On the Road Again... Again

I ordered the four pack of scones for Claire's birthday that's on the 24th February. They arrived yesterday as I ordered them back in January so we could take them to Cromer this week. Due to being in hospital for 11 days and not being fit enough to travel I had to cancel. Still. The scones are really good. They come with the pots of jam, one each per scone, plus Rodda's cream, biscuits and Cornish Tea. https://thecornishcompany.com https://share.google/tbQJDbE7htS60voa6

Another win, and this time on the road. My sister-in-law Catherine went with my brother, Neill, instead of me. I did manage to get out this morning to drop some charity donations to the Mind Charity shop in Hythe. Although not a lot of walking, it was quite tiring. Neill kept me updated on WhatsApp as the game progressed. The Gills were pushing for the top places before Christmas but have slumped since. Losing 3-0 to Latics can't have gone down well, especially as we started below them in the table. Who's next? My next Oldham Athletic game is March 3rd at the League 2 leaders Bromley.

After my stay in hospital for almost two weeks, I am unfit to go to the game at the Priestfield Stadium in Gillingham. My brother, Neill, is also a supporter of Arsenal and Latics, as I am. He bought the two ticket for us, but hopefully his wife Catherine will go on my ticket.

A throwback to 1990 or 1991.  Me and the Cavalcade before it was sold at the BMF Rally in Peterborough after I was made redundant from Grand Met in Harlow. If I could have afforded to keep it, I would have taken it to the Czech Republic instead of the GT750A.

I have been in here for 11 days. After lots of tests the docs have been unable to determine what the problem was. All of them have come back negative and so they are stumped. I can go home this afternoon.  Firstly, I need to have the Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) line removed from my upper right arm. It went in on Thursday last week as they were running out of veins to get blood and to give me IV of antibiotics and antivirus. It has seen some good use with anti sickness IV as well. The staff are very good, friendly and caring. The food though.... maybe Burger King on the way home! I haven't eaten much but the amount of IV I have had though..... So I am washed and dressed and waiting for the haematology tech to come and remove the PICC. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞 UPDATE: 17th February 2026 Finally had the PICC removed and discharged at 6.27pm. I ordered McDonald's on the way home for both of us. At least Reggie was happy to see me. 🤞

I don't remember much about last Friday, 6th of February. I took Claire for her massage with the Ukrainian lady. After lunch I had a nap then took Reggie the dog for a walk. I couldn't tell you what happened then until I woke up in the Kent and Canterbury Hospital on Saturday.  It seems I have encephalitis.  It's buggered our plans for this month. I might be here for another week. The docs and their consultant said it wasn't stroke. https://share.google/1nsQmrJ0vzTDWWlBA The van was supposed to go into the caravan repair place in Lympne next Tuesday, 17th Feb. The weekend is Claire's birthday. I have had to cancel.  I am amid an intensive antibiotic and antivirus course. Delivered by liquid into veins in my arms and hands. The bruises are pretty spectacular. I have been referred to neurology. Greetings of peace and love!          ​ We are holding Paul Devall close in prayer and entrusting him to the unfathomable mercy of Jesus. The Shalom pra...

Another short trip to the White Cliffs of Dover to give Malibu Molly a run out to charge the batteries, and for a walk with Reggie along the cliff path. There was a brief break in the rainy weather we've been enduring recently. The last of the named storms had past. It was a sunny day but cold in the wind.After a coffee and a sit in the van reading we set of home. It's nice to get away even for a few hours.

I had thought of booking a second night at Kings Orchard Marina for after the convoy and the visit to the NMA itself, but that would leave us 200 or so miles to drive home on Monday. In the UK that distance on a working day will be horrendous. So with that in mind, I had a look at the two clubs again. One ridiculous price. One a waste of space. The Caravan Club sites south of Birmingham came out at £46 a night. That's Broadway and Moreton in Marsh. Okay, you know the standard but very expensive. The Camping & Caravan Club? We recently joined. Once this year is up I won't renew. Many journeys we do require one night stays. The CCC appear to differ. If they bother to have a site open, they have a two night rule. This applies to the Chipping Norton site. We wanted a night away in January. The site nearest us required two nights. Hardly serving club members. Any sites that are open in November are two nights!! So. I went back to pitchup.com to have a look at what they had betw...

 I have signed up again to do the ride. Luckily, they are keeping the same routes that seemed successful last year. It also cuts down on the amount of planning the organisers need to do. My leg is the same as last year leaving the Lazy Shack in Hythe at 1440 and arriving in Margate at 1600 or so.

We are members of both of the two biggest caravan and motorhome clubs in the country, but neither has a site open in the Tamworth or Lichfield areas! Why the Caravan & Motorhome Club's nearest site closes on October 21st, when that is a traditional time when schools in England are on half-term, is a mystery. The Camping and Caravan Club sites in the area are showing only grass pitches no electricity available. Maybe that tells them something? They do have hardstanding but it's not available or sold out. One site has 150 pitches. The drive up is around 200 miles. Easily achievable on a Saturday. Not so achievable on a Sunday after the event at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) on the Sunday. So in the end I went on pitchup.com and did a search. I found a site between the convoy meet-up in Tamworth, and the NMA, and booked it. It's Kings Orchard Marina . I have booked one night before the Convoy and depending on how busy it is, we could stay afterwards as well.

Very quick delivery. They look good and are a better size than the old grey/black ones. There's 50 of them that will probably be more than we'll ever need!! They were made by a company called Sticker App and came from Sweden care of FedEx.

From Ayamonte I have planned a route up through Spain to the French border.  It's only an idea. It's only rough. The chances of it happening are probably not 75%. The 2 waypoint is Tarifa.  It's a place I went to about 35 years ago! I was on the Cavalcade! The 3 waypoint is the marina at La Linea. It would give us a chance to get across to Gibraltar even for an afternoon.