Wednesday 18 December 2013

Four weeks and we're still speaking

10 days since my last post, but then most of the things to write about are what happens whilst you are moving around.

We’ve been in or around Fillongley for a few days, to tie up loose ends oh and I forgot to mention Mr Right has to go to the office occasionally over the next few weeks.

Having pitched up at The Weavers for a few days and not wanting to outstay our welcome,  we decided to move onto a campsite. We did the necessary dumping and We made sure that we left before the pub opened  as we didn’t think the customers  would appreciate us doing our necessary dumping while they were arriving for their Sunday lunch.  So we trundled off  for a really long journey to Meriden and Somers Wood Campsite – all of 6 miles. 

Oh how our friends jump to conclusions – there happens to be a traveller site in Meriden  so they immediately thought that that was where we were.
 
Lots of offers again of would we like to have a shower, a meal, or even a bed for the night.  We’re convinced that people think that we are living in squalor and eating road-kill.  Actually I nearly hit a rabbit on the way back to the camp site the other night, a bit more accuracy and we could have had that for dinner. I have had to say several times – “Don’t feel sorry for us, we are doing this as a life-style choice – we feel sorry for you – you are the ones still working”.

I had a new experience on the Monday – a visit to the Launderette.  Well that was exciting!  As I had warned Mr Right, no more white t-shirts as everything was going to be washed together in future!!! He really thought I was joking – but no, when you pay for everything as and when you use it you become far more cost conscious. At £7 for a big load it was all going in together!   I obviously looked like a fish out of water and the lady attendant was very helpful and showed me the ropes.  I then took the smelly one for a walk while waiting for the washing  to finish.  Afterwards and because the excitement was getting a bit too much for me, I even made a visit to Lidl opposite the launderette to pick up some things for lunch.

Mr Right had a leaving do from work planned for the Thursday and we had another one planned for local friends at the Weavers the following Thursday so after 10 days we went off back to the Weavers (www.theweaversarms.co.uk) and I did some updating to Glynn’s website as a thank you for letting us stay.  As we were expected, Glynn even laid on electricity for us. This was a great stop-over for us and if you are in the area, just give him a ring and he’ll let you park up overnight if you have a meal.  We had arranged a few drinks for friends and of course frequented the pub several times over the next few days.

One of the things that I wanted to stay around for was that I had been training the local primary school children to use a rowing machine and the competition was on 13th December and I really didn’t want to miss is.   The little loves WON nearly everything going, four events to compete in and they won three gold medals and a silver.  They were just fantastic.  I’m so sorry that I can’t be around for when they represent Warwickshire in March. You wouldn’t  believe how competitive they were.  Have a look at www.bournebrooksport.blogspot.com  for a great write-up on the event.

With that over we decided to stay the rest of the weekend and then leave on Monday 16th.  The car was sold on Sunday and that’s when the panic set in. It all seems to be getting rather final now. I don’t know why but it seems much easier not to have a car when you are abroad than when you are in the UK.  A lot of people have asked why we aren’t taking the car with us and yes we have considered this.  However by the time you factor in, the cost of MOT,insurance, depreciation, the cost of the car itself, the trailer and the extra fuel involved in towing, the hastle of having a much larger outfit to manoeuver, the extra cost of ferries and the amount of times you actually need a car etc etc  you can buy a lot of taxis or buses with that money. Also if you have all day to go somewhere then it doesn’t matter if it takes all day to get there using public transport!  If we find we need a car when we come back to the UK then we will probably buy an old banger and then flog it when we leave to go away for the winter and while we are abroad then we might just hire one a few times.

Monday morning came and we packed up and trundled off on our last family visiting before we leave for the continent.  We went via a last visit to the house to pick up some bits and pieces, to leave behind a few things that we had decided we didn’t need to take with us and to pick up our bikes because  now we don’t have a car they will be our main form of local transport. 

So it was off to Briarfields at Cheltenham for a couple of days to chill out and then head off to visit Iain’s son near Cheddar on Thursday.   We’re now four weeks in the van and that’s the longest we’ve actually spent in Jan the Van.  Things have been going great, a few grumbles from me but that’s mainly because I’m struggling to move on.  This is the first year for many that I haven’t been “doing Christmas”, I loved planning the Christmas stuff, decorations, food and I loved having everyone come to us for Christmas, I’m finding it very difficult to start feeling festive and it’s hard to walk around the supermarket and not think about what I would normally be buying at this time of year.  We’ve even decided that presents to each other are not necessary – if we don’t need it then there’s no space for it – whatever it may be. We’ve got everything we need and have left a lot of what we don’t need behind or got rid of it. I did buy some Christmas lights for the van though and some baubles to hang on the cupboard knobs and thank you to Sharon for my diddy Christmas tree.

Anyway enough of me moaning. Thank you Mellie, for reminding me not to fret over what I’m losing or leaving behind but to look forward to what I’m going to.  I’ve never had a problem moving on before but we’ve been in Fillongley 9 years now and I have to admit it’s the nicest place I’ve ever lived , so although I do want to move on, I’m really going to miss it and the people that we’ve made friends with there.

However, today I’ve picked up the map of France to plan our journey south and have got some excited butterflies thinking about it. Just a few more days now and we’ll be on the ferry on Boxing Day.  Better get onto booking that now! Catch up later on.




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