31st August 2009

Another lovely sunny start to the day, probably the best weather we've had since June in Portugal.  I got some washing done and we sat out in the sun.

As the campsite had a restaurant, we decided we’d treat ourselves and have lunch there.  It wasn't expensive, €6.80 each for a three-course meal so we were a bit wary.  It was a fixed menu so no choices, but at that price I thought it would be okay and I should try it.  Well the starter was smoked bacon soup, which was nice, followed by a cold beef and onion salad with sauté potatoes.  I didn't like that very much as it was actually three different kinds of meat and I wasn't sure what it all was so I left a lot of it.  Paul seemed to enjoy it though. Dessert was a strawberry mousse type thing and as the waiter noticed I had left a lot of my main course, he brought me a large serving of the mousse.  Unfortunately I didn't like that either.  Such a fuss pot, Paul ate all his and most of mine as well!

When we got back to the van we found that the clothes dryer had fallen over and our clothes were all over the ground.  I don't know how that happened because Paul had staked it to the ground.  There was a Dutch couple on the next pitch and they must have seen it happen, but they did nothing, just left them all lying there.  Paul noticed that they had a big ACSI banner inside their car and he heard them later up at reception talking to the owner.  Turns out they were ACSI inspectors.  Hmm, not very thoughtful or helpful ones eh?

We had a light dinner, just some tinned salmon with salad potatoes and then watched TV.  It was a much quieter day, no football.

30th August 2009

We got up and showered.  The facilities were very clean and tidy and didn't smell, unlike most of the French ones.  We had breakfast outside and as the weather was nice, Paul stayed outside and fiddled with his computer while I stayed inside.

Then a load of bigger boys turned up to play football.  We found out later that it was the local town team and they were pretty serious players.  Obviously the noise increased dramatically with lots of shouting from the pitch.  Then we caught a bunch of them standing by the river right opposite where we were pitched and they were all peeing in the river.  Bloody hell, footballers are the same everywhere, no thought for other people, didn't care about exposing themselves or anything.  Paul complained to one of the gardeners who was tidying up the site.

The football didn't stop until about 4:30 so we had noise all afternoon really.  So Paul took all the carpets out of the van and hoovered them.  We had dinner and watched TV as we could just about get a satellite signal.

29th August 2009

Tina: We were going to stay at this site in Belgium but I didn't want to, so we packed up the van and headed to Germany.  The Belgian Grand Prix is on this weekend and we drove past the Spa Francorchamps circuit.  There were loads of police and crowds of people everywhere and long traffic queues.
Spa Francorchamps Racing Circuit
We arrived at Prumtal Camping in the town of Oberweis in Germany.  The nearest big town is Bitburg and this area is called the Palatinate.  Paul parked at the entrance to the campsite, went in to see them and book in.  Officially their ACSI low rate doesn't start until tomorrow but the man said it was no problem and he’d give us the lower rate.  See, why couldn't that woman in Belgium do the same?  Isn't it better to have a customer at a low price rather than no customer at all?
First visit to Germany
We drove round the site to have a look, something we suggest you always do, and there seemed to be a lot of permanent pitches and in places it looked like a refugee camp, so we decided to go on and look for something else.  The next site was even worse, so we stopped and had something to eat, then drove back to the Prumtal one.  The owner was so friendly and helpful and he told us where to go to find the best pitch, which was down by the river that runs alongside the campsite and is actually quite nice.  The only thing was, there’s a road the other side of the river and behind our pitch was a large football ground where some kids were playing.  We hoped after the weekend it would be quieter as most people would go home.

The sun was out and when it was quiet you could just hear the water running in the river.  I spotted a black caterpillar with really spiky hairs all over it.  Paul thought it might be one of those poisonous ones that fall out of the trees.  We took some photos.
Is this a poisonous caterpillar?
Prumtal camping Oberweis near Bitburg

28th August 2009

We got up early, left Blackhorse Farm and headed for the Eurotunnel terminal.  We have a train about 09:30 I think, which means we should be there by 9am at the latest allowing for the time difference.

