Early autumn holiday, 20 September 2024

Blégny-Mine, Belgiium

A long day driving across Belgium. We set off at about 10:00 am; our first port of call was the Auchan at Grande-Synthe, just outside Dunkerque. The Sat-Nav took us via the back roads, which was lovely - we allowed it to, because we knew we would have a lot of motorways later on. That was thoroughly enjoyable.

I did a shopping in the Auchan, which to my annoyance was out of all the Lipton's black tea varieties, just empty spaces on the shelves where they should have been. So no agrumes! I have bought some Earl Grey, which I like, and will have that or Lady Grey in the afternoons instead.

Lunch, parked up in a random services somewhere in Belgium, was rather later than we intended, because there was a contraflow due to roadworks and we thought we needed to stay in the right hand lane, not realising that this was now solely an exit. So we drove for several miles on N roads, which made a pleasant change from the motorway, but by the time we go back on to the motorway, the services where we had planned to stop were behind us, and the next ones were another 15 minutes or so away. The Swan Whisperer had mentioned going to Strépy-Thieux for lunch, but I'm glad we decided against that, as it was quite a long way on from where we did stop!

After which, it was only another 2 hours to Blégny-Mine, where we have stopped before. The aire is free, including services, although you do pay for electricity if you want it. The Swan Whisperer went for a walk, and I did as much of the tai chi form I could remember (despite watching a video of the form, I still had trouble remembering!). Then I sat and read until the SW came back, and then came inside as I was getting chilly, and there was cider in the fridge calling my name! In a moment I'm going to get supper. 

Early Autumn Holiday, 19 September 2024

Calais, Hauts-de-France

We had not intended to be here tonight, but things went a bit pear-shaped. The day started off well; after breakfast we loaded the car and headed down to Sussex, in time for lunch with my mother (who finally came home two days ago) and sister. 

We needed to leave about 15:00 to get to Folkestone in time, but, largely due to the Swan Whisperer leaving his phone in the car and having to rush up to get it, we didn't get away until about 10 past. 

It was a slow old drive to Folkestone; the M25 was giving its best impression of a car park! However, the M20 was reasonably fast as the lorry lanes weren't in use so we could use all three lanes. 

We arrived at about 17:30, expecting to be pushed on to a later shuttle, but the automatic check in gave us the reference for the 18:16 on to which we had been booked, so we went straight through passport control and into the holding pens. Where we sat and sat. After 45 minutes, I contacted their customer service to ask what had gone wrong, but their rep kept saying we had been bumped on to the later shuttle because we were late, and quite made it sound as though we were being punished for it! She simply wouldn't listen when I asked why we had been booked on to the 18:16 - what had changed between checking in and arriving at the holding pens? And we were far from the only vehicle with the same boarding letter in the same situation! I was very unimpressed, and have sent them a stonking e-mail saying so. 

By the time we finally got on a Shuttle, it was about 19:00, so I made salad while the Swan Whisperer finished making the beds, and we ate during the crossing. But we decided we didn't really want to drive another 45 minutes this evening, in the dark, so I checked the aire in Calais, and they had free spaces so I quickly booked us into one of them! 

And there is the most gorgeous moon - my photos don't begin to do it justice!

Imber (not) revisited

Ten years ago, we visited the lost village of Imber.  At the time, I'm not sure how well-known the day was, other than by transport nerds (hey, I never said I wasn't one!), and it was pouring with rain.  Today, things are very different.

We travelled on a UK Railtour charter, which was comfortable but I'm not  100% sure it was worth it.  On the other hand, it did mean we got programmes and a guaranteed, comfortable seat.  We did, however, have to be at Waterloo before 10:00 am, which meant I had to miss tai chi.  However, it was a civilised hour to leave, and the journey was uneventful.

We had learnt that there was an exhibition about Imber in Warminster itself, a few minutes' walk from the station.  It closed at 1:00 pm, so we went there first.  It was quite good, but I thought very biased about how ghastly what the army did was, etc.  Well yes, but we were at war, and other villages and owners of big houses had it every bit as bad, if not worse.

As the queues for the buses had been stretching round the block, with not a bus in sight, we decided to have lunch first, as the queues were supposed to get shorter in the afternoon (spoiler: they didn't!).  We found a very nice tiny café that did us sandwiches and salad, but first we visited the St Lawrence Chapel, which was lovely.  The vicar and - I think - a churchwarden were around, and told us all about the stained glass and so on.  

We walked back to the station only to find that the queue was longer than ever, a good 500 metres long, if not longer.  A bus did arrive while we watched, but it was obviously only going to take a tiny fraction of those waiting  So we decided that, as we had already been to Imber, we would explore Warminster instead.  We found a lovely public park, where we sat and read until we got too cold, and then went and had afternoon tea in Coffee #1 - at least, I had tea but the SW had coffee.  I had an oatmeal-raisin cookie, and the SW had some chocolate concoction that looked rather rich.  But lovely comfortable armchairs, and a loo!  We had, actually, hoped to have had a cream tea at St Lawrence's, but when we got there we found that this would be being served tomorrow, not today.  Bother!  

Then we wandered back to the station, which was a bit of a mistake as it was very crowded and there wasn't really anywhere to sit.  In hindsight, we should have hung on in the café for another 10-15 minutes.  On the other hand, we were able to see a great many Routemasters and other buses dropping people back! 

