Cambridgeshire 7 - The trip south to Ferry Meadows, The story of the Turtle

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D Day minus 5. Departure Day minus 5. 5 more sleeps. Whatever way you look at it there are just five days until we set off on our last European trip of the year. Destination the Iberian Peninsula. For some reason this trip seems odd. So much is going on in Europe it is hard to know what sort of trip it will become. Over the last few weeks migrants have swarmed all over the Channel tunnel complex, they have stormed the tunnel entrance . Our Prime Minister has allocated money to help the french defend the border . New fences have been erected. Migrants have been found dead in lorries which have been abandoned. The TV is full of nothing else. Hungary is overrun with Syrian migrants making their way from Turkey to what they see as Utopia. Hungary has been overrun. Migrants sleeping on the streets. Others sleeping on the railway concourse. Scenes of boats washed up on beaches. Rubbish strewn everywhere . Life in Europe his changing and at a rate that is frightening.

For us it feels odd . We long to get away. It is doubtful we will feel like coming back . Of course we don't know what we will find . But the tale of the turtle comes to mind. An old Korean proverb tells that a turtle travels only when it sticks its neck out. So in five days time we will be sticking out our necks like turtles and making the journey initially just down the road to Ferry Meadows Caravan Club site where we will stay overnight before making our way south to the tunnel. Suzy has had her grey water tanks cleaned and flushed out. The cupboards have been emptied and cleaned again. How much dust collects inside cupboards? The fridge is cleaned again. Note to myself . Don't switch the electric off after it has been cleaned and if I do make sure I leave the door open. The penicillin is growing quite nicely in there. We have taken clothes to the wardrobes . The weather forecast for Portugal suggests it is hot out there. What more can a girl called Suzy want?

D Day minus 3 - Time is going slowly. Last minute visits completed. Passports checked , driving licences in bag, The butterflies or the great big bumbling elephants are thumping their way round our stomachs. It is always the same. Have we thought of everything? Have we forgotten something? Hopefully not . Sion is excited and keeps asking are we there yet? How do you keep a sheep happy when all he wants to do is get in Suzy and hit the road like a bird migrating south. The weather looks good in Spain and Portugal so hopefully it will be kind for us.

Tomorrow we set off .

Le Grande Depart – From Chesterfield to Ferry Meadows .



The days have finally been counted down and we find ourselves just hours away from the grande depart. But first one thing gets in the way of departure . Work the thing that earns the money to go away in the first place. I find my mind flitting like a butterfly between performance expectations and have I taken enough pairs of knickers . Hold that thought. From team building days out to have we packed our passports and have we forgotten anything important. A mind focussed on holidays will never truly completely be on board with work related issues. The hours passed by slowly until lunchtime arrived and my last swim for a while. Customers come and go and still I flit from work to wondering what the next few weeks will bring. But bring it on . I talk about training, about work experience but still I flit like that butterfly with those butterflies turning into elephants and the elephants herding up inside me, Talk about butterflies the elephants are ten times worse. By the time I leave for home they are rampant. We cannot wait to get Suzy on the road again. It has been a while.

I get home . Glenn is patiently waiting. Suzy is filled with water. Sion is waiting and we need to get off. We have three hours of driving in front of us. Not the best place to stop – Peterborough- probably Cambridge would have been better but as I only finished work slightly earlier we would have struggled after doctors appointments to get to Cambridge in time.

The roads were fairly quiet as the children are now back at school. We drive from Derbyshire to Robin Hoods County Nottinghamshire . The county of D H Lawrence., Lady Chatterleys Lover , Teversal and the home of Lord Caernarfon of Tutenkahmen fame. The roadsides look distinctly Autumnal with the leaves turning a shade of yellow before their final hurrah of colour. The berries look fat and ripe in the hedgerows . Hawthorn and Rose Hips. Mum would have commented “so many berries, it is going to be a bad winter”. However perhaps the berries are there because it was a good mild Spring or even a hot summer rather than heralding a bad winter. We shall see no doubt. The heather on the roadsides sprawled in pretty lavender hues.

Onward to Rutland smallest county in England and onto Cambridgeshire and our night spot Ferry Meadows. We have been before so knew what to expect . It is based in the Nene Valley Park and is run by the Caravan Club . A huge site over two sides of the road hosting parking for 258 units . Now if this were Italy it would host over 1000. Here we have space to put out the awning and sit outside .

We book in and park up on the East side which is not our favoured spot however we find some hard standing next to the perimeter of the site amongst the many rabbits, squirrels and blackberry bushes. The site is so busy it is run by a warden and his or her partner, and two elves and elfetts the names for assistant wardens penned by another blog writer who for part of the year is an elf himself. We have considered this role and when we arrive at a site we wonder if we could meet and greet all the campers with smiles on our faces, be helpful in the face of every difficulty , learn first aid and clean the toilets and showers every day of our working life . Maybe but just not yet. There is a small shop on site so another skill required as shop assistant. Grass cutter and bin emptier – all tasks that need doing with a smile every day come rain or shine.

So parked up did I forget anything – yes I did – I left some medicine at home. Not essential but it would have been good to have brought it along. I left some milk in the fridge with a use by date of the 14^th September so by the time we are back it will have fermented quite nicely and should give Stinking Bishop a good run for its money. Still hold the thought of the knickers !!!



The fish and chip van arrived as it does every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and we dined on excellent cod, chips and mushy peas . Fine dining until later in the evening I developed stomach ache and was a sick as a parrot . I don’t for one minute think it was the fish as Glenn was OK . Perhaps I had eaten something else that disagreed with me. But truth be told I felt ropey by the end of the night. Not a good start to a holiday. An ice cream van also turned up be we declined on that one. Kathrein played up. She went up, she spun round and round . Eventually she locked on a satellite and then the picture froze. This continued all night until when we tried to park her she stubbornly refused and stayed up. She only came down in the morning when we switched the ignition on. As Sion would say naughty Kathrein!!!!

Anyway what can I say? We are here. Not the most perfect of starts to the Jones later summer trip into Europe. We are still smiling. The turtle has his neck out and we are travelling.

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Comments

[Home and Away]

I've been counting down the days...
until your departure. I hope that you pass through the immigrants safely on you way to France, Spain and Portugal. Get a picture of a pilgrim in Santiago for me!

[JenGog]

Pilgrims
Well it has been an interesting journey with some wierd and wonderful things happening . we have been travelling along the camino to Leon today and I will post a few photos on FB later. Pilgrims on bikes even.