We had time to look around the shops at the terminal and Paul dumped our waste water and emptied the chemical toilet in the facility especially provided for Motorhomes and Coaches.  At least we'll start off all clean and new. I bought some books and magazines and Paul bought a large map covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland then we boarded the train.  No long wait this time, straight on.

We drove up to Belgium and headed for an ACSI listed site called Groenpark located near Ghent.  Paul had an email confirmation of this booking just to check that they would honour the out of season price as strictly speaking it was still in high season although by this weekend everybody was on their way home from holiday.  We parked opposite reception and went in to book in.  There was a lady there who seemed very harassed although I don't know why as the site was more or less empty.  When I asked her to confirm the price she said that the price we had was too low as it was still high season.  Paul commented that he had an email confirming the price, and she just said ‘no I'm not doing it at that price.’  We were dumfounded and determined not to pay the higher price which I think was €32 per night.  The problem was we didn't have an option close by but nevertheless we were not going to stop at that site even if it meant we would sleep by the roadside.

I have to say that the two bad experiences we had were both with Belgian run campsites, this one and another in south western France.  They seemed to be either money grabbing or just didn't like the British.  Shame as we have also had many pleasant experiences with Belgian people.

We turned round in their car park and left the site.  Paul stopped by the roadside and we tried phoning another campsite mentioned in the ACSI guide.  Luckily, these people were very pleasant said they had no problem giving us the off-season price as their season ended this last week.  The only problem was, the site was quite a long drive from here.  We jusy hoped it would be okay.

We arrived at Domaine Chateau de Dieupart at around 4pm, and the campsite was okay.  It was situated under the trees and beside a small river but it was a bit dark.  The facilities weren't brilliant but for one night it would do.
Tina at Domaine de Dieupart Belgium
Paul:  I was really furious with the Groenpark campsite woman.  I had an email confirmation in my hand and she refused to even look at it.  Arriving at the Domaine de Dieupart I was a bit worried as it was dingy and I could see from Tina's face that she wasn't impressed.  Nevertheless, we set up the van and went and had a look at the rest of the site.

They had a little restaurant by reception and I suggested we might eat there but the menu was very limited so we decided against it.  Tina decided to have a shower, but you needed a token, which we got from reception.  She was worried that the token wouldn't last long but the guy on reception assured us it would be fine.  

The weather was warmish so we sat outside and had some wine before we had dinner inside.  We’ve learned not to sit outside by water as it's just asking to be bitten by mosquitoes.

27th August 2009

Tina: We left Littlehampton and headed to Folkestone.  We are going back to Europe again. Now the prices will have dropped as we are officially out of season at the end of August, and Paul has booked a couple of campsites already who say they will honour the lowest price according to the ACSI guide. We stopped and bought some sandwiches at a Tesco along with some other things and we also topped up our LPG tank.  This is the first time since we set out back in April, so we were surprised to note that it was slightly over half full still.  It's a bit daunting filling up as you have this feeling that messing around with gas can be dangerous.  It's similar to filling up with diesel or petrol in that you have a gun type thing on the pump itself, but you have to lock it onto the filler on the van and then you can pump the gas in.   Also, when you've finished and disconnect the gun, there is a big bang as the connector comes off which when you're not expecting it, makes you jump.  It cost about £9 to fill the tank back up so using gas this way is really cheap.

We arrived at Blackhorse Farm about 2:30 so I had time to do some much needed washing and I hung it to dry on our new whirly line although it wasn't warm enough to dry very well.  We had some dinner and watched TV.  Tomorrow we're off abroad again!


Some notes on our UK Summer Tour

Another 3,200 miles from John O'Groats to Lands End, and the van is still running perfectly.  We’ve had a couple of breakages, the awning pole and the security catch on the fridge, but these were replaced at Warminster.  UK campsites are generally clean and tidy but some are a bit worn out now and need updating.  You only need to compare some of them with the new site at Littlehampton to notice the difference.  I'm interested to see Germany as we've heard some good things especially about the state of their showers and things.  Let's wait and see huh?