Our train arrived at last, and we were glad to sit in it.  I felt very tired on the way home, and it was very noisy and tiring.  We got a bus at Waterloo, and then picked up a ready-meal in Lidl. 

I do rather think that Imberbus Day has outgrown itself.  It's not fun having to queue for over an hour to get on a bus, especially if you have to get back on a deadline.  The various little villages on the route all do tea and cakes now, which they didn't when we first went.  I don't know how long they will be able to continue, especially since the buses are all owned by enthusiasts and are not getting any younger.

Meanwhile, my mother was finally repatriated today, and is now in hospital in Worthing!  The hold-up was due to the insurance - the French hospital would have liked rid of her two weeks ago, and the ambulance had been on stand-by for her since 6 August!  Sigh.  

Summer break, Wednesday 7 August 2024

 Home at last!

Uneventful journey home.  I popped into Carrefour to pick up the things I couldn't get in Auchan yesterday, but, sadly, it looks as though Liptons have stopped making my lovely, lovely citrus tea that I have drunk two cups of since forever!  Sadliness, if that is so.  I have  bought some orange, and some grapefuit/lemon to try, but....

My sister flew out to Saint-Junien today, so there was nobody at No 6 when we got there.  We had managed to cross an hour early, so it was lunchtime when we arrived.  We had lunch and then loaded the car, put the WoMo away until next time, and then drove back to London, arriving just after 5:00.  Unpacked, and am now flopped in front of the Olympic cycling.  We have missed most of our favourite sports, but that's life.

I  hear the insurance may have all the documents necessary to repatriate my mother within the next few days.  Meanwhile , they suggested not wasting her good beans, so I picked a bagful, plus a couple of courgettes which would do nobody any good if they turned into marrows. 

And just  look at what happened to the car while we were away!

Summer Break, Tuesday 6 August 2024

Calais, France 

We have driven up today from Tours, which took far longer than it ought to have done. First of all, the Swan Whisperer was convinced the N something-or-other was dual carriageway all the way to Chartres. It wasn't. It was roundabout after roundabout after traffic light after traffic light after speed limit after speed limit, and most of it was single-carriageway with only a bit of dual the whole length.

So it took forever to get to Chartres, and then when we did finally tell the Satnav it could use toll roads, we had to go across from Chartres to Rouen on a dual carriageway. And the first rest area we came to was full, so lunch was very late. I wasn't even very hungry, as I had such a headache!

I had suggested we stop at the Super U in Abbeville to shop, but the satnav took us right past the town and back again, a good 10K or more out of our way, and then when we got there, although we did get diesel, we couldn't find anywhere to park the WoMo, so came away.

I decided the Auchan in Calais would be a good place to shop, but it so wasn't - it had the most hopeless supply of vegetables you ever did see! And no small tins of French peas or even chickpeas, none of the citrus tea that I like.... I did get black pepper Boursin, though, and various other things.

Then to Calais - luckily I'd booked into the aire here, which is now a Camping-Car park, as it is totally full. But it now has electricity, which is nice, and I do like being able to book in advance!

The Swan Whisperer has discovered a light on in the boot, which he has no idea how it came on, or how to switch it off again! He seems to have managed to switch it off by pushing, though. Home tomorrow. I so can't wait!

Summer Break, Monday 5 August 2024

Veigné, near Tours

At last we are on our way home! The Daughter has taken over, and I can relax. 

She came down to the campsite for breakfast this morning, sadly without any croissants as the nearest bakery doesn't open on Mondays and the second nearest one is having its annual holiday (so French!). The local supermarket - as opposed to the big out-of-town hypermarket where I have been shopping all week - didn't open until about 9. So we said not to bother. 

After breakfast, we cleared everything up and left the campsite for the final time. She and I went to the pharmacie, who said that the days' deliveries hadn't happened yet. We then went to the hospital Secretariat and I was very amused as the jobsworth said They Couldn't Possibly do a health report for the insurance, but then the nice doctor came in and said Of Course You Can, and they had a bit of a row. The doctor won, of course, so we now have a certificate from him to show the insurance people, and the full medical report will be given to Mum on discharge. 

The Daughter then went off to do some work, and we went to the hypermarket. The Hyper U has covered part of its car park with solar panels, so we parked in the shade underneath them until we saw an e-mail from the Daughter to the insurance which meant she had obviously finished work for the time being, so we drove back to the hospital car park - which is much hotter - and met her on the way in. We then had lunch and went up to see Mum.

The insurance rang and had some questions for Mum - I think there are one or two more things they need to do to arrange for her repatriation, but it should happen before the end of the week. I hope. Probably by land ambulance. 

Then we said goodbye to them and headed on. I fell sound asleep for the first bit of the journey, unsurprisingly. I have missed my afternoon naps this week!

Tomorrow the plan is to get up to Calais, and then cross on Wednesday morning, finally getting home on Wednesday evening. I have to admit, I shan't be sorry, for once. 

The aire here isn't nearly as nice as the one in Saint-Junien, but it will do for one night. This is a view from my chair when I was sitting out before supper. 

Summer Break, Sunday 4 August 2024

What we hope will be our final night in Saint-Junien 

This morning the Daughter came for breakfast - my brother preferred to have his in the hotel - and then he came down, too, and they had another cup of coffee.

