Conveniently for my visit home to see my Mum has coincided with a dental appointment made six months ago. I am with the NHS and a check up costs £18. Our Dentists is very well organised, like a well oiled machine and I wasn't there very long at all. This was the second time I have seen a young man. Before that I had a very nice Dutch female dentist and then a bit more dour Polish man. Last time the young dentist praised me on keeping my teeth so well. That was unusual as normally they just tell you if there is anything wrong. This time he was reading out scores of how clear my teeth were. I had all 0's except for the middle bottom where I had a 2. I assume the score is out of 10 and is for the build up of plaque or tartar or something. He told me that only 1 in a 1000 have properly clean teeth. He then said that I only need go for a check up every nine months now. I will have to work harder on the lower middle teeth for next time.
Not mine I hasten to add.
Whilst at my Mums I filled up her water softener with salt cubes today. We live in a very hard water area but I wouldn't bother for myself. I read on many boat details that they have filters and softners fitted, and whilst out cruising this year I came across a hire boat that had a sign by the kitchen tap saying do not drink the water unless boiled first. As we travel round the system we fill up from many taps and the water must come from many different sources and these days, companies. We do experiences differences in the water but only in the taste of the tea etc. I have never been worried about it not being drinkable. When at sea we took very questionable water occasionally and we would then does the tanks. If I remember correctly it was a 2% mixture of sodium hypochloride. I think this is like normal bleach. The taste died off quite quickly. We would also have to flush out all showers hoses and roses with the mixture to prevent Legionnaires Disease. I wonder if anybody does this on boats. I may be tempted to do it when leaving the boat for long periods. The water tanks at sea were usually painted steel and with time the coating broke down and the water became rusty coloured. There was a chemical that you could add that with time would adhere to the steel work and seal the rust in without chipping and painting. It seems that most new water tanks on narrow boats are stainless steel. I have also seen plastic rigid and ballon like as liners, but if somebody with an old steel tank that needs sortring it could be the way to go for a minimum of effort. Not sure how much it costs though. And I'm not sure how long a stainless tank will last as It seems that it is the welds that go first with them.
This one seems a little past the chipping and painting stage!
There has been another boat caght on a sill at Kegworth on the River Soar recently. Helen usually does the driving when we are going down the locks, and drive going up. Helen is always looking backwards to check the boat is clear of the sill but it only takes a slight loss of concentration for it to all go wrong. It also strikes me as important that the person working the paddle gear should not be too far away so as to be able to respond to shouts if the boat gets into difficulties. The best thing to do would be to drop all the paddles before things get too bad and then assess the situation. If you are off setting the next lock it may not be possible to respond quick enough. C&RT said that it happens a couple of times a year so when you consider that there are four million people passing through locks in that time it is still quite rare. Make sure it doesn't happen to you.
8 hours to refloat this boat at Kegworth two days ago. Fortunately only one woman slightly hurt.
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