-------LIVING WITH A------ MOTORHOME.

Getting warmer and a night in Chester

2011-12-05T07:52:00.000-08:00

The baby At chester

my other baby At TGI Fridays

Well we continue to spend spend spend on the van.

We have however been lucky enough to get away. We have of course been to the Swift owners club do in Winsford. And this weekend we had a very quick and spectacular night away at Cheshire oaks culmilating in aTGI Fridays and a few Vodka’s with a fellow motorhome funsters.

The added T Piece

Added to the van is now a Sky 12v Javelin box a super bit of equipment and worth every penny of its ebay bargain. It makes things so much simpler than the old CONAG sat box, simply because I know how to work it because we had one in the home. We now get all channels inclusive of 5 and loads of sky channels. I have also managed to finaly get some new external silver screens for the Ski trip, again another ebay bargain and then a swing arm coffee table from another motorhomer. Finished spending? No not yet because now, Im having to have a remap done as I have found the van way too underpowered, so another call to WOW tuning and £290 lighter in the pocket.

All in all though we are still loving the luxury of the Bessacarr, its very well appointed and really is comfortable. The night at Cheshire oakes revealed something different though, we were actually a family of 4 as George had opted to come with us, this meant making up the bench seat in to a bed. All was done in a couple of moments and job done except George did complain of being a little cold….

the new outlet with sawdust

Talking of which I have also extended the heating pipe to run through the box where the cold water fills up. This due to being reports of the pipe freezing in sever winters meaning unable to get water in to the van through the normal means. I counteracted this by fitting a t piece and then putting a new outlet in. The pipe runs through a little box where the water pipe is hidden. I have therefore drilled some holes in the heater pipe meaning that little place will get warm and of prevent any water in the pipe from freezing, fingers crossed.

Also I have replaced all the spot lights in the van with some LED bulbs to save on power usage. The van is now as ready as ready can be for its first real winters test. I am now working all through Christmas and then off to arrange a New Years Meet at the cotton arms in Cheshire, this will mean no hook up, only our Genny, cold weather and an opportunity to see how these winterisation mods are handling doing the job before we go Skiing in February….

Till then

Haggers

Toy Changing & Winterising the Bessie

2011-11-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Well, if having a new motorhome wasn't exciting enough, what you tend to forget about is the need to change everything around. Or move everything from the old van to the new van.
So it started over a weekend and some £650 later I am about done. We have gone to town with the new van getting new plates, crockery, covers, etc etc. I don't know where the money went but it must of gone something like this.
£41 to change insurance for a kick off.
Then, I moved the Gaslow over, this meant a new filler kit as I had to leave the last one because when I fitted it I fitted it to the door. In total the kit was £90 including the bracket to fit it.
I then had to get some sikaflex and some feet for the Sat dome and the Solar panel. Again some £54 lighter I managed to get them moved across, although I did manage to use the old feet for the dome.
A new battery was required and I managed to get that for about £110 a decent battery this time to go with the other new one fitted at the dealers.
A few odds and sods later and the bill soon adds up.

Then inside, I have rigged the big 1500w inverter up along with a smaller 500w one for the smaller items we have, then there is seat covers and dressings to get things right and looking good. The van inside has been done in chocolate and cream.

Winterising.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am loving the look and everything of the new girl. She truly is looking stunning. There are some nice touches like double floor adding to storage and keeping the water tank in. But, its like the swift group fort to finish it. In reality the van has a lot of vents around for meeting strict EU law on ventilation. All of this is far from needed and adds to the cold. I therefore spent time sealing many things and pushing things up the seatbelt pods where there was a massive gap leading to surely more cold air down the drivers neck. Underneath the van, most of the pipe work was exposed and would be at severe risk of freezing in a winter ski trip. I therefore set about lagging all the pipe work and sticking in some tough loft insulation around some of the more vulnerable areas. All of this was time consuming and cost a few bob, but, will hopefully be worth it..... I just wish Swift group done it in the factory where it would be so much easier and could lend them in to the more prestiged German model reputation.

The Whitby Goth weekend in a New Motorhome

2011-11-06T14:47:00.000-08:00

Nikki in Bed

Well it finally arrived. the Gothic weekend in Whitby that we had been anticipating for so long.
But like me being me, I decided to change the van.
Saw it in a dealer on Monday, Negotiated a price on Tuesday, emptied my Van on Wednesday, Picked up said Van on Thursday, Loaded it on Friday morning, arrived Whitby Friday pm.....

First thoughts on the van are that we love it. Needs a lot of winterising jobs done and there can be no doubt that the swift group do not builds vans to the same standards as those across the water that used to bomb our chippy.
But they are remarkably luxuriousness, and IMO far better kitted out than those over there.

The new girl looking to Whitby

Anyhow, the new cab is nothing short of fantastic in terms of both driveability and comfort, MPG is around 24mpg, its quiet and car like but big enough to remind you that you are in fact in a Van and make you feel like king of the road.

JAG Gothic Funsters

Anyhow, Back to the weekend, it was a very muddy do, but great fun. Bob & Val were carrying out their first get together and done very well. We spent Friday night being driven in to Whitby for Fish and Chips, followed by a night outside with a real fire, alcohol and laughter.

The Goth Brigade

On Saturday we wondered in to Whitby with Tara and had a good look/perv around at the wonderful dresses some of the participants were wearing. saturday night was again a few drinks before inviting a few back to our van for a look around and a few more drinks.
Sunday = bacon butties and a long drive back with a long list of jobs to do. But overall, I am so so so impressed by the new girl, and a little relieved that she fits on the drive!!!!!

My next wife

great stuff

It just looks great

Wales In Half Term

2011-11-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

Decided to go and spend a few days in Wales over the October half term. We went over to a friends campsite called Redkite camping http://www.redkitecamping.com/
Owned by the owner of motorhome fun, www.motorhomefun.co.uk it is both scenic and peaceful, well until we got there of course.
We first stopped over at another friends whom owns a garage to get the van serviced, we had taken the car as a way of getting around in Wales but we needn't of bothered.

View from Red Kite camping

Following our little stop at the Red Kite, we headed for a few nights at the Caravan club site at Pembury Country park. What a place, really nicely done out, great walks through the park and on to the sea, we all loved it including Tara whom managed to eat a fish she found on the beach!!
We had a few goes at tobogganing on the nearby dry ski slope and generally a real nice time.
Once again though I started to notice that 4 nearly grown ups and a dog, mean only one thing!! A bigger van is required, so we got talking on the way home and decided to go for a new van. As I type this I am awaiting confirmation to go and pick up new van.

Buy buy Adriana we loved you

We have purchased a Bessacarr E765p !!! can not wait and pics will follow for sure.!!!
Been busy taking everything off the van and getting it ready to go on the new van, It really is very nice and plush looking, although I thought I would never own a British van, I just could not resist the double floor and the lovely French bed. As George is rarely coming with us nowaday's its getting easier to find a layout to suit just the two of us, so lets see how we get on with it.

Replacing a Roof Mushroom

2011-10-13T15:38:00.001-07:00

This is sort of a how too guide but I am no mechanic or Motorhome repairer. Basically I came home having been out to find the roof vent broken off and on the drive after some pretty drastic winds. Now it was not the wind entirely, this had happened previously when the mushroom vent (that’s what they are known as) broke off. On that occasion I simply Sikaflexed it back together. On this occasion I decided to do a proper job.

Here’s how.

Firstly I removed the cover that was on the inside of the motorhome. This required the use of a screwdriver to prize away the outer ring piece. Then with the screws exposed I undid the screws that retain the sandwich type fitting. On the one I was removing this was held by 4 screws, yet oddly the new one had only 3?

Having removed the screws, it was back on to the roof to remove the top plate. This was obviously held on not just by screws but by a load of sealant from the factory fitting. I found using a paint scraper and prizing scraping and pulling the disc the remainder eventually came off.

Ok back inside to check the new one fits and although ever so slightly different the new one fits fine. Back on the roof, and I placed the dish in to position, down in to the van, and loosely connected the screws. Very important to just do this loosely as sealant will be required.

Back on the roof and I laid a very generous amount of sealant under the top disc, and yep you guessed it, back in to the van, amazed I could do this after running a marathon on Sunday to tighten up the screws and bring the whole thing in to a sandwich,. All tight, back on to the roof, clean up the sealant and job done, one new roof mushroom ventilator replaced.

Cost,

New Vent- £8-95

Sealant (had some spare)

Cost to legs ? Priceless.

Summary,

A simple job for anyone with good legs, very cheap to do and a dealer wanting £120 so massive savings as long as your legs can take it.

2011-10-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

On the 24th September we were in vited to the Southern Newfoundland dog show. It was hosted by the lady whom fostered tara when she was real desperate.We were lucky it was being held at her land and she had a couple of large paddocks for Tara to run and for us to camp.

We left home and arrived in the village of Worton in Wiltshire at about 10 to 9 in the evening to be welcomed by our host Christine. We were allowed to park in the paddock and were able to camp with a few other Newfoundland dog owners whom had also decided to camp. We set off to the pub for some lunch and to let Tara meet Christine again before returning to the field to see 5 or 6 Newfies playing like dogs should in pitch black in a safe fenced in field. oh what fun.

Douglas.

We only stayed for the day and it was a great day, Tara got to pull a cart, she came runner up in the best newfoundland rescue dog. We done a good citizen competition, she played catch the sausage and met loads of good friends. We picked up some great tips on grooming and it really was a true village fete type day.

Runner up best Newfoundland rescue Dog.

like most things , time went too fast and we were back in the van for the 3 hour journey home. The van is driving very well and the MPG is doing great and now up to about 26 mpg up from 22 prior to the chip.

2011-09-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

Well it seems like ages since I last posted anything on my blog. For the first time in years we had an early Summer holiday meaning that the school holiday break went on a long long time. We did manage a trip to the Malvern Motorhome show and I have to say I was very very impressed.

inside a Wig Wam

It was a sort of cowboy themed thing and lots of people really enjoyed it. We are trying to stay away from the meet scene at the moment but for no other reason than we have so much other stuff to do and so little time to do it. We have also been on a trip to "Eddies Big Birthday bash" which was somewhere in Leicestershire. A sort of weird thing as every one knew Eddy but we had no clue who he was!! only went for the night but it was a good giggle.
The van continues to run fine, one thing we have noticed is that we have not had electric hook up all year!!! the solar panel and the inverter set up looks to be working good. We still keep toying with the idea of selling up, but think Nah.
I have also been real busy training for the Chester Marathon which comes up in just over 2 weeks as I write this. I have spent much of the time injured but keeping on going.

Nikki

This weekend we are off to the Newfoundland Rescue Dog show to show off Tara, one of their success stories. We have been invited to go and look forward to it.

The van needs a service and I will do it my self in a few weeks. I will do the normal, Oil & Filter changes, but this time will change the Water and probably the Brake fluid as well. Seem's like a long time ago since it was done.

another tour-de-France

2011-07-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

after a wet wet wet Knutsford show we set off for our summer break.

we Set off for Dover on Tuesday night stopping at Nikkis mum for a few hours before staying the night at Dover Marine Parade.

Nikki

Wednesday saw us jumping on a morning ferry and crossing the channel, on arriving in France we started to drive south west for the coast . We filled up at a service station for fuel and it transpired I had managed a full 27 mpg!!! my best ever!!! so evidently the remap does work even If I had to drive at 55 to make the most of it. The drive south was in heavy rain and immediately I began to become concerned about the possibility of a wet holiday. After about 10 hours meandering, we eventually ended up at a wonderful aire in Vivone., A lovely little town and very friendly. During the drive down I learnt of an old friend whom had been murdered in Aldershot via a telephone call from my mum. Not a pleasant thing and despite not seeing him for some years, you do start to recount your youth and remember times you had together.

George and Harley in the night surf

Thursday morning and we were on our way to Soustons near Biarritz. However it had yet to stop raining since we arrived in France but arriving on the aire we finally saw sunshine. We spent the next 3 days playing and boarding in the sun. The aire is very busy and we were lucky to find a space with only 1 other Brit van and the majority being Spanish and French the conversations have been interesting. Souston’s is so my favourite place, great beaches awesome surf and really quite posh. But I want all readers to ignore that and not go there, because if you all do there will be no more room!!! However at now 12e per night, it seems quite expensive, although there is electric (take a splitter)

On awaking on Sunday we noticed the rain had returned so thought balls to it let's set off again and head for Brittany. We had never been in 20+ years of touring most of France, so thought why not give it a go? With so many Brits we know moving off that way we thought we should have a little look. On route up the west coast we found an aire at Gastes. Overlooking a gorgeous lake but still raining we set up for the night with a good DVD after a family game of volleyball but not before we had had a look around the place. Gastes is deffinately worth a visit, the aire is super looking, tidy and tree lined. At 6.50e per night for no electric it does seem a little over priced but, for us we thought it supereb.

Well the rain continued to fall and the weather forecast looked grim to say the least. Therefore I took the decision to continue further north into the Brittany area. As said we had never been before and the thought of driving 400 miles north seemed an odd thing to do but the great thing about a motorhome is being able to chase the weather.

On the way we stayed off toll roads and headed north through the Arcashon basin and then through the north west of Bordeaux. I have never seen so many Motorhomes in one day!! my arm ached through the waving. Any how we continued driving for about 10 hours until we reached a lovely spot in the Brittany area called Quiberon. Out on the West peninsular and quite busy we were pleased to arrive. When arriving we were promised great surf beaches and a wonderful town. The reality was that it was a truly stunning piece of France but not quite what was promised.

The town although gorgeous was a good 40 min walk away up and down Dale!!! The surf beach was a cove between rocks that would even catch the most experienced of surfers out. Then there was the aire itself or the Aire de camping car if you prefer 6.50euros a night, plus water, no electric, for what on the whole was a waste bit of gritty land surrounded by anti climb fence and a municipal site behind. Any how the place was too nice to ignore so we walked in to town, had ice creams and cakes done some sea swimming and rock climbing and then walked back. We had a little chat with some Hymer owners whom were retired and loving it, enjoying themselves for about 8 weeks!!! Typically the weather was what you might call gorgeous again. So in typical haganap style, we then decided to move on.

We headed for the rocks at Carnac to see what all the fuss was about, basically, some idiot for a reason only known to himself, gathered up a load of boulders and rocks, put them in a strange area and waited a 1000 years for tourists to come and look at them. Interesting? Not for me but it was very busy so many must of been getting some spiritual meaning from it.

Carnac rocks, you decide

Brittany Sunset

We then headed on to a town called Etel on the beach with a great beach lake. Of course again using the some of the aires in English book which again appeared useless, as in the book this Aire is in Etal and not Etel, we managed to find a wonderful secure aire just outside a camp site. With a campsite feel and a 2 min walk to a Lake and a Town and sea it seems great and at 6.50 e per night is decent enough value. What topped this place off for me

though were the wonderful sunsets. A picture would not do it justice but it is probably the most amazing sunset I have ever seen. It was basically like a coal fire above you.

With only 2 more nights to go we opted to spend a night on a campsite for the kids with pool and slides. They have so far been so well behaved and great fun.. So much more mature than past years and they just fancied a swim in a pool and a bit of larking around on a site. We therefore headed about an hour away to a site called Penboch. I suppose that must of been where it was, although I could only think of the cost, 44e per night without electric, a grumpy young girl checking us in who seemed amazed that we wanted to speak French to her. I got bitten to death by mosquitos, weird as I had never been bitten before ever, yet Nikki is always getting bitten but didn’t? The boys played in the pool for about 7 hours, we slept, got awoken early by screaming babies, and thought, lets move on!!!

Off we then went on a scenic drive to Honfleur and its motorhome famous Aire. We trotted up the coastal road until we got there and when we did, were lucky to find a spot. At now 9.50e the aires in France or at least the more popular ones are really starting to charge a premium, but in my view they should be supported as an alternative to campsite prices.

As I walked around I spotted another motorhome fun using addicts. The Welshbois were there with Dogs and camped up enjoying the wine and sun before getting ready to head off on their 5 week French adventure. We had a bit of a chat and it was nice to see some familiar faces and stroke their two wonderful Basset hounds. I then sat down in what was now blazing sunshine. Just as I did so there was assort of knock on my chair. A nice lady had initiated a conversation that sort of went, “Brits together and all that” “yes” I replied, “well you wouldn’t know anything about motorhomes would you?” Me? Know anything about motorhomes? Now that was lady chose the right person to ask. Her husband came over and explained the situation and I gave them an explanation of every single motorhome manufacture and there place in the market of motorhomes, design and layout etc etc, I think they (Tony and Joy) must of regretted ever asking for my help!! However there problem was nothing more than a flat starter battery and meant that I needed nothing more than a volt meter and a set of jump leads to get them going the next morning.

In the evening Nikki I and the boys went out for a meal in Honfleur. A nice little restaurant and we had a little practice of our French. Whilst there I managed for the first time to get some internet access and logged on to see that my results for my degree were finally up and ready for viewing. I held my breath and looked on and was informed that I had actually achieved a 2-1!! Not bad for a man like me and although I am really pleased, I feel if I would of put in more effort, a first may of even been achievable. But the reality is that I am now degree educated and proud of that fact. It was hard work and I took a lot of stick and banter for doing it but at 43 next birthday am pleased I did it. I spent the night awake feeling sick as I was not used to French Steak being served practically raw! However, in the morning I got Tony and Joy’s van going, had a chat about how they had bought a place in Brittany and how we were welcome to come over, how they must join motorhome fun etc etc. Nikki went in to town with George for TAT shopping and I prepared the van for readiness. I then pointed out to Nikki that the chap next to us had two velosolex mopeds. I am now a fan and searching to buy one or two. I spoke with the chap whom spoke great English and told me all about them. I just thought, great, must have one!!

Honfleur aire and the velosolex's

on the drive home.

We then set off on the long drive back to Calais, we drove the coastal route again stopping for a swim, a look around Fecamp (great aire there) and a few provision stops for alcohol before boarding the ferry a day early for home. As normal, Sea France were accomadating only charging a tenner for the change of ferry. We then landed and returned to Nikki’s mums to spend the night before getting a nice cooked breakfast and returning the 188 miles back to Cheshire.

Summary-

Well, as you all know fuel is now well expensive, we managed to counteract this by driving slower and as reported got nearly 27mpg but most of all around the 24-25 mark. Normally we bank on about 19-22 depending on how fast I drive. We covered from home to home a staggering 2000 miles in nearly 12 days. This meant we spent nearly £500 on fuel, we then spent £110 on site/aire fees and then of course we drank and ate the rest of our £1000 holiday budget.

Enjoy your motorhoming people.

Please sponsor me for my marathon here, really need it at the moment as I remain injured.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=haganap

Phew, Bring & Buy and a nice quiet night in Cheshire.

2011-07-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

Well, phew is all I have to say about that. It was the weekend of the now annual bring and buy meet in Wrenbury Cheshire. Something that is in its 3rd year now.

I am also now back at work after my degree so all the organising had to be done in my time off.
The meet began on the Wednesday and ended for me on the Sunday night, although a few decided to stop over longer.

On the Friday, Nikki again made her wonderful cocktails which we all drank. However on this occasion, it rained and rained hard. We therefore opted to use the pavilion and this was with out a doubt the best outcome, we had a cracking night, and we really enjoyed it.

