[Not expecting any new readers at this time, there’s no ‘sticky’ post at the head of this sequence; if anyone wants to see the ‘backstory’, try scrolling down to “The Story So Far”, dated December 31st. Go, Harry!]

 December 30th, 2012: Leaving little Sally-car in charge of Sunejo, THEY were eventually ready to drive away – at 12.15 – for our new year visit to England. There was a wedding to get them to, and I needed an MoT test certificate. The weather was sunny and the Pyrenees snow-covered. 

View of Pyrenees as we drive away.

But at Pamiers we turned our back to the mountains, took a toll ticket and tootled northwards. A very quiet night on the Aire de Porte de Corrèze, 35 kms south of Limoges.

December 31st: ALWAYS fill up at Limoges! There’s a big Carrefour Centre Commercial just off junction 37, where the fuel is well below the motorway price, but HE thought we had plenty and didn’t need to stop …. HA! By Chartres HE was desperate to find fuel at any price. (Actually, we had enough for another 50 kms, but I didn’t tell HIM that till we were almost at a ‘station service’!)

Remembering a difficult time getting round Paris with little Sally in October, THEY decided to go via Rouen. There was a diversion round a closed flyover, but it gave us a chance to see Rouen’s lights:

Rouen’s festive lights

Then a bit further on, parked in dreadful weather at Bosc Mesnil service area, THEY enjoyed a real New Year’s Festive Feast, a true Harry Special:

                                         CHEZ HARRY

                                  Menu du St. Sylvestre 2012

                   Truite Fumée, garnie de sa petite salade

                                          Lapin au Van

                                    Choix de Fromages

                       Le Pudding de Noël, sauce au rhum

                                            Café

                            Armagnac ou Whisky, au choix

Tuesday, 1st January, 2013: The awful weather continued through the night, with the wind rocking me a bit and the rain hammering on my roof (“It was a dark and stormy night …”) and the New Year began in the same way. But – and this has happened before – as we got near the Channel, the wind dropped, the skies cleared and the White Cliffs of Dover could be seen from France. A smooth crossing ended with a super sunset – I didn’t get to see it, of course, parked DOWN THERE, but THEY took some pictures:

A friendly native?

Arriving at sundown we get a different view of the White Cliffs.

We were booked in to the Club site at Welwyn, but Chrys & Jan invited us to a meal with them and made space for me, with hook-up, on their forecourt, so THEY slept in the house that night. HE left my central light on all night which caused the neighbour over the road a bit of concern, but never mind.

2nd January: We moved to Welwyn, mainly to be nearer to Hitchin where the MoT place is, then THEY went visiting in Jan’s car which they’d borrowed. 

3rd January: HE took me to Hitchin where the specialist Motorhome service people were going adjust my rear lights (fog light was on the wrong side for the British MoT) before doing the test. SHE went and had her hair cut and picked HIM up later at the garden centre next door. Then THEY went and had lunch with Hilde. What THEY didn’t know till later was that owing to a misunderstanding between the boss and the mechanic, I got a full service as well as the lights job and the test! No charge for that, of course, cos THEY hadn’t asked for it. The test was OK, too – there’s nothing wrong with me …..

4th January: Travelled to Mudeford and parked up on the Caravan Site at Bransgore. Then we went to find Martyn & Jas in their new house. While we were there – and THEY were treated to a nice evening meal – THEY told Martyn about the missing handle for extending the dining table at Sunejo. Martyn said he could make one up during the weekend; and he did! (It would be a while before we could find out if it worked  ….)

5th January: HE went to see the chiropractor for some work on his leg and later we went to look for Trevor at the Premier Inn. THEY found him and Pam with a party of about 20 having a meal at the Beefeater Pub beside the Inn. People made room and THEY joined in. (This wasn’t a gatecrash – honest! We had been invited, but hadn’t fully understood the nature of the invitation.)

January 6th: THEY had a really good pub lunch and then on to the Church for Trevor and Pam’s wedding. Weather not good and parking difficult, but a very nice Church:

January 6th – the setting for Pam and Trevor’s wedding.

standing room only, and a lovely atmosphere. 

Nice cake, too:

January 7th: Up early for some more treatment to HIS leg, then the drive North to Golcar with a break in Stockport for a meal with Dan. They manoeuvred me round to the back of the Manse in Golcar – didn’t like the shunting on that steep bit –  and ran the cable out from the garage. It was cold, but I kept THEM cosy!

January 8th: It’s disappointing, but although we have plenty of good photos from these two days, we have to be cautious about publishing them. Still, here’s Nina’s Snowman:

Harry had a day off on the 8th, so I’ll write this. There was an exchange of presents when the children came home from Playgroup, then in spite of indifferent weather we all walked up the hill to the Golcar Lily for lunch. Later, after bedtime, Chris & Michelle beat us at bridge – thanks for that!

