These are for the rubbish bins and a pump out facility. For us there is just one thing missing in the picture.

Aah! right on time our Tesco grocery order and our water tank is still filling. Excellent timing.

Close up of the new boaters facilities under construction. Not sure if the elsan will be moved back to my knowledge this one links to a holding tank. I guess the new homes will link to main sewers.

Can  you see the box on the post more or less centre of picture? It`s a Bat box.
Follow the pole down and you can just make out a car roof, yep it`s the Batmobile.

Jaq and I have decided that if, and I can assure you we won`t, we decided to buy one it would be the one arrowed. There are two houses there but the one nearest is 4 bedrooms and totals 2228 square feet. We have on Nb Valerie about 264 sq.ft. of internal space.

 Our choice unit 6 has a living room and garden that give good views across the canal junction and also the adjoining lock on the Aylesbury arm. It also has a bedroom balcony giving the same views.
Seven loses the view across the junction and is a smaller square footage.
Eight has a nice corner location next to the lock but as with 9-13 noise from the lane could be a problem when sitting in the garden.
Units 1-4 on the main line canal are as you have seen above near to the boat services.
Last is Carpenters House the only reserved property on the whole site. Perhaps because of it`s detachment from the rest of the houses it might appeal more to some people.
The main site for the development is HERE. I phoned the agent and at the moment only the 3 bedroom houses have been priced. £520,000 ($780,000) and no mooring.

As you look at the developers site you may notice the wharf crane. This is i am told being refurbished and will be reinstated near to the Carpenters House building.
Not sure of the crane`s age but I`m sure it can just be seen in the 1930 picture above.
Below is the crane in action loading the bells from Marsworth church onto a narrow boat in 1994. LINK
I wonder what boat it was?

    The reservoir capacity figures for February are out. The reservoirs at Marsworth are 94.2%. All the figures look healthy so fingers crossed for good cruising and no water shortages.

Playing Catch Up!

"The road to recovery will not always be easy, but I will take it one day at a time, focusing on the moments I've dreamed about for so long." ~Amanda Lindhout, Canadian humanitarian and journalist

   At long last Les and I are really cruising again! We've been immensely fortunate to have a slow, graceful transition from Les' recovery in the marina to life back out on the towpath, catching up with friends, other boaters and blog readers. 

   We've had some wonderful moments with Mike Griffin, touring some of the interesting places around Cow Roast marina, where Hertfordshire meets Buckinghamshire.

  Mike took us along a typical country road--winding up and down hills and around tight curves with what seemed to me to be one single lane hugged closely on both sides of the track by trees and shrubs. Every time a car approached in the opposite direction I just had to shut my eyes tight and say to myself "don't look Ethel!" While the road appeared ordinary, it was a place of recent historical distinction. As we climbed Aston Hill in the early morning cold, Mike told us this very piece of highway was once part of a local hillclimb--a short sprint car race tearing around the tight curves and up the short, steep hills, in which a young man named Lionel Martin raced his prototype car in 1914.

     "Aston Hill, part of Lord Rothschild's Estate at Aston Clinton was a renowned motoring venue. Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford were early racers at Aston Clinton, and had set up a small business selling and servicing cars in West London in 1913 specialising in Singers. Lionel Martin made his first ascent of the hill in a tuned Singer on 4th, April, 1914. Bamford’s early departure from the partnership left Martin with the need for a new name for his first car, created by fitting a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine to the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini. His success, achieved at the Aston-Clinton Hill Climb course in the prototype car provided the ideal name, and thus the marque of Aston-Martin was born." (Rothschild Archives. https://www.rothschildarchive.org/exhibitions/motoring_history/the_aston_hill_climb; accessed on 02/22/15) Yes indeedy, 007's favorite car was developed from the protype race car Lionel Martin raced on the Aston Hillclimb, taking its iconic name from its creator. One can pull into the car park at Wendover Woods to stop and read the plaque mounted there.

