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We have had nearly 5 weeks of rain since coming back into England at the end of March! It has also been a busy and productive time. Hamish went back to the repairers on 29 March for 5 days whilst we had a quick visit with Hazel & Phil where we got to see the newly restored house which looks very good and very modern. Then we had a few days with David & Janice at Gate Lodge to plan our respective trips to the Baltic countries.
At Easter we picked Hamish up then headed to Lincoln to meet up with Paul, Neil and Linda (over from Oz) for the Lincoln and the Newark Antiques Fairs. It was great to catch up with them and the wet weather did not slow us down as we all enjoyed the bargains to be found at the fair. Having said that, Brian and I were very restrained in what we bought. In between fairs we took time to visit O’Leary’s Motorhome Supplies in Beverley where we picked up some more lights and other parts to add to the van and enjoyed a day pootling around the countryside with no rain including
a pleasant lunch stop at a Lincolnshire cider pub. On Thursday evening we left the family to go back to Gate Lodge so Hamish could be serviced and MOT'd on Friday (the MOT was due by 14 May and they don’t like you to not have one)
We had a couple of days to kill before we were to pick up Belinda and Sam from Heathrow so we spent some time on the Suffolk coast. We visited Sutton Hoo, a wonderful old Saxon burial site with an amazing hoard of treasure which was found just before WW2 as well as spent some time walking and birdwatching along the Suffolk coast. We also spent a day on the Chiltern Hills, spotting the wonderful Red Kites which have been successfully reintroduced in the last 20 years. Poor Belinda & Sam were delayed until late Tuesday as their plane had an engine fire which was a bit scary for them at the time and meant they had an extra long journey from Adelaide. Parking at the airport proved to be fairly easy as we were able to park in the long stay and use the shuttle bus for the princely
sum of 4 pound! Having retrieved the relatives we did a dash for Bradford on Avon where the rest of the family were eagerly awaiting us. The next few days were spent exploring canal paths, the pubs and the NT properties around B on A. Neil, Belinda & Sam went off for a few days in London leaving us older ones to do a bit more walking and driving around the countryside to find a few more antiques to top up the container.
On Monday 23 April we drove back to Luton to leave Hamish with the repairers for another 2 days so they could do the remainder of the promised work. Wednesday we all took the train into Bath for a day of touring and shopping. Everyone enjoyed the Rohan outdoor clothing shop with Paul, Belinda and Brian all finding something they liked. Whilst the others visited the Jane Austen centre, Brian and I went to the Fashion Museum where they had a fabulous exhibition of 17c embroidered gloves amongst all the other wonderful clothes from the past 500 years. Lunch was in a cute old pub where Tim the barman took young Sam as his
helper; where we got some good pub grub and some tasty local beers. Sam even earned a couple of tips! Given that the rain did not stop all day we still managed a good day out.
On Thursday we had to drive back to Luton to pick up Hamish then drive North to St Anne’s on Sea. We met up with the others at Little Moreton Hall then took Sam the rest of the way with us. He enjoyed the ride in Hamish and the others enjoyed some adult time. We spent the next couple of days in the company of Auntie Jean and Cousin Elaine who are both easy to spend time with. On Saturday we went to an antique fair at Lytham where the boys picked up a few more trinkets for the container. Sunday we all drove over to Bradford in driving rain and gale force winds! However it was worth it to see how much Auntie Freda brightened up after we arrived. Uncle Bernard took us all out for Sunday roast at the 6 Acres pub (the first outing Auntie Freda has had for some months). Later we farewelled the boys and girls
who were heading back to B on A then we went to pick up Auntie Jean who had also been visiting friends in Bradford. The drive back to St Anne’s was a lot less stormy!
Monday we farewelled Auntie Jean and Elaine and headed South again. We stopped for a stroll around Nantwich, a pleasant old town with the Shropshire Union Canal passing through. Stopped on a CL (with hardstanding) near Wem (after following a road diversion down some very narrow lanes). Tuesday we headed to Shrewsbury and tried to stop in the P&R but it had a height barrier so we parked in Tesco and caught the bus. Spent a couple of hours enjoying the medieval buildings in the rain before continuing to another CL with hardstanding just South. Wednesday we tried to follow a route that Tim Tam (our Tom Tom sat nav with an Aussie accent) gave us and got stuck at a flooded ford and couldn’t turn around. So Brian had to back up nearly a mile with me running behind – fortunately no one else was stupid enough to go down that road. Near Telford we visited Kevin at Ace Foam supplies
who within a half hour had cut, glued and covered two new mattresses for us for only 148 pounds! He even disposed of the old ones! Afterwards we visited Ironbridge Gorge and Coalbrookdale, I got my hair cut in Much Wenlock and we visited Croft Castle before getting to another CL with hardstanding.
Thursday was not quite so wet as we headed for Bradford on Avon with a stop for lunch and tour of another NT property. Stopped to shop in Melksham before arriving at the CL in Hipperton about 4.30pm. Walked to the Old Bear Inn at Staverton via the canal path for dinner which was delicious racks of lamb them home for an early night.
Friday Paul picked us up and we joined the family for a trip into Bristol to see the excellent SS Great Britain which was one of Brunel’s great designs. The whole display was enjoyable and we spent about 4 hours there altogether. Only had time for a walk back along the docks and a visit to the new Museum of Bristol plus a Sam Smiths cider in a local pub before getting the train home.
Saturday was a washing and household chores day until Cousins Phil, Hazel and Eleanor arrived about 3pm. Brian and Phil cooked a yummy roast dinner for us all which was washed down with a few bottles of bubbles (our last roast for some time as we don't have an oven in Hamish). Sunday we all went to Lacock village and Abbey on one of the few fine days of the past month. A very enjoyable day out in a place which has been used as a location for numerous Jane Austen films and the TV series Cranford. Monday the rain came again and we spent our last day with the family before they fly back to Australia and we cross the channel to Europe again.
Next news will be from somewhere in the Baltics.....
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