We decided it was silly to be so near Limoges and not visit it, so we went in my brother's car. We had a lovely walk around the city, and one of the main churches,

which was not, it turned out, the Cathedral, and a cup of coffee in a random café.

Sadly, coming back along minor, rather twisty roads made the Daughter feel rather carsick, which she said sometimes happens in diesel-powered vehicles. I lent her my seabands, which I wasn't using, and we changed places, but I think she was thankful to get back to the campsite ere worse befell! A glass of cold water, a drop of peppermint oil, and a sit-down soon put her to rights.

 My brother went off to see Mum - we had agreed to stagger our visits today so as not to overwhelm her. After lunch, the Daughter went on up, and we went up about an hour later. Of course, we did end up all together for awhile, so we three came away and left my brother - who will have to leave quite early tomorrow morning - to have a last hour or so with her in private.

We came back to the campsite and used the services, and then the Daughter, who had gone back to the hotel for a bit, came and joined us, and now she and the Swan Whisperer have gone for a walk, and I am relaxing until it is time to cook dinner for us all. 

Summer Break, 3 August 2024

Quiet morning. The Swan Whisperer went for a walk and then I did a little shopping, but that was all. 

Went to the hospital early as we had to leave to go to the airport to pick up the Daughter, who has come out to relieve me. My brother has also come out for the weekend, so we all gathered in Mum's room until the uncomfortable chairs got to us!

He is treating us to supper in the hotel restaurant, which I hope will be nice. Right now having a rest and a cup of tea before heading up to the hotel.

Photo from yesterday of a peace banner in the church. 

Summer Break, 2 August 2024

Still at Saint-Junien!

Rather a dull morning, as all we did was a load of laundry (the French do wonderful laundrette in supermarket car parks) as we were going to run out of clothes else. I shopped, and then we bought gas, and that was about it for the morning.

In the afternoon we visited Mum (who is getting on very nicely now, thank you), and then, as it was a lot cooler, went for a walk around the old town, and had a long look inside the Church, which was lovely.

The Camping-Car network has gone down, which makes it very difficult to get in and out of the campsite - I gather it's a nationwide crash, so hope they get it fixed very soon! It was fine this morning when I extended our booking yet again, but had crashed by lunchtime. 

Summer Break, 1 August 2024

Much, much cooler this morning, and although it got hotter in the afternoon. We even had to turn the air-con down a bit when we went for a drive. Our first port of call was a village called Rochechouart, which had rather a lovely chateau,

but the car park firmly said No Motor homes, so we went on, first to a rather pleasant lake and then to a nearby archaeological site, whose name escapes me, but there wasn't much to see there; the Swan Whisperer thought it was a Roman temple, but hidden inside the visitor centre. Our final port of call was another chateau, at somewhere called Etignac. We think this is let out as holiday flats, as it looked lived-in, but didn't say "Private"! Photos on Facebook. 

Back to the campsite via what was supposed to be a scenic route but wasn't, very. Quite pleasant along the banks of the Vienne, though. 

Lunch, and then to the hospital; Mum still in bed, but they hope to get her up tomorrow. She seemed a bit more awake today, which was good. 

The Daughter is coming out on Saturday, which will be lovely - AND bringing my meds with her (she has just been to the flat to pick them up, bless her), and the idea is she will take over from us on Monday, probably, so we will come home on Wednesday; it's possible Mum will be able to be repatriated then, but if not my sister will probably come out. So lots of admin today, but all good stuff! 

Summer Break, 31 July 2024

St-Junien

We really haven't done much today. It rained a bit at dawn, which brought the temperature down nicely, but it didn't stay cool, alas. The Swan Whisperer went for a walk round the town

and bought us pains aux raisins for breakfast, and then we spent the rest of the morning sitting and reading, or in my case doing most of the admin you have to do when someone is in hospital abroad.

After lunch, we went to the hospital to see Mum, then we went to Lidl, came back to the campsite, used the services and are now sitting and reading or blogging or (about to) watch videos. It is trying to thunder! 

Summer Break, 30 July 2024

Saint-Junien, Nouelle-Aquitaine

Which is Limousin, really, of course. 

We both slept as one stunned last night - I did get bad cramp at one stage, and had to walk up and down the WoMo until it wore off, but after that, I didn't stir until 5:30 am, and after that, not until nearly 8!

The Swan Whisperer would have liked to have gone for a run, but quite understood when I asked him not to, as I really couldn't cope if he had a bad fall! So he agreed, but instead went out for a short walk. He went out for a longer one after breakfast, and I sat and did my anti-senility puzzles!

When he came back he had his coffee before we went to the local E Leclerc, where I was able to score a new toothbrush, although not as posh as my dead one. Still, it will do the job more than adequately, and was a lot cheaper. Yes, I could have used the Swan Whisperer's (swapping brush heads, of course), until I got home, but his is even older than mine was.... 

Anyway, we drove to the hospital car park and had lunch there, as rather more salubrious than the supermarket car park! Mum was okay - no better than you would expect the day after such a serious operation. I have seen the x-rays, but she says I am NOT to publish them, so I won't; family only! However, I gather my GP cousin says it was a classic neck of femur fracture, and they have done a good job of screwing her up! She was able to sit out of bed, but spent most of her time asleep, and, although she knew perfectly well who we were, where he was, and why, she was a bit "wandery" and not totally with it. Only to be expected.