   Prior 1923, this event became a classic in its twenty years of existence. According to the Aston Hillclimb web page the original start-line was 20 yards from the junction of the now A4011; the finish-line level with the house at the top of the hill and the original Course length was 3/4 mile in length which was later reduced to 1000 yards. (http://ox.mx5oc.co.uk/events/AstonHill/Aston_Hill.htm; accessed on 02/22/15.)

A picture of Hillclimb enthusiasts watching an Aston Martin make its way up Aston Hill.

The Starting Line

The exit of corner 2

Approaching the finish line.

This is the caption on the plaque presented by Lionel Martin's wife. Spot the typo?

   On into the village of Wendover we drove as the sun came out to soften the crisp edges of the winter cold. It turns out Anne Boleyn's father was once the Mayor of Aylesbury and several pieces of property came down to Anne from her Paternal grandmother's side of the family, including a piece of property on which a series of small thatched cottages in Wendover were built and are still known as the Anne Boleyn Cottages. (Aylesbury, Walton and Wendover Road Conservation Area document accessed 02/22/1; https://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/GetAsset.aspx?id...) This seems to fly in the face of popular history which suggests the cottages were given to Anne as a gift from Henry VIII however the first mention of them in any official records is around 1630.

   Here is a reminiscence by Peter Osbourne, whose sister Daphne once lived in one of these cottages:

   My late Sister Daphne Hemmings owned No 3 Coldharbour Cottage. She 
   passed it on to her son Jimmy Hemmings. I have fond memories of visiting
   her and staying awhile in these fascinating dwellings. You wouldn't want to be
   six-foot plus with the low doorways plus the low beams, you would crack your
   head on the oak beams. If anyone passed away upstairs you would have to be
   lowered through a trapdoor located in the front bedroom in line with the front 
   door. (From a Memory of Wendover, December 19th, 2011, Francis Frith
   Photography.)

   We said a sweet goodbye to Cow Roast and the wonderful community of boaters there, and cruised about three miles through the Tring cutting to moor up just before the Bulbourne water point where we stayed for about eight days while waiting for some repairs to take place to the broken lock gate at the top of the Marsworth flight. This provided us with an opportunity to catch several buses and visit our daughter-in-law and grandsons in Thame, enjoy an excellent meal at the Grand Junction Arms Pub as our Valentine's celebration/monthly date night, and enjoy spending time with Carol and George on WB Still Rockin and their amazing four footed family member Molly. We walked down the lock flight to see the repairs being made to the lock gate, and continued on down the flight to the junction of the Grand Union and the Aylebsury Arm where we found Tom and Jan on NB Waiouru! 

Just up from where NB Val was moored we spotted this bloke fishing in the winding hole right on top of the water point. Sometimes words fail me... which is good for him although as cold as it was his ears could probably have used the warmth.

The water point is the silver post on the right. The angler is sitting right smack in the middle of the winding hole and NB Valerie is moored up beyond him.

This plastic cruiser is moored just adjacent to a disabled boater's landing. Good luck getting in there.

The plastic cruiser--which could easily have fit on the visitor mooring just past the disabled landing and just before the bridge hole, has a Canal & River Trust (CaRT) patrol notice on its window for overstaying. Notice the boat name? It seems not!!

The bottom lock of the Marsworth flight was padlocked shut to keep boaters from attempting to move through the flight until CaRT said it was okay to do so.

Several trees had come down right near the permanent moorings at Marsworth. Signs were posted asking boaters to move over to the other side while tree trimming commenced on February 16th.

This memorial sat near a fallen tree on the permanent mooring for NB Bateau which was moored across the way.

A swan skates along the top of the ice.

Tom cleans the muck off his boots outside NB Waiouru.

   At last we met the "other" famous Kiwis (the first being Marilyn and Dave on NB Waka Huia). It was terrific to catch up, check out their boat (I love seeing other people's boats. I always come away with inspirational ideas for ours!) Tom's legendary quick wit was well on display and I welcomed getting a chance to know Jan, whose straight forward, no-nonsense attitude and sharp wit echoes my own. Les and I owe a huge thanks to you both for your ongoing support of us throughout the last year.

