InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

I saw last year on a forum that there is an overlay for Google Maps that shows where there are veterinary clinics across Europe that can handle the need for animals coming to the UK to have their paperwork stamped and also administer their worming tablet. It has to be done between 120 hours and 24 hours before travel.  The grey area seems to be whether that 24 hours in before they get on the ferry or train to the UK, or before landing in the UK. No one seems to answer this question with any authority. So we have always done it around 48 hours before travel. That means that I have been looking at Day 14 or the 16 day trip for a vet.  One that appears to be popular (and too popular if you read the reviews on Search4sites!), is the clinic at Buchy in Normandy - Clinique des Cateliers. I have the co-ords in the Ohrex satnav already. It's on the east side of the Seine in Seine-Maritime. Department 76..  I emailed them as their online booking wasn't working properly,  I have booked ...

I know. I know. I said that maybe this holiday would be less booked and more impromptu, but then again in the popular areas a booking is essential.  We decided that after Normandy we would start to move south to hunt for the weather.  I was looking at the west coast again with maybe a few nights on one of the islands this time. Once again I was on Search4sites  and came across some Flower Camping sites on the Ile de Re. The one at La Flotte couldn't do the dates I was after but the other at Loix fits the bill. With Reggie and our loyalty card discount it's €77 for three nights. At the current exchange rate that's around £66 or £22 a night.  The site has EHU on every pitch as well as bar/snack bar etc should we want them. From there I am thinking about maybe a little further south before looping back up through the Limousin and the Loire Valley.  We still have to book Reggie in for his worming and Pet Passport.

We only had Molly back since Wednesday and we have had a few things to sort out like the TV and the Amazon Fire Stick! A quick run out was needed. We had only had one run and that was to the BP at Dover to fill the lpg tanks. It's cheaper in France but I wanted to use the setup I can actually work! So today we decided to have a run out to Dungeness to give the van a run. As it is the Sunday of August Bank Holiday and it was rammed. With nowhere to park a 7m van we made our exit and headed to Camber Sands and then Rye. Camber was packed and although there is a sign for coach parking there's a height barrier. No coach could sneak under that! So we made our way to Winchelsea Beach. There were loads of cars along the way and we eventually found a space. Whilst we had a cup of tea I tuned the TV into preview. The sound quality isn't that wonderful. It did find 166 channels. Many are the HD or +1 versions of other channels. Then we had a walk on the beach. The tide was way out an...

I have entered my mileages for August as the chances of me going on the bike(s) before we go on holiday to France in the motorhome on Thursday are nil. Vera Suzi Triplo

In the end of the 2022-23 riding season I ended up 89th!  I need to do more riding to get a higher placed finish for the 2023-24 event!

RCA 22" 12v/230v 1080P TV We have finally gone and done it. Matt our neighbour bought our old van and he has been spending money to get it as he wants it.   One of  hs first jobs was to get a TV for when he's away and takes his Mum with him.  I had been looking at these for a while and on Amazon they are priced at £99.99. A penny under the spread the payments threshold of £100! As I had bought the Maypole Wheel Clamp a week or so ago, Claire bough the TV and the bracket to go on the wall.  Matt did the fitting yesterday!  All we were missing was the aerial cable!  He brought along his one to get the TV working. The freeview element found 160 TV channels!  I have no idea that there would be that many free ones! Then he said he had bought an Amazon Firestick.   As it happens another friend has a 4K Fire Stick spare as his new massive TV does all that. So I connected that today and after some messing about it's connected and we have gone fr...

YAY! We went over to Rye today to pick her up. All the minor warranty work has been done. I wound out the awning to check that the squeak had gone and also to see that they had fixed the rafter mount. Both done. The Remis blind is fixed and so is the missing hinge bolt. What is confusing is the situation with the Heki rooflight.  We had water come in once, and that seemed to be because the rubber seal looked to have come away. There is evidence that there has been a leak in the past as the ceiling looks a little stained. The habitation check showed there was no damp in March. When we reported it when we came back from France they said they'd look at it. Initially they said that there was a crack and they needed to put in a warranty claim to replace it. Last week it seemed that the crack wasn't in the unit itself but in the seal.  They have done a fix and we have the van back and see how it goes. I would like the stained roof board to be replaced though.  It won'...