We sat with her for awhile, and I went to the Office to wrestle with insurance forms, which I have filled in but need signed - we couldn't get them in a format where the hospital could print them off, alas. Anyway, I hope it will be all right, and I hope to speak to the insurers tomorrow.

Best case scenario, from our point of view, would be for them to arrange an air ambulance to our local hospital on Friday, but whether that can happen, I don't know. 

She was very sleepy, so we came away and left her to sleep - best thing for her at this stage, of course.

We drove a bit round the town, but it was still too hot to want to walk round the big church.

The photos have blurry marks from the WoMo window on them! And I forgot Blogger only looked sideways photos. Oh well ! 

Back to the campsite, we have been sitting outside, catching up with things. The SW is getting supper, and then I expect we will do what we did last night, which was sit and read until the midges and darkness and late hour drove us in! 

Summer Break, 29 July 2024

Saint-Junien, Limousin

My mother was more cheerful this morning, and had stopped moaning in pain, thankfully. She said she was still in really bad pain, though, "Worse than having a baby". 

We stayed with her all morning, interrupted by various doctors, nurses, almoners, etc, and then went back to the WoMo to do some shopping and have lunch. Too hot to eat, really. It's about 35 C here!

When we got back to the hospital, no Mum! She had gone down to theatre about 5 minutes earlier. We were told we should ring up about 6:30 or 7:00 pm, so we decided to go to Oradour-sur-Glane and visit the memorial village there, where the Nazis had murdered 643 people in June 1944.

Sadly, it was too hot to really enjoy it; I ended up standing in the shade where there was a lovely breeze while the Swan Whisperer did a very quick explore. We went back to where we had parked the WoMo, but there his keys weren't! He went to retrace his steps and to ask if they had been handed in, which luckily they had, but that was a nasty few minutes there! I do have a spare set, but even still!

So we went back to the campsite  and sat in the shade and dozed until it was time to ring the hospital. Who said Mum was back on the ward and all had gone well, and we could visit her this evening if we wanted to. Which we did, but we didn't stay long, preferring to let her rest. It was suggested that we not go in before official visiting hours start at 13:00, as the mornings get busy with treatments, washings, X-rays, etc. I was quite relieved, as had the staff been worried, they would have let us in any time! 

We came back to the campsite, used the services, and are soon going to eat. Oh, and I bought some more nectarines, and of course, the missing ones promptly turned up! 

Is it really still only Monday? 

Summer Break, 28 July 2024

UPDATE

Stuff all that. Mum fell off the kerb going back to the hotel and has broken her thigh. Possible surgery tomorrow. This is double-plus ungood, please prayers etc. 

Saint-Junien, I Limousin

Another very long day's driving, but rather a pleasant one, if tiring. Nobody seemed to mind our parking where we did, although it was rather brilliantly lit, and we slept well. 

Mum was ready and waiting when I went over for her at about 08:30, and profited from the occasion to dry my hair! We then went back to the motor home for breakfast, which was scrambled eggs and toast and fruit juice, and once we were in line, we set off. I was in front for the first part of the journey, all round the Boulevard Périphérique. Mind you, the only bit of Paris we could see was the Tour Maine-Montparnasse, if that is what it is still called. Sadly, no sign of the Eiffel Tower, and the only sign of the Olympic Games was that you couldn't use the outermost lane, which was reserved for Olympic traffic. 

We then headed south and west, stopping once for coffee, once for lunch, and finally for the SW to have a much-needed break. Mum and I swapped places every time we stopped. When we stopped for lunch, though, we found that the nectarines I'd bought yesterday had mysteriously disappeared, and we can't find them anywhere! Very strange! I know I brought them back to the WoMo in the shopping trolley, but there they aren't! Oh well! 

I always enjoy seeing the old aérotrain test track outside Orléans, especially as it has now been superseded by the LGV running alongside. 

We eventually arrived at the hotel and were a bit worried that we couldn't find anywhere to park, but finally found somewhere not too far for Mum to walk. Her room is lovely and large, and with a proper walk-in shower, as well as a bath for those who are able. 

Once she was settled, we went back to the WoMo and drove the few hundred metres to the campsite, where we got the table and chairs out and Mum and I sat in these shade while the SW used the services. Then we drank rosé spritzes,

and now we are about to eat cold chicken and salad. It is very hot, much too hot to cook! Later, we will take Mum back to the hotel on her mobility scooter. 

Summer Break, 26-27 July 2024

Senlis, Ile-de-France

You might think we are quite mad going off on holiday on the first weekend of the summer holidays and the Paris Olympics! However, we didn't have all that much choice in the matter, as my sister and her partner were going away this week, so we thought we would take my mother on holiday with us. Mum is 96 years old, and not very mobile, so she will be sleeping in hotels, while we are in the motor home. 

We went down to Sussex yesterday morning, and got the motor home all ready. In fact, we slept in it last night, but were up early this morning. Mum's hairdresser was coming at 07:00 (yes, really!) to wash and set her hair prior to the holiday, so she needed to be up at 06:00 to be ready for him. I volunteered to wake her, but when I went over, she was already awake and reading. 