On the Saturday we had the main event, we brought and bought and then bought again. Nikki and I opted to sell night ware which went down rather well.
On the Saturday night we again utilised the pavilion for a major slap up meal. With everyone bringing a little in, there was an abundance of food to be eaten. I paraded around in one of Nikki's night suits to the amusement of others, and Nikki, had a little too much to drink, although she was not alone.

Sunday morning bacon baps were served by me and we then went for a really nice dog walk in the country. A good couple of miles looking at the scarecrows was a really nice idea.

Sadly I had to go to work Sunday night so packed up and drove us all home. We had had a great weekend but it was really really hard work. We had to cater for over 50 units, the weather one or two obnoxious people but I think at the end of the day, it was worth it.

The following weekend, we opted to go for a night away on a CL just down the road from ourselves. Just Nikki and I as the kids were camping elsewhere. We had a great time, we layed on the grass in wonderful sunshine, we watched a DVD on the night time, but it made me realise one thing. We can not retire yet, we would be bored stiff to do nothing.!! However, we did have a great time.

I had to return late Saturday to collect the kids, only they are not kids anymore, they are young men? what do you call them? and then go running on Sunday morning.
My Marathon training is well in to swing now, I completed just short of 16 miles on the Sunday but have to say it nearly killed me. Only another 10 though and I would of been done.
If you wish to sponsor me you can do here. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=haganap

So two weeks at home and then its off for the Knutsford show with an immediate return to France planned straight afterwards.

Take care happy camping.

Newbury to the Mull of Kintyre and back to Stratford

2011-06-06T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well, what a 3 weeks that was!!!
Started off with an opportunity to go to teh Newbury show on our own as George & Harley were invited to a survival weekend in Surrey. We thought waste not want not we would have a weekend in Newbury at the show. On this occasion though we opted for general camping and had a really good time. Nothing much happened at the show really, although we did go and see Alvin Stardust at the entertainment tent for a giggle.

When we arrived home I had the opportunity to see if the new engine remap was any good. although the perfomance was good, there was little if any improvement in teh MPG so the guy came back out and gave it another go before we headed off to Scotland.

We left for Scotland on the Friday and headed up to stay at the Redmoss truck stop for the night. A nice place and quiet and free. On the saturday we headed further north right to the Mull of Kintyre via a few tea stops.
On arrival the weather was extremely windy and the site not the best but adequate. We had a quick catch up with others we were meeting there and I bedded down for the night due to doing the half marathon the next day. On the Sunday it was ferociously windy, raining and the half marathon route was hilly!! however I got through it just and returned to relax rest and play with the boys and tara at a river that ran in to the sea.

The following day we headed down to Southend where we were to sea nesting Grey Seals, really fantastic site and gave me allot of interest and I managed to get a few snaps. We returned to a nice BBQ following an aborted attempt to get to the Mull, however due ot the size of my MH I failed, or should I say George Harley and Nikki refused to allow me to continue.

We set off to return home the next day but stopped at a lovely little river spot where George decided we should all swim in the river. It was way way too cold but we went for it and I jumped in, boy it was freezing!!!!! we then drove nearly all the way home without using any motorway untill we reached Preston, all through the Borders, Cumbria and down, we caught site of the odd Gypsy going to the Appleby horse fair on their drawn carriges which was nice but Nikki refused to let me go and stay there.

Then 2 days at home, van cleaned and off to Stratford upon Avon. Another show and a lovely place to be. We met friends old and new, the boys and Nikki walked in to Stratford whilst I went running, we spent a while sunbathing in the glorious weather before getting packed up and ready to go.
I am still yet to see any improvement in the MPG of the van, so will just have to stay with what I have..

Next trip is the Bring and Buy which I am of course hosting, then that's followed by the Knutsford show, and a tour around Southern France. I have now dinished by latest degree and am back at work in a couple of weeks, so better get back in the spirit of it.

2011-05-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Nikki & Tara

All of April and the holidays.

Well it seems a while since I have updated the blog so Im putting three together with a little update about my running and future.

Firstly,

We attended the Peterborough show, we again went without the kids as they stayed with Nikkis sister. Whilst there we opted to get a re-map done on the van through wow tuning. First impression is that the van runs much much smoother. Cannot comment on any fuel economy gains but will keep it updated as time goes on.

We stayed at the show and when we arrived on Friday, just seemed to have so many people to see. We ended up around some friends van until gone 3 am which sort of ruined the rest of the weekend. This because I am so heavily in to my running that I had not drank so much for a long time, and hence did not feel like running for days.

Wells Cathedral

We have now decided against buying a new van, instead we opted to spend our money on buying a new flat to rent out. Hoping in a few years it will provide enough income to go toward our master plan of half timing, ie living in our motorhome and working and traveling.

Mum Dad & George

The next weekend was the Easter weekend. We opted to travel down to see my parents in Watchet. We done this towing the car so again I was unable to give a fuel comparison on the remap only to say I got far more MPG than last time I towed it. We had a great time in Watchet with visits to Glastonbury and Wells. The weather as you all know has been superb so far this year, Tara loves the site we use as it is right on the beach. Every morning she jumps in the sea for a swim and spends hours in there. The boys enjoyed themselves staying with the Grandparents and again Nikki and I were able to get a little more of a look in to what the future will hold. On the Sunday I had a marvelous 11 mile run around the Watchet coast line, over to Minehead and Blue anchor and back. Glorious run if not a little on the hot side. We stayed a total of 3 nights and came home on the Easter Sunday.

the forest at the royal wedding meet

Well another weekend and another bank holiday. This time due to our Royals getting married. We opted to attend the Motorhome fun Royal wedding weekend meet. We are so glad we did. Initially it was thought that this would be a difficult meet as it was close to a road and it might rain. How wrong I was. It was next to a great forest where the boys played with their gun. We played some ridiculously funny games, and the hosts done a great job. In the evening, Janine and Barry entertained us to some music along with another funster. It was a smaller meet than of late, but to be honest, we quite liked it that way there was a great chance to meet new funsters and that we did. On the Sunday I went for a run through the forest, managing 6 miles through the woods and lucky enough to meet a deer. Another meet ended with the car on the back so still no MPG comparison and we returned home.

Well only a couple of weeks until we go away again. In a few weeks we are off to the Newbury show WITHOUT THE CAR!!! As we are dropping the boys off at a survival weekend. So we have opted to go to the show.

the games

I am dead busy running at the moment and this month have two Half marathons to complete. The Chester on May 15^th and the Mull of Kintyre on May the 28^th. Both of course utilizing the motorhome as my race transport. I have really enjoyed the running and the adventure, new friends and mental de-stress it gives me. I am therefore looking to take part in a Marathon in October. Eeek.

So till the Newbury report,,

me and Tara

Be good.

Skiing in Val Thorens In a motorhome with a family, can;t beat it.

2011-02-27T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well after another year and time again came for another Motorhome sking trip. Somehow we had managed to get 5 vans coming with us so all in all it was going to be a very different experience . Having recently lost her job Nikki was more determined than ever to get this trip done on a budget. The resort we had chosen was Val Thorens due to its height, as a lack of snow was prevent in the Alps thus year.

We set off on the Tuesday to stay the night on Nikki's mums drive but be closer to Dover. After a few cups of coffee and an early morning run on the Wednesday for me, we poodled down to Dover to catch our crossing. We met the others whom would become our travel companions and went and filled up with fuel.I had driven at no more than 55 all the way to Calais and yet somehow I still only managed a measly 24mpg why o why.

We headed off to our first stop over point which was an aire at Belleicourt, A nice aire if not a little difficult to find in the dark. A good night’s sleep was required and achieved before we would entertain the next leg of a 12 hour drive avoiding toll roads to Annecy. As time went on we kept going and going and succumbed to a little bit of toll road. We had had an interesting drive through old battlefields and mountains until we eventually arrived at Annecy to find the aire full. We then continued to another aire 15 miles further along in a town called Faverges, not as nice as the aire in Annecy but somewhere to stop nether the less.

Friday saw us drive the last 50 miles to a height of 2300 meters to resort. On arriving we found our aire which was a little scrubby but it was ours. The resort itself was big very big and very busy it was full of youngsters with big egos. Anyhow as I write this we have skied a couple of days and had great fun . George and I have visited the wellness centre and saunaed our selves stupid, swam and enjoyed the Jacuzzi. I am lying in bed at present with a loud beeping sound outside. When I look out of my window we have had a massive snow dump overnight a huge one. So it's time to get skies attached and get out there.

We have been out and enjoyed a couple of good days skiing as well as some difficult skiing in some difficult conditions. The van is holding up well and all seems to be going well other than the huge icicles over it and a slight fridge moderation required. We have now awoken to glorious sunshine and this Wednesday will be spent on the mountain.

Well what can u say? a fantastic days skiing. George had some big crashes and some great fun was had. The red runs here are amazingly difficult and very very steep, may be just a bit too much for a 42 yr old. Still I gave the boys a little lesson in border cross so that sort of evened it out. Our other vans are still here bar one whom has had to leave as his van could not cope with the extreme cold. All the other vans have had problems the swifts have frozen in some form or another whereas our Adria shows nothing of the sort of freezing despite the -20 temps and high altitude. Another Adria with its Scottish owners are also not experiencing any problems. Tomorrow will be our last days skiing before contemplating the drive home boo hoo boo hoo.

Well we skied the whole day. Initially we thought we might make an hour or two due to the really bad weather. Well, all of a sudden it started to clear, and we thought what the heck. The boys went to the snow park and I skied a bit with them and just watched them having fun. What made me wince a bit was just how fast they are growing up. They are becoming young men in front of my eyes. George is now 14 and heading for 15 this year. He is exceptionally strong, and determined. Harley who will be 13 in a few months is a bit of a whinger but a clever lad, but most of all great fun to be with. Nikki and I talked about how we had managed to have a great family holiday with a lot of laughs. We did not see the others much as they seemed to do their own things, which is fine, but it allowed us to have some quality family time which is what our motorhoming adventure is always about.

Anyhow I digress, we finished skiing and headed off the mountain. The snow was appalling in the morning, but in the evening we managed to get down off the mountain without an issue. W drove down to Albertville for a spot of tea (Mcdonalds) much to Harleys discuss as he is a Veggie. We then headed off to Annecy. On arriving at Annecy aire, again, it was fully maxed out, so we headed off to another aire. We eventually ended up at Bellegarde Sur ValSerine. A nice little place with parking for 2 vans. We stopped the night and had a fun quiz out of the pub quiz book we own. In the morning we travelled off toward Calais, stopping at a Fort used by the French in the first world war. An interesting experience. As soon as we hit Calais we headed on the ferry and I decided to go for home and arrived home at 0200 on Saturday morning, a total of 18 hours of driving.

Ok, so I often get asked what it costs for these trips so here goes,

We spent approx £400 on fuel, the aire cost us £90 for the week, We spent £350 on lift passes and approx £100 on nothing, as well as £100 on food for the van. We then spent £100 on the ferry crossing and that’s about it. Not bad for a family of four to go skiing.

What about the resort?

Well we have stayed at much nicer, it was OK, just not as pretty. The resort was big and very busy, we prefer the more French resorts and to embrace ourselves in the culture of France. However the positive was the skiing, amazing skiing, loads to ski and If I went back for the next 2 years we would probably be missing some.

Would I do it again? Probably not with so many other vans, it was good, but I think we may well go on our own next time. This will enable us to go where we want without any problems.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM WHITBY

2011-01-03T02:58:00.000-08:00

Danby aire

Well just a short post to wish everyone a happy new year. Here is what we done..... Firstly we were meant to be going to Wales for a meet with the owner of Motorhome Fun. sadly due to a family illness it was cancelled. We therefore opted to gate crash another meet in Darlington. Sadly on arriving there the snow had just finished ane left the club car park very muddy and dirty. With this in mind we opted not to stay but go for a tour of the North Yorkshire moors.

the North Yorkshire Moors

Road to Whitby

We spent the first night in the visitors centre in Danby where we were joined by our friends Family guy and pat and Jan. we had a lovely walk in the morning before I took us on a tour of the moors in the vans. Something you would not wish to be doing in the peak season. The moors can be quite steep for motorhomes. Any how, we went via Goathland on too Whitby.

We spent the afternoon walking Whitby riding on the Whitby Steam Bus and bagging some fish and chips before wild camping again. This time we chose the docks and were soon joined by one or two other motorhomes. We celebrated the New Year together with out having to kiss loads of ill people in a club, just watching the fireworks going off, the lanterns being released and just enjoying ourselves... great fun,,,

Whitby Steam bus

Our Adria looking over Whitby

George & Tara

Whitby Abbey

Our Whitby Aire that we made.

No problems with the van and my new shower tap seems to be working great. So it's off to France next on our skiing trip. not for about 7 weeks but I am excited already... Happy New year and happy camping.

Let it Snow let it Snow let it Snow.

2010-12-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

Well the degree course is going just about OK and half way through now. Christmas is coming and I suppose wherever you are in the UK you will of had at least some snow. We have had our fair bit here in Cheshire and I have had a few problems with the van. Firstly, we were going to the Caringorn mountains in Scotland for a few days skiing. This meant that I needed to give the van a quick service. I therefore opted to do a oil and filter(s) change. Whilst draining off the oil the sump plug refused to come out and simply sheered in my hands. A quick trip to my local friendly garage and he was able to help me.
I then had problems with the tap in the shower leaking. This was as a result of getting caught out in the winter. Still I await delivery of my new one but opted to trip to Scotland with out a shower and the water just blocked off.
So I thought, no bother and off we went all loaded with ski gear and a few essentials to cope with the poor weather.

On arriving at Nikki's brothers in the Scottish wilderness we turned on the news to hear of all the people that had been stuck in the snow on the M6. If we had left an hour later we too would of been stuck. However we managed to get up there no problem. The van returning 24mpg on a 5 hour motorway run was good enough. Whilst driving to the Cairngorns the next day, the roads were amazing. I have never seen so much snow.

I nipped out on the Sunday morning to run through the mountains. in Total about a 6 mile run in temps of -10.... brr it was cold but worth while. We wild camped at the furnicular in the mountains. nothing else in sight, high up, surrounded by snow, and nothing else. We had a great family night and some real good chatter. It was another one of those reasons why families should be forced to have motorhomes.

We skied on the Monday in very very difficult conditions. The pistes were really icy and badly maintained, off piste was better but quite dangerous as high up you could not see your hand in front of your face.!!

After skiing we all walked Tara who loved all the snow and wondering around the mountain, before driving the 300 miles home in one stretch. No problems with the drive, the boys slept aftter hard day on the slope.,,, and Nikki fed and watered me as I drove.

So a happy Christmas to you all and see you in the new year. We will be spending it in Mid Wales at motorhomefun creators party....

have fun now.

5 nights in Cornwall with Friends and Body Boards.

2010-11-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

SO we have just returned from 5 great nights in Cornwall. We stayed on a Haven site which is something we would never normally contemplate. However the deal was so good it was not to be sniffed at. Plenty of good things for the kids to do, great beaches, and a short walk into town. But most of all hardly a soul around.

We drove down with some friends, and spent the whole week just having fun, lots of it. I took the car in order to do the regular run to the fish and chip shop. Returned as little as 20mpg with the car on teh back but I was going a little faster than normal.

We were able to pick our pitches and we opted for some well away from everything which meant the 5 dogs we had with us could just go out and play when ever they wanted too. WE enjoyed plenty of trips down to the beach and some good company.

So not too much to say other than the Motorhome is really really doing a great job. I keep contemplating a change to a big Burstner but, just can not make up my mind. I will keep thinking about it for now.

So here's to the next trip out which will be Scotland for some skiing if we get any snow in December, followed by Wales for New year.

Happy travels all....

The season Finale

2010-09-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

Well we were off to Lincoln to marshall the Lincoln Finale MMM show. The least said about this event the better I think. We arrived Friday am and had to rely on some help from our funster friends to get parked up safely. We arrived in pouring rain but worse still was the freezing cold weather. This was yet anotehr weekend away with out the kids,,, ahh bliss, a look in to the future of our motorhoming life when the kids no longer come. The event itself offered some great entertainment and lots of show type stalls to spend our wares. However, we opted to not bother with any of that and just mingle. We offered tea and cake on Saturday morning which was very well attended and met a few new funsters. Saturday night was a quiet one for us as we caught up with old firiends. Again I toyed with the idea of a van change but Nikki is not having any of it so no go there. Nikki was sick Saturday night and this was not alcohol related and this put a bit of a damperner on proceedings. However we had the car with us again and went in to Lincoln for a good look around the city. Another fascinating city with a great cathederal.

Sunday meant breakfast a good look around the show and then hitching the car up and driving home. The van is now parked up with no further events for approx 4 weeks and a trip to Cornwall.

Weekend in Bath and a comedy Walk.

2010-09-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

Well we decided on a date and finally got to use the comedy walk tickets I won on a charity auction. We stayed at Bath Marina campsite with many other motorhome fun people whom would join us on the walk. It was a bit of an experience for me as thiswas the first time that we were to take our newly aframed car with us. It towed a dream and my milage per gallon actually increased due to the fact I drove much slower. We had a great night on the Friday and relaxed with friends. George and HArley played with other kids in the adjacent park and Tara, well, just played. Following on from this we awoke Saturday and Nikki used the car to pop in to see her sister and get some shopping done. On the Saturday night we went to see the now famous Bath Comedy Walk presented by motorhome fun's own compare JJ. It was a truly great event, very funny and a lot of fun. Bath is a fantastic city to go around, well maintained, friendly people and just a really nice ambiant feel to it.

Sunday just became a drive home after a rather late night. still a good fun weekend in a great city, pics to follow

France 2010 motorhoming as a family again.

2010-08-31T14:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday-on

Well I am writing this from my iPhone whilst being sunned .The time finally came for our summer time holiday. Knowing not where we are going other than going to the south west of France we dropped Tara in the kennels and set on our way to the boat. We arrived at Dover without a problem as the use of my RAC app steered us around a mother of all traffic jams on the M1 . When we arrived at Dover we had a snide look around the fantastic battle of Britain war memorial before going to Tesco’s for shopping and getting the customary earlier ferry to Calais. On arrival we set off for the air at St Valery Sur Somme but in typical fashion changed our minds and found a great aire at Berck instead. The aire is approx 1.5 hours from Calais, overlooking the sea and a very nice little place. However for us it was raining when we arrived and when we left. We stopped over night and got a good early start heading for Beaugency aire. Arrived at the aire around 2pm and then had a quick look around the town. The kids complaining like mad we changed our plans again and thought we would head toward our first site in the Dordogne. We set out on a further 5hour drive with Nikki agreeing to do a stint of one hour driving. A little whole after setting off we were to suffer a stone through the windscreen. We nether the less continued our journey and contacted auto glass on route whom arranged a fitting at a place called Periguex on the Monday via there France company called car glass, a well oiled operation. Monday being a few days away we continued our journey. The last 35 miles of road we hit in darkness and would you believe had some of the most difficult narrow windy roads ever negotiated by a campervan....needless to say I was driving at this point along roads only just wide enough for the motorhome in the pitch black through a forest with a massive expanding cracked windscreen “ good old sat nag”. Any how the advantage was the wild life we spotted whilst driving, an owl a deer, lizards and fire fly’s looking immense on the journey...we wild camped by a river in the pitch black but not far from the site we had chosen. After a short interrupted wild night’s sleep we awoke and went to the campsite where for just 20£ we got electric a swimming pool free wifi and a great location,. I called and ordered my screen and for Monday and we spent time riding our bikes with the kids, swimming in the pool and generally enjoying the excessive temps we have at present, tomorrow we kayack 24 miles down the Vesere river.

