A quick trip back to Alrewas

9th & 10th February

There was a further fall of snow the night before last, as there was for much of the country, I guess. We walked into the village first thing and went into the local dentist to see about Sheila getting some emergency treatment. There was a possibility of an appointment in the afternoon if no more urgent case came up, but it would cost £42.50 just for the consultation, with any treatment charged on top of that.

We went back to the boat to consider the options. We have Denplan policies, but they don't cover you for emergency treatment if you are less than 40 miles from your regular dentist. Sheila rang to speak to Denplan Customer Services, and they confirmed that this rule would be applied come what may.

I checked the weather forecast, which indicated that there was a window of opportunity to move the boat yesterday and today, before the ice closes in again. We decided to take an early lunch and then set off for Alrewas, stopping just north of Rugeley last night, between Bridges 69 and 68, then making a prompt start today to get to Fradley, within walking distance of Alrewas.

This plan worked well: we pulled onto the water point as soon as we'd eaten, and got diesel and a pump out from Anglo Welsh. Sheila winded Sanity in the junction, and off we went.

Today we were on our way before nine, and made a brief stop at Rugeley for bread and a paper. The moorings above Shade House Lock had only a couple of boats on them when we got there just after 12 noon.

It was very pleasant boating I must say, with a lot of wintry sun and a breeze which died away as the morning went on. Our dentist has not long taken over the Alrewas practice, as I think I've said before, and has still not built up his patient list. Unlike Great Haywood, where if there wasn't an emergency slot we'd have had to wait until the 23rd of the month to be seen, at Alrewas Sheila got an appointment for two o'clock this afternoon.

There was just time to eat lunch, as it's a good three quarters of an hour's walk from where we're tied down to Alrewas. I walked down with Sheila; whilst we're here, I may as well get a repeat prescription filled, and of course it had been the Village Walk this morning, and sure enough, they were all still in the George and Dragon.

I sat and had a pint with Jane Howarth (Will wasn't there, being off on Save Our Waterways business in London), and Sheila came and joined us in due course.

It seems the root of the offending tooth has irretrievably cracked, and it will have to come out. In the circumstances, it was the right decision to come back here. Sheila will have to go back on Thursday to have the extraction; fortunately, she already wears a small dental plate, and a tooth can be added to it to replace the crown that's to go.

We're safely back on the boat now -– the weather forecast is for yet more frost, so we may well be here for a while after Sheila's teeth are fixed.

At least I've got a fast internet connection here, so I'll see what more enhancement can be applied to the website, with more pictures. Dundustin has indicated that he spends a bit of time day dreaming about where Sanity is. Granny Buttons uses a Twitter gadget to give quick updates as to her position; I wonder if it's worth me doing the same for Sanity?