So when is it going to warm up, Ive looked at the long range weather forecasts on at least 3 different websites, all saying the same thing, its remaining cold!
Thankfully, we havent had too many dramas, the only problem we have is no water on site, luckily "M" only works a couple of miles away, so every morning Im off in there with the aquarolls, filling up!
The roads havent been too bad either, all though one stretch of road is still an ice rink, if you have ever watched ice road truckers, well its a bit like that, but getting better everyday!
Ive been up onto Wingreen the last couple of days, 4 wheel drive is required, you wouldnt get up there otherwise, the Landrover hasnt batted an eye lid at any of the conditions we have had to deal with. Thankfully we dont live in Scotland or up North, it may of been a different matter if we did!
The caravan and awning have both coped well, no probs other than the heater packing in, but we have managed to get around that until the part arrives!
We are now starting to think about the what if questions, regarding Christmas! We are planning to go to Woodgreen which is a little village half way between Salisbury and Fordingbridge, but the roads will be untreated, as they are here! As they are it wont cause us a problem, but any snow, then it does throw the whole plan into the air! So we will be playing it all by ear. This also goes for our trip to Manston for New Years Eve! So who knows where we will end up!
Its been a bit flat out for me recently, as there is a deadline to get everything done for Dec 22nd! Im actually looking forward to a few days off, now, this is unusual for me as Im not a great lover of Christmas! I just find it all too commercial. Im not religious at all, but surely we have forgotten about what it is all about?
Well, off out to "M"s works Christmas do, all four of us! And only two out of the four work there! We are off to Drusilla's, we have been there before and had a good meal, so decided to go for it again, so will tell you what it was like later in the week.
So till later.... Stay warm!
Wednesday, 8 December 2010
Sunday, 5 December 2010
Boozy Sunday Lunchs!
That wasnt the plan at all today, but its how it turned out! Not that Im complaining!
We got up late, around 10ish, mooched about and had a leisurely coffee, as we had to be back at the vets at 12 noon to get China looked at and signed off after her op.
11.30 and "M"s mum and partner turned up to see if we would like lunch out, well, it took us all of 30 seconds to decide on that one, so another quick brew and we made plans to meet them at the pub later.
At the vets, China was looked at and given the all clear, her wound has healed nicely, no infection, she certainly hasnt been bothered by it at all.
We then stopped off at Castle Point Shopping Centre, a place that sends shivers down my spine, due to having to come into contact with so many people all out shopping. Hustle, bustle, is not my thing, nor is shopping. But, this was special as we were getting "M"s Christmas present. A new jacket! So after a couple of shops we found exactly what "M" was looking for, it certainly will keep the wind and the rain out, no excuse now not to walk China dog when blowing a gale!
We then headed for the The Fish Inn http://thefishinn.net/ a large pub set on the outskirts of Ringwood. Plenty of real ale, and Thatchers Gold on draught. The food menu was extensive, I ended up having Swordfish steaks with a salsa sauce which was fab, and "M" had duck breasts, the others had roast beef etc. None of us could find fault, so hats off to the pub and its staff. The other thing I liked about the pub as all though it was a foody type pub it also had space at the bar to sit and talk and have a pint. They havent forgotten their locals who just want a pint. This is always one of the things I look for in a pub.
We didnt have to drive, so a few Guinness were consumed and "M" hit the red wine, but she is now suffering and has headed to bed all ready!
Got back to the van, and swapped the heaters over, we are now running a convector heater in the van instead of gas untill the part arrives, hopefully next week! Temperature has dropped again this evening to -3, but once again, currently at 22 degrees in the van!
Oh and all the water on site has frozen up again!
Another busy week back upto Shaston everyday next week.
So till later.........
We got up late, around 10ish, mooched about and had a leisurely coffee, as we had to be back at the vets at 12 noon to get China looked at and signed off after her op.
11.30 and "M"s mum and partner turned up to see if we would like lunch out, well, it took us all of 30 seconds to decide on that one, so another quick brew and we made plans to meet them at the pub later.
At the vets, China was looked at and given the all clear, her wound has healed nicely, no infection, she certainly hasnt been bothered by it at all.
We then stopped off at Castle Point Shopping Centre, a place that sends shivers down my spine, due to having to come into contact with so many people all out shopping. Hustle, bustle, is not my thing, nor is shopping. But, this was special as we were getting "M"s Christmas present. A new jacket! So after a couple of shops we found exactly what "M" was looking for, it certainly will keep the wind and the rain out, no excuse now not to walk China dog when blowing a gale!
We then headed for the The Fish Inn http://thefishinn.net/ a large pub set on the outskirts of Ringwood. Plenty of real ale, and Thatchers Gold on draught. The food menu was extensive, I ended up having Swordfish steaks with a salsa sauce which was fab, and "M" had duck breasts, the others had roast beef etc. None of us could find fault, so hats off to the pub and its staff. The other thing I liked about the pub as all though it was a foody type pub it also had space at the bar to sit and talk and have a pint. They havent forgotten their locals who just want a pint. This is always one of the things I look for in a pub.