Saturday

Well we awoke on Saturday to more glorious sunshine. I inspected the cadac BBQ to see it had caught fire last evening. So looks like a new cadac required to add to the new windscreen and we are only on day 3!!! Today we have been kayacking for 20kms and are all suitably tired ,so we have had a river swim and now sit at the pool awaiting some lovely food from the restaurant.

Sunday

So today we had a change. After a nice nights meal we slept in such hot sticky heat that the morning did not make us too refreshed, we awoke and went for a quick dip in the pool to get rid of the aches and pains we experienced from the long kayak. Today though we fancied something different...today we decided for some touring in the van and a picnic.. We put our stuff away and within 20 or so we set off exploring the Dordogne. I neglected to do something important. I forgot to take the flag pole down so that obviously hit a tree somewhere along the route... Needless to say I was a bit pissed off but hey ho onwards and upwards...:. We had a nice picnic by the river and returned for some lovely swimming and tea before moving off to watch what I can only say must of been the best firework display ever...over a hours worth of amazing pyrotechnics seen to a 41 year old man...

We move off tomorrow for some more fun somewhere and check out of this extreme value 20 £ campsite off to somewhere like Biaritz where you know it will cost 3 x that.

Monday

Well we left the Dordogne as planned and headed for Perigeux to get the wind screen replaced. The Boys slept as this was done, and Nikki and I walked the streets for a couple of hours whilst awaiting..I just love France and its way of life. I know one day I will live here for a while I'm just not sure when. Anyhow, with the new screen fitted by a company called car glass which is the same as our own autoglass only more helpful and friendly we set off on our way. We set off for an aire at Capbretton in an inspiring journey we arrived and managed to find a few spots on the aire which in essence was a giant car park for motorhomes with direct beach access and 11 Euros per night with water and electric. We strolled to the beach which is well worth a visit on it's own. The waves and surf are immense even for us novice people, the night was filled

With a walk in to the town by Nikki

And I and a little BBQ.

Tuesday

This saw us head off to cpain but getting no further than about 10 miles before we just copuld not face the traffic. We opted to go to another aire at Le Brenne to check it out. A lovely aire not quite in the action but very peaceful and really shaded but only opened a couple of months per year. We decided to head back to Capbretton and managed to find an even more interesting spot on teh aire before getting out and doing some serious wave work. The waves remain amazing and we such great fun that at the end of the day we were knacked. We finished hte eveing with a meal on the beach before taking some sun set pics and heading back for some sleep.

Wednesday- Friday

Saw us head off to Siegnoss to a water park. However when we arrived there it was so much like a busy little place we just headed straight for the beach. Me and the boys spent the whole day at the beach getting sun burned and Nikki read a book back at the van. Following our swimming we headed off to the aire at Soustons plage just managing to get a spot.

The two nights spent at the aire were relaxing with a few walks and cycles in to Vieux Boucout for a bite and a look around the tat shops. We met with some fellow motorhomers who had been using the aire for 15 years. And came back year after year. It was nice and relaxing but this was helped by the spannish guy smoking joints next to me. We set off after a couple of days heading back to the Dordogne at the boys requests

Friday night saw us arrive back in the Dordogne for some more father son s time and a spot of more relaxation. We spent a further two nights on the original site and spent some time just bonding and being happy really. A French wedding on the Saturday night kept us well awake and by the time Sunday arrived we again set off on the journey north.

Sunday

This was to see us stumble accoss a loverly aire about 5 miles outside of Beugency. It had a lake and a sports area for me and the kids to do a spot of football and larking about and was just a nice friendly place.

Monday saw us head the final 300 miles back to Calais. On arriving at Calais we eneded up having to pay a £60 surcharge to change our ferry and to get a ferry early hours Tuesday morning. We did so stopping in the port. And made our way on the 04-15 for the journey home. Once home Tara was reclaimed and then it was a case of a little more relaxation nd cleaning the van out. Thats that for now, so here’s the run down.

We were away for 13 nights in total. We covered about 1500 miles. We stayed on a mix of cheap campsites and aires as well as a couple of nights wild camping. The whole lot of camp fees was less than £120 for 13 nights. Considering this is rip off high season and the boys were kept amused that is good, that I promise.

We encountered numerous problems on this trip, smashed windscreen, a cadac fire loss of a flag pole and being ripped off by P&O ferries.

On the plus side we spent quality family time. We have previously been away for the last 5 holidays showing others around. We have really enjoyed doing that and would never complain, but this time was different, this was like a real family catch up. George is 14 this year and Harley is rapidly becoming a teenager. Not often they want time with you these days but Motorhoming forces that and we played cards to playing silly games as well as talking like grown ups and having discussions about education.

Till next time which is just 2 weeks, good luck, be healthy and be prosperous

Paul

WE NEED MORE POWER SCOTTIE

2010-08-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well being due to go accross the channel in a few weeks I thought I would like to have 240v when ever I chose without having to get the generator out for a simple task like hair drying or charging things like laptops. It is not essential and I know that but its a handy thing to have,. So I opted to buy a 1.2KW inverter from a fellow motorhomer on Motorhome fun. Here is a synopses of my fitting it.
Firstly I encountered problem after problem, my initial plan was to place the Inverter under the seat, with an in line fuse and wired up to the inlet of the 240v input via a relay. On the face of it this appeared quite a simple plan. I had a relay, and set about doing this. However the first problem I then encountered was that the inverter would not fit under the seat,,, dam and blast it was about 4mm to big no matter what I tried. So then it would have to go in the battery compartment and I would have to move one of the batteries under the seat.
Mine was a little more complicated as I already have a professionally wired inverter (750w) for my air conditioning unit wired in where the battery electrics were so these needed moving as well, also I thought I would take the opportunity to tidy up all the other wiring that the last owner had put in, (additional 12 v sockets, radio that will work of leisure battery)

So having moved the battery to be under the seat, I then set about running a cable from the battery compartment to the electric box. This was to go under the van, and back up in to where the 240v inlet was. When I got it there I looked at all the cables and I looked at the regulator, I then phoned a few people including my Dad whom was an electrical engineer on military helicopters for advice on how to wire up the relay. My dads advice was if your asking the question, then don't attempt it. I therefore had to heed his advice and re-invent my plans. So I thought about another idea. This involved using the cable I had already installed to make a 4 3 pin 240 socket in the back of the van for Nikkis hairdryer . This would mean I had power at the rear of the van which would run from the inverter. I also would not have to disturb any of the Van electrics and potentially create more problems. So alas a little drilling here and there and the sockets were installed.

So back to the inverter end. I then became apparant that when I wanted to use anything off of those sockets at the back I would have to be able to switch the inverter on and off. I could as suggested before leave the inverter permanently on and have a switch in the wire. I thought this to be too dangerous so again had to think about where the Inverter would be housed. Having already taken my seat out and placed the battery under the seat, there was no way I was going to be moving that. Also I thought that now I had actually done that, I could actually house another battery where I had moved the old one from. The inverter would be no good housed there as it would mean everytim I wanted to use it I would have to lift up cushions but more importantly I would not be able to see its dials giving out load ratings and usage and battery condition, (I love a set of lights flashing).

So I then opted to wire the inverter direct to the batteries, the live off one and the earth off the other. I then mounted it behind the drivers seat and next to the bench seat. There its unintrusive, and also has another spare socket available should I choose to use it.

So, now the following has been tested fully, Nikki's hairdryer has been run for more than 1/2 hour and this has not dented the batteries hardly at all (volt meter tested), Harley's laptop, the one that started all this when it would not charge on the smaller 300w inverter now charges perfectly. I can microwave a pie, and most of all I can have proper toast out of my little toaster with ease.

In answer to the boys toys critics, yes it might be juicy, but I have now the option to create a bigger battery bank (should I choose and need too). I will no longer need to get out of my van and fire up my generator when we are travelling down to the alps in winter after stopping over night and having a shower in the morning. I can have pie for breakfast without getting my generator out.

But too top it all off, thanks to another funster, I needed a bigger inverter for the laptop anyway, a minimum of 600w, yet for the same money I have a much bigger and much more useful 1200w installed

Paul Nicholls is fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund

2010-07-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

Paul Nicholls is fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund

I hope you all take the time to visit my justgiving web page.

http://www.justgiving.com/Paul-Nicholls

trust me its hard work,

WATCHET 2010

2010-07-30T00:41:00.000-07:00

Well it was that time of year again. The school summer holidays were upon us and it was time to go down to see my mum & dad in the lovely Somerset countryside.

We left on the Tuesday morning having gone via Birmingham to pick up my newly re-conditioned mattress. Having put it in the van off we went for the remainder of the journey.

We arrived in Watchet and pitched up at the Helwel bay camp-site. There was little room for me so I had to pitch in the paddock with no electricity. No problem for me as I thought it would give me a good opportunity to test out my new solar panel....

Anyhow I popped up and saw my mum and dad whom lived a 5 min walk away from the site. The kids opted to spend the night there leaving me with an opportunity for some serious relaxation.

On the Wednesday morning I awoke really refreshed due to my new mattress and I popped up to pick the boys up for a trip in to Minehead. we used the West Somerset railway to get in to Minehead and went by the steam train. A great little journey and great fun. We spent the day playing on the beach along with Tara the dog and had what I can only describe as some quality father son time.

We came back to the van and enjoyed a fair amount of film and relaxation before sleeping. On the Thursday we again opted for some beach walking and some rock climbing before again visiting my mum and dad to bid them farewell.

We had a great family bit of time in Watchet amongst some pleasant weather, my solar panel coped well enough and we then headed back up the m5-m6 to Cheshire. Only another 2 weeks before we go off on our proper summer jolly but this was a good little bit of practice.

Knutsford Show

2010-07-30T00:26:00.000-07:00

Well, it was a chance to go to a show near to where we live. A good job too really as we had to pick both of our children up from different locations. One (harley) had been to France on a school trip and was due back Friday, the other George had been on Army cadet camp and was due back on the Saturday. We arrived Thursday morning having had some friends (Ash & Lynn) come and stay on our drive on the Wednesday evening. Again we had decided to go with Motorhome fun. Well as much as I love meeting with all the funster's it was nice to have a bit of time on our own. We spent 3 days looking around the show and very very nearly saw our debt increase more than the nations by acquiring a burstner i821.

However after tooing and throwing we decided against it. We really liked the van but just thought we would wait until such a time as the kids no longer come with us before going head over heal in to our new van. So therefore a little adjustment or two was required with our current van. First and foremost we decided to have the cab bed mattress re-covered but more importantly re-foamed. This was done by care-a-van whom took the mattress way with them on the Sunday and I was too pick it up the following Monday prior to my trip to Watchet in Somerset.

I also opted to get my self a new car. A car that I could actually tow behind the motorhome on the occasions when it would be handy. Not always you will understand, just the times where it would be useful. Having been to the last two meets whereby we have had to have the car follow in order to be able to go back and sort the children's social lives out it just seemed the right thing to do. So shortly after the show having seen one at the show I purchased a fiat panda 100hp the sports model and we love it. Its going to be a-framed in a few weeks but looking forward to it already.

Sorry I digress, right, so we had 3 wonderful nights and then I decided to stay an extra night in order to enjoy myself. I went with others to the entertainment and saw a great band, a sort of remixed 50-60s artists. A really good night and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The Haganaps Bring and Buy meet. bit of cooking, solar panel fitting

2010-06-30T02:33:00.000-07:00

Thursday

Well, it was time. After months of planning the time had arrived for the much anticipated Bring and Buy meet. This was a meet that was arranged by Nikki and My self through the Motorhome fun website. We have been to so many other meets we thought it was fair to set something up ourselves. I never quite imagined a group of 60 motor homers turning up. Normally 10-20 would be a good turnout and makes these events nice and homely. On this occasion I had 55 vans registered to turn up. Its then you start to concern yourself about the fact they won’t all fit on the field, or that you have forgotten how big the field is and that some will be left on the road.!!!!! Anyhow, not to be undone, I thought go for it and see what happens.

I arrived at 10am, to find just one van arrived already which gave me ample time to let Tara have a run around and play.

As the vans started to arrive I started to attempt to get them all in order, Nikki had given me a cunning plan, after 2 vans had come in that plan was out the window. Then my iphone was bleeping with PMs from the site stating that they had changed their minds and would like to attend. Then some people tuned up and said they had read it on the forum and had not had time to book, then of course it was the odd “I booked for Friday but I am a day early syndrome”. Still I never minded as it added to the fun. Bryan the site administrator then arrived and delivered me my solar panel for fitting which I will describe later.

So the vans arrived the weather was beautiful and I had a couple of shandies and a few chats to pass the night away.

Friday.

I awoke bright and early On Friday to take the dog for a walk in anticipation of all the vans arriving later. By the time I had returned The vans were well and truly arriving. I had started to concern myself about room once more but it made little difference, the vans were coming and coming and coming. In hindsight it was not then a good idea to commence the fitting of my new acquired 80w solar panel. Every time I went up to my roof another van turned up requiring parking. I got a fair bit of help fitting my solar panel but really it is not too difficult to do. I opted to go through straight to the battery but without sufficient wire the Panel ended up being completed when I arrived home. It must of worked out the longest solar panel fitting in history. With nearly all the vans arriving by late Friday bar a few exceptions and only two to arrive on Saturday morning, it worked out that we had managed 60 vans in total. Wow, quite an achievement if I do say so my self.

On Friday it was Nikki’s punch night, a cocktail of Vodka and some weird juices. Also added was some home made cakes which went down a treat. There was a good attendance at the Punch night but then all of a sudden we had encountered our first problem. People had booked fish and chips, and had been happily eating away but when attempting to pay, they were being told that I WAS PAYING !!!! The pub refused to take money for them and I was left having to collect. A quick word with the Landlady and things were changed and order restored. There was quite a wait for fish and chips with about 80 people wanting them.

Saturday.

On the Saturday it was another book in for the last two vans and a quick dog walk. Then it was time for the bring and buy part of the meet. Several wares were put out in front of vans and some were not even slightly motorhome related. However it was all in good spirits. Someone presented a couple of crash helmets and said they were for scooters on the back of a motorhome!!!!! Excellent I thought well and truly had. Then there was the normal fly squats and useless tat I was being convinced was all part of motor homes. Nikki and I sold a few bits and pieces for the club, mainly motorhome fun badges and flags.

When Saturday night came around it was just in time for the great cook off. People had attended their vans to cook what they could in a van or on a BBQ, we had a huge get together with over 100 people. Some of the food was outstanding and the pictures you see are of some of the fine dishes prepared. I sadly spent too much time in the sun drinking some lovely Cider and becoming more and more and wasted. This would cause a lttle problem the next day, I just thought with all the organising done that I could just relax a little, but I relaxed a little too much……

Sunday-

On Sunday I awoke to see an awful mess outside of my van, a mess of paper plates tables etc etc. I had arranged a dog walk for the Sunday Morning. At 10 am. When people started arriving at my van I decided to put it back 45 mins to give my hangover from hell time to relax itself. I drank plenty of water and cooked about 50 breakfasts for people that kept coming over, Then it was time for the dog walk and a look a the scarecrows. The scarecrows were fantastic as was the dog walking. About 40 people and about 20 dogs went and it was again great fun. On returning to my van I settled down to watch the England Germany game in my van. Well as per normal, that led to extreme disappointment but that’s a separate discussion. I spent the next couple of hours thanking people for coming and waving goodbye. It was eventually about 8 pm before I went home along with Tara, and Nikki driving ahead with Harley back to our house. I had had such a great time and left about 5 funsters staying an extra night. It was such hard work getting everything organised but we had had such a great time I started to feel disappointed it had to end, But all things in life end and that includes us, so back to home back to work and then a case of away in a couple of weeks to the Northern Motorhome show and France in the Summer holidays.

I was also asked about doing the New year meet and think that we might just might consider it.

So with the meet over what did I like and what did I not like?

Well firstly It’s a real pleasure getting people happy. When I looked around, another funster said to me, you did this, I thought wow, actually we did. There were kids playing and smiling, there were adults drinking and sharing jokes with others they had never met, friendships born and who knows what else. My goal in life is to make others happy and that in turn I know makes me happy. After all with my vocation in life I suppose thats just part of me.

So what did I not like? Hard that one, the more I think about it the more I think I actually really liked it ALL. There was a little stress, well alot initially but it really was worth it. Yes the weather helped but I would think that regardless of the weather us funsters would of had a great time any way.

On return Jim (the admin) has decided to start charging a subscription to members in order to fund the site. The site has really grown, I mean really really grown. I do hope that those who came on this meet subscribe as well as many more. The site is excellent fun with a great community feel and for £12? Amazes me that some think its not worth it but each to their own

Till next time which is the Northern Motorhome show, stay safe and enjoy what ever it is you like doing.

STRATFORD SHOW.

2010-06-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

Well, it was time for another spell away. We opted for the Stratford US show. A great location and so close town and only £30 for 3 nights. I went to the van on Wednesday to get it sorted and ready and hey ho what should happen but a problem starting. It was the imobiliser. it would not deactivate. So I mulled it over and could not sort it out. I then contacted the AA low and behold about 5 mins prior to there arrival, bingo the light on the dash went out and away she went.

We left on Thursday lunchtime, and arrived about an hour later having had to use the toll road due to the extensive M6 tail backs. George came with a friend and Harley was meeting a friend on arrival. We soon got unloaded and set up. Our pitch looked as if had been taken over by Gypsies. Eventually I found the Motorhome fun group and we settled in on the little plot we had and began having fun.

We met with some old faces and new, the kids got down to playing hide and seek and all sorts of other games, we on the other hand got down to some serious BBQing.

On the Friday we awoke and took Tara out for a walk. The weather could not of been hotter if we would of been having this show on Mars. Baking I tell ya. !!! Tara in her big black fur coat needed cooling down so we took her down to the River where she swam and cooled down with a load of other dogs.

Friday night saw the arrival of some more funsters and we had our first meander around the show. I decided that I would go for a run on the Saturday am as part of my training for the HELL UP NORTH RUN. I decided to go with Sian, however before agreeing to this next time I will remember the following, a) don't drink to excess the night before,,,b) don't go in the mid day sun when temperatures are in the 90s. Anyhow we done a couple of miles which was good by anyone's standards.
On the Saturday night we had an American style dinner and some Karaoke, this is where I got to sing out loud really loud and really badly, under the influence of course, but but but, great fun.

Sunday saw another swim for Tara and a quick look round the show. I did decide whilst at the show that I would purchase a Solar panel. As I write this I have managed to get an 80amp with regulator and fixing brackets for a little over £200, I will fit it myself soon.

Next stop for the Bus and us, is the Meet at Wrenbury. This is the Bring and Buy meet that I have organised myself. At present I have about 50 vans attending.... oh boy that's going to be hard work with a capital W

Braking down.

