On the Road Again!

With the van now at the storage for two weeks, I was able to get Vera out of the garage. Firstly, check tyre pressures; 18psi in the front, 26psi in the rear. They should be 36 and 42 respectively. The "pocket sized" pump has already pumped the four wheels on the van, twice, and now the bike's two. It's really good and quick. There is a review elsewhere. After that I togged up and had a ride to Cheriton Motorcycles to book at MoT . The current one runs out on August 1st.  Unfortunately, I can only book it for noon on the 5th as the earliest. The mileage when I got back. Not very far but it's a start.  After so many illnesses and hospital stays and visits it felt so good.

We took Malibu Molly to ARC. By 11am they rang to say they had taken it apart. Nothing wrong with it. The cleaned out some leaves etc out of the channels but the gearbox for the winding mechanism is in good condition.  I am flumoxed.  The winding lever wouldn't move at all. They think it was the extreme heat that caused the problem.  We had to endure over a week in 35°C plus heat because it was stuck!!! No ventilation!!

When we were away and in the middle of the heatwave we had a problem with the winding mechanism for the main over dining area rooflight. The handle simply wouldn't turn. I couldn't open it. After a few days I decided that as it was closed at least we wouldn't have a problem with it. https://invictamoto.blogspot.com/2026/06/remis-rooflight.html I tried it a couple of times. I didn't want to force it and end up with it not shut properly.  And we still had 12 days of the holiday to go... I contacted ARC to see if they could fix it once we got home. After a few back and forth emails they said they could do the job. I sent them photos of the rooflight and the Remis stickers. Today, I gave it a try. It worked.  Still stiff but started to open the rooflight. It's been stiff to wind since we've owned the van, that's almost 20 months. I didn't think it was a problem until now. It's still going to ARC on Tuesday to check it over. If we ...

After the thuggery and cheating during the game in the week when England lost to Argentina in the World Cup, let's hope that Spain win tonight. Y VIVA ESPAÑA!! On a positive note. England rugby beat the Argies at the weekend. They were as inspiring as a turd in a teacup then as well.

The van has been on the drive since we got home from holiday. With the Norfolk Motorhome Show trip cancelled due to the weather and a ageing dog, we've not been anywhere.  So we decided to leave a bit earlier and get a good parking place at Sissinghurst.  We decided to leave Reggie at home. He was asleep on the upstairs landing in the cool. We were first to park in the area they use for campers.  No dog means we could both go in the garden. There wasn't much to see. It did seem a bit overgrown.  I like finding these old gates and doorways, often hidden by foliage. This one behind a huge fig tree  We had a coffee, and the chocolate brownie was sublime. The drive home was pretty quiet apart from the A28 from Great Great towards Tenterden.   This section of road must be the worst in Kent.

I bought this atlas a few months ago to replace the 2020 version I have been using for quite a few years. One thing that has irritated me is the colour of the autoroutes. For many years toll autoroutes were shown as a purple line on the map. Non toll autoroutes in blue. This was also the case for non toll Route National roads that were dialled. This edition shows all autoroutes whether toll or not as purple.  When planning a route, the difference between the two is essential. It seems the AA or the Austrian mapping company have failed to make the distinction or simply didn't care. I have emailed feedback at the AA. An example is here: The A16 between Calais and Dunkerque is toll free and therefore should be blue.  The A26 on the left is a toll motorway only from where it meets the A16. The spur above to the ferry port is non toll. Let's see what they have to say.

I am looking at France. We are away for around three weeks at the moment. I thought I could change the dates and it would only cost us £20 if done online.   WRONG! I went onto the Le Shuttle website. To snip a week off the trip will cost the £20 amendment fee. Then despite all that they want £103 to go a week later! What bloody load of shysters this company are.  Part of the problem is that French campsites seem allergic to staying open after October 1st. Don't the French use their vans and caravans during the Autumn? We could use Camping-Car Park aires, but as the name suggests, most are exactly that. Short term stays rather than somewhere to "holiday". With Reggie onboard not going as far is also a consideration. In the summer I cut out around a 1000 miles out of the itinerary to save travelling in the "heat bubble ". It seems we were lucky as since we returned there have been fires across Spain and France. Brittany