taraabit

Friday 1st March 2019

We had an extremely quiet night, not a rural or urban sound to disturb our sleep.

After a leisurely start to the day we walked to Pershore across the riverside meadows.

Pershore sited on the River Avon is an unspoilt picturesque market town noted for its elegant Georgian architecture and has a magnificent Abbey. Many of the buildings along the two main streets, Bridge Street and Broad Street, are listed.

Pershore is situated in the Vale of Evesham famous for its fresh fruit and vegetables, it is also renowned for its “plums” many varieties are grown locally and has a Plum Fayre on August Bank Holiday monday.

We enjoyed the walk around stopping off in a dog friendly cafe where we sampled the carrot cake with our coffee, we also bought two cream cakes to have after tea and some supper time treats for Layla.

After lunch in Homer we walked back into Pershore using a different route and I bought a pair of walking trainers I’d seen earlier, my last pair bought 4 years ago are showing wear.

Thurs 28th Feb 2019

We worked hard for the first three days of this week renovating the shower room at home and as a reward we are taking a two night break in Homer.

We have driven 38 miles to Wyre Piddle near Evesham, Worcestershire to a small site which is quite fascinating on the banks of the River Avon. It has a small separate field for static vans and moorings on the river for 75 boats plus the touring site which we have to ourselves. The old mill building houses a club for members and visitors, with bar and restaurant, there are also showers and toilets housed there.

The warden who greeted us is living on a small boat and he was extremely helpful guiding us to our site and explaining the facilities etc.

After setting up and having a coffee we took a walk for an hour along the lane into Wyre Piddle.

This is a small picturesque village with a mixture of architecture from old to new, there are two pubs which look good but we haven’t explored.

Saturday 23rd Feb 2019

As it was a beautifully sunny morning we decided to take one of our regular trips to Bridgnorth.

The car parks were very busy and there were lots of people out and about enjoying the sunshine. We did our normal circuit of the town mooching about in the charity shops looking for books to read, I bought some fruit bushes for our vege plot and Michelle found 4 pieces of Poole pottery that she collects at approx half the price she normally pays. As we walked through the stalls under the ancient market hall we could smell the delicious aroma of Indian spices, and there was a stall selling samosa, bhajis and other Indian food, much to our pleasure the stall owner was a mother of children Michelle and I taught some years ago, the last time we saw her was at a food festival in Llangollen. She gave us both a huge hug and a kiss and with great pride bought us up to date on her three sons, one was taking a law degree, one was working as a trainee accountant and the youngest was studying to be an IT games designer. She was reluctant to let us leave and when we did she gave us a free curry for our tea!

Not far from Bridgnorth is Dudmaston Hall a National Trust property the grounds of which were open today for people to enjoy the Snowdrop Walk through the woods which border a small stream. Before we set off we decided to enjoy a coffee and scone in the warm sunshine.

A short walk across the field leads to a path into the woods, there has been of lot of tree clearance during the winter letting in more light into the valley, firstly we took the left hand path which lets you look down into the narrow valley.

As we neared the end of this path we took the path on the opposite side of the valley where the snowdrops were in bloom.

We retraced our steps along the same path until we reached the lake and the walk to the gardens which along with the house weren’t open today, a short walk up a grassy hill and through the field lead us back to our starting point.

A short drive home, a quick lunch and an afternoon spent doing some maintenance and cleaning on Homer.

Tuesday 19th Feb 2019.

After a drive of 580 miles we arrived home at 1.30am this morning, unfortunately it was accompanied by a annoying whine which I think is coming from the front near side wheel, ah well another visit to the garage!

We spent the latter part of our visit doing as usual a mixture of work and leisure, after the wet Sunday for the rest of our time in France the weather was very kind to us, when we rose there was a light frost and the mornings were sunny but cold,however the afternoons were warm and sunny reaching 18-20 degrees.

Mitch and Sophie worked hard trimming a 10m long conifer hedge and a 10 metre long laurel hedge, the laurel had grown rather tall and I was having trouble trimming it down, so Mitch cut up to 2.5m from the top, he had the benefit of youth on his side and was lithe and light enough to balance on a twig whilst he did so.

We continued work on the drainage ditch at the rear of the house and Matt who is an electrician, installed a new outside light over the house door, the other had been there over 40 years and had rusted away, but the bulb still came on!