2010-04-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

Ok so I decided to give the van a good service before going to the Peterborough show. In my wisdom I thought I would just inspect the brakes as they had been squeeling. Thinking a bit of copper grease would surfice I got cracking. When I removed the pads it was evident that it was a little more terminal. Although the van only has 26k miles, the pads had loads of meat but were literally falling apart. Looks like the trips to the Alps had played there part. I therefore opted to change the pads and the Discs as they had become warped. Im thinking it may be the heating and instant cooling they suffered through the winter. Trying to stop 4+ton on some hairpin mountain roads takes some doing. Anyhow, all fixed now and ready to keep on touring.

CHILDLESS AT THE PETERBOROUGH SHOW.

2010-04-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

O k so the Peterborough show came around again. remarkably this is our 3rd year of going. This year would be different though. For this year there were no kids with us. Nikki;s sister had come to stay and look after them. This meant we could taste our motorhoming without kids.
We arrived Friday night and it seems odd but I have so little to write? we went with Motor home fun and we met new and old friends alike through the normal active social network we now have.
We spent time planning our 1 year out adventure. Nikki and I are planning a 1 year tour, only 9 years before we go!!
I took no pics whatsoever, shamefull of me I know, I purchased a trolley and a few other bits I dont need but, it was worth going for the entertainment.
The only observation I would make is that motorhoming is so much easier if you do not have the kids with you but when they aint there you miss them so much..
We have a weekend away with one of them in May before the Stratford show... Cant wait for that.

The suns out !!! ggggggrrrreeeeattt

2010-04-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ok so with a last min plan we decided to head off for a motorhome fun meet in a place called Misterton near Rotherham. Doesn't sound glamourous but the plan was to go to York to meet Nikkis family on the Sunday and it would all go down well.
the meet itself was a really nice time., It was one of the few occasions where we met another family with kids the same age as ours and most of all they had a motorhome.

We arrived pretty late on Friday after a lovely drive through Glossop and along the Snake Pass. What a wonderful route that is. We then arrived at the big city of Sheffield where a young lad of about 7 with an earing sat with his dad and decided to stick his fingers up at me and call me a nasty name, all with his dads blessing. Lovely folk those from Sheffield!!! still not to be deterered we carried on and arrived in time for a BBQ and some soft drink....

On Saturday we had a nice relaxing day with a little bit of fishing and family time before sharing a drink with our new neighbours. The kids were not too bad and seemed to enjoy them selves but of course they would never admit to that would they!!!

Sunday we drove the hour or so to the wonderful city of York. It is without doubt my favourite. Every time we go there it just shows us how England should be. Stopped in the Park and ride and £4.60 for Nikki me the dog and the two kids to go in to the city. On arrival we met Nikkis family and had a picnic before returning the 120 miles home...
All in all a very nice time with fantastic weather.

Happy Campers.

COLD WET AND MISERABLE AT EASTER

2010-04-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ok so where would i start for this one.
Well my colleagues at work were asking where I was going for our easter break. My reply was Newark show, Cleethorpes, and then Wigan!!! Well no wonder they were not jumping for joy at the prospect.

So this blog will be rather short for not alot if anything happened.
We left for the Newark motorhome show on Friday. On arrival we spent the night with friends having a drink whilst the kids played hide and seek in the dark. On Saturday we ventured out and bought some screens to go round the awning. The ones that look like net curtains and prevent the wind from getting in. A fine job they do too.
Saturday night was spent in a pig shed with a load of others, and we met a few new people. On Sunday we waved good bye to everyone as they left. We on the otherhand stayed until the Monday.

On Monday morning we drove through Linconshire to Cleethorpes. Namely is was the Haven site at Cleethorpes. Now Haven may sound like Heaven but that is where the similarities ended on this jaunt. The kids went for a swim on the Monday afternoon, we then went and slashed some cash in the amusement park and George and I had a game or two of pool. On Tuesday Nikki and I went for a walk with tara in to Cleethorpes. Cleethorpes has been well done up and looks very nice. Sadly for us it rained for a total of 4 hours whilst we were walking. Also with the temps below freezing I was not particularly enjoying myself. Tuesday night was spent drying off before getting to bed.
On awaking to yet more rain on Wednesday morning I finally decided enough was enough. For the first time ever we packed up and left for home. Knowing we were off to Wigan on the Friday I thought it best to just go and do a little R&R at home. We came home until Friday.

Friday we set off for the Charity Farm campsite in Wigan to meet some friends. Charity Farm is a very nice campsite just off the m6 (4 miles) but you could be 400 miles a way. It has fishing and horse riding and in fact is very nice. The let down is in the pricing. The owner is like the guy from carry on camping, you know the one, £1 for this £1 for that, even charging to use the shower!!!
Still we had a nice 3 nights there with friends and had a little ride out on our push bikes as well as lots of dog walking. A pleasant little part of the country.
Not a lot to add then really , quite uneventful i suppose but a break nethertheless . We have now decided to go to mistleston in Lincolnshire for a weekend as we are going to meet Nikkis family in York on the Sunday. So should be a nice weekend, I just hope the rain clears up.

Happy camping.

SKIING IN A MOTORHOME

2010-02-21T04:22:00.000-08:00

WEDNESDAY

Well Nikki eventually finished work and off we set for our much awaited and anticipated ski trip. We set off with plenty of time leaving at 1pm. I thought we might actually make the 6pm ferry and get in to France a little earlier than first thought. Ash and Lynne were going to meet us at Calais. As we approached the m25 the journey had been uneventful, that was all about to change. We approached the m20 and it was what you might say a little snowy. As we progressed we heard that there had been an accident somewhere off the m20 junction so thought it would not affect us. WRONG. We approached junction 12 of the m20 and sat in traffic, when we began moving it became apparent what the problem was. It was a bit of snow, but Dover council had decided not to bother gritting the road. Now let me put this into perspective for those who do not know the area. I am talking about the massive hill on the m20 before the tunnels. This had degenerated in to what you would call an ice rink. It was absolutely awful. There were Lorries sliding up sideways, cars sliding and skidding up the hill to try and make it. It was a free for all; if you were moving then you just had to keep going. The worse set of behaviour from motorists I have ever witnessed. No police, no council workers, it was a case of if you can’t get up the hill you were to be stranded. What a diabolical situation to be in. Anyhow, we of course with a front wheel drive motorhome at 4t went for it and failed. We did not manage to climb the hill, I got stuck and started to slide backward. Anything else that was moving just continued to move around us. I sat in the middle of the motorway, hazards on stuck on the ice rink. I then realised I had a plan. Snow chains would not have been any good as it was just ice and no snow. I therefore remembered that I had in my van a bag of rock salt that I had brought. I then gritted my tyres which was enough to get us moving up the hill. Of course the minute that we stopped again because a car or lorry had got stuck, I then got stuck and out came the grit again. Eventually we managed to get up the hill and arrived at the ferry terminal at ten to ten fearing we had missed our 10pm sailing. Fortunately the sailing was delayed which meant that we could still catch the ferry. However I think we would then wish we had not got that ferry. It turned in to the roughest crossing we had endured in 20 years of going to France. It was throw up time with waves crashing over the side of the ferry. We landed in Calais and had never been so pleased to get off the ferry. We then moved on to the Calais aire to get some sleep. It was however snowing and snowing very heavy in Calais. That did not bother us we just thought we need some sleep.

THURSDAY

Awaking Thursday and saying hello to Ash and Lynne we set on our way to get as far as we could. As soon as we left we recognised the difference between the way the French manage their roads to ours. There were gritters out immediately gritting and ploughing the snow. We saw snow all the way to our stop that night. We aimed for Annecy but it was evident after the morning that we would not be getting that far due to the snow. We utilised the toll down to Reims, came off for a McDonalds’ headed for Chalons, St Dizzier, Chaumont, down the a5 to Dijon and stayed at the tourist information office at Parcey. Not an aire but somewhere quiet with parking behind the tourist information we thought we would give it a go.

FRIDAY

We were not disturbed and after a good night sleep headed on our way to get to our chosen resort of Les Saisies. Off we went on a mixture of tolls and A roads trying to ensure we would get to our aire by about 1ish. Eventually we came off the toll road and started our accent to Les Saisies. We went through Combleaux, Megeve,Praz-Sur-Aly, Flumet, Notre Damm de Bellcombe. As we continued, the mountain pass we were on became more and more treacherous. The snow continued to fall and before long the inevitable happened. We pulled in and started to put the snow chains on. Mine were new and not used and slightly different to my last set. I therefore had problems putting them on. Good that Ash although a beginner on the slopes seemed to be a dab hand at putting chains on. We got moving and 4 miles later we arrived at the resort of Les Saisies. OH WOW WOW WOW. Having been told by every English forum that we would never find a place to stay on the aire, we had no problem. No problem at all even some French guy moved on to give me and Steve a spot next to each other. We then went for a quick look around the resort and boy o boy what a resort. The Skiing looks ace and Harley and I had a quick go on the toboggan run and helped Ash and Lynne transfer there ski gear from the shop to the van. AS I write this we are going to get ready for a bite to eat and get some warm clothes on...

Well we walked in to the resort, had a bite to eat. George decided to become the teenager from hell and we had our normal holiday fallout. I sometimes wish I could be a better parent but it’s difficult having teenagers and being quite stressed. Anyhow I fixed him and Harley by going sledging down a massive hill with all three of us lying on the sledge, me at the bottom, George lying on me and then Harley laying on top having given us a push start and then jumping on..Great fun

Now there is a new problem. In typical motorhoming fashion, here we are what seems a million miles from nowhere. So the fridge appears to have stopped working. Strange how these things happen. It has been working fine on gas but now won’t work. It starts up and starts working but as soon as its cold enough it’s ok. However, when the fridge recognises its warm and calls for more gas to cool it down,, it won’t re-ignite. Thinking it could be something as simple as the fact we are not quite level, I thought I would simply just level the van on the chocks. I put the key in the ignition and turned it over and it just went click,,,,,,oooooohhhhhh bugger. I did it a few more times and the same thing occurred. Now before all you other ducatto owners go running back to the dealership for a recall, please remember that as I was doing this the temperature was as low as -22 degrees outside. I therefore suspected either a frozen solenoid or a jammed starter motor. I was just about to go out and give the engine a quick smack to free the starter motor when it turned over and started first click of the key. I then moved up the ramps to level up but alas it did not seem to sort the fridge issue out. I therefore in the morning will attempt to take the fridge vent off and clean the ignitor as I suspect the abuse from the cold and the copious amount of salt on the road may be a contributing factor. As for the engine? Who knows it started so I will just have to try making sure I start it each morning to keep it warm. I have also covered it with a blanket to see if that helps.

Now I know that judging by some of the questions I get asked via this blog, some people read it whilst thinking of getting a motorhome. The important thing to remember is that it never ever runs smoothly. It’s about making sure you have a few tools and a bit of knowledge to iron out small problems before they develop in to major issues. Now even if you think about buying a brand new van don’t expect it to be all plain sailing.

SATURDAY

Well I awoke nice and early to see the beauty of the Alps, the sun shining down on it, clean air, and magnificent views wherever I looked. I walked down to the most gorgeous cake shop for some French bread and a good hour of exercise walking around bought me back to the van where I disturbed the children and woke Nikki. Nikki and I decided to have a mess around on the snow boards. I should nether of listened to the devil in me and bought one. A bit of fun but I think I have now worked out that I am a skier and not a boarder. Nikki having only once had a play on a set of skis (badly) thought she would have a go at snowboarding. Fun she had, but she could not quite work out the concept of turning stopping, getting up, going down or even going up the lift. Sort of ruled it all out really!!.

Anyhow we purchased tickets for me and the boys and returned to the van. I fixed the fridge; it appeared the ignitor had somehow moved away from the gas flame. A 2 min job and it was fixed.

There was lots of fun in the aire this morning, loads arriving and loads leaving made it quite amusing to watch them all messing around. So any readers !!!! Do not arrive on a Saturday. !!

With all my little jobs done and a massive row with the children again, we decided to get off for some skiing. WOW WOW WOW> Les Saisies is an amazing amazing resort. Loads and loads of skiing, we skied from one resort to another to another. We skied red black blue and even the odd green. Great fun was had and the kids and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.

We arrived back at the van for some hot chocolate and a quick chat with Ash and Lynne, they are still going up and down the debutants area but ensure me they will be going down some green runs tomorrow. I hope so because the quicker they get on to some blue runs the quicker they can see the beauty of the place from up above.

After a night cap and quick chin wag we went to bed for a well earned rest.

SUNDAY

Awoken by Nikki this am telling me the batteries were spanked. Strange I thought as I have been whacking a bit of charge in off the genny for an hour or so at a time. Any how the kids had been watching DVDs late in to the night and of course the heating fan coming on regularly through the night would of course do a little bit of damage to the batteries. I therefore fired up the genny to kick start the batteries and came back in only to realise the gas had run out. Not bad that, one 6kg bottle had lasted us a total of 40 hours in temperatures as low as -20. However the real bonus was that my gas packed in, in the morning not in the middle of the night. Anyone who has ever had a caravan or motorhome knows what this feels like. I do have an auto change over but the danger of that is that you’re going to run out of gas and not know it’s imminent. However I have 2 more 6kg bottles and about 13kg worth of gaslow filled bottle so it would appear we will be fine, nothing worse than rationing gas.

Anyhow back to the skiing. It’s another beautiful morning out there. Sun is shining not a cloud in the sky. Nikki and I had a walk through town and headed for the bakers. There is a different feeling about today, its busy very busy. All those that have arrived on the Saturday, are now equipped with skis and on their way to the slopes. Our kids are having a lay in before we venture out, after 12 is always a good time to ski because the French will of course be having there dinner.

Well I have just returned to the van via some off piste skiing. Been out for about 3 hours and now my age is showing. Tired and grumpy I have sat down to watch the Palace v Villa math on the box. After a 2-2draw, an enjoyable match we sit down to a curry and a night in with the kids. The weather has misted over a bit so I wonder what tomorrows skiing will hold.

MONDAY

Wonderful views again, Kids are still lying in bed as I grab 10mins to write. Ash and Lynne have run out of gas and have headed off to the garage to get some LPG. This means we have blocked there space to prevent someone else jumping in there. Naughty I suppose, but it is what the French appear to do so when in Rome and all that. The aire remains exceptionally busy. There is vans coming and looking for spaces regularly about every ½ hour or so another disappointed motorhomer comes in, turns around and goes out. This is however the busy period with school holidays etc. Today when the boys awake we will be off skiing the whole area taking in some other resorts. Lynne and Ash are now comfortably telling me they are doing green runs. Nikki went for a long walk up the mountain yesterday and will probably rest today. We are having a few problems with our electric supply. Only in that we are likely to run out of petrol for the genny and the amount we are using the leisure batteries in the cold is killing them very very quickly.

So off we went skiing again and for 3 hours we set off over the mountains with a ticket to go to all the other resorts. We had a great time skiing but it’s starting to get a little bit icy out there. On one of our final descent we got to the bottom of a red run when the chair lift packed up and left us stranded at the bottom of a run. We eventually managed to wait for a bus that had been arranged to pick us up. However the next thing was that the lift began working again meaning we were then able to get it back to the top and commence our ski back to the motorhome. Eventually we arrived at the back of our van and collapsed in to it. A little bit of reading and bang! I was asleep.

TUESDAY

We lay in bed this am knowing that it was time to move on. The advantage of motorhome skiing is that you are able to move from one resort to another. SO we have therefore begun a plan to move from Les Saisies to Les Rousses about 90miles north. We aim to leave tomorrow am and then arrive about lunchtime for an afternoon skiing before finding an aire. The next step will be to head north to the col de la schlucht and the Vosages mountain range and then spend a couple of days skiing there before heading for the ferry on Saturday AM and picking the bear up from kennels on Saturday pm.

So after deciding what to do, I spent the morning filling up water and emptying toilet. Walking in to town to get a few provisions, before attempting snowboarding for the afternoon. The kids have once again started with there no we are happy to stay in bed all day but Nikki is having none of it and determined to get them out with us. So they have agreed to attempt snowboarding with me. We are going to stay on the same runs as Ash and Lynne. This is all after we had a lovely cooked breakfast outside of the van this am. Yum yum.

Well that’s that then. Harley and I went snowboarding on the green runs. I fell over several times and on at least two occasions really hurt myself. I ended up winded and whiplashed and hurting my arms. After our snowboarding experience we returned to the van and Nikki and I went next door to have a few drinks before bed. A few drinks ended up being a few too many.

WEDNESDAY

Well we awoke and got dressed and headed on our journey back but with the idea to take in another ski resort. We headed over a couple of mountain passes. Namely the most beautiful was the col des aravis in to la Clusaz. Twice we have been in to La Clusaz but in my opinion it is way way to busy. We then headed off to Annecy and a little bit more driving saw us head up to Gex and then on to the col de la faucille. Our journey had been a little difficult as we had spent a lot of it driving through rain. Not good when you intend to go skiing. However we eventually landed in a place called La Dole. This is in Switzerland but I can throw a stone in to France it’s that close. The skiing is just off the d1005 and it is literally on the border. You park in France and ski in Switzerland and you can ski back in to France, wow. Not the best skiing when we arrived as it was a bit slushy, also worth mentioning that this is for advanced skiing. There are mainly blue and red runs and a couple of black. There are a couple of green runs but these are flat and not up to much, but ultra cheap lift passes added to the fact you can stay in the Motorhome for free suits us.

THURSDAY

Well in another change of plan (poor ash and Lynne must wonder) we decide to head for La Bresse Honheck. Well we set off on our way and the weather takes a massive change for the worse. A lot of rain, rain, and more rain. The snow disappears and we wonder if we will ever see anymore skiing. As we head toward La Bresse The snow starts to return. We stop to drop the toilet load in La Bresse itself and start the climb to the ski resort. On arrival we are truly amazed. The resort is completely jam packed. Not a space in any car park let alone two spaces. Nikki and I think on our feet very quickly and we decide to head up to another ski area a few miles further up and in to La Schlucht. On arriving there we pull in to a car park that is actually an aire. I think for a while and then realise we attempted to stay here before. It was 4 years or so ago when returning from the Alps on a skiing trip. It was January and when we arrived to the aire, it was that scary Nikki refused to stop. It had no lights, it is on top of a col, it was windy very windy. On this occasion though it is light by the snow, there are a couple of runs opposite and good runs they are to. Most important it has a snow park. George cannot wait and off he goes skied up and in to the snow park. Harley and I continue on the snow boards and all of a sudden I’m like an expert. I used George’s board which was slightly smaller but much better bindings. I was away and so was Harley. We were off in to the snow park without a problem.

Now the Vosages are not the Alps, granted, but they have their own beauty. A beauty that is unique as far as I am concerned. We end the day with a look around the souvenir shop and over to Ash and Lynne’s for a night cap. We decide to head for Calais tomorrow. No more skiing and off we will go, on the way we will head to a world war 1 or 2 memorial to pay some respect. My kids are spoilt rotten. They know it and so do I. But My grandfather died prematually from injuries sustained in the trenches of world war 1 as a 15 yr old post runner, gas destroyed his lungs and he died in 1936 from pneumonia and being unable to fight it off. Nikki’s grandfathers both saw active duty in WW11 and I always like to remind our children of what went on. They love playing there Xbox war games, but I always feel a reminder is required. As the years go by our ww2 heroes will slowly disappear and perhaps my grandkids may ever forget it happened, who knows.