January 9th: My turn again! Unfortunately, six people can’t travel in me, but they can eat! Chris and the little boy sat behind the table, and HE drove, while SHE went in a little red car with the other girlies. Little red car was a bit like our Sally, but not really; Japanese, I think. I don’t think she speaks French …

We went to the open farm at Cannon Hall near Barnsley, then everyone got round my table and HE made scrambled eggs for all six. Then they went off to see the animals

and play in the playground, where Dad and Grandad had fun pushing the children in a basket swing: 

January 10th: We moved on, but not far. Rachel and Sean now live near Wakefield, so that was next resting point. On the way, we called at HIS old school, Silcoates, where the changes are significant, but the old buildings are still recognisable, though the swimming pool is not!:

Silcoates School swimming pool – but not as Philip and I remember it!

January 11th: We zoomed up the A1 to visit Florence and congratulate her on her MBE. Back at Oakleigh Close, Sean had been to fetch Megan and Becky, so there was time for a quick ‘Hello’ before bedtime.

January 12th: Another day out; the girls and Rachel rode in me, while Sean took HER in a funny little car with only two seats. Not Rachel’s Smartie, a sporty MG. We went to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and after lunch at the restaurant they all went for a walk round this big Park with wierd sculpures dotted around.

HE says his leg seemed a lot better after the treatment in Mudeford. 

Back with me, everyone had tea (or coffee) and Christmas cake.

Sunday January 13th: The first leg of the journey south. Easy travelling down to Surbiton. Fine weather, in spite of constant warnings of snow expected. GPT had tried very hard to find a place for me to park while THEY slept chez Carol, who has also just moved home into the flat next to her Parents’. (Parenthesis for the potentially confused: we have a duplication of Carols, Chrisses and Seans! The Carol referred to here is my niece. GPT is my brother, known by his middle name, Phil(ip).)  Thank you! In the event HE was able to manouevre me into a visitor’s parking space inside Porton Court, which Philip had grabbed when it came free, by putting his own car on it.

Once in, I stayed there till Tuesday morning, with my diesel heater running to avoid issues with water freezing.

So while Harry just kept that heater ticking over and a watchful eye (headlight?) on comings and goings, we were entertained first to tea /coffee and birthday cake ( Christine’s x0th …, congratulations, or something) then to Sherry (“What you don’t drink you take with you” – I like that idea! When I’m the guest, of course.) That evening we took our joint hosts, and Judi, out for a meal at the nearby Café Rouge.

Monday 14th: Retail day! Philip was kind enough to provide transport, insisting that Harry should stay where he was so as not to lose the parking space, and we hit the shops! First, a cookshop within walking distance provided the grill pan we’ve been needing since we arrived at Sunejo, then we all four went into Kingston. The weather was unhelpful (though worse was to come, we know) and THAT leg was playing up again. Shopping at John Lewis’s, where we had lunch weather-watching over the river, was a bit disappointing (i.e. we didn’t buy anything), but useful jobs were achieved with good service at Barclays (What? Praise for a BANK?? Let it not be said that I don’t give credit where it’s due – or that they don’t!) and we did shop at B & Q, Boot’s and Sainsbury’s. Our final evening, for now, in England was spent convivially at Porton Court.  

Tuesday 15th January: Apart from a jacket which HE left hanging in Carol’s wardrobe, we were packed up and road-ready by 8.50am. Even with a stop at Maidstone I got them to Dover with the suggested hour to spare (for once!) but this time the boat was late – when we should have been sailing the ferry still hadn’t docked  from the crossing from Calais. The weather had been good and there was a better view than sometimes of Dover Castle, from the road:

The Pride of Britain is one of P & O’s newest ships and very nice on board, THEY say, but the crew made me drive up a very steep ramp to the deck above where we went on, and I did not like that at all – kicked up a bit of a stink about it in fact! (He did, not us; it was his clutch – he’s never liked going uphill slowly.)

THEY had a good meal during the crossing, but we were still 30 minutes late at Calais. We had to pick up fuel before getting on the motorway and heading for Rouen where Daniel (another duplicate name – French teacher of English, not Carol’s son!) was waiting to be taken out for a meal to celebrate his birthday of yesterday. We were there before 7, in spite of everykind of bad weather in Picardie – AGAIN!  

Wind, snow, rain, hail, ice …. well maybe not hail, but at one point my driver’s side wiper was iced up, which was a bit disconcerting for HIM.

Daniel let us run a cable from his garage so that the fridge and a heater could run overnight, and I believe THEY had a good meal at Daniel’s chosen restaurant.

