762 – Thursday 29th June 2017:  Dan the Man

Tesco in Perth – we stocked up on the essentials….. gin and tonix, etc.

Dan the man greeted us at a wilding site on the shores of Lochwinnoch – excellent wine and food – classic rock and soul music….. another lovely evening with Dan. He showed off his new Rapido.  The  Kwalking was very wet, but that’s Scotland the Brave for you…  

 

763 – Friday 30th June:  Driving, Driving and more Driving

Down to just S of Birmingham to a National Trust wood carpark after a detour to avoid slow M6 traffic  … why detour to avoid holdups always seem to take longer than seeing it through?

Stop at Cranston’s Food hall just off M6 in Lakes…  I used to order online … amazing meat and deli.

It was a semi peaceful night as boom boxes and kids in cars, but harmless.

764-766 – Saturday 1st to Monday 3rd July:  Bristol Blessings

We are using a new to us Camping and Motorhome Club CL at Aust …  recommended by fellow motorhome bloggers … https://thewanderlings2013.wordpress.com.  Roland is published author – if you like thrillers, check out his books.

A fair amount of socialising for the next couple of days … We attended a Saturday afternoon rock theme garden party in Bradley Stoke.  Had a Sunday pm supper at pub with S&K, followed by interesting cheese, including Gouda with pesto and Pine nuts and Goats cheese Brie from Cranston’s. Then on Monday we were Double Dating … K lunch with Thelma and J lunch with Sylvie and then onto repairs in FLT … moving onto Alison’s for a yummy roast chicken dinner.  Slept kerbside outside her house.

767-771 – Tuesday 4th to Saturday 8th July :  Farnham Frolics

Tuesday:  slight detour to fetch J’s hat from Stephen’s car, then up to Coxbridge Farm, our usual CL in Farnham, Surrey.  

Independence day BBQ:  Aged P’s delivered car and eBay 4th July paper plates and table cloth – my £8 festivity spend, compared to Brad’s tales of what people spend to decorate interiors of marquees … his holiday job is erecting and dismantling massive marquees.   Mutt finished my Harvey’s Bristol Cream and Clare the Number 43 …

Bradi (Brad and Madi) wearing matching shoes … so well suited!

Wednesday:  Hinton Ampner Aged P’s picnic … left overs from BBQ so very easy.  Mature planing and harmonious house as last owner removed his father’s Victorian decor and reinstated the Georgian.  Supper was left overs too – cheese and salad.

Hinton Ampner National Trust.

Mature Planting …Oh No, that’s another photo!

This is Mature planting!

A perfect picnic spot – under a tree. 

Thursday:  K took Bradi (Madi and Brad) to Gatwick .. Naples.  Just on M23 and a call to say she’d left all the docs in my car!  A 20 min turn aorund to reach a motorway junction.  She apparently left them in a taxi too when changing hotels!  Bear in mind this is the girl who took charge when we did a fleeting trip to Spain a few years ago and I put the passports down in the airport!  J’s driving license application has been returned for the second time …. another doctor error!  So J delivered the papers to the surgery in the hope of collecting them this afternoon … not to be, they will be ready tomorrow.

Friday:  J drove Jez back to Bristol to the dealer, as they wanted the auto electrician to check the wiring to make sure the reason the rear view camera blows a fuse was nothing to do with the post build motorhome wiring.  So Jez was there for all of 10 mins, before he turned around and came back to Farnham.  I grabbed the opportunity to go to RHS Wisley with Mum, who is a member.  Wisley is the reason I am often left disappointed with other Botanical Gardens … it is just vast, varied and stunning.  Knowing it so well, Mutt guided me around her favourite areas for this time of year.   A couple of morning phone calls to chase up the DVLA medical form … the office staff were very helpful in that they kept nudging the Doctor … it was ready to pick up at 2.30 and was in the post back to the DVLA by 3.00!  But now we have another 2-3 weeks for the DVLA medical team to scan the form onto the system before they even start analysing it!  Ho hum.