   Carol and I ditched our hubbies for a women's day out in Tring. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at Francesco's Italian diner, and visited several lovely shops: Fancy That (and I did--I did!) an incredible gift shop where I wisely left behind most of the shop (where would I put it all on a narrow boat?), for a foray into Marks & Spencer for a few bits and bobs for dinner and on to Metcalfe & Sons cookware shop where Carol and I each purchased much wanted kitchen items. While I love Les and enjoy sharing our life together, I sorely miss the companionship of my women friends. Time spent indulging in a wee bit of retail therapy with Carol was lovely indeed. Thank you girlfriend!!

   We spent a few more days visiting with George and Carol, and I made a friend in their Patterdale Terrier Molly.  There is defo an enlightened soul in that dog. She's whip smart, with a non-nonsense attitude toward people and a great sense of humor. Top all that off with that adorable tail and well...I felt honored when Moll accepted me as a person of trust.

    As Les and I cruised down the Marsworth Flight we passed nb Etive (Sewing seams naturally) and I got a shout out from Mary Anne who walked down the flight to visit and had a cuppa with Les, George, Carol and myself. Another lovely woman on a boat!! It was great to catch up with you Mary Anne. 

   We spent another week moored up at Startops End reservoir where blog follower and walking enthusiast Daryl from Watford caught up with us. Sadly, Les had gone into Tring for a prescription and missed Daryl's visit and I was stuck in the middle of some serious boat cleaning (I can only do serious boat cleaning when Les is not under my feet). Next time Daryl, we will invite you in for a cuppa.

  Shortly after Daryl said goodbye, Les returned and fellow boating enthusiast and blog reader Dave Winter dropped by. Check out his blog Brassiclint. Dave loves boats and photography and his pictures are terrific.  Later that same afternoon our friend Robert on WB Wind in the Willows came by with his sister Maria and time got away from us as we sat and conversed about the universe.

Here is an excellent example of Dave's photography. WB Still Rockin is moored in front of NB Valerie. Daryl is standing and talking to me through the window. Startops End reservoir is in view to the left of the canal. (© Dave Winter, 2015)

Fisherman with the typical 1500 pounds of gear, in the last light of day at Startops End Reservoir.

   Soon enough it was time for us to cruise!! We had such a wonderful time getting to know George and Carol. Thank you for your hospitality and friendship; for afternoon cups of tea and evening glasses of vino; for great conversation and good craic.

   With George's help,  Les and I cruised off down the bottom lock of the Marsworth flight to the water point where we filled up with water and picked up our substantial Tesco grocery delivery while gongoozlers watched in amusement from the bridge above us. Off we went into the early afternoon sunshine and cold, raw weather. As we went I realized that the stress of the last six months has caught up with me. We were not expecting the abrupt diagnosis last August. All I could do was suck in a deep breath and hit the ground running in crisis mode. I am finally able to let that breath out now, but my body is tired and I feel wretchedly unwell. All I want to do is sleep and cruise.

   Two more locks and we called it quits for the day. The temperature was dropping rapidly. We spotted two mountjack deer in the adjacent field with a swan sitting in the grass not too far away making this a good spot to settle in for the rough weather of the next few days. Jules Fuels will be along in a day or so to top up our diesel tank and load bags of coal on our roof.

   In the evening we were graced with a beautiful view of the pale sliver of moon smiling in the nighttime sky which was dimpled with the shining planets Venus and Uranus in conjunction. It is for days and nights like this that we live this life.

Who`s a knocking

Always nice when a blog reader stops by. The latest knocking on the side of Nb Valerie was from blog follower Dave Winter.
I have snatched his picture from his website because as so often happens I forgot to take a picture even after Dave asked to snap Jaq and I.

Other visitors have been Daryl from Watford a reader and regular towpath walker stopped to chat with Jaq while I was out and inquired about my health. Thanks Daryl.

Robert of wide beam Wind in the Willows brought his sister to meet us and a nice couple of hours was spent over tea and cake.

