Thursday 23 August 2012

August Bank Holiday

So the big question is - What will the weather do this coming weekend?

The forecast is for heavy rain and gales, perfect for camping! The site is expected to be full up, which means loads of mud in the loo and shower! Not too sure how it gets in there, as even on a dry day like today the floor of the loo was covered in mud!

As experienced caravanners, we always took care to leave the loo's or shower's where ever we were pitched in a clean and tidy manner.

I can only assume that some of these campers live like animals at home and really don't give two hoots what they do on holiday!

Which brings me on to recycling. We have three bins here, clearly marked:

1: General Waste
2: Glass Only
3: Paper Plastic Tin Cans

Now how simple is that? Beyond the capabilities of most, as I spend too much time picking plastic out of the General Waste bin, bottles out of the Paper bin and General Waste out of the Glass bin, including a shitty nappy thrown in loose!

Oh well, you can't educate Pork!

I'm working all weekend, including Sunday and the Bank Holiday Monday. Next day off is the following Sunday! I'm taking it whilst it's going, we could certainly do with the extra money so I for one am certainly not complaining about it.

As far as the job is going, it's great, with a good bunch to work with, the routes are varied and I get to see the sea nearly every day.

Such a relief not having to drive for an hour just to get to work, my fuel bill has gone from £60 per week to just £10 per week! That in it's self is a big saving.

So how many of you are going away? I hope most of you will be!

Well, off to do battle around Tesco's in a bit as soon as "M" get's home, I've done the rubbish, the loo's and showers. An early finish for me today, but a 0600hrs start tomorrow morning.

Till later.......................

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Camping Books

After reading through a recent magazine which I'm sure a lot of you will be familiar with I thought I would just give you a few links to how you can easily get hold of these books.

I will be totally honest with you all, I earn a few pennies from each sale as well, so go on and treat yourself!

Family Camping Cookbook: By Tiff and Jim Easton
Price in mag £10.99 - Our Price £7.69

On Your Bike - Hampshire and the New Forest by Mike Edwards
Price in mag £8.95 - Our Price £6.79

Price in mag £16.95 - Our Price £11.86

Price in mag £14.99 - Our Price £8.84

The Camper Van Coast by Martin Dorey
Price in mag £16.99 - Our Price £10.53


Our Price £10.36

52 Weekends In The Country by Brigid Benson and Craig Easton
Price In Mag £20.00 - Our Price £9.87

Cool Camping Kids
Price In Mag £16.95 - Our Price £11.86

The Rough Guide To Camping In Britain
Price In Mag £16.99 - Our Price £11.16

Hope that has wetted your appetite, as you can see we have managed to save a bit on the published prices!

Till later.................

Monday 20 August 2012

Why Blog?

So why continue to blog?

After all we no longer live in a touring caravan, having made the decision based on finance that to become part time site wardens and live in a static caravan was the best choice for us.

The other simple reason is purely selfish, I enjoy writing, and this is the closest thing that I will ever do to keeping a diary of sorts.

I looked up the word caravan in the dictionary, apart from it's obvious meaning it also refers to a  group of people journeying together for safety in passing through hostile territory.

Sort of sums it up well as long as you don't take it too literally! Our journey is through life, "Our Life" and along with others that we have met and heard from as we go and hopefully pointed in the right direction.

This blog was also meant to show all that it can be done, and that after struggling with debt, worry and sleepless nights that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

So along with others in "The Caravan Of Life"  we are working away at our long term goals, they have been very distant for some time, and they are still far away, but not out of sight and we are slowly travelling towards them.

Thanks for all who have been following us for some time, I hope you stay with us on "Our Life In A Caravan" as we continue our journey. 

The blog title will remain the same, it is just as apt now as when we started.

Till later.................




Saturday 18 August 2012

Flat Packed Fun!

We recently went to IKEA is Southampton to buy another stainless steel worktop unit with a cupboard/draw unit to go with the two others we all ready have in our kitchen. The kitchen sink is of the same design (see here) and next to it we have the same as above.

Of course it came flat packed! One of the benefits from my point of view of "Living In A Caravan" is no bloody flat packed furniture to construct.

So I now find myself assembling the unit with the help of "M" and "China". Eventually we got it all up and running and it does look pretty good.

But why does everything seem to arrive where by you have to assemble it? We bought a new hoover yesterday, a VAX Power 8 Pet. Even this I had to slot together and it came with 3 screws I had to secure bits on with!