It wasn’t all work though, we took time off to show Mitch around Bergerac where we had a good lunch and Saint Emilion where we enjoyed drinks in the square, Mitch even tried a glass of St Emilion wine.

As per normal we had to take Layla to the local vets before we began our journey home, we managed to persuade them to give Layla a tablet instead of an injection to treat any possible tapeworm infection, not cheap at 49 euros.

We are still waiting on the outcome of Brexit before we book our next trip as no-one knows what the legal situation will be with regard to travelling with Layla.

February 11th 2019.

When you spend 22 hours confined in a car and a cabin on the ferry with someone with a streaming cold and hacking cough it’s no surprise that a few days later both Michelle and I have been suffering with my son’s germs and he of course has got over it.

On Friday we drove to Bordeaux airport to pick up our daughter Sophie and her friend Mitch, it’s unfortunate that the plane was due to land at the start of Friday afternoon rush hour so even though the plane landed early our journey around the Rocade was stop start, and the journey back took at least 30 mins longer than the journey there.

Behind our house is a small drainage ditch that takes some of the rain water from the lane outside and a field opposite, two years ago in its wisdom the local council cleaned out the ditches and altered the flow of water so that now when it rains heavily we get a much larger flow of water in our ditch. Unfortunately it can’t cope with the excessive water and overflows onto and deposits mud spoiling an area where we have spent a considerable amount of money laying down tonnes of limestone chippings It also reaches the walls of an extension at the rear of the house, so action was required and this is where my son Matthew, the cold giver, comes into his own as he is much stronger than me.

He has dug down into the ground in front of the extension, through thick clay in places, and we have formed a barrier filled with tonnes of concrete to keep the water away from the extension. We will also try to deepen the ditch a little but it isn’t easy as there isn’t much of a slope to carry the water away.

As always guests are keen to offer their time and energy in the upkeep of the house, especially if it’s a fun thing, so it is no surprise that Sophie and Mitch were happy to volunteer to take on some grass cutting.

On Friday night we decided to participate in quiz night at our local restaurant, a popular night for the expats in the area. We have a few times over the years, with different friends, participated in the quiz and if nothing we are consistent, again this time coming last by one point, however we won the booby prize.

Sunday morning even though we were dying with cold and it was raining we decided to head to a vide grenier at St Astier, unfortunately the weather had also put off many of the stall holders and there wasn’t a lot to see, I did however spy and buy what I think is an old French bugle, which will be converted in some way or other to a different use.

Even though it was raining heavily we had a walk around the town and down to the river which was in flood, we had to prevent Layla going for a swim.

February 5th 2019

We had a need to visit our French house as due to multi reasons, commitments etc we hadn’t paid a visit since the end of September last year.

We had a two week time slot starting yesterday so booked a break away travelling in the car and not Homer as the 540 mile trip each way takes a while when you leisurely motorhoming. All seemed well, Michelle, Matt and myself along with Layla were booked into a pet friendly cabin aboard the Brittany Ferries “Etretat” sailing late yesterday evening. Then we received a message to say the French dockers were on strike at Le Havre and we needed to transfer to the Amorique sailing to Caen, no dog friendly cabins so Layla would have to sleep overnight in the car, as there was no other choice we had to agree to it.

We set off for Portsmouth with plenty of time to spare and took a route through the Cotswolds to Oxford, bad idea, the road past Broadway was closed, no clear diversion signs so I took to the country lanes and eventually emerged past the closure and then made good time down to the A34 round Oxford where we joined a 5 mile queue caused by a large lorry that had burst its tyre and blocked one lane. Eventually we cleared the hold up and spent the rest of the journey driving in and out of thick fog, my eyes were on stalks by the time we arrived in Portsmouth.

Here we were chosen by customs to have the car checked which on this occasion consisted of looking under the bonnet and using a mirror under the car, the lady actually smiled when I asked if my exhaust was in good condition, they don’t normally appreciate humour. We went more or less straight on board the ferry which has a large capacity, bars, restaurants, cafes, shops etc but was eerily quiet with very few passengers. After a quick drink we had an early night.