We didnt have to drive, so a few Guinness were consumed and "M" hit the red wine, but she is now suffering and has headed to bed all ready!
Got back to the van, and swapped the heaters over, we are now running a convector heater in the van instead of gas untill the part arrives, hopefully next week! Temperature has dropped again this evening to -3, but once again, currently at 22 degrees in the van!
Oh and all the water on site has frozen up again!
Another busy week back upto Shaston everyday next week.
So till later.........
Saturday, 4 December 2010
Extremes of temperature!
Well its been a cold couple of days with the coldest day recorded at the van being -8.2 degrees, now thats cold for the South Coast!
The only thing that froze was the waste pipe outlets from the kitchen sink and the shower, the one from the toilet was fine!? I was kneeling in snow last night trying to defrost the pipes from the outside back up with no joy, infact I think I had a complete and total sense of humour failure at that point!
I can now see how it happened though, so hopefully it wont happen again, the pipes come out through the floor of the van, through the chassis, then bow down and then back up to the 3 outlet connectors mounted to the side of the van. So as the pipes bow it collects standing water which froze solid, and at -8 even pouring boiling water into the sink it still doesnt shift it! So from now on during the winter, Im not connecting the pipes to the outlet sockets, just straight into the hog. Its perhaps something that the guys at lunar may want to take a look at as I know you read this!
Whilst Im talking about Lunar, we have had a problem with the vans heater, but most of the labour charge was in the guy having to remove the heater so he could get at the bits at the back, how about an inspection hatch, either from outside or from the cupboard next to it, or even from above? I realise that they dont go wrong that often, but, when they do, its usually when you need them the most! Thinking about it even our old 26 year old van, you could lift up the panel ontop of the heater and get to the back of it, in a matter of seconds!
Dont get me wrong, we are still really pleased with our Lunar van, and it appears to be standing up well to full time living, which has got to be the ultimate test for a tourer.
There are a few other little things that could of been done better, but Ill write about those soon.
Im off to list more antiques today on ebay, I seem to eat, think, and sleep ebay at the moment, but you got to grab the £££'s when you can. More items for Christmas, as its a good time to sell, more people have time off, get bored of tv, eating and drinking and surf the net!
Back again!
Its been a rainy, but mild day, nearly all the snow has gone, it has now turned into a marsh outside! We even have water on site again!
Forgot to mention that last night was our 100th consecutive night in the caravan! It sort of came and went without it being noticed! It sounds alot, but really its only just over 3 months! It sure does feel like we have been doing this for a while!
A few beers tonight, "M" is all ready on the vino, so will have to go and dig the murphys out of the awning!
Till later...........
The only thing that froze was the waste pipe outlets from the kitchen sink and the shower, the one from the toilet was fine!? I was kneeling in snow last night trying to defrost the pipes from the outside back up with no joy, infact I think I had a complete and total sense of humour failure at that point!
I can now see how it happened though, so hopefully it wont happen again, the pipes come out through the floor of the van, through the chassis, then bow down and then back up to the 3 outlet connectors mounted to the side of the van. So as the pipes bow it collects standing water which froze solid, and at -8 even pouring boiling water into the sink it still doesnt shift it! So from now on during the winter, Im not connecting the pipes to the outlet sockets, just straight into the hog. Its perhaps something that the guys at lunar may want to take a look at as I know you read this!
Whilst Im talking about Lunar, we have had a problem with the vans heater, but most of the labour charge was in the guy having to remove the heater so he could get at the bits at the back, how about an inspection hatch, either from outside or from the cupboard next to it, or even from above? I realise that they dont go wrong that often, but, when they do, its usually when you need them the most! Thinking about it even our old 26 year old van, you could lift up the panel ontop of the heater and get to the back of it, in a matter of seconds!
Dont get me wrong, we are still really pleased with our Lunar van, and it appears to be standing up well to full time living, which has got to be the ultimate test for a tourer.
There are a few other little things that could of been done better, but Ill write about those soon.
Im off to list more antiques today on ebay, I seem to eat, think, and sleep ebay at the moment, but you got to grab the £££'s when you can. More items for Christmas, as its a good time to sell, more people have time off, get bored of tv, eating and drinking and surf the net!
Back again!
Its been a rainy, but mild day, nearly all the snow has gone, it has now turned into a marsh outside! We even have water on site again!
Forgot to mention that last night was our 100th consecutive night in the caravan! It sort of came and went without it being noticed! It sounds alot, but really its only just over 3 months! It sure does feel like we have been doing this for a while!