Don't even get me started on packaging! Why does everything need to be put into individual plastic bags? The hoover had around a dozen individual components which slotted on, why does a little brush adapter need to be bagged. It's going to be pushed into all manner of dark and dirty places when in use, do they think it's going to get manky secured in a box on its way from the manufacturer to our homes?

 In these times of trying to save money and being environmentally friendly, I think manufacturers should take a hard look at the way products are delivered and ask themselves how they can cut down on all this unnecessary packaging.

It's just the same when we go food shopping, we come home, and unpack and peel layer after layer of paper and plastic off of our items. A complete waste of resource and money.

Most of it can be recycled,  we do our bit, but a lot of it you can do nothing with. A crime in my eyes as all it does is fill up landfill sites, at some stage this planet will become full up!

I never had myself down as a "Save Our Planet" veg loving hippy, but something has to be done  soon or we will suffocate in a sea of plastic milk bottle lids and yogurt pots!

Till later...................

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Return To Shaftesbury - Briefly!

Saturday, I much to "M"s dismay I worked, not usually a problem but we were due to be at a wedding reception back at Shaftesbury, a good hours drive away.

We were going to stay over as the last time I went to a party at the same venue I woke in a middle of a field in a duvet! So driving home was not an option.

Taking the caravan was also not a good idea as the journey from Lymington to Shaftesbury is 50 miles of winding lanes. So the seats in the Pajero were laid down, the reclining chair cushions laid in, with a duvet to lie on and one to cover us. It was very comfy. The vast amount of cider consumed obviously helped!

The journey up took us 45 mins, it certainly gave the Pajero a good clear out! It is not usually given such harsh treatment, but "M" says it drives better as a result of it!

Several of us were camping, and thanks goes to Sharron and Thomas for providing brews, not that I remember the one we had around 0230hrs!

The wedding reception was brilliant, being held in a barn, with lots of friends that we haven't seen in ages. All in all a very good evening was had.

Team GB

Now none of us can escape the fact that the Olympics have been held in Great Britain. I for one am now glad that it is over!

The reason for this is that I find myself getting rather emotional and have found myself shedding the occasional tear! When I say occasional, what I really mean to say is, every time we win a medal, every time I saw another athlete weep regardless of nationality, every time our National Anthem is played and those constant reruns that the BBC do of the best bits always do me in! Don't even mention the interviews of the winners and losers!

Years ago I used to pride myself on the fact that nothing really moved me, I've seen and done things that now I would be a complete mess if I had to encounter them again.

Funny as you get older how certain things change your outlook.

These last two weeks have been brilliant for sport, not only in this country but world wide, I just hope that we can build on this and encourage youngsters to do more sport instead of roaming around in packs causing trouble.

Too many athletes to mention, but my favourite images of these games is of Mo Farrah winning not only the 5000m but the 10,000m his look is just priceless as he crosses the line. Closely followed by the Dominican Republic gold medal winner who sobbed his heart out as his National Anthem was played.

So before I get emotional again Ill finish off.

Till later..................

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Our Life Is Busy!

This is my 3rd week of working out of my new bus depot. I can't even begin to tell you all how different it is from my last place!

The atmosphere is a million times better, the location is superb, and the routes are good.

So far I have managed to keep to the routes and not get lost, if only my passengers could read my mind and see my trying to work out which way to go!

Life in the static caravan is good, we have fixed the roof leaks with some special treatment stuff that you brush on really thickly. It's full of fibers and bonds quickly creating a water tight seal.

We have cut back the garden (I do have photo's - just not got around to loading them up)!

This did take a bit of doing, it's only a small garden but it was completely over grown. I have another skip run to do on Friday to get rid of the remaining rubbish.

This evening we are off to IKEA to buy another stainless steel worktop unit and draw for our kitchen. This will give us a greater working area.

I've got the day off on Friday, so will be assembling it and no doubt will find a piece missing!

Working all day on Saturday, then hot footing it back up to Shaftesbury to a friends wedding reception.

As it's only the one night and the venue is a farm, we have decided not to take the caravan, but to spend another night in the Pajero.

If I wasn't working we would of taken the caravan, but time is against us. So our caravan will spend yet another weekend laid up and resting!

On the campsite it has been fairly busy, with lots of tents, but now the caravans are out numbering them.

I still can't get over how some people struggle with recycling. The bins are clearly labelled up, so  I fail to see how wine bottles can end up in the paper bin and chicken bones in with the glass!

Oh, and the grotty gits who just through babies nappies straight in the bin without bagging them first! I dread to think what they are like at home!

Well, enough grumbling, as to be honest life is pretty good at the moment!

So till later.................