Wednesday January 16th: The electricity was a good thing because a little bit of snow fell overnight, but then the temperature in the morning was below zero. Daniel had to be at a commitment in Rouen first thing in the morning, so an early start was convenient. However, HE didn’t go through the pre-moving checklist which includes the warning about keeping right and cheerfully set off on the WRONG SIDE of the road! The motorist coming round the first bend the other way got a bit of a shock … 

Having got out of that safely with lots of apologetic waving, smiling and “GB – nuts!” gestures, we managed to cover the 400 kms to the now familiar Porte de Corrèze service area without further incident. Except that we DID pull off the motorway at J37 and go to Carrefour to fill up – some people do learn from experience! The parking area at Porte de Corrèze was covered by a thin layer of snow over ice, but no big worry.

Wrong Aire! This is actually Aire Jardin …. (see below)

Heading for home through beautiful snowy scenery, SHE became totally snap-happy and there are SO MANY pictures to choose from:

During a lunch break at Aire Jardin, it was possible to take contrasting pictures from those taken in November:

BUT no-one had realised just how icy this parking area was! When we tried to go, I just couldn’t get a grip! All I could do was spin!

Still, what do we carry an old curtain in the back for? Just a little adventure … something to relieve the ‘ennui’ of a long journey.

By Toulouse the snow had more or less vanished. We stopped at Pamiers for fuel and to order some thingies (a patio set and a rug) at Mr. Bricolage, then made our way home. Little Sally was waiting for us under her shelter and all was well in the house –

EXCEPT it was very cold! We’d probably overdone the reduction of the heating to ‘frost protection’ only, so we tried to warm it up by using all available heaters. This seemed to cause an overload! At first we thought there was a problem with the socket for plugging in Harry’s cable, but then it cut out again – about the 4th time – with him disconnected. We decided to reduce the heaters to 1kw each and warm ourselves with mulled wine!

Next morning, whereas in October we had a magnificent sunrise, this time we had SNOW:

But it didn’t last; it turned to drizzle and disappeared, and when the time came to go into Chalabre, little Sally-car started on the first turn of the key.

Mais naturellement! How else would I welcome you home and wish you

BONNE ANNEE!!

(Which is French for “HIPPO BLUE BEER!”)

Aber nein – dass ist ja Blôdsinn – that’s just silly.

Il est comme ça, tu sais – that’s how HE is ….

I did it! I did it! Je l’ai fait, moi, toute seule, no Harry, just me – 

Sally! Slow down! You’re jumping ahead – the last entry in the diary finished at the end of Rachel’s party. 

Ah, oui, c’est vrai, excusez-moi. Sorry! Well, M’sieur was getting better, M’dame getting worse, but we left the Travel Lodge on Sunday morning and took the M6 after filling up at Tesco’s near Rachel’s. Although destination was Hilde’s in Baldock, we had to go via Potter’s Bar to pick up the THINGS that M’sieur & M’dame had left there (deliberately!) at the start of the month. That included the guitar bag they bought in London – very bulky, and nothing in it; c’est ridicule, ça!   

But I need a new guitar bag! 

That’s what you said about the trousers and the dressing gown. 

And the sherry. 

Ah, oui, le sherry, cheri. Ça pèse, tu sais – it’s heavy, is that. 

Stop grumbling – you managed. 

I did, didn’t I? Most of the journey south through England was in fine October sunshine, with lovely autumn colours:

but by the time we were ready to leave Potters Bar it was drizzly and generally ‘moche’, and at Baldock, it was just WET. And guess what? M’dame couldn’t find her phone! M’sieur was just going to call it to see if it would ring somewhere when a texty-thingy came through saying it was in Potters Bar! C’est incroyable! Would you believe it? More work for me, I suppose, to go back and get it. Well, not that evening! 

No, not that evening, next evening, Monday. Sunday evening, Hilde had a nice supper ready for us and then we watched THAT television programme.

 Monday 22^nd October:   Hilde had planned a lunch party so that some old friends could get together while we were in the country. An excellent lunch was enjoyed, then – by popular demand – another viewing of the video. Time passed quickly, but when the party broke up at about 5.30, we made that final trip to Potters Bar to retrieve the phone left behind the day before. 

You also did some shopping! 

We still hadn’t bought the sherry. 

Back at Hilde’s we looked at some pictures of Sunejo and the surroundings before turning in for our last night, for now, in England. 

Tuesday 23^rd October  The day began foggy and damp, but M’sieur managed to re-organise things so that there was at least a little slit of a view through my back window and at 8.40 we were away en route to Dover. Well, we didn’t get far before we came to traffic alternately standing or crawling. M’dame tried to organise a detour but we rejoined the A1M in the same queue 20 minutes later. But eventually it all began to move again, and the M25 was clear approaching the Dartford Crossing (Bridge). We had time for a brief stop at Maidstone and got to Dover – with very little fuel, as planned, at 12.30. Most of the way it had been wet or foggy, but as we got near the coast the sun broke through to show a calm, blue sea. Once again, we found sunshine in the south, but this time we didn’t have to travel 1,000kms to get to it! 