It`s been nice moored near the reservoirs at Marsworth and being in the company of George and Carol on Still Rockin but now we have decided it`s time to move on. In the next two days we will take on a Tesco delivery, refill the water tank, dispose of the rubbish and sail on possibly to the Slapton area.
This will give us a choice of using the rail station at Cheddington or cruising on to Leighton Buzzard station for my journey to London to get my 3 month CT scan.
I have obtained 3 months of my medication for the stoma output and with the scan completed we will have no more commitments for quite a while.

Still Rockin with Nb Valerie behind. Reservoirs are to the rear and right of the boats, people can be seen walking on the bank of the reservoirs.

Keep your plans flexible, just in case.

On a bright chilly day we set off from Cow Roast along with George and Carol ong Wb Still Rocking with the intention of mooring at Bulbourne for a few days.

Along Tring cutting it is just a 2.5 mile trip pretty much as pictured all the way.

 We moored up just short of Bulbourne bridge as this would give us both access to the bus

crossing the bridge towards Tring. Jaq and I also used the bus to visit family in Thame.  The Grand Junction arms pub built in 1852 can just be seen through the trees to the left of the bridge. Good food is why Jaq and I have visited many times.
 After a few days it came to our attention that an emergency had closed the Marsworth lock flight just a half mile ahead. This gave us little concern as the planned stoppage at Milton Keynes does not finish until mid March so there is no rush.

This is a typical canal junction scene. The bridge I am standing on spans the Wendover arm canal that branches off to the left. On the right is the main line of the Grand Union canal that 37 miles and 56 locks to the south connects to the River Thames. At 6 hours per day it will take about 4 days. This is the lock that is defective.


The building to the left of the bridge was built as a toll house for the canal company in the early mid 1800`s. Over to the right is a wet dock built over an old single lock that was  widened when the building was erected. Most of  the locks from here all the way to
Stoke Breurne had a single  lock built
alongside the original double one to save water and speed traffic along.

All the way down to the bottom lock, pictured right, you will notice the extra space on the off side where the now in filled single locks were. The exception is the second lock down (44) that has a cottage very close to the double lock.

The explanation for this is the extra locks were built between 1835-39 and not used for long. In the picture on the right dated 1900 the single lock gates have been removed The cottage bears the date 1909 and looking at it I would guess the single lock is underneath the front garden.

Now a look at the problem with the lock.

 This is the problem that has caused the stoppage. The support for the gate is concreted into what is called the Quoin pier. As you can see the Quoin has failed and broken away from the main section.

 Two anchor bars were set in concrete each side of the lock beam. Straps were attached around the heel post, sometimes called the quoin post, of the lock gate and hooked to the concrete ground anchors.

 The metal gate collar wraps around the heel post that the Blue strap is supporting. The strap is held in place by two adjustable locking nuts. You can see now just how big the metal Quoin frame is, compared to the first picture, as it stretches off to the right of the picture.

The anchor plate is set in concrete holding the gate collar firmly in place. These are adjustable to aid a watertight seal down the post.
On the right an old gate collar from the Ohio and Erie canal.

The lock is now open but wide beams need the assistance because of the strapped gate. To be quite honest the lock should have been closed to all traffic to allow the  concrete to set. There`s a lot of pressure on those gates when the lock fills and I just hope the neat job done by contractors is not weakened, time will tell.

So time to walk down the Marsworth flight and find Tom and Jan on Nb Waiouru. They had intended to go down the Aylesbury arm but ice at the time delayed that and as time was short for their intended plans, Aylesbury remains on the `to do` list.

They did get through the stoppage and we had an evening together with George and Carol on Still Rocking.

We have now gone down through the Marsworth locks with the help of Carol and George and will spend a few days by the reservoirs before getting a Tesco delivery and heading out into the countryside. 

Canal and River Trust latest for Continuous Cruisers

Policy outlined for boaters without a home mooring

LINK 

Trouble is they still have not made it clear as to how far a boater needs to travel.

Contacting CRT to see if your range of movement is adequate is not good enough. It should be clearly stated be it a mileage or place although the latter has caused much discussion lately. Surely a stated distance leaves it quite clear.