A few beers tonight, "M" is all ready on the vino, so will have to go and dig the murphys out of the awning!
Till later...........
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Its Cold Outside - No Shit Sherlock!
Its cold outside, well you dont need to be Sherlock Holmes to work that one out!
This morning I was awake at 4.30am, and on looking out of the window, it was fairly obvious that we were having some significant amount of snow! I I thought Id better check on the awning, so struggled out of a lovely warm bed to find that the awing roof felt rather heavy when I pushed a broom up against it.
1 1/2 hrs later I had managed to scrape most of the snow from the awning roof, now I know that having a large awning is great for all the extra space, but at that time in the morning I would of much rather we had a small porch!
Not enough time to go back to bed, so a large bowl of porridge, and I then packed my emergency bag, which consisted of spare trousers and socks, loads of tops, spare boots, and off China and I set for Shaston. Must admit I didnt expect to get there, but, somehow, and after a near miss, bloody lunatic driving too fast, bounced off a couple of banks and just missed me! The trip down Wingreen hill to ludwell, well all I can say was Im glad I was wearing my storm strapped trousers! It was bordering on the suicidal, but the landrover did its job and got me safely to the bottom in one piece! We made it!
I did leave at 3pm today to get back, as I wasnt sure if it would snow again or freeze. Got back safely with no dramas.
As Ive been handling Indian silver all day, there could only be one thing for tea, Yep, you guessed it, we had fish and chips, no, only kidding, we had an Indian, not literally, as I think that was outlawed a few years back! We went to the Curry Garden http://currygarden.com/ in Ringwood. I had a Dansak, and "M" had a Balti, very good, all though "M"s King prawns didnt look like King Prawns, more like mutant prawns, very odd looking, but "M" said they tasted ok!
Back at the caravan, I scrapped more snow and ice off of the awning roof, and stashed everything away, as we are supposed to have a real drop in temperature tonight.
So far our weather station has recorded that the lowest temperature has been -7.1 !
Now not sure if I mentioned this, but in the early hours of Wednesday morning our heating packed up, (what a time to pack up)! I thought it was the thermostat, as the gas fire worked ok, which is what we used to bring warmth back to the van! Sods law as well, the 3 month warranty had run out on the 26th November!
"M" phoned up Ladybailey caravans, and they said not to worry about the warranty, bring the van in and they will sort it out, "M" then had to explain that it wasnt quite as simple as that, so a call to a mobile repair man Barry Whitlock http://mcea.co.uk/ and he arranged to go and collect parts from the caravan dealership, bring them to us and repair. He, turned up when he said he would even with the bad weather! However, it happens to be a circuit board at the back of the fire thats playing up. So a new one is on order, and he will be back out shortly. Mind you after alot of waggling about (techincal term) its working again, but we dont know how long for as its an intermittent fault.
I cant believe that we have only had the caravan just over 3 months! We both feel old hands at this now and it seems so much longer!
The temperature tonight is supposed to drop even lower, so we shall see how things go tonight! Just to be on the safe we are leaving bottom locker doors open to get some heat in to where the water pipes run, and also the cooker bottom door, as they run underneath on their way to the shower.
Not looking forward to the drive into Shaston tomorrow morning, With the ice I think it will be actually worst than today. Its not my driving Im worried about, its those foolish people that think its ok to still drive fast that concern me! Why do they do it? doesnt life preservation kick in? or is it natures way of natural selection.
Anyway, as I was up so early, Im hoping for an early night as Im knackered!
So till later.........
This morning I was awake at 4.30am, and on looking out of the window, it was fairly obvious that we were having some significant amount of snow! I I thought Id better check on the awning, so struggled out of a lovely warm bed to find that the awing roof felt rather heavy when I pushed a broom up against it.
1 1/2 hrs later I had managed to scrape most of the snow from the awning roof, now I know that having a large awning is great for all the extra space, but at that time in the morning I would of much rather we had a small porch!
Not enough time to go back to bed, so a large bowl of porridge, and I then packed my emergency bag, which consisted of spare trousers and socks, loads of tops, spare boots, and off China and I set for Shaston. Must admit I didnt expect to get there, but, somehow, and after a near miss, bloody lunatic driving too fast, bounced off a couple of banks and just missed me! The trip down Wingreen hill to ludwell, well all I can say was Im glad I was wearing my storm strapped trousers! It was bordering on the suicidal, but the landrover did its job and got me safely to the bottom in one piece! We made it!
I did leave at 3pm today to get back, as I wasnt sure if it would snow again or freeze. Got back safely with no dramas.
As Ive been handling Indian silver all day, there could only be one thing for tea, Yep, you guessed it, we had fish and chips, no, only kidding, we had an Indian, not literally, as I think that was outlawed a few years back! We went to the Curry Garden http://currygarden.com/ in Ringwood. I had a Dansak, and "M" had a Balti, very good, all though "M"s King prawns didnt look like King Prawns, more like mutant prawns, very odd looking, but "M" said they tasted ok!