While waiting at the harbour, M’sieur phoned M. Antoine, who has been looking after Harry, and we got the news we were hoping not to hear: the part for Harry’s repair has not even been delivered yet, and M. Antoine doesn’t know when he will get it! This means I have to take M’sieur et M’dame all the way home, not just to Poitiers. That’s over 1,000kms  and they want me to do it in a day and a half, with them and all that STUFF! C’est un défi, ça – je ne suis que petite. It’s a big challenge for a little car like me. 

We know and you did very well. The crossing remained smooth, but the sunshine didn’t come with us, and it became increasingly foggy so that for a short while we were unable to dock.. But we had quite a good meal and once off the ferry (near the front again!) we filled up and headed off towards Paris through pleasant autumnal sunshine and colours. 

Mais Paris! C’était affreux, mais AFFREUX ! Awful, really awful.

English people who think the M25 can be bad don’t know ANYTHING about traffic jams! We were hoping to cover 250 – 300 kms from Calais, we only managed just over 200. And those crazy bikers! I don’t know how they stay alive – well, I guess some of them don’t …. 

At half past eight we were near St. Michel Sur Orge and found this area with two resaurants and four or five hotels – 

But – no room at the inn! 

There’s no need to tell it like that – you’re not Mary and Joseph, are you? 

No, but we went from hotel to hotel, only to be told with varying degrees of sympathy that they were ‘complet’ – full. Then at the last of the group – and by chance, the least expensive – the man at the desk said “I don’t know what to suggest ….. but look, there’s a man with a room booked who isn’t here yet. I go home at nine, if he’s not here at five to, I’ll give you the room.” It was ¼ to. We went for a little walk. Every time we saw a car pull in to that car park, or another person get out of a taxi and go in, we said “That’s him”, but when we went back in the man said “It’s all right, it’s yours” Then he added, a bit apologetically, “ It’s a twin bedded room”. I said “N’importe; c’est pour dormir” . He smiled as he typed out the door code and the name and password for the FREE wifi. Then he told us that at one of the restaurants round the corner we’d get a 15% discount on presentation of his receipt. 

Courtepaille (sounds like ‘short straw’, but that’s unfortunate) is not a restaurant chain we’ve visited before, but almost certainly will again. I had an unusual ‘duo de poissons’ with halibut and salmon and Carol enjoyed  a ‘very tender and tasty’ piece of chicken. With suitable drinks and desserts, and the discount, dinner, bed and breakfast came to little more than £80, and we think we fared very well in the circumstances. Unfortunately Carol’s sleep was disturbed by some ‘very loud’ snoring from the other bed in the room, which was regrettable seeing how much driving there was to do on Wednesday. 

Sally, meanwhile, spent the night in a secure car park and probably had a quiet time of it! 

Oui, but other people got up and away a lot sooner than you two! I thought you were never coming! 

We were away at 9.15! 

Yes, but everyone else was away by 8.30! Never mind, we were soon back on the motorway and heading for Orléans, where we crossed the Loire – 

Always a significant landmark, but no photos this time; weather a bit grey and drizzly. 

On to Limoges, then Brive on the free motorway. On to Toulouse, and again there was sunshine in the south. Not to mention the first sight of the Pyrenees, which makes us feel we are nearly home. 

Home? Not quite sure what to expect; the builders have been in today removing the wall of one of the bedrooms, to make a bigger lounge. Good thing they were, really, because we’d left our house keys in Harry, thinking we would be coming home in him, and NOT thinking that we might need plan B! But Tony (Builder) had left the gate open for us and the keys under a plant pot, so that was no serious problem. At 7.15 we pulled in to Sunejo; 809 miles from Baldock, of which 477 done today. You were never intended to do all that, little car! 

I know!  But it’s all right. I did it, and we’re home. 

 We are. It’s total chaos, but we’re home. And next morning Sunejo treated us to a superb sunrise:

                                   SUNLEVIĜO ĈE SUNEJO

Sunday 14^th October:  The café near the Travel Lodge was closed as it was Sunday, so M’sieur et M’dame set off once again without breakfast! But they say it was worth it in the end because they found the café at the Inigo Jones Slate Centre  was open and they had an excellent breakfast.

Then we had to call at Deganwy to collect some THINGS they’d left behind, like the flask and a coat – C’est leur age, voyons; it’s their age, you know!

 Careful, Missy – I’m reading this.

 Oooo – keep your teeth in! And by the way, isn’t it time someone looked at my tyres?

 Hmmm ….You may be right. It’s all Harry’s fault – dragging you around like he does; it wears your tyres out.

 Don’t blame Harry – he only does as he’s told.

 Who told him to blow a piston, then?

 Who backed him into the gatepost?

 No-one – I was moving forwards at the time – get on with the blog, unless you want me to do it.

 Ah, non – non ! Il est à moi – it is mine, the journal.