 

Insurance and coal

We have just recently renewed our boat insurance with Towergate Mardon and if like me detest having to phone 0844 and 0870 numbers get your pens out. Just for our U.S. readers these numbers are chargeable as they come outside any included numbers in your cellphone contract and long calls can be expensive.
Two numbers for you 01242 531172 or 03301231946.  I did have numbers for last years renewal but as Towergate have moved premises these became useless.

While in Cow Roast marina we were buying smokeless fuel called Pureglow. Now this at first was very good giving plenty of heat from nuggets I would say were equal in size to Supertherm that we always purchased from our usual fuel boat. Before we go any further I must point out that having purchased very large quantities of Supertherm from the fuel boat over the years all have been 100% consistent in quality.
The Pureglow however has lost it`s initial consistency and the contents have been smaller nuggets and a lot of broken pieces of fuel none of which gives anywhere near the heat of the usual Pureglow. Up to now we have come across 3 below standard bags from a total of about 15 bags.

 Above are the two different fuels appearing under the Pureglow label. On the right are the smaller nuggets and the broken pieces of fuel. To the left the usual Pureglow with as can be expected some smaller misshapen pieces but not like the contents on the right.
Note also in the centre and in close up to the left of this text the two very different sized nuggets.
Anyways now we are back on the canal we can once again take advantage of the fuel boat coming alongside and selling us some decent smokeless fuel.
I did speak to one of the owners of the fuel merchant that supplied the fuel to the chandlery. They do not manufacture the products but they do bag them. The Pureglow has been subject to a binder fault causing the heat shaped nuggets to become broken during the many times the bags are handled before reaching the boater.
He also confirmed the fuel pictured on the right in the pictures is Pureglow.

The small nuggets are in fact Pureglow but the larger are he says Supertherm a more expensive product that has been included at extra company cost to keep their customers supplied.

Just to be clear the different fuels have never been in the same bag. Some bags have been solely the large nuggets, they say are Supertherm, whilst other bags are just small nuggets and a lot of crushed fuel some so crushed it is one step from being dust. I have been pretty generous in picturing the crushed stuff, perhaps I should have included a handful of the minute stuff that ends up in the bottom of the bag.

My learning from all this is never buy Pureglow because even when the manufacturing problems are solved it gives out little heat. I did think it strange when first buying the Pureglow that it performed so well as it is after all a budget priced fuel but kept buying it as it did the job, now I know the answer.

We are left with two bags of S Pureglow that we will burn during the mild days and revert to the good stuff now obtained from the fuel boat in the colder evening/night.

Spammer gets life

                                                                                                                                                                            
The dreaded spam comments are still getting through. This one attached itself to 89 posts going back three years. All the lines are click able and lead to various sales sites.
Thankfully I can delete them in bulk and all that remains on the posts affected is the above.
So it seems even with the captcha system when comments are made spam can still get through.
This batch all have the Blogger symbol next to the name so perhaps that`s how they get through but at least the spam is not obscene.

I have done some investigative work on this spammer Guo Guo and can confidently identify her, yes it`s a female.                      It seems she got bored during her confinement in captivity and took on some part time computer work for the Chinese but as you can see Blogger caught up with her and she is now doing life.      Now personally I would happily accept the spam if she could have her babies in the wild.       More HERE.

A nice sunny day today after a very cold night left a covering of thin ice across the canal. The solar panels are enjoying themselves, the 230w and 100w panels putting in at times 7.2 and 3.4 amps which is not bad for winter sun.

In the Company of Friends

"Good company and good discourse are the very sinews of virtue." ~Izaak Walton

   It's been awhile since I posted anything due to the start of spring semester at the University for which I instruct online courses.  Due to a change of online course management systems the last three weeks have been like the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Now that I've caught up and the wrinkles are smoothed out, I can take a breath and catch up with all of you lovely folks who follow our blog. 

   While we have been sitting in the marina making the most of the opportunity for Les to heal, we've not been hibernating--Oh no! We've become social butterflies, flitting from one fete to another, dinner with friends, birthday celebrations, date nights out--life has been a whirlwind of activity!

