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Published: September 1st 2012
4 weeks – the holiday now feels much closer . We are getting more and more excited at the thought of searching out some sun and a glass or two of some decent wine.
We had to take the van to Warrington to have the alarm system repaired today. Luckily it did not take too long to identify the fault which turned out to be a damaged connection on the gas locker door. At least it does not peep at us anymore. Apparently the glass was broken inside and this normally happens when it is knocked or damaged when the gas bottles are removed .As we have non removable Gaslow bottles this was not the case and it was repaired under guarantee.
Noticed today that there are dents in the van roof. They look like footprints and it seems that the repair carried out on the satellite dish has resulted in the fitter being heavy footed on the roof. They are not noticeable on a cloudy day but when the sun shines they stick out like sore thumbs. Unfortunately we cannot prove anything but doesn’t it make you feel frustrated and angry when people do not take care of
Channel Tunnel
Has the train arrived yet your possessions.
Ordered an Italian ViaCard and device to go through the Italian toll booths. Ordered from Toll Tickets a company from Germany we were promised delivery within 5 working days. The cost so far £7.90 which covers a hire charge and postage and package. We are allowed 21 days free use but on the 22
nd day we pay 25 cents hire charge which is debited to our account until such time as the device is received back in Germany. What a shame you cannot buy it the same way as you do the French version. It would make life a lot easier to order it once and keep it for future use. Hopefully marital harmony will return as I no longer will have to hang out of the window trying to pull out the toll ticket nor will I have to argue with the machine when it wont take my euros and a stack of vehicles queue up behind us.
Weather still mixed and generally poor. The Scottish and Non League football season has started which shows that Autumn is well and truly on its way. The elderberry trees are full of hard green fruit which over
the next month will ripen to deep purple and the conkers are beginning to form on the Horse Chestnut trees. Orange berries are forming on the Mountain Ash and red berries on the Hawthorn.
Wish we were abroad.
3 weeks to go – or 21 days, 9 working days, I am now counting down how many weekends before we leave. The Via card and toll box arrived all the way from Germany. It is slightly larger and fatter than the French version and we have spent time trying to work out the best place to position it on the windscreen. Normally the boxes sit at the top of the windscreen under the mirror but in the van we cannot use that spot as the overhang would obscure the box and it would not be picked up by the peage. We believe we have to place both further down the screen nearer the bottom. Another problem is going to be caused by the blinds which also will obscure the box. I see myself holding the French one in my hand, leaning towards the window and trying to work out the best position to place it on the screen. The
Via Card is a credit card which will be used if the machine fails to register the box in the van and we can use it manually at the Peage. We will then be charged direct to our credit card.
Clothes have been placed in the van, we have developed a system of putting at least two or three pairs of trousers on hangers, topping them with a couple of T shirts and over the top a cardigan or jumper. This takes up less room than using individual hangers for individual clothing. We also received the new hinges for our cooker door which have been fitted . Whilst they are of better quality and more substantial they still do not stop the door opening whilst we are driving. We are still having to resort to taking the oven door off, placing it in a towel and then storing it inside a cupboard whilst we drive.
2 weeks – and the weather still awful . It is heading for Bank Holiday so what do we expect. The weather has been so poor that the apples are all scabby and rotting on the trees. Managed to get a few off
to make apple sauce and a few nice crumbles. Developed a bit of a cold and lost my voice which is not a good start before the holiday.
And now it is the last week – the cold still persists and has been diagnosed as a virus which explains why it hasn’t got any better. Hopefully it should go by the end of the week. Last minute bits have been put in the van and the only things left are the really last minute items you have to leave right up to the end such as the phones, the phone chargers, money and files. Our money arrived from the Camping Club – we have found that ordering on line from them works well. Order one day and they arrive by first class registered post the next day. Counting down in days – only two go.........................
Well finally here we are the time has arrived to leave for what I hope will be sunnier climes. The weatherman has said that it has been the wettest summer and June on record since 1912 and nothing I am going to say will disprove that. We decided this holiday to go up
to Derbyshire to visit mother in law before setting off to France. This meant that we would travel 2 and a half hours out of our way but at least would be just a few miles from the M1 which would mean a quicker trip to Warwick our overnight stay. Arriving at Warwick we got our favourite spot a hard standing opposite the grandstands. Our neighbours arrived in their motorhome with Aygo on trailer and a bulldog. They went out earlier in the evening and came home setting off their alarm system which must have woken up half the campsite.
Woke up to a distinctly Autumnal feeling to the morning,the sky insipid and the Rosebay Willowherb and Thistles covered gone to seed. Brambles cover everywhere and they bring back memories of the 1960's when we would collect the blackberries for a friends mum to make into jams and jellies. Our rewards home made fudge and coconut ice.
Our first stop of the day was for bacon baps and coffee at Clacketts Lane Services on the motorway. The place seemed like Warwick relatively empty. The children are all back at school next week and families have already headed home.
We arrived at the Tunnel two hours early and as usual were offered free of charge the next train which meant we would arrive in St Quentin a lot earlier than we had planned. The area around the Tunnel in Calais is beautifully landscaped with ponds full of herons, moorhens,coots and swans. Our journey took us through Lens where the sun shone, the sky became blue,the clouds disappeared and it felt more like summer. I wondered how Lens had fared over the years as it was a mining area similar to those we knew back home. Now that mining had ceased what was life like in the towns and villages.
We arrived at Camping du Vivier aux Carpes in Seraucourt le Grand which is near to St Quentin ( twinned with Rotherham !!!) I find myself singing Johnny Cash songs every time I think of St Quentin. It is a lovely site with 65 pitches some of which are seasonal and filled with the type of caravans and awnings you see in Austria or Switzerland. The lady in reception was friendly, WFI was free and all over the site and the whole campsite is set around a large carp fishing lake. The baker calls round in the morning and a snack bar serves meals in the evenings. It got cold as the evening drawed in and it was shock to see it almost dark at 7.45 - the clocks being one hour ahead of home. The shower block was rather cold and the water a bit nippy. Shame as everything else about the site was brilliant. Privacy guarenteed but this meant that Kathrein could not look through the trees and find the satelitte for TV tonight. The village is pretty with the usual nice brick houses, Mairie,church and war memorial. We found our way up a lonely lane to the War Commonwealth graveyard of Saraucourt. It seemed like an English country cemetery full of roses and cottage garden plants set amongst peaceful farmland. The graves of which there are 1387 are of the usual white stone some inscribed with the name of the dead soldier but most of them inscribed with a soldier known only to God. The futility of war yet again came to the forefront of my mind as I looked upon the generation of young men wasted. Boys who would never know a family life nor would they become part of a family tree. It makes you almost weep to sit quietly amongst the gravestones and think about the tragedy of war.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Great to see you on the road again!!!
We are also counting down to our 38 day trip to the South Seas, Sydney, and New Zealand starting on 23 September...three weeks from today. I got our suitcases out and Linda has started to pack from her long check list. It's good to see her so excited about a trip as she hasn't really wanted to travel much...our last vacation was in 2008 on the Alaska Inside Passage cruise. I look forward to reading your blogs, and hope you have better weather this time.