26th August 2009

Paul:  I've booked us on the Eurotunnel train for Friday and we are going to try touring through Belgium and Holland on our way to Germany.  We’ve heard some good and bad things about Germany so we're interested to see what it's really like.  I also want to show Tina some mountains as she's never really seen big ones and we are going to try and get as far as Austria and Switzerland.  The provisional plan is to gradually work our way down towards Spain again for the winter, but as we can't get a TV signal beyond there, and as 3 have stopped providing free internet access in Austria, I think it more likely that we'll come back to England again once the weather deteriorates.

On the way to Littlehampton, we stopped off at a caravan accessory store in Southampton and bought a whirly washing line and Tina pinched an end cap for one of the chairs, naughty.  What she didn't know is I had done the same thing and so now we had a spare as well!

We stopped at Tesco in Chichester and arrived at the campsite in Littlehampton about 3:30.  This is a newly opened site next to the amenity tip just on the edge of town but don't be put off,  it's a nicely laid out site.  All the showers are brand new and the wardens are very friendly.
Littlehampton Caravan Club site
Tina played AC in the afternoon until Sandy came and collected us about 5:30 and we went to their house for dinner and to sort out our mail and things.  Tina and Sandy were looking at Jo's wedding dress (Sandy's daughter) which was apparently lovely and only cost £50, it was made in China.  You order your own design from a shop on e-Bay and then the design is sent to China where they make it and ship it back to you.

25th August 2009

It's raining again this morning so we are staying in the van.  I did computer stuff like editing photographs and things and also more of my book.  In the evening the fish and chip van came and there was a queue a mile long so we waited and although not the best we'd eaten, it was nice not to have to cook.

24th August 2009

Today we are going to go round the wildlife park and grounds so we got up early, walked up the road a bit and found the entrance to the park.  We bought passport tickets which were £23 for me and only £17 for Paul as he is a Senior Citizen now ha ha!  These tickets allow you access to everything except the safari tour bus which is extra.  Paul said he wouldn't take the van through the park and have Monkeys climbing all over it and pulling bits off it, we will take the bus so we can see all the animals close up.
Longleat Caravan Club site
It did rain in the morning a few times but we went into the house and looked around and then we walked back to the van and had some lunch so we didn't get soaked.  We took the bus tour in the afternoon.

It was excellent as the driver is able to stop in places you couldn't do in your car.  At one point we were so close to the lions and he opened the bus doors and asked if anyone wanted to come forward and take pictures.  It was a bit scary as you could have leaned out of the door and almost touched them.  Then we went on the boat trip round the lake.  Whilst we were waiting in the queue we could talk to the meerkats in their enclosure, they are Paul's favourite animal and they are so cute, especially the babies.

On the boat we had the sea lions chasing alongside and could see the hippos in the centre of the lake.  We slowed and stopped alongside the island where their gorilla Nico lives, and were surprised to see a television aerial on his little hut.  According to the guide he loves watching TV especially since he lost his partner last year and is now probably quite lonely.  Unfortunately he is too old and set in his ways for them to introduce a new female so he must remain on his own now.  Sad really.

Meerkats at Longleat
Nico the Gorilla
Next it was the railway trip round the whole site which was also interesting.  This is the first proper touristy thing we've done since visiting Monet's gardens in France.  We had a lovely day, well worth the money actually.

By the way, last night we did hear the lions roaring as we were going to sleep.  It must be wonderful in the wild to hear all these sounds on a real safari.

23rd August 2009

We left Bagwell Farm about 08:15 and we are now headed for Longleat in Wiltshire.  The Caravan Club have a campsite right on the Wildlife Park and we are quite excited about staying amongst the Lions and other wild animals.  We only stopped for fuel on the way as we have enough food to last us. I didn't eat that much at the BBQ yesterday just one sausage and half a hamburger and some of the rice stuffed mushrooms that Steve cooked.

On the way, we stopped at Webb's Caravans at Warminster to get a new catch for the fridge door and an awning pole which had broken.  They weren't overly helpful or friendly, what a contrast to Johns Cross in Kent.