   After posting on the blog about going stir crazy, our friend Mike Griffin (NB Albion) came by one week day morning and took us on a tour of the small hamlets and back country roads of Bucks (Buckinghamshire) county. We enjoyed a delightful bit of local history and stories about Mike's childhood in nearby Dudswell.

   He took us for a walk up Coombe Hill in the Chilterns overlooking the Ayelsbury Vale, with breathtaking views of two canal arms: the Aylesbury and the Wendover. We also had a clear view of Chequers--the country home of the British Prime Minister (Americans may compare it with Camp David). At the summit is a memorial to local men who fell during the Boer war.

  The majority of the 106 acres of Coombe Hill was once a part of the Chequers estate. It was gifted to the National Trust in the 1920's when the estate was given to the British government. 
  We also drove to Wallingford--the village used as filming for the British series Midsomer Murders which apparently has a huge U.S. following. 
   Following on we were invited to Mike Wall's (NB Independence) birthday bash the following Sunday at The Greyhound pub in Wigginton. Sixteen friends--a large share of which were boaters--settled in around the table for a convivial afternoon of great service, delicious food, wonderful conversation and laughter. We were very pleased to meet and get to know other boaters who have moorings on the cut at Cow Roast. This happy band of boaters have been friends for many years and know each other well. We felt honored to be amongst them. 
   A lady's day was had by me and Anonymous A--or Angel--of NB Bright Eyes who lives in Berko and has become a firm friend over this past year. We had a wonderful lunch at ASK Italian involving much laughter and good wine. 
   While all this socializing was taking place the inaugural meeting of the Airhead Society was planned. Having thoroughly enjoyed the excellent food at the Greyhound in Wiggington, I made reservations for our group: the very first time I've ever arranged for a table of eight people and two dogs!
 On a brooding Wednesday morning--our last in the marina--we joined up with Sue and Ken Deveson (NB Cleddau), Jennie and Chris Gash (NB Tentatrice), and Carol and George Palin (WB Still Rockin'). 
   Sue's blog provides the background on how the Airhead Composting toilet brought us together and how each set of boaters settled on this composting loo. Brilliant post Sue!! I recommend everyone read it for the background and Sue's wonderful prose.

Left to right: me, Chris, Jennie, Carol, George, Ken, and Sue.

   I also knew that Ken, Chris, and George (and it turned out Jennie as well) had served in the RAF with families posted thither and yon; I knew they would all have splendid stories to tell which they did! After a lovely meal we made our way back to George and Carol's boat for a cuppa and continued conversation. For me the day felt like I had drawn on a cloak of many beautiful threads which wrapped around me close and warm.
   A follow up to Mike Wells' birthday dinner brought an invitation by Sue and Jim (NB Owl) to drop by for a look at their working boat. I believe they said it was built in 1928 and used for decades to haul freight before being sold off. They've owned it for many years and rehabbed the interior for living aboard while summer cruising. Owl is a lovely example of the working boats that used to ply the cut, along with NB Hampton which is owned by their son and sits breasted up with Owl.
   After making our escape from the marina we've had a wonderful lunch aboard WB Still Rockin' and Carol introduced me to the delights of British fish pie which she made. It was yummm, I am pleased to add it to our menus for healthy eating. While Still Rockin' has been moored nearby we've had the opportunity to get to know one another a little better. Les and I have really enjoyed their company.
  Finally we had a delicious dinner out last night in the company of Angela once more. This time we ate at Francesco's Italian restaurant in Tring. The decor is a delight and the food is homemade--as if you have been invited home to Italy and offered a place at someone's table.
   We are so blessed to have so many wonderful friends. Thanks to each of you for taking time to visit with us, break bread together, lift a glass of wine in a toast, share stories and lots of laughter. At this rate it will spring before we know it!

Left and Right

  As I type we are still moored outside the marina where there is a covering of thin ice across the canal. We have until mid March to travel through 24 locks spread over 21 miles  before the present stoppage at Milton Keynes is reached so there is no need to travel through ice. We had a family commitment over the weekend and tonight a dinner date with a friend in local Tring so the time will pass quickly and pleasantly, February already.