FRIDAY.

Well IT had to happen at some point; yep we had to go home. I awoke a little fuzzy headed after our night at Ash and Lynne’s, packed the van away and left the Vosages for our journey home. Our journey and plan was to avoid toll roads and get some shopping in on our way. It was a long journey without any problems. We ended up arriving at Dover at 7.50pm watching the ferry leave with Lynne and Ash on it. We therefore headed on to the next ferry at a cost of £16 extra. A long night drive saw us arrive home at 0400 hours. I awoke next day and cleaned the van, job done. Another holiday over.

WHAT WE LEARNED.

Ok, firstly cost- we managed to be away for 10 nights, we stayed only on Aires and so in total spent approx £35 on fees.

I covered around 1893 miles spending a little over £400 on fuel.

Gas and Gennerator petrol worked out at about £30

Lift passes were around £350 for the complete week.

We learnt that the Adria is an excellent piece of winterised Kit.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 3^rd trip skiing in the motorhome. In fact I can honestly say that we prefer skiing in the motorhome to a hotel. You can move between resorts with no fuss. Great fun and your kids will love it.

HAPPY NEW YEARS MEET

2010-01-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

Happy new year-meet at Wrenbury.

30th-December

Well that’s it. I managed to take some time owing and get away early. My plan if I ever had one was to get Nikki home, get the van loaded stick Tara in it and go to the new years meet. I got home said hi put everything in the van and got ready to go the 10 miles or so to the Cotton Arms in Wrenbury.
On arrival I had been warned that there were some issues regarding the ground being a bit soft. However with tempretures hovering around the -5 mark the ground was as solid as a rock.
I unloaded our van as Nikki arrived in the car to give a hand. First problems first. First came no power, this appeared to be a knocked out leisure battery. I disconnected battery 1 and then connected battery 2 and bingo I was running on one battery. This meant a trip to the dealers first thing to get a new battery.
Then problem 2, one of the funsters approached me and said he had no heating. I went over to look at his van and found that there was two regulators on it. One had been put on from the caravan dealership where he purchased the van. It only needed one but it would need a different connector to be placed on it. This meant me disconnecting my gas system to lend him a pipe so we could both have one gas bottle each. However being that it was so cold I could not resist.
Then it was off to some other friends. They to had no power in there van not a didly squat. So out came my torch and with a little bit of too-ing and throwing and the replacement of a fuse (remember that) they to had power via 230v but a knocked out battery for them meant that they too needed me to get a new battery for them.
So all in all a busy first day, I then returned home leaving Nikki with the van and me at home to take care of the kids.

Thursday was of course New Years Eve. After walking the dog and numerous visits to the caravan dealers getting parts I returned to Wrenbury to fit them all. at this point I thought that I might as well do a caravan and engineers course and make some money doing something I enjoy doing. I will look in to that in the future. With the dog given a good walk I thought that’s it I will get in to having some new years fun. We had the use of a pavilion and a buffet for the night. I drank quite a bit but not to the excess of falling over. It was nice to spend the new year with likeminded people having a bit of fun. We saw the New Year in with one of the funsters breathing fire and set off to bed.

All is quiet on NEW YEARS DAY-
Well we awoke new years day and headed off to the host van for a lordish fry up prepared to the highest standard. Yum Yum. It was absolutely gorgeous. I spent the day running between the site and home to pick up or drop off the boys before they finally came back with Nikki and a curry. We ate at our van with more friends before going back to the friends van for more drinks. However I thoroughly deserved my curry after the shenanigans of earlier in the day. A funster asked if I knew where he could get LPG from for his gaslow. My self and another funster whom also was running low thought we would drive to where I get mine from in Crewe (10 miles) . However on arriving there was no LPG it was closed. We then ended up on a 40 mile 2.5 hour detour to Knustsford services to get some. This journey was concluded with Harley being travel sick in my friends nice new motorhome!! Still they have kids so know what its like. Oh and remember the fuse? Well on my return to my van I noticed it was not charging the leisure batteries, problem was? Yep blown fuse,,, however I had none as I had given my last one away…. Still I managed to scrounge one eventually.

Saturday 2nd- Well after waking up and scrounging a coffee, I set about getting as many funsters and their dogs off for a co-ordinated funsters dog walk. Some came without dogs and others just came. Off we went all toggled up due to the really cold weather. A nice walk was enjoyed by all.
On return it was time to go. The event and weekend was over. Back to reality. I then attempted to get the van out with no joy. It was well and truly stuck. Stuck and would not move. For the first time on all my years as a motor homer and caravaner I was stuck in a field. Fortunately a friend gave me a tow and that was it back on my way.

Well its off to the Alps for some snow next so I cant wait for that. In the meantime its more garden work, more dieting and more hard work to get ready

2009-12-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

Friday-

Yippee out comes the van packed and ready to go. Kids finish school at lunch time, Nikki at 2pm, van loaded and off we go to Scotland.

Why? Well first things first, we have to see Nikki's brother kids wife and on this occasion, Nikki’s mum is going to be there.

So we drive the 273 miles 5 hour trip to the hamlet of Glendevon to meet up with the family.

I sit there holed up in the van with Tara whilst Nikki and her family enjoy themselves. Not through choice of course, it’s just Nikki’s brother is allergic to dogs!

Saturday begins with a lovely walk for me and the bear dog. We come back home to a nice breakfast and a proper Scottish fry up,, yum yum.. Whilst the family catch up and the kids play with their cousins, me? I do something I have not done for ages and ages and ages. I sit there and watch the test match on my camos dome. Oh bliss, the whole family happy and me having some me, me, and me time.

On Sunday another walk for me and the bear and accompanied by George we head off for some sledging. Yep the snow has continues and I can now rest assured with the knowledge that we are definitely getting some skiing in whilst we are in Scotland. We set off from Nikki’s brothers at about 2pm heading for the ski resort of Avimore. Described as Scotland’s finest and with plenty of time to arrive and find some parking for a wild camp, away we go. We headed firstly for Perth to fill up the LPG Gaslow and then, fuel food and away we went. We started up the a9 with a little snow. As we progressed so did the snow. The snow progressed to such a point that I thought oh dear this is hard driving but the bottom line is the skiing will be great. After a couple of very slow hours up the a9 and with the snow getting heavier it happened. Every travellers nightmare, accept ours of course. The main road from north to south of Scotland, the main road of this fantastic country was closing as being too dangerous, oh well no problem for us. Me the boys and the dog got out and had a snowball fight. We had a great time. Other poor people in their cars became quite worried and commented on how lucky we were to have our whole house with us. Eventually after several hours the road reopened and after a further couple of slow hours driving we ended up at Aviemore.

Wow, what a great resort,,, we had been there in Easter and summer but never winter. It was truly fantastic, lights, shops etc etc. The only thing missing was the people. We found a little car park to wild camp on and settled in for a nights rest.

Monday.

The Morning saw us awake to a fresh piece of snow and the prospect of some top skiing. We drove the 10 or so trecherous miles to the ski centre and off we went. £50 later with lift passes purchased off we went. Harley and I thought we would use the snowboards and George opted for some skiing. Well after a while of me and Harley realised we had made a big mistake. We are after all very competent skiers and not frightened to entertain a black run. But, we have never used snowboards on snow. After a couple of runs we were well in control. However sadly, Harley’s bindings broke. This meant that Harley got a ride on a snow mobile and I had to board all the way down off the Mountain. I then had to put my skis on and head back up the mountain. However for George and Harley it was too much, they had enough and waited in the van.

After my skiing I decided it was time to head home. After a really trecherous 9 hour journey we finally made it home. The motorway on the way home made me realised just how good a driver I was and how appalling some lorry drivers are. They really should really take more care.

Well anyhow, I’m now home. I’m working all over Christmas. Christmas day, Boxing Day and so on. However I am off new years ever for the Motorhome fun meet. Can’t wait,,, and then it’s off to France for some more ski fun in 6 weeks.

Fitting a Camos Dome

2009-10-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

Fitting a Camos dome.

Well after years of wanting one I finally pushed the boat out and got one. A camos dome. Only the small one, and not the in motion, but nether the less a chance to watch TV as and when we wish.

I purchased the system from eBay for £750 including a sky box and card and a few other gizmos. All that was required for fitting was the feet.

I first had to remove my last sat dish (now for sale on eBay) the maxview was simple enough to remove but of course left a large hole in the roof. I therefore utilised one of the dome feet for installation over this. This would mean reduced chance of ingress and kept the job neat.

Having removed the old dish I measured up where the feet for the new dome would go. I simply put them on and then drew an outline of where they would be. Of course removing the actual plastic dome was required as this is where the feet screw in.

I used sikaflex 515 sealant and adhesive to mount the feet where they needed to go and once mounted .sealed and replaced the lid, and set about placing the cable. I ran the cable across the roof and through a nice little cable gizmo than can be bought from road pro whom indecently I found very helpful.

At this point it was time to drill in to the roof and find the correct access point. I chose just behind the TV cupboard as this seemed the most sensible and meant only one cable from the dome to the receiver.

Another neat job, even if i do say so myself and it was in. I then stripped a few wires about to plumb in the control box and then bingo. At the push of a button all was well and what’s more a signal reached at home.

Please note this is how I did mine and I am no expert, if in doubt ask the experts.

Fitting a reversing camrea

2009-10-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Fitting a reversing Camera.

Well I eventually managed to secure a camera from eBay for the sum of £59 including post. On arrival i was pleasantly surprised to see it as a flat screen TV unit and colour.

The first job was to find a way to route the camera. I wanted as much as possible to keep all the wires outside the van. I therefore opted to take a power source via the radio. I did away with the reverse switch wire to enable me to have the screen on all the time whilst driving to act like a rear view mirror. I placed the screen in the middle of the dash and set about getting the power right. When done all worked fine so it was then to fit the screen and make it permanent to where it would be going.

Having located where the screen ought to go I then had the unenviable job of routing 20m of cable from the dash to the back of the van. I chose to do this by following the main battery cables from under the dash and then in to the leisure battery housing I done this by utilising the door post the door step and then in to the battery compartment.

Having reached the battery compartment I then went outside of the van following other cables and ran the cable all the way under the van until it was at the garage. Up through the garage, along the base of the garage and at this point the cable came in to the van for approx 10 inches. This was the only bit that would and could be seen.

From the garage i drilled in to the bathroom wall behind the cupboards and out of the cupboard to the outside. Still unseen I then fed the cable out of the van to the outside, where by the actual camera was mounted. With a lot of sealant to ensure the van remains dry the job was complete.

All that remained was to connect it all up and turn it on, done in a flash and away I went.

My first impression of use was a positive one. I am pleased I installed it as it really does help with those emergency moments. A luxury? Yes because Nikki could always get out or the kids could look out the bathroom window, but a luxury I’m pleased to have.

OCTOBER HALF TERM IN CORNWALL

2009-10-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

Friday

Ok so its October and October half term. This can only mean one thing another few days away in the van. So where would we go? Well in a moment of drunken kamikaze eBay I ended up buying a camos dome kit!! It was based in Devon, so therefore that was decided we would get off to Cornwall and pick it up on the way.

Oafter numerous attempts at leaving home and returning 3 times as we had forgotten things we eventually got on our way. First stop was Upton on Seven, a lorry park there that did not seem to mind having the odd motor home parked up over night. For a small fee £3-00 we paid and met up with some friends (rex and Marie) whom were heading off to Spain for the winter, how nice!!

Upton on seven is lovely, a really nice old town with what seems a very decent understanding council. We ate a bag of fish and chips and gave Tara a quick walk. The evening was a little disturbed thanks to a grumpy teenager whom didn’t fancy going motor homing.

Saturday

The night was also disturbed by the odd boy racer whizzing around. After a brief walk around in the morning to look at just how nice the town was we headed off again to the coast of cornwall. Of course a short hop in to devon to pick up the camos dome and whats more as I write this,,, Nikki is driving.

Well it didn’t take long to swop with Nikki, maily due to my nerves and Nikki thinking that the white lines on the side of the road were perfectly acceptable to drive on.

So we headed to Totnes to pick up our Camos dome. On arrival we were met by a nice man whom showed us the dome. It was in first class condition and came with all the bits required for installation- the feet. We said our goodbyes and I reversed out and we continued on our journey. We passed over the impressive tamar bridge and on through Cornwall.

We eventually arrived at Perran sands holliday park. Not our normal choice of park but it has lots to do for the kids, a really impressive beach and dirt cheap at this time of year.

The kids headed off for the arcade and the numerous park not before a quick dip in the pool. With George still in one of his strops Nikki and I headed for the beach with Tara.

I then tested my new dome inside of the van to just check it powered up and by some strange miracle it actually worked!!! We therefore had time to watch the x factor before retiring to bed.

Sunday

Well day 2 arrived and we all awoke feeling a little more refreshed. Probably because the clocks went back last night meaning an extra hour in bed. Roll on Winter, ,,,,,

The day started off with me convincing the family to go down to the beach to get some surf. The walk down was steep and worth it. A fine walk down led to the great sandy beach and that was it. In went Harley, George and the newbie bear all fully clothed. We had one of those mornings that made us realise exactly why we have a motor home and why we have a dog. It was a truly a great family day. Following on from our bit of swim in the surf we ereturned backto the base. There we were,sun shinning, wind howling and a really decent temperture. We had some nice bacon sandwiches and off I went again with Tara. Across the sand dunes whilst Nikki done her hair. It was a lovely walk on a lovely place. After a difficult start to holliday it was starting to take shape, great views, great walks and a happy family. Having a child with aspergers can be challenging, it can make you really find it difficult to hold your self, it can also make you have to adapt so hard to make your child understand you. However here we were on day 3 really connecting. Following lunch and a further walk across the dunes with Tara, off I went for a swim with George. A nice swim and back to the motor home for a bite of tea before we went on our night time adventure. For tonight we will try the entertainment, not our normal thing and I am already on the vodka, I think its family fortunes prior to the disco, o lordy give me strength.

Monday

Well the night time entertainment was a bit like Butlins, not our cup of tea at all. We awoke with the sound of rain dropping on the roof of the van and this could only mean 1 thing. Yep it was a horrendous day. We opted to spend most of the day in the van playing dictionary and watching DVDs on the avtex tv. However, we have a dog and dogs need walking. Nikki and I left the boys in the van and headed on foot to perranporth with the Newfie across the cliffs. After a brief shop in the picturesque little town we headed off along the beach back to the site. Tara loved running in to the sea and could of played all day with the surfers. On return to the van it was a quiet cosy family night with more games, films and sleep.

Tuesday

We awoke to find lovely sunshine, and a light winds. Sadly though this was the day we were to ride home. Firstly though I took Tara out for a couple of hours down the beach to get some much needed exercise. We played on that beach and in the surf for going on two hours, I swear that if I would of allowed her too she would of stayed there playing all day. Eventually though I arrived back at the van and within 10 mins we were ready for the off. A nice slow drive home stopping at trigano mill for a bit of shopping and then we decided to go through Dartmoor for a bit of a scenic change. Dartmoor was really nice and we could not resist stopping and climbing up to the top of pork hill for some more excersice. Tara and Harley this time as George stayed and minded the van.. Eventually we were back on the road and a nice steady drive saw us arrive back in to Crewe at 2100. A fine five days away with lots of fun and some trying times, nether the less well worth it.

MEET IN THE MIDDLE

2009-10-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

Well, what started off as a little get together with friends ended up as a 14 van meet in the middle of the country.

A nice venue at upton in leicestershire. good time was had, although we experienced some problems with our heating system. This has now been fixed as the problem ended up being a faulty regulator.

We had a nice time and I worked out how to get my sat system working at last. a few beers later and before you know it it's time for home. A few pics here but just a nice little meet.

Next time we are off to Cornwall for 5 days at the end of October.

France in Summer 09

2009-09-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Well here it is, our blog of our wonderful French Holiday 09. What can I say about the weather? Well only this, it is was the most glorious fortnight we have ever experienced. We never saw rain once, nope not one day. Wall to Wall sunshine with the tempreture in the mid 80s to low 90s, sunburned kids and classic family holiday moments. This Holiday was different to, for this was to be an international motorhome fun meet, well for the first few days anyway.
Our intention was to join the funsters in Limousine region on a site called Parc verger and then see how we felt about where we went next.

Wednesday 12th-
Time to get started, we sadly left the dog at the kennels waited for Nikki to finish work and then off we went to DOver. On this trip something amazing happened. For the journet down to Dover we did not see any trafic problems right from Cheshire to Kent. I drove down at a steady 55mph with out stopping in approx 4.5 hours, but more so was when I fueled up I had acheived a massive 29mpg WOW! (it wouldn't last but Nikki was ecstatic) We stayed the night in Dover on the car park by Marine parade. We were going to stay at Marine parade but the car park already had a few vans on it so it seemed rude not to pull up at 10pm and share a story or two with others there.

Thursday-
We awoke nice and early to catch the 7am seafrance sailing. on we got and away we went accross to Calais to get the fuel and on the road. We were heading for an aire we knew at a place called Blois. On arrival the aire however was closed! it used to be over looking the fabulous river loire and a really nice spot. We parked up in the car park at blois whilst George complained about anything and everything to do with motorhoming and then I had a couple of hours sleeping. On awaking we decided to head for another aire at Oradour sur glane. We were hoping to visit Oradour anyhow so it seemed to make sense to arrive late on the aire, stay the night, visit the next day and then head to the first site/funster meet mid day on the friday.
When we arrived at Oradour it was obvious that the place was a motorhome hotspot and that getting on the aire would be a no go. No worries though as there were plenty of carparks being used as sort of aire overspills that we could get on to. We settled for one right opposite the main attraction along with 10 or so other vans and bedded down for the night.

Friday-
Now the main attraction as I called it. On awaking the main attraction was right opposite us. The best thing for me to do at this point is provide a link www.oradour.info/ . This will explain it far better than I can but basically we took a walk around a village that was left just how the germans left it when retreating in 1944-45. Only not content with destroying the place they continued to murder every man women and over 150 children that were still at the village in the most barbaric ways possible. It was an astoundingly moving visit even for our kids whom think that the war is in fact a computer game they play, I could see that even they were moved by it. I am one of the generation that is old enough to of heard all the men when I was growing up talking about war things. My dad was 5 when the war started and his dad was lost through injuries he sustained in the first world war as a 15 yr old underaged soldier. Nikki's grandfathers both saw combat, one at the DD landings and the other an oficer in the army. This visit made me realise exactly why we as a nation went to war. If you have any interest in the war, as our brave soldiers whom fought slowly die off then please visit this place you will not be dissapointed.
Well I never saw many German visitors and probably a good job too.

Following our visit we set off to Parc Verger Campsite. www.parcverger.com/ (for details) Bob & DI are an English couple that have moved to Parc verger to make a campsite. A campsite suitable for RVs and they are truly a welcoming couple. However I dont think they were quite ready for the influx of funsters and noisy children or should I say Adults. Following setting up and meeting a few of the funsters we then got started on what was to be the occupational agenda of the holiday, the famous haganap BBqs coupled with nice relaxing drinking sessions.

On arrival on site I noticed a disaster, My bike rack had become detached and smashed the back window of the van!!! the bike rack was broken as well as the window. But hey ho thank god for the invention of gaffa tape and the holiday could continue.