We arrived at Longleat about 11:30 and for a change the weather was warm and sunny so we sat outside for a bit and had some lunch.

I did some editing in the afternoon and we then came and sat outside again in the evening with a nice glass of wine.  We can hear the sea lions barking from here as we are actually in the middle of Longleat grounds, just behind the house.  They say you can hear the lions roaring in the night, I hope they don't escape!

We noticed that they have a fish and chip van visit on Tuesdays so we might have that for dinner mmm!

22nd August 2009

We got up early and I had a shower at 7 am, I often wake up this early.  We walked to a car boot sale in the next field with Steve & Ann.  I don't think we are really car boot sale people because most of what we saw was other people's rubbish and it started to drizzle with rain as well.
Played Wii in the afternoon for a couple of hours as Steve & Ann had some things to do.  They came back about 3:30 and started setting up the BBQ's.  Steve had two and we had one and there was plenty to drink.

Steve at the BBQ Bagwell Farm
We even tried some of Steve's vegetarian food.  Lisa and Dritan turned up and also Moira, Ann's sister and we had a pleasant afternoon chatting and playing music.

Paul & I turned in about 8pm as I was tired and it was getting cold. The campsite is quite nice and has a bathroom with an actual bath, first time we've seen that on any campsite, however, it's a little bit more expensive than we expected at £22 per night.  Lisa & Dritan bought us a couple of pottery ducks to put outside our van when we are pitched. Aww that was nice of them.

21st August 2009

We moved on from Cornwall and headed for Weymouth.  We're booked into another private site which Paul's niece Lisa's husband works on. We stopped en route at Tesco in Dorchester and stocked up with food including burgers and salad stuff as we're having a BBQ with Steve & Ann and their daughter and her kids.

We arrived at Bagwell Farm and met Lisa's husband Dritan at the reception, and he led us down to a pitch where we saw Steve & Ann's motorhome, couldn't miss it really as it has a bright orange roof ha ha.  He parked us alongside.  The site is a sort of terraced layout with steep banks at the back of each pitch.  Unfortunately Paul caught the back of the van on the bank as he was manoeuvring but there's no real damage just a mark.
Bagwell Farm - Steve & Anne's Hoochy
After about an hour Steve & Ann arrived with Elenna.  Had a nice afternoon with them and then Lisa turned up later on.  Dritan and Lisa then left to go home and we went to a nearby pub for dinner with Steve & Ann.

20th August 2009

Didn't do very much today as we have no internet.  I just edited some more of my book, played Bejewelled and Paul planned some more of our journey and booked some more campsites.  It was also very very windy, the worst we've experienced so no awning and we stayed inside most of the time.  There's only one other caravan in this part so it's nice and quiet.
Treamble Caravan Club site

19th August 2009

We got up, showered and left the campsite to drive to Cornwall.  We stopped at the proverbial Tesco in Redruth and got some shopping and then drove on to Lands End.  We were meant to pay at the car park but as it was £10 and we only wanted to take some photos, I managed to persuade them to let us park in a temporary spot and I ran down to the where the sign is and took some photos.

There were so many tourists having photos taken that I couldn't get a full photo of the sign but I did get the bit that said Lands End to John O'Groats.
Land's End to John O'Groats 874 miles
We then drove to St Michael's Mount so we could see it, as we had been at Mont Saint Michel in France and this is the sister site.  We took some photos so now we have both of them.
St Michael's Mount
We went on and found our next campsite, Treamble Valley, another Caravan Club site. The site is okay but we can't get a phone or Internet signal.  Paul did manage to get a satellite TV signal though.   We're down on a separate part of the site that is all hard standing and it's not too far from the showers.

18th August 2009

Maria came out again and Shanice took the kids off to play in the park.  Maria and I had a look at the static holiday homes show house they have on site. We both liked it.

Mum & Dad came out again and Maria left about 12:30.  They left about 2pm and Paul and I stayed outside for a bit longer and then we went in and had dinner and watched TV.

Tomorrow we're off to Cornwall.  We're going to go to Land's End so we can take a photo of us at the identity post so we have a record of us doing Land's End to John O'Groats.