RHS Wisley:  3 of the Famous Five.

Young planting – The Bowes Lyon Rose Garden.

A small part of the best rockery, I’ve ever seen.

Saturday:  Train up to London for lunch with Simon and Ai in a dog friendly pub.  any likeness between father and son? Not sure….

772-776 – Sunday 9th to Thursday 13th July: Cotswold Capers

“Adventure before Dementia” is Frances and Edward’s van logo – excellent.  We met at a CS site near Moreton -in- Marsh – the only vans there – really quiet – we supped well and dined with BBQ and haute cuisine.  We toured Batsford Arboretum and the local market – Frances and K were drawn to the local gin stall – and cheese. Any changes here?

The brewery tour was the best we’ve had – all original machinery and an excellent guide.  Lunch –  massive sandwiches with Hook Norton beer at a pub where the original dray cart and horses were making a delivery.

A short four days before we parted – to meet again in September, hopefully.  

 

 

 

The Brewery still has the the steam engine (powered by oil and now electric) machinery in place and working.

This is where the rye is ground.

 

777-778 – Friday 14th July to Saturday 15th July:  Maddy Munchkin Moments

Bradi over Friday and invited themselves to our BBQ on Saturday.  Ty for Limoncello from Sorento.  Odd jobs, including a wild abuse of the Aged P’s washing machine, they’re in France (again) so we do not have to book machine time with them!  A few more items in and out of the attic.  And a shopping trip to Guildford … new pillow £60!  

It was half price!

Oscar was given all these treats … not to be consumed all at once!

Jez was delivered at 7.00 (we were earlier than the rush hour traffic!) to Guildford’s Fiat Professional to have the wiring issue for the rear view camera sorted.  When they plumbed in the diagnostic computer, they identified that we’d missed a few recalls, which they sorted.  Wiring not down to Fiat after all, but thankfully the motorhome dealer agreed to pay Fiat to do a bypass fix so that our camera works.  Impressed with Fiat Guildford and again with Family Travel Centre.

Jez’s V5 has arrived with the new reg; we put the private plate on Jez which has been on retention since we changed motorhome … as we’d bought Jez on one day and travelled to France the next day, we’d had no time to sort this.  But the good news is …. we can travel to France on Monday 17th …  won’t have to delay our departure whilst we wait for it to turn up … if only J’s driving license were as quick!

 

Oscar’s Diary.

Here I am again, then (Panto line?).  Now England is like Scotland – but with too many people – probably the correct number of K9s, though.  My owners are progressing quite well with their training – I give them treats to encourage the little blighters – gin always works!   I went along with the Arboretum, market and brewery fandangos (guess who gets to stay in the van – moi!!!).  I suppose if I went out galivanting and they stayed – they would get up to no good – I know when they have that ’certain’ look in their eyes… but that’s for after the watershed – I know young folk read my diary.  

Well, before you could say “Nuclefuchen” (more of that later – and it’s not a swear word), we were in La Belle France…. after the usual GB motorway madness.

To my intimate surprise, Kensie was waiting for me – oh and Robin too…  Well, Missie was in fine form – inviting me in for a snog – but ‘Great Balls of Fire’ – I discovered ‘earwigging’ was just the ticket!!!  No, I was not snogging Robin’s ears!   Kensie and I  got along fine.. – she doesn’t have ear wax – unlike James…

The “Nuclefuchen” is a word we saw on a German caravenette (old fashioned for motorhome). It means “I want to snog your knuckle” – strange habits in Deutschland.  I’ll stick with Kensiearsnogsland. (En route from Ecosse – I’m well into the old Franglais now – we passed “Eclefeckin” which is Gallic for snogyerecclecakes, I think.

Me brain is steaming – I’m off to whisper in James’ ear – “aves vous mon dejeuner, sil vous plait, Monsieur Jacques”

Adieu, mon amis, for now…..

Whew…..