So we left the nice people to have their dinner, and moved on – but not far ! Road works in Colwyn Bay made the next bit really slow, but then we moved nicely all the way to Whitefield, where I parked at the house opposite so that I could eye up Rachel’s new Smartie job, and Sean made a nice roast dinner for M’sieur & M’dame – and Rachel and himself, of course. 

The next couple of days (Monday Tuesday 15^th – 16^th October ) were spent doing bits of admin like changing the address on bank accounts (as if that was easy with S…..DER!) and SHOPPING! Also getting new front tyres for Sally – she did need them. 

Merci – I told you so! Good job you didn’t go any further with them as they were. And what’s all this STUFF you keep loading me up with? Slow cooker, bathroom fittings, clothes … you expect me to carry that lot back to France for you? 

Yes, actually – all less expensive here than there; and there’s at least two bottles of sherry still to come. 

Two bottles …! well, don’t expect fuel economy, that’s all I have to say. 

Wait till you see what we pick up in Huddersfield …. 

What? 

Nothing.   Tuesday was Rachel’s birthday, of course, but she was working all day. However, we were able to take Her ad Sean out for a Chinese meal in the evening. 

Unfortunately the whole week has been affected by my having first a hard cough and then a streaming cold. In case anything other than over-the-counter treatment was needed, and to be re-assured that it would be OK to visit the Grandchildren on Friday, I went to the NHS drop-in centre in Prestwich before travelling on Wednesday. No treatment other than what I’m hitting it with already. 

Pauvre M’sieur! So then we set off over the hill towards Newcastle to visit Florence (Kirkby), whose address is in Warkworth Woods which explains the title of this post. We stopped on the way at the Metro Centre (Gateshead) and they bought MORE STUFF! 

Not many photos this time, so here’s a picture of the railway in Conwy, as seen from the walls: 

 Next post: Wasn’t that a party!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(If you’re familiar with the style of this journal (blog), may as well skip this post.)

New readers start here! If you haven’t followed us from the start, then some of what follows might seem a bit odd, quirky, eccentric, even.

Speak for yourself!

He was doing.

See? You can’t even introduce a new section of a photo-journal without those two chipping in.

I thought it was ours!

MINE.

Big bully!

The blue one is Harry, the Motorhome:

and the pink one is Sally, the little red car.

They’re both French made, though he’s left hand drive, bought in Germany, while she, bought in England, is RHD. Both fancy themselves as linguists.

Ça alors!

So sagt DER.

And the black print is me, SKT,  If ever Carol chips in, which is rare, we have to find another colour.

One day last week – and we’ve no idea which day! – we went birthday-present shopping in the little red car – 

C’est moi! Oui, on est allé – sorry – we went to Rivesaltes near Perpignan –

It’s where the airport is, in fact. 

Don’t interrupt!

You do! 

Mmm … quelquefois, peut-être. We went to this big bicycle shop which HE’d found out about on the internet, where they sell electrically assisted bikes. (The one THEY bought for Carol at the motorhome exhibition in Manchester turned out to be rubbish and the company has gone out of business, so no money back.) After a while they chose one and reserved it, but I couldn’t bring it back to Puivert so that had to wait. Then we went down to Le Barcarès and I had a good view of the sea while THEY went and swam in it and lay on the sand. 

Funny swimming – it was salty, and there were even little waves! Don’t get those at Puivert! 

Then after a little drive we parked again and THEY had a meal at a very nice – 

But busy! 

– little restaurant or ‘Crêperie’ beside the harbour. It was so late by the time THEY finished that there was no way I could get back ‘home’ before 10 o’clock when they shut the big gate at the campsite. THEY may call me ‘little’ but I can’t get through the pedestrian gate, so I had to stay outside for the night. It was OK; no-one bothered me and HE came for me quite early in the morning. 

Sorry, no photos of that day – I think we left cameras behind! Plenty to come, though. 

Monday, 13^th August. (CLT 70). The chosen treat for the day was to ride the Red Train, doing the part of the line to include viaducts and tunnels.

The first part of the ride took us through the forest from Axat to the first level crossing on the road we’ve driven so often down the valley of the Boulzane to St. Paul de Fenouillet.

We’ve picnicked in that lay-by.

Then we followed that road, cris-crossing it by bridges and crossings as far as St. Paul. The train made photo-stops on the viaducts and one in particular gave us a splendid view of the ‘Cathar’ castle of Puylaurens. 

The ride was commented, effectively and well amplified, so we learnt, among other things, that ‘Fenouilledes’ means ‘Hay Country’ and although the area is now mainly devoted to to producing the ‘Agly’ wines, there are still hayfields among the vineyards.

Back at Axat, we drove on up the valley of  the Aude through the Gorge de St. Georges, which we hadn’t done before. 