Back at the caravan, I scrapped more snow and ice off of the awning roof, and stashed everything away, as we are supposed to have a real drop in temperature tonight.
So far our weather station has recorded that the lowest temperature has been -7.1 !
Now not sure if I mentioned this, but in the early hours of Wednesday morning our heating packed up, (what a time to pack up)! I thought it was the thermostat, as the gas fire worked ok, which is what we used to bring warmth back to the van! Sods law as well, the 3 month warranty had run out on the 26th November!
"M" phoned up Ladybailey caravans, and they said not to worry about the warranty, bring the van in and they will sort it out, "M" then had to explain that it wasnt quite as simple as that, so a call to a mobile repair man Barry Whitlock http://mcea.co.uk/ and he arranged to go and collect parts from the caravan dealership, bring them to us and repair. He, turned up when he said he would even with the bad weather! However, it happens to be a circuit board at the back of the fire thats playing up. So a new one is on order, and he will be back out shortly. Mind you after alot of waggling about (techincal term) its working again, but we dont know how long for as its an intermittent fault.
I cant believe that we have only had the caravan just over 3 months! We both feel old hands at this now and it seems so much longer!
The temperature tonight is supposed to drop even lower, so we shall see how things go tonight! Just to be on the safe we are leaving bottom locker doors open to get some heat in to where the water pipes run, and also the cooker bottom door, as they run underneath on their way to the shower.
Not looking forward to the drive into Shaston tomorrow morning, With the ice I think it will be actually worst than today. Its not my driving Im worried about, its those foolish people that think its ok to still drive fast that concern me! Why do they do it? doesnt life preservation kick in? or is it natures way of natural selection.
Anyway, as I was up so early, Im hoping for an early night as Im knackered!
So till later.........
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
All water on site frozen!
Monday
Well, all the water on the site is now frozen solid, luckily "M" doesnt work to far away from the site, so the aqua roll was put in the back of the landrover along with the hose and off I went first thing this morning and filled up there.
A bit of a pain, but, could be alot worse! Now planning on preparing incase there is a powercut, seriously started looking at generators!
The other thing we have finally sussed is the heating in the caravan! We had the problem of being either too hot or too cold, but what we have now started to use is the blown air system, this seems to regulate the heat alot more, so we now have it on all the time and we now have the temperature in the van at a steady 20 degrees, which is a lovely warm temperature. It also gives an even temperature, as before without the hot air being circulated your head was hot but your feet cold, now its roasty all around!
Just as well with all this cold weather going on! We still havent had more than a cup full of snow here in Ringwood, but on my journey upto Shaston this morning they had seen alot more. As soon as I drove past the Larma Tree it was like going from one room to another, one minute it was cold, but green fields, then cold and white fields with snow! A very strange sensation!
We both have new pairs of thermal socks, but my feet were still cold today! But as Ive been mainly sat all day, hardly surprising.
Just checked the outside temperature, and it appears to be warming up, its now zero degrees as opposed to -2! Does that mean that snow is finally on its way here!
Just swapped over the aqua roll and the bottom is like a slush puppie! Not good! will have to look at ways of insulating the bottom of the roll, the top and sides are ok, and its sat on a wooden plinth, but we still need to obviously do more!
Talking to someone today, they didnt know what an aquaroll was, I didnt know what it was till I started caravaning, its something I took for granted when talking about it, so will have to get a photo of one. Now wondering what other caravaning terms Ive used that non caravaners may not of heard of before! What about EHU or hookup? Legs up - Legs down? Grey Waste? Leisure Battery? CL or CS sites? Blimey, there are quite a few, will have to put together a caravaning/camping dictionary!
"M" is just getting the slow cooker geared up for tomorrows dinner, it definately is stew weather!
Tuesday
The stew was lovely, it snowed on the way in to Shaston this morning and whilst I was there, but heading back tonight, all though very white in Shaston, not alot anywhere else.
Stopped on the way back in Ivy Cross Esso garage in Shaston, and once again I was robbed by the garage in plain view of other customers. How much do you think it is to put air into your tyres, 50 bloody pence! For that I want the guy to come out and pump it up by personally blowing into the tyre. Am I being unreasonable or is the garage blatantly taking the piss! 20p is too much in my view, they should provide it free along with decent sponges, clean water, and a please and thankyou!
I would of used tescos but that was out of order, where every penny counts dont you know, yes all bloody 50 of them in this case!
"M" reckons Im sounding like a miserable old git, Im just a bit fed up with todays society taking me for every penny I have! Especially when there is no need, and thats the bit that gets me, As a company, what would it take to provide free air to its customers! Nothing!