Once the hairdresser had finished, we had had our breakfast (Mum had had some toast earlier) and we were ready to set off shortly after 08:00. The journey was fine as far as the M25, but they are having to build a great many new emergency stopping-places, so it had a speed limit of 50 mph most of the way. And the M20 was also at 50 as lorries were having to be checked in, so the contraflow system was in operation. I, meanwhile, was thinking unprintable thoughts about Brexit and all its works! 

We did get to the Shuttle on time (just), but then there was a huge, huge queue to check in,

and another for passport control. However, we did manage to get a crossing only a few minutes after our booked time, and even had time to make a cup of coffee while waiting to be called though passport control! 

Once we arrived on the other side, we drove straight to Cité Europe and parked up. Lunch was the first order of the day, and then I did a shopping while the others got diesel (reminding myself that I didn't have to buy everything today!) and once that had all been done, we set off. It was my turn to sit in the back of the motorhome, which isn't quite as comfortable as the front, but still quite comfortable enough to fall asleep! 

We arrived here at Senlis about 7:00 pm, and got Mum into her hotel room, which has a lovely walk-in shower/wet room!

Then we decided that we were all tired, so had supper in the hotel - I had a steak and the others had cheeseburgers. And very nice, too. 

We then got Mum settled in her room for the night, and decided, firmly, that our motor home belonged to a guest in the hotel so we could use a quiet corner of their car park. I hope they don't move us on in the night - we did move away from the disabled space we had been using! 

Tomorrow we have another long drive, down to St-Junien in the Limousin, where we shall stay until Friday. 

Site visit

For the past four or five years, the London Power Tunnels have had a site at the corner of our road.  Obviously it is a building site, but we have been able to see, through the various spy-holes, the tunnel boring machines being lowered in and, indeed, returned to the surface again.  There was, at one time, a conveyor belt to take the spoil somewhere, and so on.  Now the site has got a lot quieter, and the Swan Whisperer decided he wanted to see more of it, so he cheekily asked if he could see in the tunnels.

The answer was no, as you have to have special training to go down, but he was offered a site visit, and today he and I, and J from flat 14, all went round.  We were made very welcome.  The first thing, we were taken into their offices - a rented, serviced office from the company next door which is storage and offices (they do have office space on site, but not enough) - and given a briefing on what the London Power Tunnels are all about.  Very much along the lines of this article from the National Grid, which explains about "our" site in particular, but you can link to an overview of the whole project in general.  

After a fairly extensive briefing, we were given PPE - boots, helmets, goggles, reflective jackets and gloves

- and taken on to the site itself.  The tunnels are now finished, and we were able to look down them if we wanted to (no thank you!  I have no head for heights!), and we could see various machines, including a tall blue tower

that is used to lift the cable drums so that the cables can be unwound and fed down the tunnels - they are planning to start that within the next few days, I believe.  The men were incredibly patient, answering all our "What's that for?" questions.  There is a lift that goes down to the tunnel floor at the moment, but when all is finished, there will just be stairs.  One of the men said he used the stairs on principle, but it made his thighs hurt!  You can see a bit of what it must be like from the videos I will link to at the end of this post.  

Finally we were taken up to the top of their pre-fab offices, where they have a roof garden where people can smoke if they wish, and eat their picnic lunches, which had a terrific view over the site, and also over London.

  They had said we were welcome to take photos, but not to post them on social  media, so the ones I'm posting here are those nobody could object to!  

It was fascinating, but, alas, reality called, as I had to go to the dentist!  

Too good to be true?

Usually, when something appears too good to be true, it is!  Not in this case, though.  The other day, I happened to see a post about the Sainsbury's Picnic Pavilion, which is, or perhaps I should say was, a pop-up special from Sainsbury's.  Held in a venue called The Stables in Covent Garden, the blurb said you paid £5.00 - yes, that's right, a fiver - for which you got 90 minutes to have a picnic with the hamper they provided you, containing, so they said, at least £55 worth of food.

So I thought this sounded like fun, although I had no idea what it would be like.  And, you know what? It was brilliant!  We took the Northern Line to Leicester Square, and walked from there - only a few minutes.  It was easy to find, and the receptionist found my name so I didn't have to fish out our ticket.  We had only a few minutes to wait before they told us our table was ready.  I hadn't booked chairs (the normal seating is cushions on the floor around a low table), but they offered us them when we arrived, so I thankfully said yes please.  There was a bottle of sparkling lemonade on the table, and the waitress bought us a bottle of Sangria and one of a raspberry daiquiri mocktail.  There was a box with wooden plates and cutlery, cardboard tumblers with paper straws, and nibbles of garlic and rosemary twists, foccacias (those dried crouton-type ones) and crisps.  Then there was a proper hamper filled with two Scotch eggs, two boxes of "dinky" feta and tomato puffs (which we agreed would be much nicer hot), a huge pork pie, feta with garlic and parsley, two different salads, tzatziki, olives, hummus, fruit salad and lemon meringue nibbly things.  All this for a fiver!

Needless to say, we didn't eat all of it, contenting ourselves with the Scotch eggs, a couple of the tomato puffs, the feta with garlic and parsley, some of the tzatziki and most of the fruit salad, a couple of the garlic twisty things and most of the raspberry daiquiri.

