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2008

BACK TO CALENDAR 2008
2.6 6 to 12 July 2008

Last fiddled with 03 January 2009 and should be on axmw44.
To the Map on the Contents Page Just click on the words.


6 July 2008 Sunday Albert in In St Léger de Vignes, Canal du Nivernais. Me in Lymington,
7 July 2008 Monday Albert in In St Léger de Vignes, Canal du Nivernais. Me in Lymington,
Into hospital to-morrow - I hope this will be the culmination of some months, weeks, days planning, so all will came to-gether without the boating season having been ruined by me or Albert having to be "somewhere else" at inconvenient times to get an errant leg or prop shaft sorted..
Hope so - outstanding success insofar that I really enjoyed the Canal du Nivernais. We were on it right through from late winter to early summer, catching that window of superb weather at the most critical "spring bursting out" time. This was definitely the cruise of a lifetime.

Pity about the power train "breakdown". The diagnosis of big trouble in my prop shaft universal joint was technically correct, but if the boat had been in England the recommendation would have been to continue as is for 2 to 3 years. Brought the piece home - splendid memory of 2 elderly gents (Belle Etoile and I) crouched over engine in back of boat, 1 standing on a long Allen Key, other beating all hell out of it with mooring pin hammer.
In fact, opinion amongst the experts is that it would have lasted 2 to 3 years more under English conditions, but best to get it fixed, as the stresses on a narrow boat in France - especially on the big rivers, are clearly greater than at 2.5 m.p.h. on the English system, so bullet is to be bitten. The other boat breakdown - my loo - has to be classified as a "sling and arrow...." It is fixed now, anyway - until next time.

8 July 2008 Tuesday Albert in In St Léger de Vignes, Canal du Nivernais. Me to Hospital, Chandlers Ford.

To Hospital by 0700. (Rise 0600, but as I was not allowed to take anything by mouth", this was much too early)
Greeted on arrival at reception with cries of "you're first on list", and whipped off to room upstairs - home for next 5 days. Hurriedly de-frocked, clothed in a ghastly open-down-the-back gown, and bundled along corridor to high tech rooms with cold breeze, white walls, and buzzing machinery..
Lay on a sort of bed trolley thing, and was having gentle gossip with pleasant gentleman, when suddenly realised I was somewhere else and it was well on to-wards lunch time. All was finished and I had a new knee..
Much sympathy and kindness. Saw the before and after x-rays. Apart from now being full of great chunks of metal - seems straighter.
If you really want to know, it was a Unicompartmental knee replacement - look it up on the internet, the pictures are very much like my x-rays which I was allowed to see, but not keep.

9 July 2008 Wednesday Albert in In St Léger de Vignes, Canal du Nivernais. Me in Hospital, Chandlers Ford.
10 July 2008 Thursday Albert in In St Léger de Vignes, Canal du Nivernais. Me in Hospital, Chandlers Ford.
11 July 2008 Friday Albert in In St Léger de Vignes, Canal du Nivernais. Me in Hospital, Chandlers Ford.
12 July 2008 Saturday Albert in In St Léger de Vignes, Canal du Nivernais. Me in Hospital, Chandlers Ford.
Over these 4 days - much physio (pull push pummel squeak), much comfort, desperate efforts not to eat too much - food was good, plentiful, and varied - and by nature of things no proper exercise.
Rapid recovery, walking slow but super - tried it out in a non-executive way on the second day, and by the 4th was thinking about marathons. Leg feels longer when I walk on it and the continuous nag and the slightly foolish limp have gone, but still have to learn to walk properly.