France 119 - Neufchatel en Bray/Hawthorn blossom /Oilseed Rape/a police chase, a full aire and a typical french man

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It was the day before our trip and it was my last day at work. There is always an air of expectation as I count down the last minutes to leaving the UK. I wonder what I have forgotten to pack or that something will go wrong. I did the last minute shopping, said our goodbyes to family and thought so many things to do and think about. I wonder what the traffic will be like tomorrow as we drive down the M1 and the M25. Will we get a good run at the tunnel? I never sleep well . There are always too many things on my mind.

Eventually after much tossing and turning I see the cold grey morning light filtering in through the windows. As I open the curtains I see rain. It is a gloomy old day and not what we would want travelling south. Mizzly and dull. More November than early April. There is a feeling of dampness that pervades everything. Glenn does the last minute checks. Gabby has thrown all her water out. It must have been 3 degrees last night and cold enough for her to dump. We need another fill of water but it will have to wait. It is 8.30 and Gabby is on the road again. None of the Suzy shuffle. We didn't have to move two cars, open the garage door and pull out the ramps. It was all pretty straightforward for a change.

The first traffic jam we hit was the morning school run at Temple Normanton. Nothing major and before long we were trundling down the M1. By the time we reached Leicester we had caught up with the moving roadworks as they trundle south changing the M1 to a smart motorway ready to catch the unwary traveller with its speed cameras and variable speed limits. On to Northamptonshire where we stopped for lunch parking in the dirty dingy motorhome parking spots sandwiched between the lorries and the buses. Why on earth do car drivers come to this part of the car park? They have plenty of space in a better location. I cannot use their spots. Why do they use our extra large ones? I always want to ask them that question. The services are all McD's. Burger King, KFC fast food at its worse.

The road from Hell - the M25 wasn't too bad. The only excitement a police chase. The BMW roared by in the fast lane at 130mph followed closely by the police car with sirens blazing and blue lights flashing. I wonder if they caught him? We cross the Queen Elizabeth Bridge - nothing to pay we are in credit or so we thought. The day after we received notification from H. M Government telling us we only had £9.38 on the account and needed to top it up. They always keep £10 in reserve and gain the interest on it.

Arriving at the Channel Tunnel we were given the option of going on an earlier train. One hour earlier which gave us chance to have our dinner, drink a cup of tea and watch the antics of the French drivers parking everywhere apart from where they should have parked.

In France I put my watch on one hour , we set Sally Sat Nag for the 12 space aire next to Camping St Claire. We might be lucky to get a spot but if not then there was the camp site next door. Sally decided to misbehave as she always does when we set foot in France. She went dark, we could not read her display. She brightened up when we took the cable out but went dark when we switched the engine on. Watching her we went right out of the tunnel. The way we normally go when we exit the tunnel but today we should have gone right. Not a problem. A quick ride up the A16 the wrong way to the first sortie around the rond point and off in the right direction. Spring has come early to France. The hedges were white with Hawthorn and yellow with Forsythia. . We pulled up at the Aire des 2 Caps to sort out Sally. Like true boy scouts or girl guides we are always prepared and got out Sally version 2. Once sorted we set off for our stop for the night.

The aire was full. We had to find monsieur in his barn, we paid our fee and set up for the night . I wonder why folks pay 12 euros per night plus a tourist tax of 20 cents per person plus a further 2 euros for a shower when it only costs 15 euros 40 for the campsite . It was Friday the 13th and the meal in his restaurant didn't happen. He only opens from the 1st May and no bread or croissants until the same date. The site was a touch waterlogged but he had hard standing so not a prpblem. We sat out in the sun drinking wine and talking to our neighbours who were travelling home from their French home. They just had to wait for their dalmation to do the deed after his visit to the vets. Watching the sun go down and listening to the church bells it made me grateful I didn't travel with a dog.

They say "No one succeeds without effort. Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance" That sounds like us.

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