Well, that would have been enough on its own - but the best bit was, you got to keep the hamper AND such of its contents as you hadn't eaten, to take home!  And on the way out they produced a coolpack to go in the hamper, and an ice lolly - I had coconut and lime and the Swan Whisperer had chocolate and raspberry.  I mean, talk about AMAZING value!  Pork pie and salad for supper tonight (we had not eaten lunch to be suitably hungry for 14:45, and as we didn't stuff ourselves, we should be hungry again).

After this, we walked down through Covent Garden and past Charing Cross Station to pick up a bus on Whitehall.  We had just missed a 159, but an 88 came along almost at once, and we took that as far as Stockwell, when we changed on to a P5, and so home.  My new smartwatch boringly took ages to find the satellites, which isn't too surprising in an area like Seven Dials, but my new sandals are now worn in and as blissfully comfortable as the old ones!  

Dinosaur hunting

 Many years ago now, we took the Boy to Crystal Palace Park to look for dinosaurs.  Today, we took his brother.  Boy2 is 10 now, much older than his brother was when we went.  We had planned to catch a train from Brixton to Penge East, and then come home on the no 3 bus, but when we got to Brixton Station, the train said "Delayed", and the one on the opposite platform didn't seem to be going anywhere.  Citymapper told us that there was a big problem at Victoria with trespassers on the line, which had closed it to all traffic in and out of the area, and was not expected to reopen until 11:30.  It was now about 10:30, so we got a refund on Boy2's ticket and went on the no 3 bus, after all.

In many ways, this was a good idea, as the park slopes very steeply downhill from there, and if we'd gone the other way round, we would have had a great deal of uphill walking, which might be very good for me, but I do not enjoy.  

So we caught the bus and in due course arrived at Crystal Palace bus terminus.  We walked down through the park, passing various sphinxes en route.

 We would have liked to have visited the farm they keep there, but it appears to be part of a college now and no longer open to the public, as far as we could tell.  But it was not far from there until the first of the dinosaurs appeared, and we had a lovely walk down the lakes looking at them all (most photos on Facebook).  They aren't actually all dinosaurs - some are extinct mammals.  It was fun looking at the images on the placards we passed, showing how the Victorians thought the various animals might have looked, and how we now think they looked.  

Then we walked on past the café, and out of the park to Penge East station, which has a lovely waiting-room with a free library and piano!  We didn't have long to wait for our train, and then back to Brixton and lunch in Mama Lan!  

Late Spring Holiday 2024; Monday 20 May

 Home.

We got up relatively early, and were away by 09:30.  First port of call was Carrefour in Cité Europe, which was open, despite it's being a public holiday in France (I had checked!), where I did a bit of shopping - not too much, as time was getting on.

We got a crossing 30 minutes earlier than scheduled, and, despite hold-ups on the motorway, arrived at No 6 at about 13:15, and shared our lunch with my mother, and spent a very pleasant afternoon with her while unloading the WoMo and getting it ready for storage, although we'll have to take it to the dealers very soon as the skylight that doesn't open does leak!

We left Sussex at about 17:10, and got home two hours later - we had to take a slight diversion due to road closures on the A217, but were not badly held up, and enjoyed the sight of Clapham Common on a sunny evening being absolutely rammed with people - bring your own grass!

Then all the boringness of unpacking and putting things away, but it was done at last!  I didn't take any photos, so here is one I took earlier in the holiday. 

Late spring holiday 2024; Sunday 19 May

Marck, Pas-de-Calais, France

We have been in four different countries today! After using the services, and I did a qi gong workout as I was stiff, we left Düren at about 09:30, and it wasn't long before we had crossed the German border into the Netherlands, and some time later we stopped, I think in Belgium, for the SW to have coffee, and I walked up to the shop (it was a proper service area, not just a rest area) and back to stretch my legs. Not that I bought anything, but just a nice bit of exercise.

It is always a long, dreary drive across Belgium, especially when it's raining, which it was - not heavily, but mizzling. By the time we stopped for lunch, though, we were not all that far from Oostende, and just before the E40 turns South towards Calais, the sun came out, and it wasn't long before we were in France, and then only half an hour more to this aire in Marck, where we started off on the first night. It is a very nice aire,

although small, and especially in demand just now while the big one in Calais is being refurbished, hopefully reopening next month. We did get a space (obviously), although not on the side with electricity. The Swan Whisperer went for a walk, but I have had a lazy afternoon doing not very much! Delightful. 

And tomorrow we will be home. I wish we were just setting out..... 

Late spring holiday 2024; Saturday 18 May

Düren, Nordrhein-Westfalen

We hadn't actually planned to end up here today. But there was a parkrun in Esslingen, on the outskirts of Stuttgart, so of course the first thing we had to do was drive there. I cleared off my nightstand, but didn't shower and dress, as I could - and did - do that while the Swan Whisperer was parkrunning alongside the Necker.

So the first 25 km or so of today's journey was done with me in dressing-gown and slippers, with a rug over my knees! However, by the time the Swan Whisperer came back I was clean and tidy, and had had my breakfast. He had his, and then we set out, finding a ReWe to do a Last Shop in Germany, and a cheap petrol station to fill up with diesel. 

I had not been quite happy with where we had planned to spend the night, in France, as it had been a horribly long run last year, and although we hadn't planned to be in quite the same place, it had taken far longer than we thought to get back to the Calais area. So I thought I'd ask What's Halfway for its opinion, which was somewhere around Cologne, so the Swan Whisperer said We Might As Well Go To Düren. I said it would be a horribly long drive, but hey. 

