InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

From five of us at the Meldrews' meeting point there were only two of us, me and Cal,  that made the ride to the Ride Out starting point in Canterbury. There we found that the local scooter clubs had turned up in large numbers and on a range of scooters form the 1960's right up to latest model four-strokes. There were fewer motorcycles though and that was a little embarrassing after the publicity the run had been given locally.   Not that I hadn't seen plenty of bikes on the road to and from the event.   In the end we had donations from the non-attending Meldrews (well most of them) and this was handed into the run organiser.  Amounting to just short of £1600 in cash and some online donations made from people's phones to justgiving. The run itself was along the A257 to Sandwich and then to Deal and then ending at Dover seafront.  Our group was led by a bloke on a GoldWing.  What a prat.  On an open section leading about forty assorted scooters and bike...

With today being a school day, we had expected the kids to be around for their treats yesterday. The pumpkin lights up..... sweets in the bowl. And. Nothing. Not a one. So we expect them tonight, 'cept Claire at Pilates from about 1745 to after 1900, and me not home until a little before that. What to do with a large bowl on Haribo?

This Sunday I am hoping to get out on this run for charity. It's for a local girl that needs some very expensive treatment that can't be funded on the National Health Service and is available only in the US. That life saving medicine can cost $1m is a disgrace in the first place but that there is no insurance that covers it is equally bad. So it is for the community to come together and raise the necessary funds to help save a life. In July some thieves stole the collection from a local shop in Hythe. Despite the cctv video being shared thousands of times on social media and the TV, no one has ever been caught. A women and her teenage son were clearly seen stealing it.  Someone knows who they are and they haven't been turned it to the police or for some local justice. So as well as having the just giving page to donate, bikers and scooterists will take a collection on this run.  it has been published across the South East and on TV as well as biker sites.  Hopefully there...

It will be soon that time of year when a find out how much a kidney sells for as I raise the funds for a service.  Okay, it's not that bad, but I doubt it will be inexpensive. As I haven't made it to the 10000 miles service interval it has been booked in for the annual service. Hopefully that will require fewer body parts being traded. Before then there a few rides where I can make thew odometer look a little more respectable.

The first donation has been made to this year's Movember charity event.  It was me.   Okay that might sound pretty dodgy, like the beggar that puts a few coins in the bowl to attract the passers-by to add to it, but not really. At work we have had a Nespresso Dolce Gusto coffee maker in the cupboard. It was brought in by my boss for the department to use. Like many of these things it ended up not being used after the first flush of enthusiasm and was put away. We had a look at them in a shop and I asked if I could borrow it to see if it was worth having.  My boss said I could have it.  And I said I'd donate to Movember for it. I have and I am underway.   The current beard and tache will come off over the weekend and I will start smooth skinned from Tuesday November 1st. All I need now are people to sponsor me. MY MOSPACE

Dor dog ne. After a couple of successful trips away with Reggie we took the plunge and booked another trip to France. This time in the Dordogne region staying in a mobile home again, like we did in October this year, but in May! Except this time with a company called Eurocamp. Claire has some reservations about going so far with Reggie in the car as it about 500 road miles. I have built in an overnight stop on both legs. I don't think it will be a problem as there will be plenty of stops on the way. Plenty of time to decide.

I have signed up again for Movember after a year off last year. I did Decembeard instead. At the moment I have a beard but that will go very soon. So should anyone feel like sponsoring me my mospace is:  https://uk.movember.com/mospace/2865109 I have set a pretty low target of £100 but I doubt I'll get close to that. It is very easy to post of Facebook and other social media about fighting cancer. But seemingly more difficult to pledge a few quid to help fight cancer for real and increase awareness.

This year the Ring of Red will be on 13th November. The official Remembrance Sunday. We are too busy to actually have Remembrance Day on November 11th when it is supposed to be so the nearest Sunday suffices. This year I plan to head up the A2 to Cobham Services and see if any Meldrews turn up and then about 1230 head up to the meeting place at Thurrock Services. Hopefully the weather will be kind again. Report and pix to follow - and they are here ..... RUN REPORT

The last day. We had to be up early as the mobil-home had to be cleaned and the floor washed before we could get one of the staff to come over and check that we hadn't broken or stolen anything.... We had checked the inventory on arrival and they check it when we leave.  Many of the FB and TripAdvisor comments seemed to find this strange. We hadn't used any of their bedding as we had taken sleeping bags and our own pillows, plus throws to stop Reggie leaving hair or mud on the furniture. We brushed round and then I washed the floor with the sachet of hospital cleaning grade cleaner they had left.  We eventually left about 1015.  First stop the recycling bins and then off towards home. A coffee stop again a Baie de Somme.  Reggie had people laughing as he was looking in the water out back when a huge carp swam towards him. He jumped in the air like his legs were springs. After that he wouldn't near the edge, not even to bark or growl at the ducks. And then we were off...

Our last full day of the holiday. I had hoped to get to St Valéry and ride the train but a bit of back ache meant I could hardly move for hours. Okay sitting or walking but nothing in between. In the end a it was also our wedding anniversary we decided to have lunch out. We had exhausted St Valéry and so headed for Le Tréport again. We have always thought of France as being more dog friendly than UK but we still felt odd asking at L'Aquarius whether Reggie could go inside with us. "But of course" was the response. The food was good and Claire got her mussels. We had a walk around before heading up to the heights above the town to check out the views. It's also up here where the Funiculaire has its upper terminus. As we walked along the top of the cliff to overlook the town. Below it looked like a model village. The funicular runs through the cliff and like parking in Le Tréport it is free. Of course in lieu of missing the train ride we had to go down to the town and b...