My mate Mark who follows on here reminded me of another instance of sleeping in an inhospitable place. A clump of trees on the side of a hill in the middle of Otterburn, in weather similar to what we are seeing now! Out of 30 or so of us, at least half went down with hypothermia, thankfully being blessed with extra insulation myself and Mark survived that one! All we had for cover was a poncho and a sleeping bag each, those were the days!
Its funny that I could put up with that, but paying 50p to put air in my tyre upsets me! Strange!
Anyway, enough from me for now, hope you are all enjoying the snow, will catch up in a couple of days, as its flat out for me for the next couple of days!
Till later............
Well, all the water on the site is now frozen solid, luckily "M" doesnt work to far away from the site, so the aqua roll was put in the back of the landrover along with the hose and off I went first thing this morning and filled up there.
A bit of a pain, but, could be alot worse! Now planning on preparing incase there is a powercut, seriously started looking at generators!
The other thing we have finally sussed is the heating in the caravan! We had the problem of being either too hot or too cold, but what we have now started to use is the blown air system, this seems to regulate the heat alot more, so we now have it on all the time and we now have the temperature in the van at a steady 20 degrees, which is a lovely warm temperature. It also gives an even temperature, as before without the hot air being circulated your head was hot but your feet cold, now its roasty all around!
Just as well with all this cold weather going on! We still havent had more than a cup full of snow here in Ringwood, but on my journey upto Shaston this morning they had seen alot more. As soon as I drove past the Larma Tree it was like going from one room to another, one minute it was cold, but green fields, then cold and white fields with snow! A very strange sensation!
We both have new pairs of thermal socks, but my feet were still cold today! But as Ive been mainly sat all day, hardly surprising.
Just checked the outside temperature, and it appears to be warming up, its now zero degrees as opposed to -2! Does that mean that snow is finally on its way here!
Just swapped over the aqua roll and the bottom is like a slush puppie! Not good! will have to look at ways of insulating the bottom of the roll, the top and sides are ok, and its sat on a wooden plinth, but we still need to obviously do more!
Talking to someone today, they didnt know what an aquaroll was, I didnt know what it was till I started caravaning, its something I took for granted when talking about it, so will have to get a photo of one. Now wondering what other caravaning terms Ive used that non caravaners may not of heard of before! What about EHU or hookup? Legs up - Legs down? Grey Waste? Leisure Battery? CL or CS sites? Blimey, there are quite a few, will have to put together a caravaning/camping dictionary!
"M" is just getting the slow cooker geared up for tomorrows dinner, it definately is stew weather!
Tuesday
The stew was lovely, it snowed on the way in to Shaston this morning and whilst I was there, but heading back tonight, all though very white in Shaston, not alot anywhere else.
Stopped on the way back in Ivy Cross Esso garage in Shaston, and once again I was robbed by the garage in plain view of other customers. How much do you think it is to put air into your tyres, 50 bloody pence! For that I want the guy to come out and pump it up by personally blowing into the tyre. Am I being unreasonable or is the garage blatantly taking the piss! 20p is too much in my view, they should provide it free along with decent sponges, clean water, and a please and thankyou!
I would of used tescos but that was out of order, where every penny counts dont you know, yes all bloody 50 of them in this case!
"M" reckons Im sounding like a miserable old git, Im just a bit fed up with todays society taking me for every penny I have! Especially when there is no need, and thats the bit that gets me, As a company, what would it take to provide free air to its customers! Nothing!
My mate Mark who follows on here reminded me of another instance of sleeping in an inhospitable place. A clump of trees on the side of a hill in the middle of Otterburn, in weather similar to what we are seeing now! Out of 30 or so of us, at least half went down with hypothermia, thankfully being blessed with extra insulation myself and Mark survived that one! All we had for cover was a poncho and a sleeping bag each, those were the days!
Its funny that I could put up with that, but paying 50p to put air in my tyre upsets me! Strange!
Anyway, enough from me for now, hope you are all enjoying the snow, will catch up in a couple of days, as its flat out for me for the next couple of days!
Till later............
Sunday, 28 November 2010
This morning I was up with the lark and off to Ashley Car Boot sale, we went a few weeks back and there must of been at least a dozen rows of vendors, today, 2 1/2, shame, but what can you expect with a -1 temperature reading and a stiff breeze!
Got back around 9.30am after having a cup of tea and a bacon roll for £2 and found "M" still in bed!
We had to take China back to the vets for a check up after her Op, but first we went for a short walk along the Castlemanway trail along an old railway track running through the back of Ringwood and across the river Avon, forgot the camera, which was a shame as there were some good photos to be taken, another day!
The vet gave her the all clear, everything healing up nicely. We thought as much the way she has been leaping about, even trying to stop her, but you try stopping a thing on a spring! The vets were really good, this was the first time we had used them, as they are the vets used by Dorset Dog Rescue, which is where we found China. http://ccvets.co.uk/bournemouth Her final check up is next Sunday, when hopefully she will signed off.