Today was Suzi Triplo day to go out on a ride. As she hadn't been started for a few weeks it took a few stabs on the kickstart to get her started. Once on the road following Cal it seemed like she was unwilling to pull that easily. A little sluggish. We made it to Jo's and sat outside in the sun. Today there were five of us to enjoy a chat and a breakfast. Around noon we all set off for different rides around the area and home. My first stop was at the old church on Romney Marsh - Thomas Becket at Brookland.  The church and surrounding fields has been in several TV programmes and movies. Usually something by Dickens.  I turned around on the lane to get a good view of it in the background. From there it was head had to the A259 and home. Some roads are a little gravelly in the centre, some muddy and some in cow🐄 exhaust..... 😉 I managed to avoid any of the latter.  As I arrived in New Romney and filtered to the front of traffic waiting at a red light for road...

What difference a day makes... Another booking.  I was thinking about the last night. So I booked another CCP Aire at Flocques. It's in Seine Maritime near Le Tréport. https://www.campingcarpark.com/fr_FR/sejour/aire-etape-camping-car/normandie/76-seine-maritime/flocques This is for the last night of the holiday. The booking is from noon to noon but effectively 24 hours from when you arrive. It's a fair way off the A28 and A16 so maybe need to be away earlier in the morning to make sure we are at Calais in time to check in and get on the boat.

Feeling that we needed to up the level of security on Molly when she is parked at home. I researched and checked on many forums and this one came out to be the best choice.  There's a bit of self-assembly when it arrives. Fitting the very heavy arms onto the very heavy metal plates! Did I say it's heavy?

The third Sunday this month is 20th August.  A post on our Facebook page elicited two replies!  We decided to go to Jo's at Brookland and have breakfast there. It has become a popular place for us.  The café is very good value for money. And the breakfast is always good quality. I think I'll give the Kettle a run out again. I need to change the fuel cap rubber as when it is full, the tank has a little dribble on the left as it leans that way. It might be the last time she gets out before the end of the month.

What kind of idiot swaps a chance to watch Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium to opt for Oldham away at Borehamwood in the National League! Me. Hopefully after a resounding win against Aldershot and a narrow loss to Halifax at home, they won't get battered at Chesterfield before another away game in the South-East at Borehamwood. I have printed the PDF e-ticket rather than risk using the phone! Gulp.

As we didn't get a call back last week from Lucy at JC Leisure, we decided over the weekend that we would call today to see where the work has got to. In the end we drove down there to have a look and speak face to face with her. She wasn't there as she is on holiday!  We did speak to Owen the Workshop Manager. He checked that the jobs we had taken it in for had been fixed. They were quite minor, but had all been done. The one causing the holdup is the replacement of the Heki front rooflight .  It's on order but as the company is changing hands and administrator is handling the sale and transfer of assets to the new owners, the order was made but not authorised. The warranty claim they had made, that I assume is for the labour and the part had been accepted by the warranty company. The other jobs to repair the bumpers, from  the accident I had with a bush and the other when some butthead had run into us and cleared off, are on hold anyway until we...

Well. Since the last post we have booked a triple room in a hotel with bar restaurant about 20 miles from the Assen TT circuit. We have booked one nearer with a twin and a single, and cancelled the first one.... ALL ON THE WRONG DATE! It was assumed that the GP would be the same weekend as 2023. It used to be the last weekend in June and race day was Saturday. In the modern world, tradition goes out of the window, and the TT racing is now Sunday, and the date moves!  So more rooms cancelled and we have managed to book another hotel, but back to about 20 miles away again.  My brother Neill is doing the planning. I expect he will do a blog for the trip. How to get there?  The choice is limited to Eurotunnel or the Ferry from Dover. I have a friends and family contact for P&O that I might be able to use. I'd have to check that they are happy to do that.  For the Meldrews Wipers Weekend in September  and it cut the fare from £85 to £50. Of course there is alway...

Today I decided to ride up rather than using the train. It's not much different in time although it is a little better on the wallet. I also need to get some miles under Vera's wheels for the Kilometerfresser competition this year. Around 150 today, so around 240 kms for my August miles. With kick off at 1230, I wanted to be there an hour or so before. So I aimed to leave home at 0945. It was more like 0950 when I set off. I set the Yamaha My Ride app to track my journey. More of that later. I cruised up the M20, keeping to the speed limits (!) even through the Operation Brock 50mph. It seems that probably it was only me and a few others that stick to it!! Do these drivers ignoring the limit ever get a ticket? Traffic wasn't too bad until the Blackwall Tunnel. It seems the modern Londoner is incapable of driving! Once on the "London" side it's a mix of 40mph limits even on the "motorway" section past the Olympic Park. From then, ridiculous 20mph limi...