 We have gone from this claustrophobic mooring where the sun and  view was blocked

 to this spacious mooring with no neighbours looking in where the sun can now hit

 the water and reflect on the ceiling. We have not seen this for the last ten weeks.

The January figures for the nearby reservoirs at Marsworth show 71.9% capacity which is a 14% increase on December.

Just recently I decided to sort through the large pile of hospital paperwork acquired over the last 18 months from three different hospitals through the post totaling almost 60 letters.  It consisted of appointments for scans, blood tests,  pre op checks, oncology, consultants, outpatients, and surgery dates. The latter two were duplicated as three surgeries and five outpatient appointments were cancelled and re-scheduled. So just here we have seven letters sent.

The cost of all this is not exactly clear but with 70 million outpatient appointments each year in England alone you sort of shake at the knees as to how much the NHS spends on postage each year. Some of these appointments of course will have been generated by the patient getting a follow up date when attending hospital.

Why do they not all use E mail or texts with the instruction for a reply within 48 hours. That would cut down the postage and for those not using electronic communication a letter can be sent.

My 18 months of close proximity to the NHS has been an eye opener as to the waste taking place.
I had an appointment for a pre op check and the nurse asked why I hadn`t attended two weeks previous. I had not received a letter, it was for a surgery so why would I not keep the appointment. Waste. Electronic comms would have avoided it. To this day that appointment letter has not arrived.

I was waiting on two occasions for  scan and clinic appointments so I phoned the relevant departments. On both occasions they said letters had/should have been sent so they gave me the date etc. and then said "I`ll send you another letter". What the !*#!  I know the date you just told me so why do I need to see it in writing, I felt like saying. The letters duly arrived. Waste.

I have a system in place, my brain, that strictly controls what my left and right hands are doing  it won`t let my left hand grab a door handle when the right has already got hold of it, waste of energy.  The NHS needs some kind of control to stop all the waste.

I`m not in any way shape or form able to re-organise the NHS but like a lot of folk can see a lot of small ways to save. My mum always drummed into me look after the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves. Just how many wasted pennies are there in just postage I wonder.

Another example has came to mind as I sorted the NHS paper mountain. I will keep this brief as regular readers know my medical history.

 I was due to have Stoma reversal surgery last October. The consultant cancelled it. The day before the surgery day the hospital phoned to say surgery had been cancelled. "Yes I know" said I. This completely threw the caller who obviously didn`t have a `patient knows more than me` box to tick on their screen.  After 5 minutes the poor lady could not understand what was happening and said her supervisor would phone me. Two wasted phone calls.

Also connected to this same surgery I had a post op appointment (remember this is the cancelled surgery)  for February, a letter arrived changing it to March. Two phone calls one letter, wasted.

So I phoned the consultant`s secretary to cancel the appointment so someone else could have the benefit. She phoned back to say the consultant agreed the appointment was not needed. Three phone calls one letter, wasted.

Again connected to this same surgery. Very soon after having a different surgery last November and getting to grips with 50 staples holding me together, no pun intended, I had a phone call offering me an almost immediate surgery slot to have my Stoma reversed. Another highly baffled lady ended the call saying she would make enquiries and sort things out. Four phone calls one letter, wasted.
All it would have taken to save the calls and letter was for someone at the time the Stoma surgery was cancelled to have entered some details into my file. How often across the NHS is this happening?

They sent an oncology appointment earlier this year and as I had no intention of having any Chemotherapy I phoned and explained this saying someone on the list could have this appointment with the consultant. Some weeks later early on the day of the appointment I was phoned to say the Oncologist was sick so my appointment was to be re-scheduled. So the appointment had not been given to someone else and if the clinic went ahead as normal  my slot would have been empty. Waste.

Left and right? Management on the left should know what is happening with the hard working front line staff on the right. I don`t think  any one has a clue what`s going on. But saying that the surgeries were 100% successful in achieving what they intended to do.

 So as usual whoever is in 10 Downing street will just put more cash in the NHS while the opposite party will slate number 10 for not sorting the NHS whilst conveniently forgetting they also just covered the cracks with cash.
The answer?  Answers in a comment if you want.