Back in England & camping hiccups.

We had an early start to catch the ferry, driving through Belgium to get to the ferry at Calais, France.  There were roadworks along the way so it was just as well that we had given ourselves plenty of time.

We arrived in Dover around 1pm, giving us an hour to make our way to Folkstone for the car's MOT/roadworthy appointment.  The technicians didn't mind us setting down the caravan in the parking lot temporarily until the car had been MOT'd.  I was tired so I had a nap in the caravan and Paul did a bit of reading. 

Today's route, more or less.

The car finally passed its MOT.  Whew!

Back on the road again, we took a scenic drive via small roads along the southeast coastline towards Hastings.  The day was drawing to a close and nightfall was just around the corner when we tried to find an all year round campsite.  One place was closed (different to what was said on the website), another one didn't take caravans, two we couldn't find so we had to go onto the internet to look for other campsites and ring them to see if they were open.  We were in luck - one place that we rang was open but not really to caravans at this moment in time because the ground is very soggy from so much snow melt and rain.  When they heard that our caravan was very small they agreed to allow us to stay in their car park rather than lose a bit of business by turning us away because of boggy fields.

Getting to Dogwood Cottage Campsite (http://www.dogwoodcamping.co.uk/) wasn't a problem.  It was the little lane that they were down that was the problem.  We followed the instructions to the village but missed the lane because it was in a darkish corner and not lit up by a road lamp.  I thought I had seen the sign but by then we had 'sailed' past it.  All Paul could do was try and find a place to turn around.  We did so in the car park of a care home for the elderly was sited (from what we could see in the dim light) in spacious grounds.  Back we went but again we passed the small lane.  There wasn't a suitable place to turn around for a good mile or two and eventually Paul decided to turn into a road and then back out onto the main road. I had to guide him as he couldn't see the road properly.  Back in the village Paul drove at a snail's pace so we wouldn't miss the turn-off into the lane.  He was dubious because the lane was very narrow and it was not lit up with street lights. 

We finally got the campsite and met the owners.  They advised us on the best way to put the caravan in the tiny car park and after that we could set up 'home', unhook the caravan and go to a pub for dinner.  We didn't get very far with anything.  The electric hookup didn't work.  And it was pouring with rain.

Paul spoke to the campsite owner who had a fiddle with the plugs but they were working fine.  The campsite owner had a brainwave:  re-wire the our European camping socket because he'd known people from Europe staying at the campsite and having the same problem.  So Paul re-configured the hookup plug and it worked. 

We were starving by the time we headed out to look for a pub that served evening meals.  One pub wasn't serving meals because the owner was away (I guess he/she does the cooking).  We found another pub and they were open.  You could tell we weren't locals.  The minute we entered the pub door the chit-chatter from the locals ground to a halt as they twisted their necks around to check us out.  We were told that the pub was due to be holding a quiz session at 8 so were shown to the dining room area of the pub rather than sitting at a table near the bar.  We bagged ourselves a seat near a heater, and wined and dined alone; listening to the banter coming from near the bar. 

Fortunately getting back to the campsite wasn't a problem.  Time for a shower now - and it is raining outside.  Maybe we should stand out in the rain instead, with some soap and towel handy ....

Keeping busy.

Snow at last!

Last Saturday it was Paul and his mum's (Betty) birthday.   Family members popped in to see Betty to wish her happy birthday and to wish Paul a happy birthday too. Gwenny (Paul's sister) arrived on Thursday night and we took her to the train station in Breda later that evening.  It was snowing (for a change!) so I drove carefully - fortunately with no mishaps.  It was good to see Gwenny again and also to see other family members too.

The snow was lovely but it didn't last very long.  We keep hoping that the canals will freeze solid enough to skate on them but the freezing weather doesn't last long enough.  Hope springs eternal ! ??

We had hoped to go to England this past week but didn't want to leave Betty because she wasn't particularly well and could hardly walk.  To to be idle, we have been busy sorting and clearing out Betty's garage (still so much to do!).  Paul also managed to fix the broken car spoiler and put it back on the back of the car (it was destroyed in an automatic car wash...).

We also bought a small secondhand
T@B (teardrop shaped) caravan

and brought it to Betty's place and have been getting it ready for our travels - flushing out the water system, filling the water tank, getting some linen out of storage for it; put in the camping cookware, etc.  With a bit of luck we may head over to England on Sunday or Monday for a short break and bring the caravan with us.

All sorts.

This past week we have been chugging along, watching a bit of the Olympic winter games on TV and also been doing a bit of clearing out of Paul's stuff and his mum's, taking it to the recycling centre or second hand shop.  There is still lots to sort out but all in good time.

On the news we learnt that the South African President resigned.  Zuma's government was corrupt as hell and hopefully the next chap will bring more stability to the country.

We ended up putting in an offer on a 2nd hand campervan but the guy would only accept cash-in-hand.  Paul wasn't happy about a cash payment and the bank refused to release the cash, advising it was safer to do a bank transfer.  Eventually the seller was ok with the bank transfer.  Before doing the bank transfer though, Paul wanted him to sign a basic AA of contact of sale (the template of which can be found on the internet).  It  basically covers the buyer in case things went wrong.  The seller initially agreed to sign it and then refused.  So we backed out of the deal altogether on the basis that something 'dodgy' was going on. 

The T@B 400, similar to what we looked at.  (Photograph off the internet
to give you an idea of what we saw.)

Yesterday we looked at tear-drop shaped small caravans (also known as T@B or TAB) and then headed to Antwerp to pick up some plastic boxes for storage.  They are more durable than cardboard boxes and eventually, as and when we can buy or rent a house, we can move and empty the plastic boxes and perhaps sell or pass them on to people who might need them. 

It was getting a bit late to do anything else so we had a meal in Antwerp and went to watch a film, "Murder on the Orient", based on one of Agatha Christie's books.  It was fun and nice to go out for a change.