Saturday-
Well on the Saturday Nikki and I set off for a little ride on our bikes whilst the other funsters sat around the pool watchin geach others children. One of Bobs strange rules this, I had George and Harley in the Pool whom are both good strong swimmers, being watched by Nikki who can't swim? not sure of the logic there but hey thats how it goes. For the evening we had booked to go in to the village for a meal with all the French people to join in there holiday celebrations. I saw the menu and thought no way, but surfice to say when we went it was a really nice cultural experience and we really had a great time. George however opted to go for pizza with a friend as he does not want to be seen near us nowadays, im sure he will get over it.
Following the fireworks and fun we went back to base for a night cap until 3 am, naughty naughty!!

Sunday-
This was to be known as hangover day, a nice lazy day doing nothing, We then went over to our friends Rex and Maries whom had there grandson with them for a BBQ with a few others.

Monday
Monday was fishin day, Off I went leaving the kids and nikki behind to a fishing lake. It was way too easy, I could not cast out with out catching small fish. Not for me I dont think so I joined another funster for my first ever go at fly fising. Although I never caught one, it was a great time learning and I jsut managed to get the art of it. So much so that I will be fly fishing from now on when away.
We returned to the van for a fairwell BBQ, and a strange game called bat and trap, if you know it answers on a post code. a good few drinks later and 2am came around and it was off to bed.

Tuesday
We awoke Tuesday and started packing away. slowly but surely people were drifting off but where would we go? we had planned to go down to the west coast bu the weather seemed that nice there hardly seemed any point in travelling further south. So a few funsters asked us what our plans were and we decided to go back to a site we had visited last year to give the kids a bit of fun. //213.198.113.11/anglais.htm

Le peupliers is a great site in a wonderful location. A fantastic swimming complex, fishing walking and just a nice place that although is busy does not seem crowded like more medeteranian sites.
We were asked by one or two funsters if they could join us, it then ended up with 5 vans, Graham, Kay and daughter Chelsea, Bill and Chris (tic59) and grandaughter Steph, Bryan and suzy and grandaughter Steph, Rex and Marie and Grandson Jake and of course us guys. We convoyed 80 miles north accross some fantastic French scenary with me leading the way and haveing to be cautious of the fact that Bryan was in an RV. There were a few little issues but no major problems along teh scenic route.

WED/THURSDAY/FRIDAY
Well not much I can say really, we played in the pool and onthe slide for a few days, we went for the odd bike ride, we played some more, some crazy golf a few walks but most of all the kids swam till midnight and we BBQd and drank fine wine beer and whiskey untill Friday.

On Friday we all decided where to go, Tick was heading off to Futurescope, Graham was of to Brugge for Chocolate and poor Bryan and Suzy were off home. We on the other hand decided to head ot the west coast and La rochelle area to a water parc wth massive slides. We decided we would do a few nights on aires and enjoy the drive. MArie and Rex thought that Jake was having that much fun with our kids they would join us. we set off and arrived in the region about 6pmish. The region Was St Hillaire de ritz. This was a very busy seaside town to busy for my liking and also no chance of finding an aire as they were busy allowing the cars too park. However on the way out of town and about 6 miles further up the coast in an area called absoloutly knowhere I spotted a familiar motorhome sign. I followed it to find a glorious aire, no facilities and about 50 vans on it but with direct access to the beach. i could tell rex and Marie were well impressed. The boys went hiking in the woods behind whilst we enjoyed a BBQ and some great drink. Marie and I went to the beach to get some photos but missed the sunset. The aire was free though.

Saturday-
This was to be the visit to aqualand. The vendee is well to busy and tourist trashy for my liking. its where the Parisians flocked to along with the brits and reminds me of Blackpool on a hot day. However the aqualand parc was ace to visit and we really enjoyed it. we returned to the same aire and this time Marie and I were able to capture the sunset seen inthe pictures. we spent another night of drinking and laughing with Rex and Marie. Rex and Marie are truly a lovely couple. They are fulltimers in their motorhome and just really friendly fun people. Marie does most of the talking and Rex just sits quiet until he comes out with something really funny or factual. Rex and I had a chat about growing old and he was able to give me a good indication of what life will be like when Im 60+ as he is- cant wait Rex!! Truly a nice couple and we had spent nearly 10 nights with them and we had not once been bored. However it was too end. Tomorrow we were to go our seperate ways.

Sunday
Up early and off we headed to a place called St michaels Chef Chef. much further up the coast. We decided to take the coastal road. A nice drive with some stunning scenary but a little hairy at times. We spotted a site and although I wanted an aire Nikki was insistant that she needed to do her hair and required full electricity for the privilige. We found one and settled in for the night. I managed to get some sky tv and we had a nice walk along the sea and off to bed,

Mondayhttp:/
Today we will head towards Honfleur via www.sacred-destinations.com/france/mont-st-michel.htm A truly fantastic place to visit which we did so. We had orignally planned to stay the night but on our arrival the aire a the causeway would be flooded by the tide at 9pm so we had to move off after our visit. We then decided to hit Honfleur for the night. On arrival we got to the aire and only just managed to get on. a kind belgium couple allowed us to piggy back on there electricity and we all went for a nice walk around the wonderful city. a few ice creams later we returned to the van and bedded in.

Tuesday
I was awaken by a knock on the door by an English couple asking if they could share our electricity. Sure no problem of course and i informed them we would be leaving to day anyway. we had a good chat and Nikki went shopping. A little later I saw a familiar van pulling in to the site. It was none other than Rex and Marie and Jake. we had a little chuckle and caught up on our nights apart before we loaded up and headed for Calais.
The route we took to calais saw us go over the pont de Normandie and then hit the coastal road (little white roads) all the way up to Bolougne. Wow what a difference that is a truly scenic road through fecamp and just so idylic. Nikki and I really want to return to this area as soon as there are just the two of us. If you have not thought about it give it a go, stay off all the main roads and enjoy.
We hit the ferry terminal about 10 and were lucky enough to be put on the 10-30 ferry. On arrival at Dover I had promised myself I would not drive home through the night. Once again though I could not not do it. Off I went and through to home. where by soon as possible off to the kennels to pick Tara up.

So a great time and thanks to pammy and Geo for arranging the meet and to all the others that helped our holiday be so memorable, especially God for the weather.

I do now have a list of repairs, Rear window,rear lights, squeeky brakes door locks etc

fishing in Scunthorpe

2009-08-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well Just a quick post for this one as we have been so busy of late. Another trip to Scunthorpe for some fishing fun.

The photos say it all really other than the fish in the pics are those that George caught. Not bad for his first time fishing and way better than I did.

Decent weather was had apart from the Sunday and we sat round for some great food on the Saturday.

I have managed to get my new semitronic sat system working and its given me a picture, I have also uprated the van to 4t to allow for an ever increasing payload as the family grows.
We are now packed and awaiting the ferry to France.

Boy I love motorhoming.

THE AMERICANA

2009-07-15T03:54:00.000-07:00

Well we arrived home after a fantastic weekend
Thanks to Rory (one of the funsters) for giving us the low down on the event and what was needed to survive it.
On our arrival we sadly had to camp away from the funsters as we needed some grass to errect a tent that the kids and their friends had said they wanted to sleep in. We were a bit harrassed on the friday after a torture journey through Notts and a child whom had a little to much too say for himself. So on the friday I could only think what a waste our money was.

On Saturday though our mood changed. The kids had become happy and Nikki and I elected to attempt to improve our Jive, so accompanied by a few other funsters off we went to do some jive dancing. Wow, great instruction, great atmosphere and a great laugh. Nikki got dressed in her rockerbilly gear that she had not worn since her teens and off we went. We danced, we listened to music we were in awe of the fantastic cars, bikes and trucks that people must of spent hours in preparing for the show, they all deserve a medal.
Looking at some of the fifties cars really made Nikki and I have a great day.
Sadly the weather changed a little late afternoon and the wet stuff attempted to spoil the day a bit. Nikki and I however, managed to just enjoy the music whilst getting wet through.
On Sunday we awoke to glorious sunshine, if not a little windy.. We then went off to finalise our Jive dancing accompanied by other funsters. Once again great tuition and if you live in Ilkley go and see the Ilkely Jivers to get some lessons of this smart lady whom had me laughing all the way through.
After Jive we headed off for more music and more fun and another look around some of the cars. we were tempted by the odd buick for sale but one hobby is enough for us at the moment. We were lucky then to go off and watch the Jets before going off to see the band I was looking forward to seeing most!! MATCHBOX.
Excelent stuff, other funsters came out to sit with us funsters that were already out and together we sang through it and had a great afternoon sat in the sun. Sadly I was unable to stay and watch Alvin Stardust as I had to get home to get the kids to bed.

After my initial reservations, mainly due to the cost, I can honestly say Nikki and I and the Kids and the Dog had an absoloute ball. So much so I am now being dragged about to other Jive lessons and am looking for a PT Cruiser for Nikki,.

Next stop is Scunthorpe for some fishing and then off to France.

MY FIRST MEET.

2009-06-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well I done it.
I arranged a meet of my own through motorhomefun.co.uk. I t was a bring and buy sale. It was quite hard work in organising and I worried constantly leading up to the meet. However once the first RV arrived and managed to get on teh field I was just so happy.
The weekend just got better nad better and we welcomed so many new people to the meet. In total I had managed to get 34 motorhomes to the meet. Included in that was 11 RVs and 1 caravan. We had a decent BBQ and a good friday night drinking session by order of a punch made by Nikki.
All the kids played together so so nicely, tara and the other dogs loved it.

So all in all a great success. The meet was at the cotton arms in Wrenbury.

So till next time, which is just 3 weeks till the expensive americana.

The Stratford show

2009-06-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

Well a weekend at another show was called for. This time we allowed the kids to take a friend each and off we went.
The Stratford show was our destinatiom this time along with our friends from www.motorhomefun.co.uk.

We don’t really go for the shows just the good laughs we get with friends. On arrival this time though we were met up with the Newfie that got us in too Newfies. Bowson the big bad brown bear. He was as lovely as I remember him and just so majestic. Never really got enough time for Tara to play with him or speak a lot with the owners as the weather was so bad. It rained constantly for 36 hours. The horrible sort of rain whereby you get wet all over. Still the party went on and Nikki had a good night out on the Saturday. Returning to our motorhome she was a little unwell following a night with uncle Vodka and Aunty Cranberry Juice.
We watched the firework display and sat with Tara as they went off although she wasn’t really bothered by them. After which we returned to the party tent for more fun.
When we awoke to even more rain on Sunday we feared the worst, however it brightened up sufficiently enough for us to go out and buy more junk. We bought a thermometer, a new chair and a phone charger as well as an outdoor shower. WOW.

All packed up we headed off again back up to Cheshire.

Next meet is the one I have organised ourselves, the Bring and Buy meet. I have 38 vans listed as attending so far and can’t wait. Should be good fun. If you would like to come check it out on www.motorhomefun.co.uk and just send me a message.

Good luck everyone until next time.

Paul

WHIT WEEK IN SOMERSET

2009-06-07T12:57:00.000-07:00

Sunday-

We commenced our journey to my Mum & Dads house in Watchet whom were too look after George for the week whilst Nikki and I along with Harley had some nice relaxation time. However on route we had to stop off via Cadbury world in order not to get some chocolate but to pick up Harley whom had been there for a party.

We arrived at our site at around 7pm. The site is one we use regularly when visiting my parents. It’s a 5 minute walk to Watchet town centre and to my parent’s house. The site has a steam railway running right behind it and the site looks right across the cliffs, absolutely bliss. We were also met for a rare occasion by great weather. Good enough for me to get the outdoor cooking system out and start some outdoor cooking done. We took George and his suitcase up to his grandparents for his week long stay. We had decided on stopping a couple of nights nearby just in case, a very wise choice. More to follow.

Monday-

We awoke on the Monday and once again the wether was rather nice. Nikki and I – decide to join my parents and take them and Tara out for a nice long walk around the wonderful Somerset countryside. A long walk and a rewarding one at that. We then headed back to the Motorhome for some severe relaxation, We got talking to the chap in his motorhome behind us whom spent the afternoon and early evening telling us about his motorhoming. He informed us all about the gas attacks in France that keep taking place and how its so dangerous to visit these places. A nice chap with some interesting stories but most of it was all scaremongering and I had not the energy to argue with him so just nodded politely.

Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday

Awoken by the thought of this being the day that we moved on. We promptly walked Tara and then walked up to my mum and dads to collect Harley whom had also decided to spend the night in the luxury of his grandparent’s house. On arrival at my mum and Dads, there they were, both of our lads asking to come with us. With all the fuss that George had made over not wanting to go motor homing and how he is developing this ungratefulness towards this lifestyle he practically begged us to allow him to come with us. We were so pleased that he had finally come to this conclusion. We then set off for a camp site in the Somer set flats. The site we opted for was here thorneylakes A fine site and a great fishery. I had a little fish in the water on all three day s and hooked a fish or two out. There was some great walks for Tara to do and we soent a good couple of hours walking to Muchelney abbey and back. We opted to walk through some fields where we were chased by some cows whom became worried about Tara’s presence. However what they did not bargain for was Nikki shooing them away with a Rar Rar type sound like being in the jungle.

All we done for these 3 days was play, have fun, play have more fun, walk, fish drink and be happy, all great fun. The kids met loads of other kids whom were camping and played French cricket and alike.

On the Friday morning we opted to get off early and head to Bath to meet up with Nikki’s young sister. Emma whom is only 18 is at university at bath and we thought it would be great to pop in and see her and have a chat. No need to check up her because she is sensible and such a well grounded girl for her age. I know Nikki thinks so highly of her and indeed I think we all do really. We arrived in Bath prior to lunch and walked the 2 miles along the river with Tara and the boys to meet Emma in the city centre. We did not stop long as it was such a hot day. We had an ice cream and then literally got the bus back to our site with the dog for a BBQ. Emma joined us back at the bath marina camp site. A site I would highly recommend as having all that is needed from a city site, good access, good bus service, if not slightly expensive for a family. We sat next to a Dutch couple whom were enjoying touring our beautiful country in there motor home.

Day quickly became night and we then got off to bed. The next morning I paid a visit to my nephew Iain whom is also at Bath university, (bath Spa) we popped over for 5 mins so say hello and check up on him,. He is as batty as a fruitcake really, just how you would expect to find a student. Still he seemed happy enough. All packed away and everything packed away it was time to head off to home.

We thoroughly enjoyed this holiday. It was great to spend some quality family time together and to be able to get great weather.

Away again next week to the Stratford show and then a break for a few weeks.

Till next time

HAGANAP

Peterborough Show.

2009-05-01T11:43:00.000-07:00

Well in terms of motorhome shows in the UK they do not come much bigger than this one.

We set off after the normal after school rush, and go go go for the 130 miles to Peterborough. The journey was in fact quite good for a Friday night. On arrival we were met by marshals Nigel and Pam and shown where we were to pitch. We got pitched and out came my 10 minute erection. As you can see it's quite large and took a little longer than the ten minutes to get up this time. I think it was because it was the first time I had got it up this year. But without sounding to much like a carry on film, I of course mean our driveaway awning. With it erected and the extra room created for Tara, the new generator came out to keep plugged in and the Honda is truly whispa quiet.

We had a great time at Peterborough looking around new vans, drinking with like minded people. Its sort of like a group of private people whom like being on their own getting together to enjoy the company of others if that makes any sense? I mean you have to be a bit of a loner/freedom type person to have a motorhome, but at the same time we are the most sociable people you will meet.

So having had a good weekend with exceptional weather we muscled in to Graham's BBQ for breakfast, Its that southern charm of mine I tell ya!! well not no more, ive bit the bullet and am buying our very own Cadac BBQ. At the last meet I borrowed Grahams generator and ended up buying my own, this time a cadac!!! i will have to park further away in future!

So after a great friendly weekend we set off to go home, This is when we hit a first time ever problem. For some strange reason the van would not start. turned over fine but would not go, I had athought about it and it seemed electrical. I used the spare keys and bang, away she went first time. I think possibly the key imobiliser had had a problem.

Well next its the half term trip to Somerset for a week, leaving the kids with my mum and dad and having some us time.

Then its the Stratford show before our first ever meet that we will be hosting. A large gathering in Cheshire. Can't wait.

SCOTLAND TOUR AND MOTORHOMEFUN.CO.UK MEET HOSTED BY THE HAGANAPS>

2009-04-19T05:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday-

After a hectic day around the house sorting everything out for our trip, Nikki came home and we were finally ready and on our way. Not before of course that I had gone to Spinneys caravan shop and invested in a new Avtex 15inch TV/dvd player. You know what’s its like, something you have to have. So Nikki finished work and then that was it we were on our way. For a bank holiday weekend the traffic was quite light. We had decided to head to Nikki’s brothers in Auchterader in order to stay on his drive and break the journey up. We arrived at about 10pm so a 5 hour drive and we were there for sleep. A couple of short stops to let Tara do her business and that was that. A quick hello to the family and off too bed.
Friday-

After an early start we set off for our first destination of our tour. We headed for Loch Ness campsite. A site we had stayed on several times since we commenced motor homing. We aimed to arrive early as we were hosting a little motorhomefun meet, it was the first meet we had arranged and we were expecting 10 vans. On arriving after another uneventful journey, we were greeted by a few that had beat us!. With Tara walked, the van unpacked and the dinner cooked we decided we would sit outside Ash’s van and have a nice quiet drink. A Mh pulled in next to Ash’s van and then immediately complained about us being there drinking. I sincerely suspect this gentleman and his family were simply not allowed to or ever had had fun in their life. Following them moving we went to the other extreme. A nice couple from Scotland arrived and promptly joined in, however this couple drank a little more than the governments recommended allowance and in fact had probably all our allowances at the same time. Needless to say that by the time we arrived at the bar for the night time festivities they were well and truly wasted!! All the vans from the meet arrived and joined us in having a good time and the night went very well.
Saturday
Well surprisingly I awoke with no hang over. it’s a funny thing this owning a dog, especially a Newfoundland. |When I wake up I have a purpose, I have ot walk the dog, which I love doing but at the same time it means you have to try and keep some routine whilst away which is a little novelty for me. After the family awoke we joined and Nikki’s brother and his family for a nice 6 mile hike with the dog. A nice walk along the great Glenn way and back. On arriving back to the site, the final guest of the meet arrived and we were then settled in for a little chat. DISASTER STRIKES--- Well we shut the van doors and left Harley and his cousin Bruce in the van whilst we walked to the bar to inform the others that we would not be going to the bar for a meal. We had been in the bar area for about 5 mins and for some reason decided to walk out and back to the van. On the way back which was a walk of about 200 yards I heard a screaming. Then coming down the site road towards me was Tara, closely followed by Harley and Bruce. Harley was screaming uncontrollably I knelt down and Tara came straight to me. I asked what had happened and this is how it was answered. Harley informed me that he had gone to get out of the Mh when Tara pushed out behind him and ran off looking for me. Harley and Bruce gave chase and of course this led Tara to think she was playing a great game. Tara ran straight out of the site and across the A82. A Volvo car was travelling the road and bang, hit Tara knocking her in to the ditch. This had been witnessed by Harley and Bruce whom were in hot pursuit. The driver of the car and her husband stopped and pulled in to the campsite. Tara seemed in complete shock. The Volvo driver informed me she had been doing about 50 mph and Tara and the children came from nowhere. She reported she was lucky not to hit the kids. Tara and I went back to the MH to assess how damaged she was. I had looked at the front of the Volvo and it was quite damaged, I became quite emotional worried about Tara and of course how Harley would feel if she was seriously hurt being he had witnessed the event. On top of this I felt extremely embarrassed as if it was our fault. The site maintenance man was very helpful and a former farm hand so his help was like gold dust. He gave me the number of a vet (Lorna) whom I gave a call too. She was so so nice, she was not interested in the money, just Tara’s welfare. She gave me a few tests and then made and emergency appointment for the am for me to bring Tara to Inverness. The night was going to be a long night worrying about Tara and wandering if she would survive the night.