We ventured into Christchurch for lunch and found a pub called The Ship, http://theship-christchurch.co.uk the sign hanging outside said pub of the year 2010, we went inside, and it does look exactly the same as the website, the staff were great, we got a table straight away, in fact alarm bells should of rang as it was suspiciously quiet for a Sunday lunch time, with just a handful of people in. We ordered Roast Beef with all the trimmings, the table was laid for us and both given a linen napkin, always a good sign! or so we thought. The food arrived within around 15 minutes, the veg had been nuked, I had to ask the waitress when she cleared the plates what a certain vegetable was as it was dark brown to almost black, apparently it was swede! The roast spuds were tougher to cut than the beef! No wonder the pub was empty if that is the quality of food they serve up! I did mention this to the waitress, who's reply was at least the veg is fresh, well, fresh it maybe but not if its been reheated several times! But, give them their credit they did give us a free desert each, but the thing is, how hard is it to steam veg or cook it properly!? its just slackness on the chefs part. And that's the real shame as the location, the decor, the layout and the service is spot on. Oh and £3.70 for a pint of Guinness - a bit steep? I'm in Christchurch, not bloody Waterloo train station!
Talking of expensive pints, once stayed at the Sheraton on the Heathrow strip, it was a company thing, I at that time was the National Sales Manager for a company based in Uxbridge. Went to check out in the morning and my bill came to £150+, no problem as that happened to be around the same as the room rate, with a few beers about right and therefore thought it was OK. Put in my expenses a few weeks later, got a phone call from my boss who queried my bill that day, I said that I paid for the room, no he said, that must of been your bar bill as the company paid for all the rooms in advance! Now I vaguely remember several bombay saphires, ok alot of it, but £150! No way, so I called the hotel and queried the bill and asked to see all the bar receipts that I had signed to my room. Obviously they couldn't check back, so to my utter surprise they refunded me the money! Result!!
Back on the campsite, the mains water has now frozen up! So I had to go around to the farmers house and found a mains tap sticking out of the wall, thankfully this is not frozen, so we still have water, all though its a bit of a trek! Thank God for aquarolls!
"M" has also done a trip to the laundrette, and Ive had a shave after nearly 4 weeks of growing a beard, I no longer look like a yeti, well that's debatable, beard or no beard!
A busy week back up in Shaston, weather permitting, it is a notoriously bad stretch of road that I have to travel, high ground, windy B roads. So fingers crossed Ill get up there ok.
Hope everyone who reads this has a great week, and as Ive said before, please feel free to leave us a comment or ask us anything, looking at our stats, we can see that alot of people read this, but very few leave comments, so come on, don't be shy, say hello!
Till later........
Got back around 9.30am after having a cup of tea and a bacon roll for £2 and found "M" still in bed!
We had to take China back to the vets for a check up after her Op, but first we went for a short walk along the Castlemanway trail along an old railway track running through the back of Ringwood and across the river Avon, forgot the camera, which was a shame as there were some good photos to be taken, another day!
The vet gave her the all clear, everything healing up nicely. We thought as much the way she has been leaping about, even trying to stop her, but you try stopping a thing on a spring! The vets were really good, this was the first time we had used them, as they are the vets used by Dorset Dog Rescue, which is where we found China. http://ccvets.co.uk/bournemouth Her final check up is next Sunday, when hopefully she will signed off.
We ventured into Christchurch for lunch and found a pub called The Ship, http://theship-christchurch.co.uk the sign hanging outside said pub of the year 2010, we went inside, and it does look exactly the same as the website, the staff were great, we got a table straight away, in fact alarm bells should of rang as it was suspiciously quiet for a Sunday lunch time, with just a handful of people in. We ordered Roast Beef with all the trimmings, the table was laid for us and both given a linen napkin, always a good sign! or so we thought. The food arrived within around 15 minutes, the veg had been nuked, I had to ask the waitress when she cleared the plates what a certain vegetable was as it was dark brown to almost black, apparently it was swede! The roast spuds were tougher to cut than the beef! No wonder the pub was empty if that is the quality of food they serve up! I did mention this to the waitress, who's reply was at least the veg is fresh, well, fresh it maybe but not if its been reheated several times! But, give them their credit they did give us a free desert each, but the thing is, how hard is it to steam veg or cook it properly!? its just slackness on the chefs part. And that's the real shame as the location, the decor, the layout and the service is spot on. Oh and £3.70 for a pint of Guinness - a bit steep? I'm in Christchurch, not bloody Waterloo train station!
