260 – April 15 2015:  Crossed Back to the UK

An easy drive up to Eurotunnel, only later to discover that my Aged P’s had arrive early from their France and Spain trip and were on the same train!  We over nighted with the lovely Ian and Jimmy and had a booze ridden evening with them (not Jimmy aged 6) and Nicky’s parents Ruth and Brian.  

We had expected the traffic to be horrendous, but somehow it seemed worse than we expected, especially when we were hailed on … and it felt soooo cold!

Welcome back to Blighty and the M25!

Blog Gap Summary ….

Our two weeks seeing family and friends and some jobs became doing lots of jobs and some family and friends.  Our out-going tenants from our main property had left the house in a pretty bad way – such as rips in wall paper, thumb tack holes everywhere, missing items, damaged lawn, stains in furniture and fireplace and wait for it  …. all 3 mattresses stained from pee and menstruation!  Just what are some people like?!?!  GRR!  So we ended up having to coordinate trades to build a partitioning the double garage, shift soft furnishings etc into a self store and other items up to the Aged P’s attic … they are not allowed to downsize and move for years!  Anyway, after decorators, repairers, cleaners (professional and us), the house is now clean and presentable, ready to let again.  But this time unfurnished!  

A jigsaw of furniture being expertly packed into 80 m2

We and Chardonnay are fully MOT’s and serviced and good to go … almost.  The Habitation Service identified damp so we are booked in again at the start of June for this and few other bits and bobs to be done.  This means we will not make it up to Scotland as soon as we had planned.

We did get to spend time with a lot of family and friends, but at one point we had been out partying 9 nights out of 11 and then getting up early to do chores.  Driving up and down between Bristol and K’s parents house near Aldershot.  Maddy’s 18th Birthday and James’ birthday celebrations – two days apart and in two locations … burning the candle both ends and in the middle.  Student times again but without the youth … we were totally knackered!

We managed to scoff quite a number of these … 

Running and Pilates took a real back seat over the fortnight, but this was one of the Basingstoke Canal runs we did manage.

We’d arrived just in time for the wild Spring flowers 🙂

Girlie Camping is an institution for K and her oldest friends (length of knowing not their age!).  We’ve been camping in Eype, Dorset (or Symonds Yat for about 30 years).  We missed it last years as I was away and to be honest, it would have been too poignant so soon after Nicky’s death.  The good news was that the non-camping Gill not only agreed to join us, but booked it!  

Four go mad in Dorset:  we actually managed to get off the campsite this time in between our consumptions of salty and sweet snacks …

… and just a little of the liquid stuff!

As this is ‘Girlie Camping’, no men are allowed unless they are castrated (a hangover rule from one of my previous dogs), so James was left in Bristol finalising the house cleaning!  Gold star to that man.