Phew! Am I glad that's over. Won 2-1. Coasting then hanging on after Forest pulled a goal back.

Molly is still not back from the repair shop. I called today to see how she was getting on after the warranty work had been completed. The warranty claim they had put through for the rooflight has been approved and they have ordered it from their suppliers. Lucy in the workshop admin was going to get back to us today with an update. She knows that we are going to France on the 31st August.... Fingers crossed

It was back during lockdown that I started to investigate Claire's great uncles and in particular Timothy O'Leary.  We had been given some pretty duff information some years ago and when I looked deeper we had been given the wrong Tim. With help from the researcher at the Royal Irish Regiment in Belfast we got more information. This led to the realisation that Timothy was killed early in the war at Le Pilly.  The link below has that information. When we were on holiday in June, I took Claire as a surprise to Le Pilly.  The Triptych mentioned in the article in the link is on a quiet corner. Nearby is a main road carrying cars and trucks that thunder past. https://invictamoto.blogspot.com/2021/10/timothy-oleary-107th-anniversary.html

As I was supposed to be at the Oldham game at Southend yesterday or at the Ace Café for Suzuki Day, I let Phil have the opportunity to get a ticket. It seems that his success rate is maintained as Arsenal won the game. In the first 25 minutes it looked as though City would take control and extend their unbeaten run of games. But it was Arsenal's Havertz that had to shots on target saved. City didn't get any on target. Arsenal finished the half of equal terms. 0-0. It was pretty much even in the second half until substitute Palmer opened the scoring for City. A superb curling shot.  But with several changes on field Arsenal stuck at it, even defending some giveaways that last year would have seen goals conceded. Well into added time Leandro Trossard equalised. Cutting inside his shot was goalbound but took a deflection and went into the net.  The match went to penalties which with de Bruyne missing and Rodrigo having his saved saw all four Arsenal players scoring to...

Thank goodness for Storm Antoni coming along with high winds and lashing rain. It means that it was too awful to ride to Southend, plus there was disruption to trains as well. So I didn't go. What an escape I had. Despite all the excitement of the new season and new signings, it was worse than last year. Battered 4-0. Optimism destroyed in one game.... Great start. Well bottom after one game!!

Another staycation day between showers to take advantage of the dry weather that appears between them! Molly the Moho is still at the dealers and so we are in the car again.  It's about a 25 mile round trip to Dungeness.  This is officially a desert.  I kid you not. We had a walk on the shingle to the Polish Airmen's Memorial and then walked back to the station to have tea and wait for the last train of the day to arrive. Luckily, when the train arrived it didn't hoot the horn.. If it had, Reggie would have gone mental. Instead he ignored the sound of it wheezing into the station. Claire took a couple of photos on her phone.  Today the Sony A300 was left at home..... The "New" Lighthouse

With Molly the Moho being in the dealers for some warranty work and a (possible) repair to the damage to the rear bumper, we are having to staycate in the car. It also means that we can go away for a few days and so are based at home. The weather has been really poor. The "Mediterranean Climate" we were told to expect in the South of England as a result of climate change hasn't arrived. Instead we have had some really hot periods but not that long and wetter summers. July 2023 has been the 6th wettest on record.... So this week we have been out between showers and some torrential rain where we can. Today we took a short drive to the White Cliffs of Dover to walk the dog and to have a look at Dover Harbour. The harbour under the white cliffs themselves. I dug out Claire's Sony A300 DSLR and charged the battery. It seems a shame to let it sit unused in the case.  I had to format a 4gb compact flash card to get it to work, and a few test shots were fired off in the garde...

Well, I could have done with booking the ferry a little later in the month to ensure that it went on my next Tesco MasterCard bill. But it needed doing ASAP to ensure that the booking would get made and not sold out for the bike spaces. As we were unable to fill all the rooms we have decided to cancel both the triple and twin rooms at the hotel and book the quadruple room! It looks as though the days of a large group going are over for the Meldrews. A quarter share in the quadruple room works out at around £65 each for two night bed and breakfast. The ferry has cost £50 for the weekend.   I have entered the Advanced Passenger Information (API) onto the website and oddly the booking shows the times of the crossing to be different to the ones booked only a few minutes before!  later leaving the UK and earlier leaving France to come home on the Sunday! Anyway that's all done.