Talking of expensive pints, once stayed at the Sheraton on the Heathrow strip, it was a company thing, I at that time was the National Sales Manager for a company based in Uxbridge. Went to check out in the morning and my bill came to £150+, no problem as that happened to be around the same as the room rate, with a few beers about right and therefore thought it was OK. Put in my expenses a few weeks later, got a phone call from my boss who queried my bill that day, I said that I paid for the room, no he said, that must of been your bar bill as the company paid for all the rooms in advance! Now I vaguely remember several bombay saphires, ok alot of it, but £150! No way, so I called the hotel and queried the bill and asked to see all the bar receipts that I had signed to my room. Obviously they couldn't check back, so to my utter surprise they refunded me the money! Result!!
Back on the campsite, the mains water has now frozen up! So I had to go around to the farmers house and found a mains tap sticking out of the wall, thankfully this is not frozen, so we still have water, all though its a bit of a trek! Thank God for aquarolls!
"M" has also done a trip to the laundrette, and Ive had a shave after nearly 4 weeks of growing a beard, I no longer look like a yeti, well that's debatable, beard or no beard!
A busy week back up in Shaston, weather permitting, it is a notoriously bad stretch of road that I have to travel, high ground, windy B roads. So fingers crossed Ill get up there ok.
Hope everyone who reads this has a great week, and as Ive said before, please feel free to leave us a comment or ask us anything, looking at our stats, we can see that alot of people read this, but very few leave comments, so come on, don't be shy, say hello!
Till later........
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Places Ive lived! Theres been a few! But Then again, I did it My Way.....
After the other evenings blog where I wrote about the places Ive ended up sleeping in, it got me thinking about the places Ive actually lived!
To say that Ive moved around a bit would be an understatement, its no wonder that Ive ended up living in a caravan!
So I thought I would try and jot down where Ive lived, just to see how many places there actually were and as this format is as good as any it would maybe make an interesting or boring blog depending on what you like reading!
For my first few years I grew up in a little village called Child Okeford, It was the family home, my Great Grandfather, had his business there, he was a cobbler. Strangely enough it wasnt till the house was sold and no living relatives lived in the village that the house was renamed Cobblers Cottage! At the age of 5 or 6 I moved to Shaston, (2) and to a brand new house on an estate. I became a towny! All though 5 mins walk from our house I would of been lost in woods or fields, so not exactly a built up place!
At the tender age of 15 and 11 months I headed off to Newcastle (3), well to be precise Ouston, which is out in the middle of no where, for my basic military training with the Royal Signals as a Junior Soldier! A year later after completing this I moved to Catterick (4) to embark on my trade training.
6 months later I found my self in Osnabruck (5) where I spent a mad couple of years at the infamous 2 squadron 21 Signal Regiment. It was an eye openner for a 17 1/2 yr old! It was full of lunatics, people were either being sent to Colchester nick or coming back from it! From there I ended up in Paderborn (6) then to Rhinedahlen (7) where I then spent 6 months back in the UK (8) Rhinedahlen has many fond memories, if only I could remember them! This is where my Army carreer ended as a Lance Corporal.
I then moved back to Shaston to my parents house (9) before moving to Salisbury (10) as I had found some gainfull occupation. I then moved back to Shaston (11) to my first brand new house! bought if for £52k sold it for £32k oh joy!
Then had a house in Gillingham, (12), then another house in Gillingham (13) divorced, so another house in Gillingham (14).
Decided to move to the other end of the country, Scotland, flat in Glasgow (15), then being a country lad, to a mobile home on a farm near Lesmahagow! (16) After that to a place called Banknock (17).
On my return to a more hospitable climate, ie, parents house yet again (18) then to a friends house (19) then to another house in Shaston (20) then to our last house (21)in Shaston. Then finally found my life in a caravan with multiple moves!! Ive lost count!
So 21 moves! Is that excessive? Perhaps there is a reason for this, if there are any psycho-analysis type of people reading this then let me know, or is the real reason simply that Ive got itchy feet and dont like being in one place too long! If this is the case, then I have found my ideal habitat!
Moving as we have done has its advantages, you dont get bored of the same view, you get to see a variety of wild life. Your surroundings change with the seasons and weather.
The disadvantages, you have to think things through a little more and plan ahead if you want to do something, as you have to work out where you will be! But honestly I cant think of many disadvantages.
We used to live in a house, whereby we would constantly worry about how the bills were going to be paid! We dont have to do that now! The relief of not having to worry is amazing, and for those of you who dont have to worry to much, sit back and take stock, and thank your lucky stars that you dont have to and appreciate the fact!
They say money cant buy you happiness, this is so true, just over 10 years ago I was earning serious amounts of money, had the 4 bed detached house, two holidays a year abroad, wife drove a Mercedes, but where did it get us, no where. Im earning far less these days, but am I happy? You can bet your last shilling I am. This is a lifestyle that you will either love or hate. I dont think there are any inbetweens in this game.
