On the Road Again!

Today was pretty much the last chance to get some miles under the Strom's tyres for the August Kilometerfresser. As it's the 30th August and the 5th Sunday in the month. It was an extra Meldrews Sunday. We decided on H's Café at Kent Motorcycles. I've not been for quite a few years. It's changed a little. The biggest is that the original owner of the bike shop retired and it was bought out by a large group.  They have decided not to open on a Sunday.  Seems madness. Hundreds of bikers only have the weekend to ride to a bike shop... and spend money! Anyway, my journey out was the quick way via Hawkinge. A brief holdup whilst up front people were shooing a sheep out of the road. The roads had dried after the overnight rain and riding was a pleasure. Bacon and chat with Meldrews friends and then away home. I took the longer way home via Dover and past the castle. From the road off the A2 past the Duke of York School the view of the Castle is stu...

The full court press in Sainsbury's to make us believe in how "Spanish" Mahou beer is. How it's from Madrid. All the advertising shows us Real Madrid. Except it's not real Madrid at all. It's brewed in the UK.  Maybe it's time to make this clear.  From this: To this: What do you think? Comments please? It's far from being "Cerveza de Madrid"..... It's time we weren't being taken for a ride.

Four of Hearts by David J. Gatward My rating: 5 of 5 stars A novella rather than a full novel I think. Some bad business is afoot to disrupt Harry and Ben's stag nights and weddings. View all my reviews

Looking forward to having another go. Went last year from Clacket Lane rather than the usual Thurrock. I'll probably add it to the Meldrews FB page but doubt anyone will join me.  

When I came to use the old dbPower 600A jump charger a few weeks ago , it had ceased to work. Instead I had to put the V-Strom on the battery charger. With no power in the garage I ended up using the Bluetti AC70 to provide the power. The dbPower was capable of turning over and starting power for the two litre diesel engine in my Vauxhall Insignia. With the van playing up I decided to replace it sooner rather than later. I decided to try and get one with a higher power output rating. The NOCO scores very high on Amazon.  I checked for prices and of course, Amazon with free delivery was the cheapest. It came part charged and so I had to charge it using the supplied USB-C charger.   I haven't had to use it yet. Then we will see.

It's a just over a week since we went to Audiology at Folkestone Royal Victoria hospital, and i had another hearing test. It managed to mix the heat with claustrophobia sitting in the little box. The result was pretty much the same as back in 2022 and again when we saw the private guy in Hythe.  My right ear almost useless. The solution from the private guy was a crossover system where the right ear aid Bluetooths to one in the left ear. Then it seems to the brain that you can hear through both ears. Magic. The private solution would be between £3000 and £3500. 😵‍💫 So I opted to wait for the NHS. That was last Wednesday. A time in the hotbox trying to hear the beeps. The result is I now have the Stretta crossover system. Once you have the app on the phone it connects to...

"Oh shit, here we go".. Opening the QR code through my phone camera, the solution was err, non existent.  A load of old bollocks.  In the end I rebooted and carried on as if nothing had happened. 

I just won a photography award on VIEWBUG! 📸🏆 #VIEWBUG #Photography https://www.viewbug.com  

Day 2 Another lazy do not a lot day. After yesterday's problems with the van not starting we put in behind us.  We made it through the day reading and relaxing.  Maybe it's difficult to explain, but being away in the van doing nothing much, is more restful than at home. Even Reggie is much calmer and more relaxed. Day 3 The test today.  Would the van start?  The Green Flag guy found nothing wrong on Sunday.  The battery was charging and I have the printout from the diagnostic machine he had.  It shows that the battery was good. We cleared away all the gear from outside the van. And then I had to get off the Milenco levellers. The engine started. I left it running as I tidied the levellers away.  Next stop the motorhome service area to dump our waste. All good? Nope. O...