It's a little disappointing that with 37 members of the Meldrew's that we have only managed to get 5 plus a friend one of of them so come along to the first overseas event since Covid and Brexit. In the end four of us will be travelling by bike and a couple will be going in the car.   We had originally booked a twin and a triple room and earlier today we booked the quadruple bedded room and dropped the other two rooms. So now we have 4 beds and 4 people! It also works out cheaper per head for the hotel and it includes breakfast, which is rare for that kind of price.  The  Gasthof 't Zweerd is right in the centre of Ypres and walking distance to the Menen Gate for the evening Last Post Ceremony and is right where all the bars and restaurants are situated.  Parking should be right outside!   Next we need to decide what ferry we will get. I expect we will go P&O from Dover to Calais and then have a run across country to Ypres. The TomTom shows us goi...

Molly has been at JC Leisure in Rye for almost a week and I dropped them an email today to see how they are getting on with the warranty work and the estimate for the damage to the bumpers. I am quite happy to hold my hands up and admit that the damage and hole (!) in the left rear corner was entirely my fault.  At the campsite in Chataigneraie on June 9th, I was a little flustered as we had tried to get on a pitch and due to the ground being wet, the wheels had spun a little and we went to look for another. Backing in, I hit the rear corner on the hedge and thick branch cracked the bumper. To tell the truth I was sick to my stomach at the damage. We had only had the moho just over two months! So I knew that we would need to get it fixed as some stage.  What I didn't expect though was to come back to the van on the way home through France to find that someone had run into the right rear corner! There was signs that it had been bumped and repaired before but now it was cracked ...

The first game of the new premier league season and Arsenal are at home to Notts Forest.  It's also a 1230pm kick off and so I will have to be away early from dear old Kent to get there in good time. My plan is to ride up on Vera Strom and park in my usual place at St Joan of Arc Church.  I have been retired too long now to expect any favours from school staff in islington.  In the 25 years I worked in Schools IT Support I had a great relationship with the admin and teaching staff at many schools in the borough.  Covid really killed the personal touch and contact was by email or phone.  Not the same. So given the traffic chaos I reckon I need to leave about 10am at the latest to give myself time to navigate the ridiculous low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) so loved by Labour run London councils. Vera complies with the current Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) regulations, but given how they move the goal posts to suit themselves to rake in £12.50...

Last year just before we went away to France in June, Claire ordered a windbreak from Amazon.  It wasn't that expensive and when the package arrived there were two in the box. We were sure the order was for one. When contacted Amazon just said keep it the duplicate.  I guess it was more than they wanted to pay to have it returned. So we have two. One has never been used and we have tried using one a few times! Perhaps I should see if I can sell it on eBay? As you can see from the photo, the first time we used it it went up really well.  The guy ropes held the poles up nice and tight. That was the only time it worked!  In anything but grass and/or firm ground the pegs don't stay in the ground, letting it sag. As a result we gave up on it. So imagine my interest that peaked when I saw a Dometic Air windbreak that had metal poles and instead of tie downs made of string/rope, metal support poles!  I almost dribbled like Homer Simpson looking...

Although today was forecast to be thunderstorms and high winds it at least left off until I was about halfway back from Cheriton Motorcycles. Of course, no Englishman is without waterproof over trousers and jacket in the massive top box.   When I say no Englishman I mean seasoned rider.  The two L-plate squibs on a scooter and a KTM 125 of course were the exception to the rule.  One with shorts, trainers and no gloves expecting his Chinese made scooter to have the necessary protection from the elements and maybe the gravel rash should he dump it on the very wet slippery road... Anyway I set off from home a little late as I had looked at a clock where the battery is running down and it is showing about 15 minutes slower than real time. Suddenly realising I had to get changed into bike gear and then ride 15 minutes to the shop for a Noon appointment when it was already 1140.... Traffic as expected was against me. Why is it always that way when you are running late?...

Late last night Southend were granted their ground safety certificate.  After their financial woes and ownership that seems to parallel what Oldham has gone through for easily 20 years. Poorly managed decline from Football League status into the National League and the chance of Administration.  The same as us at Oldham. At least we were rescued a year ago. With luck Southend will get a new owner soon. Tickets went on sale this morning and I bought mine as soon as I could get logged on. It's a faff that away fans have to register with the Southend ticket provider to buy what will be one ticket a year. In addition it wouldn't accept Google Pay to pay for the ticket. At least it's an e-ticket. I have printed mine.  So getting there? The forecast isn't the best for Saturday. Then again the weather has mostly been crap for weeks. So it looks like Vera Strom and I will be dressed for wet weather.  Parking at Southend has always been easy enough. They have a large (sloping...