Thankfully Ive found someone who shares the same idea's as me, she is the most amazing women I have ever known. We have a plan, we are slowly getting there, we are not on a get rich quick scheme, it will take us a few years, but it will be worth it all in the end.
Along the way, we will encounter many obstacles, setbacks, dramas, but also alot of fun times and happy memories - the next couple of years will probably be a bit of a rollercoaster, but, thinking about it, that sort of sums my life up!
So buckle up, and hold tight, 2011 is just around the corner, its going to be a fun year!!!!
Tag along if you can keep up - Things are going to get hairy! (this was a strap line I used when I organised the Meatball Rally) A mad dash of cars and people all in fancy dress, from Shaston to Swansea then back again! And yes it was hairy, very hairy! but thats another story for another time.
Till later...........
To say that Ive moved around a bit would be an understatement, its no wonder that Ive ended up living in a caravan!
So I thought I would try and jot down where Ive lived, just to see how many places there actually were and as this format is as good as any it would maybe make an interesting or boring blog depending on what you like reading!
For my first few years I grew up in a little village called Child Okeford, It was the family home, my Great Grandfather, had his business there, he was a cobbler. Strangely enough it wasnt till the house was sold and no living relatives lived in the village that the house was renamed Cobblers Cottage! At the age of 5 or 6 I moved to Shaston, (2) and to a brand new house on an estate. I became a towny! All though 5 mins walk from our house I would of been lost in woods or fields, so not exactly a built up place!
At the tender age of 15 and 11 months I headed off to Newcastle (3), well to be precise Ouston, which is out in the middle of no where, for my basic military training with the Royal Signals as a Junior Soldier! A year later after completing this I moved to Catterick (4) to embark on my trade training.
6 months later I found my self in Osnabruck (5) where I spent a mad couple of years at the infamous 2 squadron 21 Signal Regiment. It was an eye openner for a 17 1/2 yr old! It was full of lunatics, people were either being sent to Colchester nick or coming back from it! From there I ended up in Paderborn (6) then to Rhinedahlen (7) where I then spent 6 months back in the UK (8) Rhinedahlen has many fond memories, if only I could remember them! This is where my Army carreer ended as a Lance Corporal.
I then moved back to Shaston to my parents house (9) before moving to Salisbury (10) as I had found some gainfull occupation. I then moved back to Shaston (11) to my first brand new house! bought if for £52k sold it for £32k oh joy!
Then had a house in Gillingham, (12), then another house in Gillingham (13) divorced, so another house in Gillingham (14).
Decided to move to the other end of the country, Scotland, flat in Glasgow (15), then being a country lad, to a mobile home on a farm near Lesmahagow! (16) After that to a place called Banknock (17).
On my return to a more hospitable climate, ie, parents house yet again (18) then to a friends house (19) then to another house in Shaston (20) then to our last house (21)in Shaston. Then finally found my life in a caravan with multiple moves!! Ive lost count!
So 21 moves! Is that excessive? Perhaps there is a reason for this, if there are any psycho-analysis type of people reading this then let me know, or is the real reason simply that Ive got itchy feet and dont like being in one place too long! If this is the case, then I have found my ideal habitat!
Moving as we have done has its advantages, you dont get bored of the same view, you get to see a variety of wild life. Your surroundings change with the seasons and weather.
The disadvantages, you have to think things through a little more and plan ahead if you want to do something, as you have to work out where you will be! But honestly I cant think of many disadvantages.
We used to live in a house, whereby we would constantly worry about how the bills were going to be paid! We dont have to do that now! The relief of not having to worry is amazing, and for those of you who dont have to worry to much, sit back and take stock, and thank your lucky stars that you dont have to and appreciate the fact!
They say money cant buy you happiness, this is so true, just over 10 years ago I was earning serious amounts of money, had the 4 bed detached house, two holidays a year abroad, wife drove a Mercedes, but where did it get us, no where. Im earning far less these days, but am I happy? You can bet your last shilling I am. This is a lifestyle that you will either love or hate. I dont think there are any inbetweens in this game.
Thankfully Ive found someone who shares the same idea's as me, she is the most amazing women I have ever known. We have a plan, we are slowly getting there, we are not on a get rich quick scheme, it will take us a few years, but it will be worth it all in the end.
Along the way, we will encounter many obstacles, setbacks, dramas, but also alot of fun times and happy memories - the next couple of years will probably be a bit of a rollercoaster, but, thinking about it, that sort of sums my life up!
So buckle up, and hold tight, 2011 is just around the corner, its going to be a fun year!!!!
Tag along if you can keep up - Things are going to get hairy! (this was a strap line I used when I organised the Meatball Rally) A mad dash of cars and people all in fancy dress, from Shaston to Swansea then back again! And yes it was hairy, very hairy! but thats another story for another time.
Till later...........
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