Then back to Quillan where we were going to have dinner at Café de la Fleuve, but there was a deafening pop group playing in the square and the restaurant was very busy, so we went round to the ‘Galerie’ instead. This is where we had the first evening meal with the ‘Place in the Sun’ team. 

However, we braved the noise to go and have coffee at Mike’s after the meal. Again, Little Car had to stay outside the gate overnight, but she didn’t mind, in the interest of Carol having a happy birthday – did you? 

Non. 

Thought so. 

My turn! I hadn’t moved for a month, but on Tuesday I got to go out! All the way down to Perpignan, mostly on familiar roads and following the railway line. We parked outside a motorhome dealer’s which was closed for lunch, so THEY had lunch while waiting. When the place re-opened, it was a bit disappointing because we were hoping to get an estimate for the repair to my rear light cluster, but they didn’t do bodywork. Perhaps we’ll go back to that nice M. Antoine in Poitiers. Still, THEY got me a new shower head to replace the one that got damaged by ice two years ago! (We’ve had a couple of not-quite-right replacements in the meantime.)

Then we went to the bike shop in Rivesaltes and after a bit of a wait Carol’s new bike was placed on my bike rack and we set off back. 

Next morning THEY went into the village together by bike to get the bread. 

Update September 2025: The photos which were part of this post have disappeared! Sometimes when this has happened, I’ve been able to find and reinstate them, but not this time!

The café at the entrance to the campsite, where, until now, I’ve had to go to get the wifi. That hasn’t been much of a problem – it’s not far away and usually quite pleasant, though sometimes difficult to see the computer screen even under one of the parasols. The main irritant has been that very often the battery on the computer has run out before I’ve finished what I’m doing, especially if I’m posting a blog entry. Then there’s not having Radio 4 in the van in the mornings …! So yesterday I bought a ‘Domino’ – a gadget that gives me wifi anywhere – I don’t have to be connected to it, I just have to be near it. It’s a pay-as-you-go arrangement after the first month, so I can use it as needed, not when at home once we have a broadband connection.

Anyway …. 

The Eleven Steps

Hmmm …. ‘The Eleven Steps’ … could be a book title. Or maybe 29? ‘The Twenty-nine Steps’ …. Or 39? ‘The Thirty-nine Steps’ That has the ring of a best-seller about it …..

The shortest, though not the only, way from Harry’s home to the multi-purpose, all-in-one, unisex shower / toilet / wash-up and laundry block is via these eleven steps. So for now at least “I’m going up the steps” (possibly follwed by “I may be some time”) is the current euphemism for …. I’m going round the corner, or … to the little room, or …. whatever else …. Use your imagination.

There was an incident on the steps yesterday ….

When Carol tripped and nearly broke her nose back at Alet a few weeks ago, I’m afraid I was not first on the scene. That gold medal went to young, handsome, fit Richard (the bounder; he must have been a bounder – he was there in one bound!), from the tent just below our pitch. However, yesterday when a little girl, five years old maybe, tripped on the steps and cut her knee – a bit; not as much blood as Carol managed! – I was first there! In fact, for a while, I was the only person there, having just come down the steps myself. So what was I to do? Follow any dad or grandad’s instinct and go and pick her up, tell her it was alright and we’d go and find Mummy, or be afraid of recriminations and accusations of child molesting, or whatever? Of course I took the former option. The little girl had stayed on the step where she had fallen, but her loo roll had made off like it was in an Andrex advert, taking in several steps in its bid for freedom! So I had to pick that up as well. Now, I’ve no idea whether the little one understood anything I said – I was an Englishman speaking French and she turned out to be Dutch, but she replied to “Où est ta tente ou ton car?” with an aproppriate gesture and we went there, with the loo roll trailing behind us. By now that mother’s insticnt (which leaves us amazed, though it shouldn’t – sheep do it all the time!,) by which a Mum can recognise her own child’s crying from some distance away, had kicked in, and Mum and sisters were running up from the games area near the café. 

There were no objections to what I’d done, just lots of ‘merci’ from all of them, and the sisters seemed slightly amused by my ongoing attempts to wind in the loo roll, a task which they took over …

As for the Olympic opening, general opinion here, as far as we can tell, is very impressed with the show, though maybe sections of it were a bit long, and we didn’t appreciate how the Arctic Monkeys fitted in! Anyway – Wiggins is winning once more! 

We’ve visted Mirepoix, which is the nearest big town to the house. The centre is very old with a square of arcades and lots of cafés and gift shops.

There’s also a good supermarket. 

We’ve jumped in the lake quite frequently, but haven’t ‘pushed the boat out’ on Montbel yet. We were going to on the 31^st, but it was a very fine, hot, day and by the time we got there finding a parking space at the beachy bit was impossible, so we came back und swam in ‘our’ lake instead. 

Yesterday evening we had English Fish et Chips at the market just outside the campsite, enhanced by an almost full moon.