Today is pet passport day. A drive into Abbeville where the TomTom took us straight to the door. We were very early and so we parked,  again free, and went for a walk around a garden before a coffee. Abbeville can't be confused with an interesting city centre. The town hall looks like it was styled on an ancient design with a tower but in white concrete.... The church is old though. Still ugly. We had time for a pannini and then it was gone 3pm. The short walk to the vets gave Claire a chance to pop into a boulangerie and buy a meringue for after dinner. The nice lady vet checked Reggie over and filled in his passport and gave him the worming tablet.  He thought it was a treat and gobbled it down. We left ten minutes later and €30.10 lighter in the pocket but with the passport filled in to get him back into the UK. On the way back to the campsite I saw a sign for a WW1 military cemetery dedicated to Chinese workers. This one at Noyelles has 811 registered burials. Later I Goog...

Today we had a lazy day, or at least start to the day.  Late breakfast and a walk for Reggie to do his ablutions. Today we stayed local again. Going into St  Valéry for a walk about and down to the railway station on the harbour to watch the train leave. The train is a heritage line and runs from Le Crotoy to St Valéry almost all year and in the summer there is an extension to Cayeux. We were lucky enough to arrive in time see it leave at 1430. After we watched it fill up and leave there was time to have a barquette of frites between us. Once again we ate in for the evening meal. One man and his dog One woman and her dog Selfie

Another disturbed night due to whatever has Reggie awake and growling plus today the locals are out with their shotguns. It is a miserable existence for anything that can fly in France as the brave hunters will shoot it. From endangered songbirds to ducks if it takes to the wing some twat in camouflage gear will shoot at it. I almost feel sorry for the French airforce as they flew along  the course of the Somme the day before.  A target that big? After breakfast and a short walk we both had an extra lay in to get some rest. Relaxing this holiday isn't! ! It meant we were late going across the bay to Le Crotoy. With pay to park everywhere I moved the car a few times to more convenient places all on the one ticket. Reggie wasn't enjoying today's walk and he wasn't allowed on the beach here. We had a coffee and sit in the sun for a while. Nice to soak up the warmth. On the way back we stopped in another Carrefour and got some sandwiches for lunch plus some tarte de pommes....

After another affected night we awoke to bright sunshine. Again Reggie and I went to get the bread.  The cats that live near reception kept a low profile. After breakfast we drove into St Valery and parked up. Pay again. As we walked along the pedestrian area Ali guide the bay the tide was us starting to turn. We had a coffee at La Terrasse before walking to the end where the river opens into the marshy bay. The tide was rushing in quickly and in less than half an hour the beaches on the far side of this inlet had gone and it was lapping up against the concrete sides on the town side. We stopped in La Terrasse again. This time for lunch. A goats cheese salad for Claire and a blue cheese burger for me. Amazingly I could eat all the chips/fries. We called in a Lidl for some supplies on the way back and noticed a McDonald's as well..... After Reggie's dinner we went into Cayaux for another walk as it was still bright and sunny. Tonight's dinner is fish soup and bread bought in...

I mentioned that Reggie can be protective but what I really meant was overprotective. It rained heavily overnight and as well as that there were strange animal noises to keep him busy at intervals all night. The beds are okay and the sleeping bags are similarly okay. But having a dog having mental barking fits is not so good. Luckily being off season the four similar units we drive past to 136 are all empty.  At least no one for Reggie to annoy. The people in 137 across the roadway are in their own caravan and they seem to talk loudly all night until gone midnight. Reggie does not like that either. So Day 2 dawned a little dull and we had a walk to reception to collect our bread order. The French love their fresh baguette every morning. Once breakfast was over we set off for Cayaux and after a walk and coffee we went to look for the tall chalk cliffs that extend from Ault almost to Le Tréport. We found them. Le Tréport is a very lively town on a Sunday with free parking everywhere ...

From the Baie de la Somme services it was a short run to the campsite at La Mollière. We checked in quite quickly and drove round the one way system to emplacement 136 where our mobil-home is placed. As Reggie takes ownership of anywhere he stays, he gets protective and defends. This means there is liable to be barking. I asked for a spot with little passing traffic.  That's what we have. After unpacking we had a walk across the road to the dunes. We had imagined the sea to be there. Wrong. We also climbed this 60 foot sand dune when a walk along to the west would have seen us walk through a gap on a path.... It was good exercise and we were the only ones daft enough to do it. For dinner we ate in on Carrefour supermarket microwave lasagna. Yum.

A bit of a fraught start with the car seemingly needing to be bigger than it is. In the end the Tardis effect worked and the boot/trunk was full and half the back seat not occupied by Reggie was packed too. Once we had filled the tank and checked in to find we had an hour delay we had time to let Reggie have a run about in the dog exercise area. Our original departure time was 1020. The huge board by where I parked said it was now 1050. We rushed into the terminal to get a coffee. Huge queues so made do with a crappy machine. We should have bothered. We sailed through passports, UK and French, and into Lane 12. It was 1014. Our place for the next 50 minutes was that queue. It rained a few times and that 1050  crossing faded. Almost an hour was up and we moved up to the next queue, tantalisingly close to a train. On the down ramp we could see another train loading in parallel. 1120 came and went. At 1141 we finally wheezed out of the station. Delays of over 30 minutes on UK railways...