17th August 2009

We got up early and took the park and ride from Coypool into Plymouth Town to do some shopping.  Paul bought a couple of T-shirts and we bought some DVD's to watch when it's raining- Batman and Pirates of the Caribbean boxed sets.

We had pasties from Ivor Dewdneys for lunch and then got the bus back. We sat outside for a bit but it wasn't very warm so we retired inside and watched TV.  We have a good internet signal so we were both on the computer for a while.

16th August 2009

This site is absolutely full of caravans and tents.  Funny things is most people are local Plymothians or from not very far away.  What's the point of hooking up a caravan only to drive two miles to the nearest campsite? It's very noisy, loads of kids and the loos and showers are filthy.  Next time we're down here we'll go to the Caravan and Camping Club site near Tavistock I think.

Maria arrived about 10:30am with the kids.  They were okay.  It was nice to see them all again.  Wayne & Kirsty arrived too.  They all left about 2pm and Paul & I sat in the sun, what there was of it, and then went inside and sat on the computers for a while.  We managed to get the washing we’d taken to Mums dry, so that was good. We had dinner and watched TV.

15th August 2009

We left Brynich and headed off to Plymouth.  It took longer than we hoped because the traffic was  really slow on the M5, the only time we had decided we would take the Motorway. We stopped off at Tesco in Exeter then went on to the Riverside site in Plymouth.  This will be the third time we've stayed here, but probably the last.  It was very busy, as you'd expect this time of year I suppose.  We arrived about 3pm and then Dad arrived about 3:15 and took us back to their house.  We had fish & chips for dinner.  Their new bathroom is lovely, really nice.  Also they have a new hall carpet and lounge furniture and wallpaper, Dad's done a good job of the decorating.

He took us back to the campsite around 8pm and we watched TV and went to bed.  I had left some washing with Mum who had kindly washed it all for me to take back.  Thanks Mum!

14th August 2009

This morning we set off to try and find the pub/restaurant and see what it was like, our intention being to return tonight for a meal.

Well it turned out to be more than 20 minutes across fields and along a dark track in the woods.  At one point we were walking in a sunken lane, when above us I heard a huge cow moo in a loud deep voice.  It was so close above our heads, that it scared the life out of me and Paul couldn't stop laughing.  Not funny!

We found the pub but didn't bother to go in, it looked positively mediocre, and was too far to walk in the dark tonight so we walked all the way back.  Never mind, at least we got some exercise!

In the evening we went on the computers again, had dinner and watched TV.

13th August 2009

We left Shawsmead this morning and drove down to the Brecon Beacons.  We were going to stop for some provisions, but we couldn't find a supermarket with a parking spot.  Never mind, we have enough to last us for a few days.

We're aiming for the Brynich Caravan Club site.  We arrived mid afternoon and set up next to a couple with a caravan and chatted to them for a bit. This used to be a privately owned site and was recently acquired by the Caravan club.  There is a small supermarket at reception which is unusual for them but it is only half stocked at the moment.  There was also a restaurant, but they haven't got anyone to run that yet so it remains closed, shame!  They mentioned that there was a pub restaurant within about five minutes walking distance.

12th August 2009

Tina: The weather has brightened up this afternoon so we both sat outside and Paul played guitar.  We had a couple of glasses of wine and later went inside and watched TV and I played AC

11th August 2009

We had a bit of a contretemps with a couple on the pitch behind us last night.  Whilst I was setting up the satellite Tina overheard the occupants of the pitch, a rather fat handicapped man and his wife, comment that it was ‘amazing how some people couldn’t be without TV for five minutes.’  This was said in a loud voice that we could hear quite clearly so his obvious intent was to be rude.  So Tina said to him that if we were on holiday for two weeks then we would do without TV, but as we were travelling for a year we looked forward to having a TV available.  Cheeky git, someone will thump him one day, handicapped or not.