After our stay a couple of weeks ago we decided to come again. The £17.50 a night on a grass only (no EHU) pitch was still running and so we booked another two nights. This time from Sunday to Tuesday. Packing the van up for two nights with our new larger outdoor mat and table we collected from Go Outdoors last time, was simple enough. I set the route to miss the narrow roads but TomTom Camper decided to choose the narrow road way. Until we got pretty much to where it thought we should be and my route.  Then it sorted itself out. On arrival we were met by the warden. I kept my foot on the brake so that the stop/start system didn't drive away.  On the Ducato when you come to a stop, the system stops the engine. When you release the foot brake, the engine restarts.  With an automatic, the van simply drives away.... Except it didn't this time. The engine didn't start. I put the gears in...

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly My rating: 5 of 5 stars Another Haller court procedural that keeps you glued to the book. Simply unable to stop! View all my reviews

The first game of the new season and it was an 8pm kick-off at the Emirates Stadium. With the trains as they are I was on the 4.57pm train from Folkestone West.  As it is still school holidays I has expected the train to be a little busy, but it was quite packed. It seems the trippers to Folkestone go home much earlier than in the past.   I got a seat as I stood where I used to for a decade on the train when I went to work. The doors open right in front of me.  I won't give away my secret.... I met Helen by Marks & Spencer in St Pancras and we voyaged to Arsenal on the Piccadilly Line.  There were rumours of delays but we got on the second train that came along. My brother Neill was already there but we didn't get the table we usually have as Phil wasn't there tonight! Instead we had to stand. It was Neill's turn for the drinks and we opted for Diet Sprite.   There's a new system in place. Barriers rather a queue. Barriers that take £10 off your ca...

Over 61? Then the government doesn't give a fuck if you might have prostate cancer... Or so it seems... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0pvxe5jgzo

I signed up for this. Not for the free t-shirt but because prostate cancer and me have a relationship that is ongoing for the last three years. The original ad photo.. I have seeded the Justgiving page with £10 plus the tax amounting to a further £2.50. The ChatGPT version with my face added  Donation page . Hopefully I will get some more donations. 

A winning start for Latics at home to Port Vale in League Two.  A very satisfactory start to the season. BBC Sport Sky Sports Highlights

This weekend, August 15th and 16th, is the Biddenden Tractorfest.  I have not been before and so when Kent Greyhound Rescue, where I volunteer, asked for people to work on a stand at the Fest, I said I would go. The job was simple as I only had to wrangle the dogs. We had four. Two bull lurchers, Frank and Peaches, and two greyhounds, Reef and Otto. The stand... Reef taking a rest after a walk As the day got hotter we kept alternating the dogs on the stand and into the car with the air conditioning on. We were on the main route for the tractor rides. I had a few walks with the dogs, one at a time, firstly to the classic car display.  There were bikes too. The old Lambretta is 65 years old in unrestored "patina". Later Peaches and I had a turn around another area where there we scaled down versions of full scale vehicles.  Around 1pm, it was g...

I have a habit of booking the first and last nights away on our trips to cement them in place.  This time I have booked the first only online. It's a place where we have stayed before and it's about two hours down the coast at Cayeux-sur-Mer.  There are now three Camping-Car Park aires in the area and I have chosen the one closest to the ville.  We stayed there the last time in 2024. These get cleared away at the end of summer!! At the moment it's just for the one night. I booked us from 12 noon so we have plenty of time to get there and know we have a space. We actually have three nights to work our way across the the central Normandy coast and the D-Day beaches.

After the heat and hassles of the last long trip to Spain and France, we had fallen out of love with motorhoming, just a little. Apart from a short trip, without Reggie, to Sissinghurst, we have done no trips at all in Malibu Molly. Some vloggers we watch on YouTube expressed the same sentiments about travelling in these heatwaves that western Europe has been having since around mid June. When you have a dog you are often restricted anyway to where you can go and take it/them with you. When you have an old dog, or one that has a few health problems, you have to be even more thoughtful.  The mountains in Spain have been pretty reasonable on the two previous occasions when we have "done" the Picos and Pyrenees . This year one day temperatures came up at 41C. The rest of the time they hovered around 35C to 38C. So this week we saw there was an offer at the Camping and Caravanning Club (CCC) for £17.50 a night for a grass ...