But what with one thing and another, it was past noon before we got properly under way, and with a stop for lunch and another stop for the SW to have coffee, roadworks and pouring rain, it was nearly 19:00 before we got here and parked up. Luckily it is fine here (for now) and there was a space available, so we parked and plugged into the electricity, and then I went to Lidl for a last Last Shop in Germany while the SW got supper. He has just been for a loosen-up walk. 

There will be no possibility of shopping tomorrow, as shops in Germany aren't open on Sundays, and in France they close at noon, but Carrefour will be open in Cité Europe on Monday, even though it will be a public holiday - it has reduced hours. Tomorrow will be a long, long drive again, but I hope we will get away a very great deal earlier. 

Late spring holiday 2024: Friday 17 May

Kircheim unter Teck, Baden-Württemburg, Germany

I slept really well last night - I think I must have dozed off about 11, then woke at 12:30 and then didn't wake again until 3:30! And then woke properly around 6, to "proper" Oberstdorf weather - it was raining! As we had to be away by 14:00, when our exit ticket expired (this is new; last year they had a token for exit, but I don't know what you did if you wanted to exit and re-enter. This year, it is a far more sophisticated system! But they keep on improving that place, year on year). 

We got up early, and the Swan Whisperer went to the place where you can get unpasteurised milk, and then got rolls for breakfast from the bakery. Once we had had breakfast, we used the services and got the WoMo all ready to leave, returned our Kurkarte and got our deposit back, and then went up to the rink. 

I am delighted to say that I have gone back and forth to the rink at least twice a day, except today when it was only once, and never once have I had to stop for breath part-way there! This has never happened in all the years we have been coming here in the WoMo, and in the Van before it, so I am very, very pleased! 

I was very sleepy, and may have dozed off during the free dances, which is a pity. I did manage to watch the Bagets, who say every year that it will be the last time, but I think they mean it now they are in their 80s! They were, gratifyingly, Not Last in their class. 

After the free dances, some of which were more watchable than others, it was the Silver Ladies III and IV Free Skating, in which we had several friends competing. But, sadly, after that class it was time for us to leave if we were to have lunch before our longish drive. We said goodbye to various friends, and returned to the WoMo by way of the bakery, where we treated ourselves to filled rolls and a "last day" raspberry strudel, which we shared. 

We called in at the ReWe to return empty beer bottles and buy leeks and mushrooms, and there was a miniature watermelon.... and then we set off to this little town near Stuttgart. We came here last year on our way home, too - it's only a car-park, but there are dedicated motorhome spaces, and it is free. I gather there is a parkrun not far away, so the SW is planning to do that. When we arrived we were both tired and hungry, so I regret to say we ate cheese on toast and a bit of fruit. This means our supper - chicken casserole - will be late, but cooking it will warm up the WoMo, which feels dank and chilly tonight! 

Late spring holiday 2024; Thursday 16 May

Oberstdorf, Allgäu, Bavaria

Competition day 5

This is being written in two halves, as I have had such a frustrating morning! All due to factors outwith my control! First of all, something seems to have gone wrong with the 5g signal here, which, although never great, at least worked. Now we seem reduced to 3g, and barely that! This also applies to the Swan Whisperer, so it's definitely them-not-us. Anyway, not realising this, I bought a cheap book on Amazon, all of 99p, and can't now get it to download to my Kindle. It is on my Fire, so I can read it there, but the Kindle will neither let me sign in to the free WiFi here on site nor connect to the hot spot! I tried rebooting my phone, I turned it off and on again.... 

Anyway, this morning's very large class had a friend skating first, then a couple of others towards the end, a couple of hours later. So I went up to the rink to watch the first skater, and then went to catch the bus into town as I wanted to go to Lidl.

The bus didn't come, and I had to wait for the next one. I got to Lidl, but of course had almost no signal, but luckily I remembered that it has free Wi-Fi in store in the UK, and decided to check to see if it does here, which it does. So I did my shopping, and then just missed a bus going back. The driver saw me running and pulled away, in the fashion of bus drivers all over the world.

So that was another 20 minutes to wait - I went over to Muller to see if they had any 4711 shower gel, but they didn't. Then I went back to wait for the next bus which was, of course, late. And by the time I'd gone back to the WoMo, put the perishable in the fridge, grabbed my rucksack and gone back to the rink, one of the skaters I'd wanted to see had already been! And no sign of the Swan Whisperer, who had gone on a hike with W this morning. Anyway, I saw the other skater I wanted to see, and then came back here, very frustrated at having been up to the rink twice to watch one skater each time. It is now lunchtime. 

Later: So, after lunch I went to sleep for a bit, and when I woke up, I found my insides had gone back on me, and Immodium was rather necessary. I hope it was because I scored a free iced coffee drink in Lidl, only I don't think the coupon worked, and I was thirsty so I drank it - my insides aren't used to all that milk. It wasn't even very nice! Anyway, I took some Immodium and also some oil of peppermint, which helped. 

Went back up to the rink to watch the rhythm dances, which were very good, and stayed on to watch some of the Gold and Masters Women who are friends. There was than a gap between them and the Masters III men, who are always worth watching. However, I really didn't want to go up and down to the rink again today, so decided that, regretfully, I would have to watch them on livestream. The SW, tireless as ever, has gone back to watch them live. 