Our pitch was on a steep slope and I'd had trouble trying to get us level so decided to move to another pitch that had become available. After moving I took a walk up the road as there is another fishing lake close by and I intended to go fishing again.  However, it started to drizzle with rain and I'm only a fair-weather fisherman so decided not to go. We both spent the rest of the day on the computer.

Lovely weather we're having this summer NOT! I think it's the worst summer we've had for years.
Shawsmead campsite Llanarth

10th August 2009

Left the site about 9am and headed back into Wales towards Snowdonia.  We want to see some of the mountains and valleys.   We stopped at a Tesco in Shrewsbury and stocked up with food.  It was a very long drive although we did detour to Snowdon and Port Merion.  Trouble was it rained again and was very misty so we couldn't see much really.
Into the mountains of Snowdonia
As we couldn't see much on the journey, we didn't have much of an impression of Wales which was probably unfair, I'm sure it's amazing but you do need to see it to form an opinion!

We arrived at the campsite at around 5pm and set up.  We were both tired as it had been a long day, 8 hours in the van, and Tina doesn't like lots of driving.

9th August 2009

Didn't do any fishing today as we decided we'd have lunch in the campsite restaurant. Our food took ages to arrive, nearly an hour for starters, and although it was good, we couldn't eat it all which was a bit of a waste.

Tina has been complaining of indigestion at night recently, I guess it's because we do seem to have been eating a lot of carbs and sugar and bread since we came back to the UK.  We must try and cut back a bit.  Also smaller portions are a good idea!

Tina edited her book in the afternoon and I sat out in the sun, I'm actually getting a bit sunburned now.  I had a snooze.  Tina made a rice pudding in the slow cooker for dinner.  It was nice but Tina thought it wasn't up to much.  And she's a rice pudding expert!

8th August 2009

We drove to a fishing tackle shop close by the campsite as I wanted to buy a few extra things, some more bait and a better reel as the one with the basic kit was exactly that, basic.  We then came back to the campsite and went fishing again.  It took a bit of time to set up the new stuff because the line kept being dragged off the reel by the wind.  I had to rewind the new line I'd bought, but once I'd done that everything was fine and we spent the afternoon by the lake.

Although there are no monsters in the lake I caught a good few mirror carp and some bream all about 2-3 lbs and Tina was doing a great job landing them all in the landing net.  She was enjoying herself and she didn't think she would do at all.  She even tried to remove a hook from a fish but as soon as she touched it, it wriggled and she screamed and dropped it ha ha!

We stopped about 5pm and went back to the van.  A large glass of wine and a casserole that Tina had been cooking in the slow cooker finished the day off rather nicely.  We were both tired and ready for bed, must be all this fresh air.

7th August 2009

Paul: We got up early and had breakfast. Today we’e going fishing, I don't think Tina has ever been before and I haven't been since the early 90's when I lived by the river in Oxford. I've bought a very basic fishing set from Argos and it has all the necessities. Let's see how we get on.

We got to the lake after buying a day permit from the reception and I set up all the stuff.  This bored Tina at first but as soon as I started to catch some fish, mostly rudd and roach, she got quite excited.  I even gave her the rod and let her have a go.
Tina Fishing

6th August 2009

We left Wales and headed partially back the way we had come making for Whitchurch and Shrewsbury.   We didn't get a chance to say goodbye to the Geordie couple as they were still asleep at 9am when we left. We got some shopping at Tesco and arrived quite early, 11:30, at the campsite.  This is the adult only site and we're really looking forward to it.  Hope the weather holds.
We sat out in the sun for a bit and I edited my book.  I really want to get it finished so I can have it printed in paperback form.  We went for a walk up to the fishing lakes, which looked good so tomorrow we're going fishing for the day.  This is a lovely site, it has a restaurant and is very well maintained, the loos and showers are excellent, there's trees and lawns and lots of ducks everywhere.
Beaconsfield Farm Park Campsite Shrewsbury

5th August 2009

It was a lovely day today.  We spent most of it sitting in the sun outside.  We had coffee with the Geordies across the way and invited them to join us for lunch and we had a nice afternoon drinking and chatting.  We both actually caught the sun.  We spent the evening on our own watching TV.