We sat next to some French people (local, but from Alsace) who took an interest in us. We were drinking white wine from a 500cl mineral water bottle, at the sight of which the man next to me said (in French), thinking it was water, ‘You shouldn’t drink that, you should drink wine!’ – ‘It is wine’ – ‘What?’ He picked up the bottle and took the top off. He didn’t actually drink any, but he had a good sniff, and realising it was wine he said ‘petit voyou!’ (You little rascal!). So in the space of three weeks I’ve been called a ‘rosbif’ and a ‘petit voyou’! All in good spirit, of course. 

Thanks to David S. and Chris T. For help in saving the photos (sample below) and to Meg for assistance with the inevitable paperchase in which French bureaucracy is threatening to overwhelm us! 

 

   

 

Abbey Wood Caravan Club Site, London, Sunday 6^th November.

No, the wind didn’t get up – but the rains came and beat upon that cliff-top and the motorhomes that stood thereon. So the hope that THEY might get up and take some lovely photos was not realised. But they did take piccies as it was, through the drizzle.

The black dots are birds. There were even people in the water, though it was difficult to see which hobby they were being schooled in – there wasn’t much surf:

While they were having breakfast, there was a knock on the door and a man in a rather intimidating uniform (DOUANE) asked for the €5.10 for parking on the aire overnight. That’s how it’s done, though HE said he preferred the nice young lady in Coulon last year …

They left the cliff top at about 11 am and we made our way up to the motorway (free) and stopped at L’Epitre, the service area to which they had retreated that windy night a month ago, just for old time’s sake, as it were, …. and some pain au chocolat .

We got to Dunkirk in very good time, with no ferry in sight, but they checked in and sat on the quayside having coffee and pastries. The ship did arrive eventually and achieved a very quick turn-around so that we sailed more or less on time.

I heard THEY treated themselves to a good lunch during the crossing, then just outside Dover, where the weather was no better than it had been in France, they tried to book into Maidstone Caravan Club Site, but it was full because of a big firework display at Leeds Castle. So we drove on to London and Abbey Wood. Apparently THEY thought they’d been there before, but they hadn’t; they were thinking of Sevenoaks – a mistake anyone could make!

Once installed, HE created goodness-knows-what as a supper, bunging ALL the left-overs he could find into a pan, heating it all through and topping it with some bacon, mushrooms and a fried egg. Hmmm …

GARTH VIEW, Sunday evening 6^th November.  Doing without breakfast, in the expectation of a Full English at Thurrock Services got us on the road about an hour earlier than usual. An easy route provided by the site got us to the M25 and eventually we got through the traffic on the roundabouts after the Dartford Tunnel and into the services so that they could have the anticipated breakfast. Next stop, London Colney for fuel before taking the former M10 and the M1 – SHE drove this section through to Corley on the M6. Weather improving steadily so that we had one of the best sunsets of the whole trip! One more stop – Forton / Lancaster for supper from BURGER KING (the joys of British catering!), and but for the fog in the last section, after Shap, we would have arrived at Garth View before 8pm, instead of just after. That was 518 kms (300+ miles) today, and 1798kms since leaving Labenne.  

So we’re back home, then?

Yep.

It’s quite a good place to be.

It is – and Cumbria has the best weather in the country tomorrow.

 It’s cold, though.

 It is; it may freeze tonight. They’re going to put me in the garden and leave some heat on.

 So that’s it – bye, then!

 Goodnight, little car!

 Goodnight, big van. Thanks for taking me over there.

 It’s been fun – let’s do it again, soon.

 Yes – tell THEM. Bonsoir!

 Fais de beaux rêves ….

Boulogne, Thursday 4th November: A nice quiet night, being just us on the campsite, and the rain having stopped – we heard it went to England! Lovely golden sunrise and a pleasant settting.

Where am I?

 In your own little pitch, just behind where SHE’s standing.* You’re probably still asleep.

 Et pourquoi non, après tout?

Not now ! ….. After a call to the Caravan Club Travel Service, a decision was taken to go for a Channel crossing from Dunkirk tomorrow at 2pm. So there was some distance to go today. Only some water-jobs were possible before leaving since all the exterior taps on the site had been turned off as last week they’d already had temperatures down to –5°C! Difficult to believe today.

Soon after moving off – 11.45 as usual – we stopped for HER to take this view of the location – the campsite is just beyond the building in the picture.

You can also see the mistletoe in the trees.

Then there was a shopping stop in the first town we came to before we really began to cover the kilometres. Minor roads at first, but long straight stretches between avenues of autumnal trees:

We joined a section of free motorway just before Rouen, and THEY had lunch in a lay-by while I had a rest, and then on through Rouen, crossing the Seine 3 times because of its meander:

Rouen was slow, as always, but it’s been worse.

White cliffs? Of Rouen? Yes and the amazing thing is that once you emerge from the tunnel which goes through them, there’s no more city, no more congestion and free motorway until Abbeville – HE let HER drive that bit!

