On the Road Again... Again

By 4pm it didn't look like the sun was going to bugger off any time soon so I decided to go out. Of course, Vera started first time on this occasion and off we went. But where to go? The idea was to have a short ride out and out some juice into the battery and also to get some miles under my arse. Since getting a motorhome and now a campervan my riding has got less and less. Partly because of trips away but also laziness when at home. I also decided to do a test of the Polarsteps app.  It's supposed to track your trips automatically but on a few tests I've found that it barely takes any notice of actual routes but more "as the crow flies". So I set off along the coast to Folkestone and thought a photo op for Polarsteps would be the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel.  With that checked off I thought of Dover Castle. There's a coach park with a good view on the hill on the way to Deal. Lastly. The White Cliffs.  WOW!!! "DANGER WILL...

At the end of a sunny week where the weather forecasters and news anchors were pushing the climate debate.. "hottest two weeks in June since 1976" etc. Yes it is hot, for England. Today it was cloudy when I went across to the garage. Despite widenning the area on the right side to accommodate both the bikes after getting Suzi out i got halfway out with Vera when I felt my foot touch a huge vag of compost. Luckily it was soft as I sat on it. Vera not so soft on my left shin. Reach for my phone.  In the house!!! More luckily I was able to get out from under her, thanks in part to the compost bag! 🤬 It took two of us to pull her upright. It seems since my UTI and 15lbs weight loss i have become a weakling. Anyway. What shite had dropped from the plants encroaching and living in the roof space I don't know, but it is a sticky mess on the front of Vera's tank and right mirror. Of course once she's on the drive the sun comes out. So cloudy 17°C became sunny 27°C. Just ...

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I heard back from one of the companies I emailed and they are sending me a package to bundle off the Ray-Bans to them.  They will then give a quote for reglazing them. Hopefully it won't be too expensive and not in the sort of "new" Ray-Ban arena!

Whilst looking for something to use in the van and in the house to blow a bit of cool air onto the dog, I came across this one on Amazon.  Amazingly it came with 4.5* and for the price it was worth a gamble. I ordered it and of course it came Prime.  It was already part charged and we could play with it before I plugged in the USB-C charger to full the battery up. It is a simple idea. It has a fan that blows air through a foam/card filter that is pre-damped but that can be dampened as you go along from a water reservoir on the top of the unit. On test it has been very good.  Amazing actually!  I had kept the boxes it came in so that it was easy to send back! I'll keep it's box to store it in when we aren't using it. The Amazon packaging has gone to the recycling. At £29.95 it seems very cheap but it if works for any length of time then it will be worth it to keep Reggie cooler.

To try and view the photos taken on my cameras I needed to get an adapter to take the full size USB down to USB-C. The MS tablet also needs a USB-C input. I've not bothered before as I simply swap out the micro-SD card that it uses as as memory expansion. My old phone charger and OTG port was micro-USB.  It worked perfectly. I was able to view any photos and save any to the phone.  Since getting a Samsung S24FE and its USB-C I am jiggered. So I bought one of these. It works perfectly on the MS Tablet. But does it work in the Samsung? Does it buggery. Although it fits the phone doesn't register it's there.  In the old Motorola it detected it automatically,  the OTG being plugged and and gave options. In the Samsung that doesn't happen. Googling seems no help.  Instructions either in forums or AI don't match any of the menus available in the S24FE. I have been using the Sandisk SD card reader for a long time with either a full sized SD card or a micro SD in an ada...

To try and take some of the thinking out of the first part of the Autumn trip I tried ChatGPT. I was a little amazed at what it could do and how quickly it did the job...  The overnight stops might not be what I am looking for and until I see the route on a map I can't tell if it is what I want to do. I print it looks feasible. 🚐 Day-by-Day Route Plan 🗓️ Day 1 – October 1, 2025 Depart: Eurotunnel Coquelles at 14:00 CET Route: D943 ➜ Saint-Omer ➜ Arras ➜ Cambrai ➜ Saint-Quentin ➜ Laon ➜ Reims (all via N roads) Distance: ~220 miles / 350 km Overnight Stop: Near Reims Suggested Campsite: Camping au Bord de l'Aisne (Berry-au-Bac) Quiet riverside site, suitable for campervans. Dog friendly ~15 min north of Reims, easy N-road access Coordinates: 49.4271, 3.7882 🗓️ Day 2 – October 2, 2025 Route: Reims ➜ Châlons-en-Champagne ➜ Vitry-le-François ➜ Saint-Dizier ➜ Chaumont ➜ Langres ➜ Dijon Distance: ~215 miles / 345 km Overnight Stop: Near Dijon Suggested Campsite:Camping du Lac Kir L...

I was given these sunglasses quite a few years ago by a friend.  They were really badly scratched and so she was going to throw them away. Sadly, the original lenses actually had the name etched into the corner but when I had them reglazed with non OEM Ray-Ban lenses they must have thrown them away.  I had them reglazed extra dark as I was wearing them in Florida, mostly.  They were perfect for the very bright sunshine! Since then, I have barely worn them and they have been in a drawer. Recentyl, I dud them out and they are very dark indeed. I started casting about on the internet to see if anyone can put genuine Ray-Ban lenses i n them. A couple of places in the UK replied to say that they can do it. So now I am waiting for a quote for the job from them both. These glasses are top quality.  The arms need tightening as well! It eould be nice to have them almost restored to original.