SUNDAY

Ok so not much sleep and Tara was still with us wandering what all the fuss was about.
She appeared ok but nether the less it was off to Inverness Vets to have Tara looked at. Lorna was awaiting us and when we walked in to the vets with Tara, Tara seemed fine. Lorna gave Tara a thorough examination and other than a broken nail seemed absolutely fine. We know not why or how she got through this, we are just glad we did. We truly believe that after our shocking start to the year that someone looked down on us and did not want to see two of his grandchildren more upset than they were. The Volvo after all was in a mess, the dog however was fine, a £56-00 bill later and a pain killer injection and we were on our way to Clachtoll beach.
We arrived at the site first, We were met by the owner Jim whom recognised that we had been before and gave us his normal welcome. The day was what can only be described as beautiful. The sun was shinning the beach was showing white sand and clear green sea. We then checked whom was coming and it was to be 5 vans totalling 15 people. A great turn out. As people were arriving all they could say was wow!! How did you find this place!!
The BBQ immediately came out and we commenced the evenings festivities of BBQs and beers.

MONDAY
We awake to find the sun shinning, and the place experiencing its true beauty. We then had a little bit of a discussion after I had walked Tara for about 2 hours about what we would do for tea. Eddie and his family whom we had met for the first time and turned out to be a top guy like his mate Pat that we had met several times managed to convince me that the 6 mile cycle ride in to Lochinver would be easy. Why I needed to go there was because we had ran out of BBQ food. I managed to convince myself that it would be a simple ride. What I had not bargained for was the several 1-10 hills that I would have to ride up. I borrowed Rays electric bike thinking that this would make things a little easier, HOW WRONG was I!!! 6 miles there 6 miles back phew the electric bike was a pedal assist not a motorbike, I was knacked on my return but hey ho I had completed my mission.
Nikki and I had our customary fall out with George resulting in his super tantrum and abuse towards me followed by my keeping in him in order. Why he behaves this way is beyond me, so if you know why or can help please do. This though could not prevent me from Di (eddies wife) telling me that at nursery they are not allowed to use the word naughty. What are we coming to?
We had a really good night, a great BBQ and followed by a few beers back at Rays van listening to Eddie & Pat telling stories that made us all laugh.

Tuesday
We awoke to find Patrick gone and said our goodbyes to Eddie, Ray and Nikki’s brother Mark. We set off on our way and decided to stop at Bone caves for a walk and bit of caving. A 2 mile walk to the cave uphill left us staring at some wonderful caves. Harley and I explored them whilst George and Nikki awaited outside with Tara. After exploring the caves we returned to the van and enjoyed what I can only describe as the best pie in the world from the world famous loch Inver pie shop. We set off again and headed for Westeross where for some reason seems to be an infatuation of Nikki’s. nice as it is we set about finding some wild camp spots and settled for one on the road to Cove overlooking fire moor sands.

Wednesday
Wednesday we awoke once more to Glorious sunshine. Absolutely gorgeous. We looked out of our window to see Fire moor beach in its glory. Beautiful sands along with blue sky and clear water. Me George, Harley and Tara went down the beach for a good bit of exercise whilst we decided on what we would do for the day. Nikki then came up with the idea of following the Westeross coastal trail. We set off and popped in to Gairloch for a little look around. Then on we went, only this time Nikki came up with the idea of moving across to Applecross. What a lovely drive this was. Difficult it must be said. The road was really narrow, really steep and with deadly drops either side, I LOVED IT. We travelled through the day stopping and looking at various things. We bumped in to a heard of Deer and a great looking stag in all his glory stared up the road at us. We kept on travelling throughout the day. Eventually we decided that we would wild camp around fort William area. When we arrived the fair was in town so that idea soon went. We then headed toward Glencoe looking for suitable places. We eventually found a nice safe place in the car park of Ator. The good thing about this little wild camp was that we were camped with real life hippies. They got a bit of a shock when we pulled in in our nice van but hey ho each to their own. A good walk for Tara and a good nights sleep ready for the next day.

Thursday.
We spoke to our friends that had started the tour with us. Ash and Lynn and Mark and Sharon. They had located a site in the lakes for £11 per night with hook up. We arranged to meet them there. We had a nice little run down going through the city of Glasgow and on and off the motorway until we came to our exit. As we left the motorway we pulled up behind the others as If by a miracle. We followed them in to the site which turned out to be a little more than £11 a night. In fact it was £23 including the dog. I don’t mind paying that as the site was nice and tidy with many tents and nice walks. Lambs lambing and calves calving all in eye shot. It was the fact that I think they lied to Ash when he made the enquiry, but hey ho it was paid and done with. The night kicked off with a good walk followed by a few drinks and a few more and even a few more. Before I knew it there was 6 adults and a large dog in our van thoroughly pissed, 1 son playing on the PS2 and 1 son playing with Sharon’s girls whom came home covered in make up and dressed in women’s clothes. I’m sure it was innocent or at least I hope so but at least the kids seemed happy again which had proved difficult this time round. Eventually we went to bed and it was all done.

Friday
Awoke, walked and set off for home. Our friends were going on to the swift rally and as we have no swift we went for home. A slow drive and before we knew it another holiday was done with and over.

THE NEWARK SHOW.

2009-03-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

Well not a lot of pictures on this one Im afraid.

A 2 night weekend to the Newark show with Motorhomefun. A really good meet this one. We met with some old freinds and new and had a great laugh. The show itself was a bit poor really, not a lot of trader were there and Saturdays gale force winds were not too much fun. Sunday was a fantastic day though. Blue sky, warm and just right.
We met with some friends from UKCS and dragged them in to the motorhomefun pavillion which they all seemed to enjoy.
Bigest problem to arise from this show was grumpy kids. Bored bored bored style. I have hopefully recterfied this issue by buying a new 1kw Honda eu generator and allowing them too take the xbox for limited gaming.
I have cleaned the van and it looks good as it get prepared for next weeks 10 day tour of Scotland. A rally I am actually hosting at loch ness.
till then good luck all

New member of the Family

2009-03-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

Well after several months of wanting thinking and debating we finally made our family complete. We have finally got a Newfoundland.
We rescued one with the help of the newfoundland club of the UK.

We have got a girl, still a puppy in Newfoundland terms with about 8 months of growing left too do. We picked her up from the Wiltshire area and her name is Tara. she is adorable. needs a bit of caring for to get her to the size and look she should be for a newfie but I recon she willl do us proud. She is a bit shy at the moment and a little worried but i have no doubt she will settle in quickly. We of course utilised the motorhome and a night stopping at cirencester to get her, she fits in the MH no problem at the moment and is just so full of life. The boys adore her as we all do and it like I said, sort of completes our whole family really.

So here's a few pics, we are off to the Newark show in a two weeks followed by 14 nights in Scotland. can't wait.

Skiing In The Alps.

2009-02-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 10th-

Well today was meant to be the last day of working before going on our much required ski holiday. Well I went in to work and lasted about 4 hours. I was feeling so sick it was unlikely I would be able to drive home, let alone to the alps. I went home got in to bed and was sick a few times. We then planned how Nikki would start the driving and we would see how I went later.

Wednesday 11th

Well I awoke to be feeling fine and dandy if not a little queasy. I therefore felt well enough to drive and set off on our way. With a stop in to Nikki’s mums on the way to check up on how she was and a couple of bacon butties, we headed off to the docks of Dover.
An uneventful crossing saw us land in France at about 7pm. We then broke the habit of a life time and just jumped on the toll road and headed for our pre arranged meeting point of Piney. The down side was being ripped off as a class 3 van at the toll booth because there was no manned booths.
We arrived at Piney just prior to midnight to find our travelling companions Lynne and Ash awaiting us. George & Harley finished watching the laptop and we began to go to sleep to catch up on what had been an exceedingly long days driving. We had left home at 0700am and arrived 15 mins before midnight, this was a long days travelling but meant we could spend a leisurely day on Thursday.

Thursday 12th.

I awoke and set off on foot for a quick shifty around the town of Piney and to look up the nearest bakers for some French croissant’s. With mission accomplished and managing to avoid the great big Doberman dog that appeared to want me for breakfast we ate our traditional French breakfast and then roused Lynn and Ash to get ready for our days drive. Our target for today was the wonderful city of Annecy. Annecy was about a 6 hour drive away and we would try to avoid any toll roads on the way. We drove through some beautiful areas of France. Namely we drove through Dijon and then on to Dole and Nantua before a short hop across to Annecy. On navigating through the streets of Annecy Nikki answered her phone. This turned out to be George’s year head asking why we had rang in sick for George? She informed that George had told all his friends he was off skiing. She was understandably pissed but hey ho with everything that had been going on in the past 4 weeks including burying your much loved father we simply could not be assed to go through the process of getting holiday forms and decided that we would just ring in sick for the time needed. Bearing in mind that George and Harley have not had a day off school previously it seemed the logical thing to do. Also they have completed full years without a day off sick. Still we will know for next time. It’s just we found the whole telephone conversation a little distressing.
On arrival in Annecy we found the last two places on a lovely aire and pulled up next too what was another Adria the same as ours. George then nipped out to play in the snow for a few minutes, on his return George managed to shock the French couple next to us and give their children a good laugh by getting the vans mixed up and walking in to the wrong van. Lynn and Ash came across for a little night cap and talk about the journey. George and Harley of course complained that we were too loud. We tucked in for the night and set about getting some sleep.

Friday the 13th
Shock horror it was Friday the 13th. OMG !! What a way to start!. Anyhow I got off in to the town of Annecy on foot and carried out a 5 mile walk by the lake. I then got out some cash and returned. Now I don’t know how cold it was in Annecy that night but on my walk about 7am the signs were saying it was -10 so during the night I expect it had dropped to at least - 15 if not lower. We got Ash and Lynn up and got set on what should have been a short hop to Pralognan. Several detours later for some LPG we arrived on site. It was as beautiful as we remembered, in fact no, it was even more beautiful than before.
We got the normal welcome from the site owners which is always friendly and we set our vans up for the coming cold weather. We then all set off to get some skiing in. The boys were back to their normal skiing selves and after a little practice I was soon hammering down the red slopes. However on more than one occasion I was forced to follow Harley off piste and down some really dodgy red slopes. A few crashes never hurt me! George was off on his own, it’s much easier him being that little more older to go off on his own and stay in touch via mobile. With the skiing etiquette you always know if something happens he will be ok,. Ash and Lynn appeared to be having a lot of fun down at the bottom re-acquainting themselves with their skis. With Nikki bossing them up the slope they appeared to be having a good time.
After skiing we got the bus back to the van, we then enjoyed some tea and a chat with Lynn and ash before getting in to bed. Unfortunately Ashe’s water had frozen and his satellite dish had packed up. Still you live an learn.

Sat the 14th

Well it had to happen. With me having been sick prior to travel our night was interrupted with a “ mum I feel sick” then in typical child fashion buuuurrrghhhh all across our lovely motor home. So all in all not a good nights sleep for us all.
On awaking on a beautiful crisp sunny morning poor George had to stay at home in bed and leave the skiing to me and the booga (Harley). We set off on the slopes and had a really wicked time playing in the snow. I’m quite impressed with how both of my boys ski but especially the Booga. He has so much confidence and a really nice style. The only problem is that he keeps dragging me off piste and down slopes that I really don’t want to go down. However I can’t let him go down on his own so I give it a go and I have perfected my crashing technique.
The temperature is now really starting to make things interesting. At night the temp is falling to about -20 or even as low as -25. This has led to the waste tank on the Adria freezing, despite having a heated waste tank. We are therefore now utilising a bowl to brush our teeth and to gather any waste water therefore preventing it going in to the waste. It is only the out pipe from the waste tank that is frozen so with any luck when we come down from the mountain we should be fine.
We popped around for a night cap with Ash and Lynn but due to being so tired from a hectic day of skiing we opted for an early night. George appeared to be feeling so much better and back to his normal self.

SUNDAY 15th

Well it was starting to become a normal routine. Wake up get dressed or trussed up like turkeys and head to the slopes. The sky remained beautifully blue with a biting chilling wind so cold it had the possibility to freeze spit as you spat! We headed off for the slopes with George coming with us on this occasion. We arrived nice and early today about 12-30. We then had a really fantastic afternoon of skiing if not a little tiring. Some great crashes were had by all of us and the trips down the red runs at much higher speeds than we were used to started to create a lot of fun if not a little apprehension. On one occasion the Booga boy managed to take his big brother George out by cutting him up at high speed. This led to a big pile up with a few snowboarders going big time. We casually got back up and sped back off down the slopes.
At the finish of skiing we returned to the site to enjoy the welcome drinks of hot wine and chocolate provided by the site owners. Nikki and I popped around for a drink of our own with ash and Lynn. The boys watched a few dvd’s before insisting that I come back across to the van to join them. I did so leaving Nikki in the capable hands of Ash and Lynne. This led to Nikki returning in the early hours a little worse for wear. This of course led to the normal “I don’t feel well” when will she learn!!!

Monday 16th

Well it was a little break from the normal today. No skiing for the boys, for today we took Ash and Lynn off for some sledging. We set off to the nice little toboggan area. This area is coupled with a nursery slope so Lynn, Ash and Myself had a little ski. More to give Ash and Lynn a few pointers really. It didn’t take long before George started to moan about being cold and cause his normal winging about wanting to go back to the van, just why are kids today so ungrateful??? Anyhow me and H stayed and played on the sledges for a bit longer before deciding enough was enough and we should get back. We hopped on one of those trains that is in fact a tractor pulling some carriages dressed up like trains. Still who cares it was free, a lot of fun and saved us having to walk with my skis. A night cap back at Ash and Lynn’s done the trick. Although this time it was me feeling a little worse for wear!!

Tuesday 17th
Tuesday came the news I had been waiting for. Ash would be accompanying me to the real slopes. I was dead pleased for him. With Harley not feeling well this time, It was up to me and George to show Ash how to get from the top all the way to the bottom. With Ash getting a little practice and me and George venturing on to more advanced runs whilst waiting.
After a little while Ash was ready for it. We managed to talk him in to coming to the top of the green run. Although the run is green, I can remember from my more inexperienced skiing days that the green run at the top can be a little steep. Also the Green run passes through a blue and a red run on its way. This can make it a bit of a challenge. However Ash in fairness gave it a go. It was a site to see but fair play to him he went for it. We then carried on through the run. I went off pist’e for a little bit keeping my eye on Ash. I stopped to help a younger that had crashed but then I could not catch back up with Ash whom was happily sliding down the Green run in a world of his own. However the Green run turns off and if you keep going you carry on down the red run!! Oh dear, I was shouting Ash so loud that there could have been an avalanche. All the Pralognan ski school were overtaking Ash on there way to the red slope, they could here me and started to shout Ash as well. Ash remained in his own little world until I managed to catch him up and stop him. I then had to explain to him the situation and he then turned back and started walking back up the hill. It sounds daft but I done exactly the same last year. This year I let Ash walk back up and I then attempted the difficult red run. To my surprise I managed it no problem if only a little slower than others. I think I have this skiing thing sussed now.
After I managed to relocate George I then set off to find Ash. Eventually he was located back at his van. Still in good spirits, but we settled for a early night and some family time to recover.
SNOW lots more of it. It snowed for hours, lovely.

Wednesday 18th
Slow to awake this am, Nikki and I walked in to the town to get some bread and croissants. The booga informed me that he would be coming skiing with me today. That can only mean one thing to a father. Both the boys can ski, but the booga whom is the youngest, seems to of taken to Skiing over the past couple of years like the proverbial duck to water. This means that he likes to go off the beaten track and down through runs that are off piste. We are always careful but the Booga is a better skier than me, he actually is quite good. He looks so balanced, so cool, and so in control of his skis. If only we lived in a ski area, I think he has missed his first vocation.!! Anyhow we spent the day skiing in what was gorgeous conditions, blue skies, warm temperatures and lovely soft snow. After my recent off piste performances I hired a set of skis that were for more advanced skiers. Just the job so much easier to control than my own skis. However this did not prevent me from having a massive fall on the steep red run. I hit a rut and did not control it, I then fell head first in to the snow and banged my head.
Following skiing, we then all walked in to town to source some tea. We ended up back at the van minus any. Plenty of nice restaurants but we only really felt like a burger and in this area of France it is obviously un heard of.
We then popped over to Lynn and Ash’s to have a little wine before retiring to bed.

Thursday 19th.

BRRRRR it was cold last night. We awoke to find our inside bedroom windows iced up on the inside. It was that cold I did not feel like getting out of bed. However I forced myself out to turn on the gas heating. We had not used much in the way of gas heating due to being on electric hook up and this of course then allowed us to use electric heaters inside the van. However un be known to us, Ash in a moment of building wisdom had unplugged our electric!!! He had a problem with his own and unplugged what he obviously thought was his, it wasn’t, it was ours!!!! brrrrr
The next problem to this beautiful morning was how I was struggling to get my head off the pillow. I think the accident I had on the slopes yesterday was far more serious than I first imagined. My neck was so stiff and I really thought I was in trouble. However with this being the last day to do any skiing I dosed myself up with pain relief and set off on to the slopes with both the boys. We had a final good days skiing and a bit of a laugh on the slopes. The boys continue to improve and I’m sure that I must be but my 40 year old brain now recognises danger and prevents me from following them, or it should do but doesn’t always, leading me to have to follow them on routes that I know I should not be on.
After skiing we returned to the van, the boys played with some French lads and started building an igloo.
The sad thing about today is that we have to plan how we are getting home. However against that is the wonderful advantage of being in a motor home. Why? Well because our journey home will remain as much a part of the holiday as the holiday itself. With a couple of mountain passes to do and an aire to stop at the holiday is far from over.

Friday 20th

Ouch, ouch, ouch, what a terrible nights sleep. All mine and Nikki’s glands have swollen up, our throats are real sore and we have colds. Ouch, ouch, ouch. Of course mine is worse than Nikki’s and is quite possibly likely to deteriorate in to full blown Man flu. A very poor nights sleep. Anyhow, with us all lightened of our euros we headed off on our adventure home. We set off to do a couple of mountain passes on route. We headed off via Annecy and across to Roussas. A beautiful drive where the mountains showed us al their glory. I know that the alps had had its best snow fall in 20 years but this was ridiculous there was just so so much. We headed off to Luxeuil les Baines Aire to get a good night sleep. Not a lot happened on this journey other than the great scenery. At night Ash and Lynn came across to our van to share a drink. Only 4 vans in the aire so nice and peaceful.

Saturday 21st.

