Dorset 1 - a satellite dish, a solar panel and a visit to Poole

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Our plan for the next few days was to get over to Poole to another motorhome fitting company who specialised in solar panels, satellite dishes, gaslow and leisure batteries. We had booked Suzy in for all of them and hoped that this experience would be better than the one with the strikeback alarm system and tracker . We woke early as we couldn’t sleep. The plan had been to get up at the usual time and then set off for Dorset. However we found we woke at 3.30 and decided not to bother trying to go back to sleep again but instead to have a quick breakfast before setting off. It felt a long drive going out in the darkness. Being March, dawn seemed to take a long time to break. It always though feels a wonderful sight to see the sun rising and it is not hard to imagine why the ancients revered it as a god. We travelled around Wrexham, across Shropshire and into Staffordshire before first light broke with a dim glimmer in the east. I suppose the only good thing that can be said for going early is that there wasn’t much traffic on the road. We even cleared Birmingham before the morning rush which was a blessing. Anyone who knows that area will understand what I mean. You don't want to be traversing Birmingham in the rush hour.

I had visited Dorset about 25 years ago skirting around Corfe Castle and Golden Cap in the hot summer of 1976 tenting along the way. This was the first time I had been to Poole. We found the companies premises easily and over a cup of coffee discussed our requirements with Simon. What a different treatment from yesterday. We felt welcomed and in safe hands. We talked through what was going to be done, what problems might occur and what the solutions might be. We “borrowed” a Citroen from Simon (the owner) and drove in to the town whilst he worked on the van. Some parts were in and he was going to do all the electrics today and hopefully would finish off tomorrow. He even offered us a night hook up in his compound.

Poole is a small harbour town with a vibrant touristy feel. It has a large natural harbour and some nice beaches. The town has a busy commercial port with passenger ferry services. It probably would have been very nice but the weather was so cold it took the edge off the visit. I have never felt winds so keen for a long time and it felt unpleasant at times with the wind piercing through our clothing . We longed for a bit of warm weather and were absolutely frozen walking around the town. Considering the weather had been so good last week we felt rather disappointed with it this morning and of course next week it will probably be roasting hot. Easter is only just around the corner and it feels like the middle of November at times. Because we were so cold we found a good cafe to sit and warm up whilst waiting for a full English breakfast. Glenn enjoys the full English but I can take it or leave it but somehow today – perhaps it was the cold – I enjoyed it very much and finished mine before he did. It was good value at £5.95 . Why do bacon, eggs, fried bread, beans and mushrooms taste so good when you feel cold and miserable?. Defiantly comfort food.

After brunch , well it was that sort of time of day when we walked along the harbour front. There are some lovely Georgian buildings along the waterfront. Poole is a working harbour and as such was full of large speedboats undergoing repair. We would have liked to have gone a cruise up the river to Swanage or to Brownsea Island but this wasn’t available as it was out of season. In the summer it would have been a lovely excursion. But for us it wasn’t to be. We found a small museum which was attached to a records office. Not having any relatives in the area for once we by passed the records office and wandered from floor to floor in the tiny museum. Like Liverpool it had an eclectic mix of exhibits ranging from roman finds to a complete ancient wooden boat through to the local Poole pottery from the area. Other exhibits included a dentists surgery from the 1950’s – complete with chair and drills – unhappy memories of days when the dentist had little in the way of bedside manners.; a complete hairdressers salon with twink hair products that was so loved by my mum and hundreds of other women in the 1950's and 1960's. The old fashioned black bakalite hair dryers that frizzled your hair to a crisp; a small schoolroom with desks and inkwells reminiscent of those in primary school – the wood stained with blotches of blue ink from the inkwell . The kitchens from various periods complete with flat irons, mangles and old fashioned melamine cupboards that were all the rage in the 50’s. . There was also a chemists shop displaying portions and medicines all of which were designed to cure all ills . We spent a fascinating hour or two wandering from display to exhibits constantly being reminded of things from our childhood. The conversation always returning to "Do you remember that?" or "I remember using that as a child".

Neither of us are that interested in shopping but because of the weather it was a welcome respite to go into the local shopping centre. Having done the shops in the Dolphin Shopping Centre and drunk copious cups of coffee we decided to give in and call it a day arriving back at the workshop to find a large portion of the wiring fixed and were set up for the night. Still no TV or gas but we were on our way. Fortunately for us we were able to stay overnight in the workshop compound and were hooked up to the electricity. We got lights working and heat on. The heating caused us a few headaches as we struggled to get it working. The whole system seemed complicated but I am sure with practice we will smile at how complicated we thought it tonight. Nor could we work out how the shower worked . Easy when you know how but hard when you first start. Every little thing that goes wrong seems to give you a major headache . You need a laid back attitude for this sort of life . However eventually we settled in for the night, set the alarm for the first time – watched the little red lights of the flickering system and hoped that we had set it up properly. Every second expected it to go off and frighten us and our neighbours with its noise. We were locked in the compound, we drew our curtains put the music on the phone and listened to Dreamboats and Petticoats Volume 4. What a lovely way to chill out. We are not quite there yet but I am sure we will eventually. The night soon passed, our Raskelf sleeping system worked a treat. Comfortable to sleep on and warm it felt much more civilised than old fashioned sleeping bags . We we were woken early by the sound of the resident owl hooting in the trees behind the workshop. This is the life ............................its better than working!

The next day was spent in Weymouth – again spoilt rather by the bad weather. Even wrapped up in coat, scarf and thick gloves the Arctic winds bit through and spoilt the enjoyment of being on holiday. Despite walking fast along the seafront we froze and only took a cursory glance at the Georgian and Victorian rows of hotels, the commemoration clock for Victorias Jubilee (not as ornate as the Eastgate Clock in Chester) and the magnificent statue celebrating something or other from the reign of George III resplendent with gilded unicorn and lion. We only gave a cursory glance to the sand sculpture of Alice in Wonderland with the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat grinning back at us. We did however find a lovely little cafe which served a large mug of warming welcoming tea and a glass of coke for £2.10 How they make a profit from those prices I shall never know.

We returned back to Poole for Suzy who now had a Kathrein 910 satellite dish , her solar panel and a gaslow system. We paid and headed for the garage to fill up on our first fill of LPG another strange experience as initially the company who fitted the system directed us to the wrong garage. They re- directed us back to their sister garage who indeed sold LPG but we could not fill the tanks due to some extra long screws used to fix the system. We had yet another drive back to the company to have them taken off and new shorter ones fitted. This time it worked and filled up with gas we set out for our overnight stop at Ulwell Caravan Park near to Corfe Castle. This was to be our first night in a campsite and tomorrow weather permitting we were heading to the castle to use our National Trust membership for the first time.

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Photos

Poole
The Harbour

Weymouth
On the front - a statue to George III

Weymouth
On the front - the clock