Thankfully Layla seemed non the worst for her experience and we rolled off the ferry at 7 am French time and although we hit the rush hour we made good time out of the built up areas and onto the motorway, it was very grey with a fine drizzle now and again but the roads were quiet and even though there were many lane closures for road works we weren’t held up and cruised along where legal at 130km per hour.

Slowly the temperature rose from 2 degrees to 9 degrees and the grey lifted and there was a hint of sunshine, when we arrived at Angouleme we found the road south we take was closed and again surprise no obvious diversion signs, thankfully I had an idea of how to proceed and a short while later we were on a good parallel A road heading south with very little traffic making up for the longer distance. Then 10 miles north of our town the road was closed for repairs !! if I swore there would have been lots of ***** ******* ******** words, thankfully again local knowledge came to the good and I took to the narrow country lanes and succeeded in getting here only about 30 minutes later than I thought.

Everything at the house was in fine order which was good considering the time we’ve been away and within 30 minutes we had 3 log fires roaring away and the car unpacked. Whilst Michelle made the beds Matt and I took a quick trip to Intermarche and filled the trolley with beer, wine and a little food, now at 8 pm we are toasting our toes in front of the fire Layla curled up next to us with drinks beckoning.

So not the smoothest of journeys, but not disastrous, thankfully years of experience help us to overcome the hiccups thrown at us and we look forward to our time here.

Friday 25th January 2019

This morning we walked the 1.5 miles toHay on Wye which is situated in Powys and is known as the town of books with over 20 bookshops and is the site of the annual world famous Hay Literary Festival.

Hay’s history stretches back to its first fortification in the 1070’s over time it went from a wooden motte and bailey to a stone fortification, over the centuries it’s ownership changed hands on many occasions either by force or gift.

On April 1st 1997 bibliophile Richard Booth conceived a publicity stunt and declared Hay to be an independent Kingdom and himself monarch! This began the start to Hay becoming a Mecca for second hand book lovers that transformed the local economy.

This one of several places in Hay where you can select a book and put your money in a “honesty box” or take your money to a shop close by. Joining in the spirit of things I bought a paperback, however I have to confess it was from a charity shop, much cheaper.

The weather today has been remarkably mild for January reaching 10 degrees with pleasant periods of sunshine making it a good decision to get away.

Thursday 24th January 2019.

It’s been just over 3 weeks since we arrived back from Durham. During that time we have been busy with a variety of activities, Michelle has given Homer a complete Spring clean and I’ve undertaken a few minor maintenance jobs including installing a new swivel in every direction TV bracket after Michelle complained she couldn’t see the TV from her seat.

For the past 8 days we have both been suffering from a heavy cold and despite the very mixed weather, wet/cold/ snowy we have recently experienced we have decided to take a quick mini break 70 miles away in Hay on Wye.

We are staying on the above camp site an easy walking distance from Hay on Wye, the site is very level, well laid out with a modern toilet block, the owner gave us a very pleasant friendly welcome. There are good walks from the site for Layla.

Jan 1st 2019

Title is in homage to Roger Whittaker’s famous song.

Woke bright and early this morning with a clear head considering we saw in the New Year last night.

We left Durham at 9.30 am and took a steady 200 mile drive home with at least 90% of the journey on motorway or dual carriageway so it was an easy drive although at times we were driving into bright sunshine which was a pain.

So now it’s a new year and we will start to plan our new adventures.

December 31st 2018

Today has been a similar day to yesterday, this morning we walked into Durham but whilst Michelle went off to explore the shops in the modern shopping centre I took Layla for an extended walk along the River Wear that circles Durham.

I met up with Michelle in the market square where I was watching and listening to a buster playing the fiddle and operating a dancing man. When Michelle joined me I had a chat with the busker saying I knew a puppeteer/ Folk singer who operated a dancing puppet in the same way and it turned out he knew of him too, a small world!

This afternoon we went for a long walk down the river where we found a pub that welcomed dogs, it seemed rude not to take advantage and after a few refreshing drinks we headed back to the motorhomes in what by now was pitch dark. Michelle had bought Layla a flashing LED light to attach to her harness so we were able to track in her in the darkness, very necessary as she is completely black and disappears into the night.

We saw in the New Year with Peter and Alison in their van.

So it’s a big HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone and best wishes for 2019.