Meanwhile, just before we left, there was a small presentation honouring Sissy Krick, who is retiring as a judge, but who has been an integral part of adult skating, and a significant part of setting up the ISU competitions. She is very popular and always gets a cheer when announced as judge and/or referee - she will be missed! 

Tomorrow our exit ticket for the Wohnmobilstellplatz expires at 14:00, so we will have to be all ready to leave before then, probably missing several skaters we would have liked to have seen. Oh well. As well we checked, or we might have had to pay for an extra night! 

Late spring holiday 2024; Wednesday 15 May

Oberstdorf, Allgäu, Bavaria

Competition day 4

Really didn't feel at all well this morning, so stayed quietly in the WoMo, other than a quick trip to Norma. Had hoped to go to Lidl, but that simply wasn't happening. I did make salad for lunch, though. 

Went to the rink for about 12:15 to watch various skaters, and then came back to the WoMo for lunch as it was going to be Pairs, and I don't like watching pairs. 

Had a good kip after lunch, and then back to the rink at 4:00 for a marathon session, interrupted only by dinner at Zorans, above the rink, and even then we were watching some of the pattern dances on the livestream! 

The pattern dances didn't finish until nearly 10, by which time we were both stiff and grateful for the short walk back to the WoMo, a cup of tea, and:

Late spring holiday 2024; Tuesday 14 May

Oberstdorf, Allgäu, Bavaria 

3rd day of competition 

There's always one day when one doesn't want to watch all that much of the competition, and today was that day. The first people we wanted to watch were not going to be on much before 11, so I walked down to Woolworths to buy a flat cushion to sit on in the rink, having not thought to bring an inflatable one. There wasn't going to be a bus for another 5 minutes, so I decided to walk up to the rink via the tourist part of town, which I had not yet seen this year. In hindsight, this was a mistake.

The class we had wanted to see finished very early for some reason, and as there would be half an hour before the one and only skater we wanted to see in the next class, we decided to go back to the WoMo the long way round. This, in hindsight, was also a mistake - or, rather, one or other of these walks would have been fine, but both of them was not a good idea. Especially as we then went up to the rink to watch more friends, and also the Masters Elite Women's artistic, starring Midori Ito. She was brilliant, but many of us thought another skater was actually better and should have won. But that's skating.

Anyway, we came away after that, and another couple of thousand steps back to the WoMo. But that was not the end of it, as the Swan Whisperer wanted to eat out, so although the restaurant we finally went to is marginally nearer than the rink, I have still done >11k steps today, which does not bode well for tomorrow. 

Late spring holiday 2024; Monday 13 May

Oberstdorf, Allgäu, Bavaria

The weather forecast for today was absolutely dire, prophesying rain all day, but in fact, although there were a few showers through the night and into the early morning, the sun came out at lunchtime and we have had a lovely afternoon and early evening.

The competition started at 10.00, and our friend W was skating in the first class, so we made our way to the rink to watch her, and then stayed on to watch several other friends skate, many of whom ended up on the podium. We came away at lunchtime and bought filled rolls from the café next door, which we brought back to eat in the WoMo. The Swan Whisperer treated himself to a very large apfelstrudel, too! 

After lunch, he went back to the rink to watch a couple of friends of his, and I went to Norma and did a shopping, including a tubful of prepared fruit salad, which I had intended to share with the SW, but ended up scoffing the lot! I had hoped to go down to Woolworths to buy an inflatable cushion, as the seats in the rink are not exactly comfortable and are apt to induce severe chapelbottom (although doing a qi gong warmup during one of the resurfaces did really help), but ended up falling asleep, as per usual, and only woke up to get back to the rink in time to watch a few more friends skate, but after a bit I'd had enough, so I asked another skater to please throw my soaps to the various British skaters yet to perform, and we came back to the WoMo.

The sun was out and it was a lovely warm evening, so we sat out and read with a beer for about an hour, until the sun suddenly went behind a dark cloud and it was supper time, so we came in and ate. But the cloud had a silver lining.... 

Late spring holiday 2024; Sunday 12 May

Oberstdorf, Allgäu, Bavaria 

Today was the first day of competition, but it didn't start until 12:00, so the Swan Whisperer went for a run before breakfast, and I didn't get up until he got back. This was a mistake, as when I came back from drying my hair - my new hairdryer is great, and works very well - our friend E had joined us. She had already breakfasted, but accepted a cup of coffee, and we enjoyed chatting to her until she had to go to the rink where she was volunteering, and I went over to the little café-cum-bakery across the road to buy rolls and Sunday patisseries.

We arrived at the rink in time to watch the first class, in which we had friends skating. Unfortunately, G's music didn't play properly, which upset her quite badly, but nevertheless she skated well. In a gap when there was nobody we particularly wanted to watch, we came back to the WoMo and ate far too much lunch (in hindsight, we should have shared a patisserie between us), which made me, for one, very sleepy. So I had a nap, and thus missed a skater I'd quite wanted to see, but we went back to the rink and watched until almost the end of the day.

Neither of us wanted the stew that was waiting for us, so we had cheese on toast, a couple of cherry tomatoes, and a peach instead. I don't know how some people manage to eat a patisserie every day while they are here; I certainly couldn't!