4th August 2009

Woke up to another drizzly rainy day, so we'll be spending the day in the van again!  I did some more editing on my book and Paul read and played guitar.
In the evening the sun came out and it was quite warm.  We got talking to a couple in a caravan on the opposite pitch, who are from Newcastle and were really friendly.  Okay, so all caravanners are NOT the same.  They had a couple of kids but they were grown up so no problems there.  It's nice to have some good weather for a change.

3rd August 2009

We left the campsite and headed into Wales aiming for The Lady Margaret Caravan Club Site near Chirk.  We tried to stop at a Post Office as Paul needed to get his fishing licence but we couldn't park.  Later on we spotted another Post Office that had a large car park opposite so we were able to stop there and get the licence.  Now he can fish anywhere that's suitable.  The next campsite actually has a fishing lake so he's really looking forward to that.

We arrived at the new campsite after a roundabout journey through some narrow country lanes, which at times was a bit hairy.  The warden said that they had loads of hardstands but when we drove around, caravans had occupied all of them!  We've come to the conclusion that caravanners generally are pretty selfish, some of them were really small and didn't need a hard standing at all.  They also let their dogs wander everywhere even though campsite rules usually say dogs not allowed off their leashes, their children are the same, the number of times we've seen kids running over other peoples pitches and making loads of noise, and now they take all the hard standing pitches.
Lady Margaret Campsite Chirk
So, we parked on grass pitch and I went off to do some washing as we had loads of it.  I managed to tumble dry it all so that's a big job out of the way. I made a roast again for dinner and it turned out a hell of a lot better than last time, thank goodness.

2nd August 2009

Didn't do much today, I went on the computer and Paul read his book and fiddled about with the van. In the evening we sat outside with the i-Pod playing through the docking station and Paul was playing his guitar.  A couple opposite were actually singing along to some of the songs although it wasn't very loud. Suddenly a man walked over to us from a pitch about 50 meters away and asked us to turn the music off.  This was about 7pm and we were waiting for our dinner to cook. No one else had complained, what a miserable sod!  You’d have thought that people would enjoy a little music, it was mostly country stuff like The Eagles, Cat Stevens.  I wandered down to where they were pitched and I couldn't hear a thing except a car next to them that had a radio playing so I don't know what their problem was!

We watched TV and I played AC.

1st August 2009

We really needed some provisions, food mainly, so we drove to Macclesfield via Buxton.  We stopped in a Sainsbury to get our shopping and when we came out and were putting the shopping away inside the van, a man of about Paul's age parked next to us and proceeded to get out and bang his car door on the side of our van.  Paul went out and said to him, ‘That's right, just slam your door into the side of my van, it only cost me £45,000!’  The man started to walk away and said as an aside, ‘well you shouldn't take up so much space then’.   He then turned and put his face right up against Paul's so they were face to face, well as he was a bit taller than Paul, face to nose, and they were both arguing.  Then Paul said, ‘Stop winding me up or I'm gonna break your nose for you.’ Well that made me laugh.  I went outside and got in between them to stop it escalating, and told the bloke to shut up and that we were entitled to do our shopping as much as he was, and if there was no room why didn't he just find another spot rather than damage our vehicle.  He called a parking attendant over and said we were taking up too much room and shouldn't be allowed to park in this car park. To his surprise, the parking attendant said, ‘They're okay there.’  Well the other man wouldn't leave it and kept on at Paul until the attendant told him to pack it in and go and do his shopping.

Ha ha I thought that it was all really funny, although Paul was getting quite worked up about it.  We left the car park before the man came back.  It just shows you that some people are really inconsiderate and no matter how careful you are parking, they think you’re a nuisance and will think nothing of damaging your property because they are jealous I suppose.

We drove on to a Tesco as I needed the loo and we stopped and ate our lunch in their car park being careful not to upset anyone else ha ha. We then went to a fishing tackle shop and Paul bought some bait for fishing although I wouldn't let him buy maggots.  He’d have wanted to put them in the fridge and I'm not having that ugh!

We got back to the van and I did some more editing and Paul went on the computer.