We had just got back from the Campers & Coffee event on Sunday and with the weather forecast leaning heavily towards "climate change disaster", i.e. sunny and temperatures around 20°C, so I booked a longish weekend away. I had a look on several sites to see what was available.  A few of the sites we like and that are independents, were fully booked. With overnight costs at two of them almost £50 a night, I wasn't that sad they were full. Good for them, but that's a lot of money. Another we like is a Premier Parks  site at East Fleet Farm near Weymouth. I actually booked through Pitchup.com and overall it was £37 a night. THis is for a pitch with EHU and fresh water on the pitch, hardstanding, full facilities and on top of that they have a bar/restaurant and a well stocked shop, not nly food but lots of camping essentials.  It was £6 cheaper than the Caravan Club site at Wyatt's Covert a few weeks before, and that had metered electricity! Wyatt's Covert has...

We have been before a couple of times but the first time in Malibu Molly. The drive to East Fleet Farm Touring Park is around 3.5 hours according to Google Maps and the TomTom Camper Max. Of course, but will be longer as we will have a few stops along the way for us and for Reggie to stretch his legs. The site isn't cheap and for some unknown reason dogs are charged extra. It's not as if they use the facilities like the loos and showers... I always opt for hardstanding as I really never trust the English weather enough to want to park on grass. This time for three nights it will be £113.  When I think of the nights we stay on paid Camping-Car Park aires in France this is probably the equivalent of ten nights! It's the UK for you. We don't have the same attitude to motorhoming as they do in France and wider Europe. After all that we needed to get away.  It would be cheaper to look for a Caravan Club "certificated location" or CL as they are known.   With the...

A mug instead of a cup!

Woofy has finally been rehomed. Due to illness I have missed going to the rescue for a few weeks. Claire and went in last Thursday to see him as he was going to be leaving for what we hope and pray is his forever home. He went yesterday, Monday 9th June.  He is a very large bull lurcher. He loves a cuddle.

The challenge was for me and Reggie to walk 75 miles in May. It shouldn't have been that arduous even with a 14.5 year old dog. Instead it was me that fell ill and was unable to walk very far. After 18 miles in the first five days I was too tired or too ill to go out. Added to that multiple hospital appointments didn't help either. With almost three weeks of inactivity I was 20 miles short on 31st May. I carried on into June, gradually wracking up the miles. On the 7th I was about 400 yards short... on the 8th, 2.49 miles at Campers & Coffee saw me across the line.

Another chance to get away in the van after the aborted holiday plans. Feeling much better whilst I am on the third course of antibiotics I booked us into Campers & Coffee. As I was late booking, we could only book for the day visit on Sunday.  As it turned out that was probably for the best as there was torrential rain on Saturday afternoon and into the evening. It seemed that the weather put a lot of people off and they appeared on Sunday as well. We set off about 9am and the TomTom calculated it would be about 90 minutes on the road.  The route chosen included some of the most pot holed roads in England, or so it seemed! On arrival what we thought would be an idyllic village was in fact surrounded by massive housing estates still being built.  It seems that everyone needs four bedroomed houses nowadays. What happened to "affordable housing" so that youngsters can get on the property ladder or afford to leave home? We checked in. I had printed our tickets as I don't...

This trip was a chance to get away after the disappointment of cancelling our holiday to France.  Another reason was that I was determined to attend the National League Promotion Final at Wembley Stadium.  With the London Underground system in chaos for the weekend and the Mayor being his usual belligerent self and refusing to intervene, capacity at the Stadium was reduced to around 50000 of the possible 90000 capacity. In the end I got a ticket.  I was still not fully fit. Looking for an alternative way to get to the Stadium I saw that Chiltern Railways had a service stopping at Wembley Stadium Station! Tracing back along the line I saw Denham. Opening another window opened and the Caravan Club had a site at.... Denham. I booked two nights. The site is alleged 25 to 30 minutes walk to the station. Much it seemingly on a road with no footpath.  Given my health. I decided on a taxi. We had a reasonable drive up on Saturday with our lunch and coffee stop, plus comfort ...

After three post season games Oldham have been promoted back to the EFL after three years stuck in the 5th tier. I was able to get a ticket for the Wembley Stadium.  What a day.  I'd been ill with a UTI for nearly three weeks and so it was touch and go whether I could actually go. I'd finished a second round of antibiotics on the Thursday before. Had 6 hours in hospital on Friday!! But who could miss the first Wembley visit for 30 plus years! Not me. We took the motorhome to a Caravan Club site at Denham on Saturday for two nights. It's one stop from Denham to Wembley Stadium Station.  I cabbed it both ways though. The walk was about 30 minutes.  But after the weeks leading up I didn't want to risk it. The railway was pretty efficient and £6.50 return. Once at the station it was follow signs to the Yellow Zone. I'd printed my ticket as I have little faith in the phone or the Internet working when needed! Bags checked. I have my Adidas man bag, and off th...

The tank took around 9 litre to overflow at 11035 miles. Plus 250ml of Wynn's Crystal Clear and Protect, treatment that stops AdBlue crystallising. The previous fill was at 8899 and so we have covered 2136 miles. I had expected a little more than 230 miles per litre! By the time we get back from Sissinghurst at the weekend we'll have covered another 2000 miles or so since the last fill.  I have quite a lot of the last batch in the garage and I might treat that with some of the Wynn's before use in the van. I had hoped that the next time we will need to top up will be when we are in Spain.  I don't think we can wait anther 1000 miles and before Spain we have another few trip here in the UK. It was very cheap, as was diesel, at the station on the way from the A7/N340 towards  Peñíscola. I topped up "old" Molly there last year.