Still in pain from this infection we set off on the worst part of the journey. With Ash and Lynn in tow we hit the free auto route. We left snowy France and hit Luxembourg. We popped in for some money making products but did not bother due to the poor exchange rate. However we did fill up with Luxembourg’s finest cheap diesel. We then headed through Belgium and then on to Calais. As we hit Calais Ash took over from me to locate Pidoos or something like that, some allegedly cheap beer stop. After a little detour or two or three, Lynn finally took control of Ash’s compass and found it straight away!!! We then settled in to a night at Calais aire. We said our goodbyes to Ash and Lynn and then headed off to the land of nod whilst awaiting the early morning ferry. After a few meatballs whizzing around until the early hours and some English in a pissed up transit van got on their way we managed a little sleep prior to catching the ferry. A short hop skip and jump later via Nikki’s mums and we were home.
So that’s it. Looks like we are all skied out for this season unless we get any more snow in Scotland before Easter.

So to summarise this trip-

We done 1800 miles from home to home, The van performed magnificently . I am so made up with it. The van gave us so much more space than what we had been used to in the CI. The layout was big enough to allow Ash and Lynn to pop around for a drink with out us feeling crowded.
The only small problem I had was a waste tank that had separated from the drainer meaning I could not get rid of the waste, initially I thought it was frozen but it hadn’t. Easily fixed once I could get and have a look at it. The van really is truly winterised throughout. With the temp dropping to -25 the van stood up to it. Yes we were on electric but even if we had not been the gas done a sound job, especially dealing with the cold nights at the aires with no electric.
We spent about £320 on fuel, returning about 23 mpg throughout although on some journeys we got 25 and others just 19 mpg.
The site cost us e270 for a family of four in peak season with electric. Ash only paid e200 for the two of them.
I spent approx £250 on lift passes and I skied every day with one of the children and on most days both of them.
£54 on the ferry
£00 on food because we would of spent that anyway if we were at home and we only had one Mc Donald’s.
We own all our own ski gear so did not need to rent that.

THE COST OF SPENDING QUALITY TIME ON THE SLOPES WITH YOUR FAMILY? PRICELESS.

So to finish off, we had a truly great time. We were worried a little about sharing our holiday with others we did not know very well, but in all honesty we could of not of found a nicer couple to travel and enjoy our holiday with. So thank you Ash and Lynne and I hope you had a good time too.

If you log on to the link below there is a short video of our trip.http://family.webshots.com/video/3093834740087373012UiwYGS?vhost=family

Also if you look at picture 4, full size it and have a good hard look you will see the Pralognan mountain goat.

skiing preperation takes a setback.

2009-02-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

Well there we are bombing along and everything is hunky dorey and then wallop. Nikki's dad is diagnosed as terminally ill. We hoped things would go on a little bit longer but it took less than 4 weeks to rob society of a genuinely nice kind honest man. A fellow motorhomer whom got us in to motorhoming. At just 65 and just retired a man whom hoped to spend some time with Nikkis mum touring in their motorhome. Nehtertheless, a sad time for all of us but also a reminder of why it is so neccesary to enjoy everyday we have on this fragile planet.
However we have decided to go on with our plans. Skiing is where we will be in less than 10 days. now. The van is sorted with gas, i purchased an extra bottle of calorlite to get us though the cold times that we know we are going to have.
As my daft mother says each time she rings me and I tell her we are going skiing. She says " but it will be very cold" I say of course it will be,, thats the idea. I still don't think she can get round to the idea that it is actually nice not having a holiday on the beach.
So the van is packed and ready to go. Nikki is still coming with us and being very brave and honest, just as her dad would want her to.
SO we are going with a couple of other motorhomers and a couple are meeting us. Hopefully just what the Dr ordered.
I cheered the kids up by buying guitare heros world tour, I am the drummer!! what a great game.
SO all that is left to say is good luck everyoned and I will report back when we are back from our trip.

FIRST WINTER TEST FOR THE NEW KID!

2009-01-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

Hi all and happy new year etc. Well christmas came and went and then New year arrived. We thought we would give the van a good test prior to going skiiing in the alps. We thought we would do this by getting ourselves ashort ski trip to the Lecht in Scotland. Firstly we would wild camp as this is our preference when abroad. However strictly speaking it;s not wild camping for we decided to visit Nikki;s brother Mark who lives in the middle of nowhere in perthshire. Always a good time to catch up with Nikki's brother and his family. So parking on his drive way without any electric through choice, sort of means wild camping? We left home on new years day and set off on the 260mile trip to Marks. On arrival we came accross the first shock of the new van. The roads had been very clear, hardly a car in site. Therefore I had decided that doing a steady 70-75 would get us there quicker. It did of course do that but also drained the balance out of my bank balance. 19-20 mpg was really poor. I did though stretch it out to 25mpg once i slowed down.

On arriving at Nikkis brothers we sent the kids in to see our nephews of a similar age and they got down to playing. I onthe otherhand got down to sampling some home made rasberry vodka. The van is superb. Far better than i ever imagined. It really does suit our style of motorhoming. The only minor critic would be that it is deffinately bigger. This makes it slightly more difficult to manouver but only just. However with it's taylor made seats and its lovely comfy driving position its gret to drive. The old van had the complete ducato cab including the cheap seats. The new van apart from electic mirrors/windows/ is like an a class whereby the cab has been incorperated in to the living accomadation.

After the first night at Nikkis brothers we then headed off to the Lecht ski area through a load of ice, snow and whever else the elements could throw at us. The van again held up and took it all in its stride, although I am so glad to of had the new snow chains.

We skiied all afternoon on some pretty decent snow and the lecht, although not fully open is anothter secret Scottish ski resort to have a bit of fun on. More so it gave us the opportuntiy to test our new skis and gear out prior to our main ski holiday of the year in 5 weeks.

We returned back to Nikkis brothers for some evening entertainment and drinking before retiring for another nights sleep.
In the morning we decided to go and see some new wind mills that had been placed behind Marks house. Out of site and a good 3-4 mile walk up very steep hills. Off we went and George (my oldest) decided he would race me. It was a long race uphill and my heart was coming out of my mouth at some points but, ,,,, he won. Despite not having smoked for some 3 months, i Was unable to catch him in the final sprint. However having made it to the top at all was a massive achievment and further more proof that kids who play xboxes can also enjoy good fitness levels if allowed.
We then set about returning home and the drive home was about as much pleasure as the drive north. On arriving home it was an indian takeaway which is followed by 5 weeks of alcohol free, junk food free living. the normal January detox.
we hope to get away for a night in January but in reality I expect our next trip to be the big ski trip.

First night away.

2008-12-18T18:01:00.000-08:00

well we have had our first night away.
Since buying the van I have tried to make a few ajustments to get what we wanted back. So therefore I have installed a new SOG. This only just fitted due to the location of the bike rack. I have installed the gaslow and given it a good test.

But anyhow back to our first night away. Still no pics Im afraid they might have to wait until our next trip to Scotland for a week.

Our first night was to Burs country park in Bury. It's a caravan club site sittuated Near to Bury town center. A very nice site by all accounts but the purpose of this visit was merely to test out the van and get some skiing practice done at rossendale dry ski slope. The van worked perfectly. The 2.8 engine drives so much better, and driving has become more pleasurable.
After eventually sort of working out the Satellitte system I managed to get a few nice german channels. One of which was football so I had something to watch. The two lads sat up the other end of the bed and locked themselves in to watch a few DVDs. The new van has so much more space. There is ample room for all four of us to do our thing. We do not feel as pressured as we did in Nessie1.
It's early yet, but we are convinced we have made the right choice. I just hope we can all fall in love with our van as we did Nessie. I am looking for a new TV and an alarm is being fitted next week and then a good service and we are up and runnning.
Next trip is to scotland if theres any snow.

SOLD SOLD SOLD NESSIE IS SOLD

2008-12-09T11:33:00.001-08:00

sold sold sold,,,,,,

boo hoo.

yep after 3 years and some 21k miles,numerous extras, Nessie has been sold.

she has gone to a good home I hope. A nice single man whom wanted to give motorhoming a try. I'm sure he will look after her. Its quite amazing how you gte attached to your vans.

Anyhow, I digress. we sold Nessie for a reason, that reason was to purchase a bigger, newer and different motorhome. ANd we have done.....

We managed to strike a wintertime recession busting bargain on a van that we have been eying up for ages.
The Van is an Adria 670sk. A loverly van and I will post some pics up as soon as Ic an get some taken. The van is a 2005 model so still on teh old chasis, but after thinking about it we thought with all the new problems it was not a bad idea.
The difference is phenomenal. Firstly the cab is a 2.8, loads more power, there is of course central locking, electric mirrors and what I like most, proper captain seats by adria themselves. The inside has rear bunks on the side and opposite that is a single dinner making in to another bed. There is a rear bathroom a side seat and of course a dinner which is made up by swiveling the captain seats. Three is just so much more space its untrue.
It also came with roof mounted aircon/heater, a satelitte system, a tv, and some wind breaks!!! wow wind breaks, that you will see on ebay as soon as it is light enough out there. There is also a full awning which will be going on ebay as well.
so thus far I have added a gaslow bottle for our next skiing trip in February, A sog I am taking delivery of tomorrow, to add plus we have spent ages gettingour personal stuff in to it.

Cant wait to use it where we will be off to A CC site at bury on Saturday for oine night to try it out and try out the dry ski slope at rossendale.
so pics to follow.

Big Bangs and Bonfires

2008-11-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

Hi all and welcome to our finally for the season. Well this was a good bonfire and firework display at a place called, billing aquadome. It was a birthday doo for a couple of members of MHfun and co-incided with a decent firework display. Not a lot happened really, the site was like a gypsies playgorund with lots of things going missing. There was so much mud it made the place really really muddy. and I mean muddy. There was of course great fun to be had with other like minded souls in their vans but to be honest there was not a highlight.
It was great to be at the birthday of a couple of people we had met this year. ! being Pammy whom married to Geo has proved to be a top girl. Nice, friendly and just down to earth good fun, and because of such is married to Geo who is just the same, top people.

Then there was ash, ash is a good lad knocking on in age whom loves a laugh and to behave like a teenager. Now some people might call that irresponsible? Me on the other hand says get in there, Im not the only one. I like a good laugh and a bit of banter and Ash is good for that, giving and taking. Although we have only met these funsters this year its been a great year in terms of meeting people. We have really enjoyed this years MHing more than any other.

However coming back from the meet something was decided. We would have a new van. We would purchase an Adria Coral 670sk. More on this to follow. But for now enjoy the pictures.

Well We have also arranged to host a skiing and sightseeing trip to the alps in february. I have been busy getting organised and really can not Wait, bring it on I say.

A few days in West Wales in a wet and windy October

2008-11-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

Saturday 25th

Hi Folks, Today we are going to Wales. Wales is a place wee have not really toured before in our MH even though we are officially only about 20 miles from the border:

Well we are heading down all the way to somewhere called St David’s, This is allegedly the smallest city in Europe. Our first trip sees us down to stay at a user of Motor home Fun called Dylan. Dylan’s site is a small CL in Cynghordy the site is called Cwmcuttam. Our drive saw us head through the Welsh countryside and with a few hours behind us we were arriving at the site. The site is really nice. Im not touting for business for the owners but the site has a lovely man made lake, is as dark as dark can be once the sun goes down, and to top it all you can hear nothing. The owners are nice and friendly and the land around the site is great for walks. With only 6 pitches make sure you ring and book!! The fish in the lake are fed by bread and when you throw a bit in there is a feeding frenzy of all sorts of carp. This alone kept the kids well and truly amused for ages, well until the bread ran out.

Sunday 26
Now I did say the site is quiet. However there is a train line very near by if you wish to travel off to Swansea or Cardiff. But do not expect to many. There only appears to be 4 a day. We were kept awake not by any trains but by the sound of the rain fall on the van.
Off we went in the morning and said our goodbyes. We went off towards Carmarthen and had a quick tour before heading off through Haverford west and on to St David’s. Now in true motor home style we had no where booked, we just knew where we wanted to be and what sort of place we would like to be at. St David’s was not quite what we expected, It was not on the beach although there were places close by that were. So off we headed towards those. We hunted high and low for a sort of place to stop that would fit the bill but could not find anywhere. Eventually we settled for a nice caravan and camping club site at White sands. At £14.80 for us all it wasn’t to bad. The shower block was just like what you come to expect from a CC site. Very nice piped music and heated block along with piping hot showers. The walk down to White sands beach was about 1.5 miles up and down hill, but on arriving we found that it had a really nice surf beach and shop along with a very nice car park. So having seen all that we sat down to eat an ice cream and thought about what we would do the next day. Not before we had managed to spot a couple of seals bobbing in the water between the surfers. We returned to the motor home and settled in for a shower and a good night of family entertainment.

Monday 27th
We awoke nice and early and set off to complete our plans. They included a whistle stop tour of St David’s cathedral a visit to the surf shop to hire some gear, and then some surfing followed by a bit of rock climbing around the coastal walks that led from the beach. Well the surf shop at St David’s was not too good so we just headed off to the beach to have a look at the surf. Well it’s a good job we never bothered with the surf kit. The water was like a mill pond, especially in comparison to yesterday where the surf looked really hot. We opted instead for a nice long coastal walk to include some rock climbing. We set off and after a few hours had reached the summit of where we intended. We enjoyed the views for a while before heading back down to “nessie” for a bite to eat. Aftre eating our plan was to move up the coast a bit around Cardigan bay and find a nice CL to stop on. Well we looked and looked and spotted a great Wild Camping spot. However having thought about it we decided not to and looked for a CL. As always we ended up with no CL and moving closer and closer to home. At one point we had decided to travel home before coming across a sign that said New Quay. We followed the sign on Nikki’s advice to find the most wonderful fishing town. By now it was dark and we thought no to a camping site. We thought we would stop in the car park overlooking the sea. At this time of the year we don’t anticipate any knocks on the door and to be honest the weathers that bad if anyone wants to come and move us on then I will gladly shake them by the hand for coming out.

After a good nights sleep we headed off home, via a few more Welsh seaside towns.

It was a nice break and Wales surely is a beautiful country. I just can’t help thinking that if the tourist board was as good as Scotland or other countries in the continent they could cream in a good load of revenue. Other than of course the rain!!! Still England has them problems too.

By for now, next we are off to Billing aqua dome bonfire meet. Looks like a good one.

FIshing in Nuneaton

2008-10-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all.
Well this weekend we went to a Motorhome fun/facts fishing meet. The weather was surprisingly gorgeous for the whole weekend. There was a good turnout of vans and many new faces from the Motorhome facts site.
This weekend we only had Harley with us as George was away on a school trip. This meant we were able to arrive early and I could get some fishing in on arrival.
Went out in to some sort of party errected tent for the night and surprisingly for me I was in bed by 11pm sober. However I was too soon make up for that. On the Saturday I took part in the fishing comp and although this was my first ever competition I actually managed to get 3rd place. Not bad for a novice. I then at night in the party tent took on the darts competition. I have not played Darts for some 10-20 years. Well with a lot of drink inside me and with Nikki and her friends pouring me in with Vodka and Jack daniels I actually managed to get to the final. Amazing, we all slept well that night and it was nice to not have to rush off to early on Sunday am. I even managed a bit more fishing and taught Jim the owner of Motorhome fun how to actually get them out!
The air susspension proved to be all I thought it would be on this trip. After I took some advice from others I actually let some air out and had the pressures set at 30psi. Again an amazing differnece. The TV fits in really well and gives great sound and picture. Its more than a TV though its an entertainment system meaning we could listent to harleys music all the way down and back"!!

Next trip is a tour of Wales at the end of October. Only 4 nights but then 4 is better than none. Then its off to Billing aquadome for another meet before we put Nessie away for December and January, ready for our Skiing trip in February.
Take care
HAGANAP/PANAGAH

We all like a nice Ride!!!

2008-09-20T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Well it had to be done, I had been talking about it for ages and ages. I thought long and hard and looked at the benefits of many but opted for the dunlop kit, no gauges, no fancy compresor, just simply the bags and the valves and lines. £285 for the kit from www.marcleleisure.co.uk. The reason why I went for the simple kit was because all the other gumph I dont think gives any benefit, who want to be able to blow the bags up from inside the van? lazy or what? or is i am jealous? No not really I bought the kit for the purpose of giving a better ride, more stability in winds, and to release the forces on the springs due to the weight of the van being constantly loaded at just under 3.5T. Which when you think about it is a lot to put up with all the time.

FITTING,
well, I done this myself. In terms of difficulty it is surprisingly straight forward. First thing is to move the bump stops, using a hammer and chisel. A few bangs and then you can use your hands. Then the bottom brackets, undo the nuts (4) and remove the Ubracket. These were tight and required a torque wrench and brute force to get them off. Then simply fit your new brackets, build up the air bellow, fit, route the air lines and bobs your uncle before you know it you are putting in the air.

RESULT.
Well, the van does feel much more car like. It handles nicely round bends and roundabouts, it is much smoother to drive, and noticebly more comfortable.
So all in all very impressed and cant wait for the next edition the new tv/dvd player.
Hopefullly all in place for next weekends fishing meet with www.motorhomefun.co.uk

PAINT MY WAGON

2008-09-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well I finally done it. Something I wanted to do for ages. I painted my front Bumper to match the rest of the van. I have seen many MHs with colour coded front bumpers and in my opinion they look really nice. I attempted to do it last year but unfrotunately one or two of the bolts would not come off meaning I could not remove the bumper.

This time I refused to be beaten. Any bolts that did not come off were cut off and then replaced in the refit. 2 in total refused to come out.

Step 1) was to remove the bumper. It was quite tricky but not beyond someone with decent DIY skills. Loads of bolts and the front grill required removing. Once removed I needed to ensure some space in my garage. I could of course taped up loads of the van and done it situ but with the inclement British weather I took the safer option.

Step 2) was to rub all the bumper down and give it a good wash. I used some wet and dry to get the bumper nicely clean and ready to accept some paint. A rough bit of paper was used to ensure the bumper was truly scored.

Step 3) This was to place the primer on. I used approx 5 cans of primer and it dries in 15 mins to allow the next coat to be placed. The primer chosen is of great importance. I used a plastic primer that coats the plastic and of course maked recieving the new paint better. If you use ordinary primer allegedly the paint will crack when the bumper flexes.

Step 4) Having matched the paint the best I could at Halfords I purchased some paint and when the primer dried started to spray it on. In total I gave about 4 coats. The experts recon between 2-8 coats so I opted for the middle.

Step 5) this was to spray on some lacqa to give it that nice deep shine. This is where the disaster struck. I lacqued it all and it looked absoloutly great and I was dead proud of my self. However there was a run on the paint right where it would be seen. I promptly set about getting rid of it only to make matters worse. Eventually with perserverence and determanation I managed to re sand re-apply the paint. There was two small cracks but I can sort them out at a later date. they will need filling and repainting but you cant really notice them when your coming towards me.

Overall the cost of this job worked out like so
6 cans of primer,
6 cans of paint
2 large cans of Laquer.
£60 thereabouts and a complete day and I mean complete 8am-9pm day, I never knew paint spraying was such a hard job.
The experts wanted between £280- £450 to do the job, so a good saving and the satisfaction of doing the job yourself. Im sure that in time it will chip or whatever but hey ho not a bad job for a ward sister/charge nurse.