And so to Boulogne. They were going to go to McD’s for supper, but finding LeClerc, with a filling station, McD’s and a Flunch all on one site, and that Flunch also had free WiFi, they decided to eat there instead. Very nice too, apparently. And YOU all got three postcards in one evening, you lucky people!

Hands up if you remember what happened in Boulogne a month ago (nearly) …. The Aire de Camping Cars certainly isnt easy to find! But they did avoid dead ends and having to uncouple this time – just one manageable U-turn. Last time, having got here, they moved off again because the wind was so strong; this time, we’re here for the night and with just an hour and a half to go tomorrow, all should be well. We  did 332 kms today – 4 more than the last 2 days added together. Let’s hope the wind doesn’t get up …

ANOTHER COMPITISHUN! (It’s the keyboard!) One of the purchases during the visit to La Rhuna was this:

What is it?

Normal 0

Near Blois, Loire Valley, (Near Vouvray; there’s hope for someone yet!) Thursday morning 3^rd November: HE kept HER awake for much of the night with that problem which they hoped had been fixed, so an early start yesterday was not really an option. Anyway, Futuriste is reputed to have the best croissants anywhere, so that’s what THEY enjoyed for breakfast; and readers of last year’s ‘Travels With Harry’ might remember something about the excellence of the showers!

When ready to move we were able to manoeuvre over the drainage point – still with little wotsit behind –

Hey! Sois gentil!

Toujours! – so that we set off (11.40) with a full tank of fresh water and an empty waste tank. (Also an empty toilet, and whose job was that?) Hmmm …

North towards Tours, passing, but not stopping at ‘Antoines’ where I got my new ‘cheek’ last year –

So why didn’t you get a new tail light assembly this year?

Got to get THEM to a wedding.

Ca alors! Are they getting married?

Not THEM, Dumkopf!

Before Tours we got lucky and they had lunch in this perfectly delightful lay-by:

Where the only drawback was the breeze which kept trying to add some of those lovely autumn leaves and twiggy bits to their salad! Not as bad as the previous day, though, when a HUGE, heavy pine cone came down from a great height and missed HIS head by a few inches before hitting the ground at his feet with a mighty THUD! The consequences of a ‘strike’ could have been far-reaching …

However, here HE is, enjoying a little schoolboy with his coffee:

You can’t say that and put it on the internet! Explanation essential: “Petit Ecolier”, literally ‘Little Schoolboy’ is a very popular brand of chocolate-coated biscuit and we are never without them. There’s an image of a period-costumed (17^th/18^th century) schoolboy stamped in the chocolate on each biscuit. Carry on.

I will, but not till later in the day …

We used 0.90c worth of motorway to get through Tours and over the Loire:

THAT has much less water in it than when we crossed it last year – both ways! But then last October was particularly soggy! I seemed to hear some debate – discussion – disagreement, even, about where to go next, but somehow we found ourselves following the river upstream to a spot I’d heard of called Vouvray …

I was there last year! I remember; we went there while you were having your cheek done – they stopped at the same place, and came out with some heavy stuff which I had to carry. Déjà vu all over again!

Y e s … Then  they crossed the river to find a LeClerc and did some shopping, and carried on up river in the fading light, which is why there are no photos of the splendid view of Château d’Amboise across the river. This far north parking for the night is difficult – it was last year – it seemed the best thing to do was to pay for a short stretch of motorway and find an aire (service area). This was the plan, then. But at Blois-Ménars both the lorry and caravan parks were so full of lorries that finding a space seemed impossible; then as we approached the exit, a little additional parking area had a few empty spaces on the drive-in / drive-out pattern and we chose the last one. A 3 or 4 minute walk back to the shop + café found they had wi_fi! 2 coffees and a cookie and SHE settled down to a puzzle while HE looked at e-mails and just managed to get one off to Family + Friends before battery power ran out! Which is why ‘Postcard 13 arrived in 2 parts.

LeClerc had been good enough to provide a supper of Blanquette de Veau (sorry if that upsets anyone) and in spite of fairly constant traffic noise and the inevitable mass exodus of lorries at 10 past 5, 10 past 6, 10 past 7 … they had quite a good night – BUT by morning (Thurs. 3^rd) it was RAINING. Hopes that rain before 7 might mean fine before 11 proved vain and the RAIN continued for most of the day with occasional claps of thunder into the bargain and the onboard barometer showing its lowest reading EVER!

Still, the scenery was pleasant

 and there were some pretty little towns

as we made our way 153kms northwards to a campsite in the valley of the Perche, where we are installed as the only visitors. HE has cooked his special ‘Quail and Parsnips’ (there were no parsnips to be found last month!) and followed it with a bit of very silly culinary exhibitionism – Bananes Flambées à l’Armagnac – I know we’ve got a fire extinguisher above the door, but really …