What are you all up to
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Just back from another trip to the caravan at Stratford. We included the Jubilee weekend, our son and family joined us there. Most of the residents were there so nice to catch up with some of them. Our part of the site was quiet, as usual, but the touring field was packed, lots of bbqs and little get togethers, people just having fun, lots of children enjoying themselves. As we grow older though we were glad to walk back over the bridge to the ‘quiet side’. Lots of things going on in Stratford and very busy as usual, as people spread out over the park and by the river it never seems too crowded though. Our Tesco vouchers came in handy, we had a couple of nice meals out on them. Like everyone we did notice how much we spent on petrol though.
My pots and tubs looked lovely at the van, our lovely neighbour waters and feeds them when I’m not there, I do hers in return but it’s mostly down to her. The ones at home are looking good as well, the courgette plants had tripled in size in such a short time and the lettuce have finally got a shift on. Everything else is shooting up so a day in the garden today sorting it all and cutting back, if the rain just holds off.
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Hope you have a great trip Goldie enjoy
Got the Volvo back this morning after it’s service all went well it needed a few other bits and pieces 2 new tyres, wipers, washer scoot on bonnet needed replaced also got a part of the fuel pump system replaced. A bit of a larger bill than hoped but not bad and mostly wear and tear so can’t really complain hopefully that’s us all ok for our trip down to Devon in a few weeks .
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Small leak on the new HW cylinder, at the entry point of the immersion heater, also radiators are getting warm when water heating is on, so return visit from plumber today.
He has redone the immersion heater, so we will see how that goes, may just turn off water while we are away, just in case.
He will return when we get home and fit a non return valve in the CH pipework. Apparently the flow to the HW cylinder is finding its way backwards in the system and warming the radiators too. If that does not work then we will need a valve operated by the time clock to only allow flow in the heating side when the timer for the CH is at ON.
Our old boiler had separate flow and return pipes for the CH and the HW circuits, the new boiler only has one set of pipes which then split to go to the individual pumps and pipework.
Just had a late lunch, time now to get back to the packing.
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Enjoy your holidays!
Just got some meds from the vet for cat and dog...the prices have gone up.
Went into our local town today, it has got very run down with so many shop closures. M&S is hanging on but it didn't look good with depleted stock and lots of empty spaces. Don't think it will stay the course unless they move the basement foodhall up to ground level and uitilise the space more. Don't know what other places are like?
We'll be looking forward to going away too, not planning anything as will be staying somewhere on the coast in nice surroundings, maybe just boat or train trips.
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Now settled into our site - C&CC site at Charmouth - after a two night stop-over at a small commercial site near Evesham which I won't name since it was someone on here who recommended it. Wasn't impressed - supposed to be a wildlife 'haven' but, to us, it was just plain scruffy and the owners weren't at all welcoming. I suppose it was OK for tent campers but it was pretty obvious that the owners hadn't a clue about the requirements of caravanners. We won't be going back and have switched our plans to a two night stay at Broadway on the way back - despite the high prices.
Charmouth site is lovely - very big - but divided up into enclosures, bounded by hedges, with about 10 units in each so it feels much more intimate and everyone seems very friendly.
Don't know what had happened to the so-called heatwave they were talking about before we left home on Sunday - steady drizzle this afternoon and this morning, when we went to Charmouth beach - we nearly got blown away! Still it looks better for the weekend.
Really pleased with my newly purchased mobile wifi kit - TP Link router, external aerial and mast which is giving up to 50 Megs download speed in an area which is supposed to have a poor EE signal.
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All (well almost) packed up for an early start tomorrow for a week down at our static in Cornwall. Originally planned to go on Saturday but Mrs M's Zumba class tomorrow morning has been cancelled (instructor has tested positive for Covid!) so we're taking advantage and, hopefully missing the weekend traffic.
Last time we were down there was mid April (other trips got in the way 
) so I suspect the first job will involve a lengthy spell with the lawnmower - if only we had a warden to do the job for us! 
Weather looks promising so a good week in prospect, hope the same goes for everyone else away at the moment.1 -
Only had half a breakfast today as I was on a promise of a Ciabatta Bacon Roll in the Waitrose Cafe. En route we stopped to pick up Margaret's medication order. She hadn't realised she had ordered insulin so we had to go back home so it could go in the fridge! Fearing starvation we eventually made it to Waitrose and the roll and coffee went down well. 25% offer wine at the moment so decided to buy some for our next trip away at the end of the month. Trouble is we tend to meet a lot of ex colleagues, so we spend more time chatting than shopping!!!
Brue mentioned M&S. When the Shopping Centre was originally opened here in MK M&S were not one of the original retailers. Giving the immediate success of the Shopping Centre (probably much to everyone's surprise!) they changed their minds and built an extension at one end of the Centre which was reputed to be one of the largest M&S outside of London. Now we read that they are reviewing all their in town shops, thinking perhaps they are better outside of town centres. The trouble is that creates the very problem that Brue mentions. Town centres become less and less attractive. Even JL have closed some of their long established branches, Watford, Peterborough and Sheffield are examples. Perhaps there needs to be a review of the rating system which works as a discouragement for shops to be in the centre of towns as the rates are based on property value. Its been talked about for years but no one seems brave enough to change the system.
David
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Good to hear that people are away or going away. Hope to you all have great trips. We used to go to Charmouth R&R as I have a cousin living near there. Such a lovely area and a nice beach. Enjoy. We are off to Norfolk for 2 weeks on Saturday. I think I have remembered everything. We have booked a static caravan on the front so I hope it is not too windy! We will see how it goes as this is all new to us since we sold our caravan last year.
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Yeovil?
We have friends there, they often comment on how run down the town is these days.
Things are mostly not too bad where we are, but the second big M&S in Glasgow has recently closed, the one in Sauchiehall Street. The whole street is starting to look a bit shabby now, the decline started with the closure of BHS, then the fire in the nearby Art School, and a some night club. The St Enoch Centre seems to be OK so far, there is rumour of a full revamp. As long as John Lewis stays open it should be fine.
Out here we have 2 M&S foodhalls within 2 miles, and another 4 miles away near DD's house, and 2 at nearby BP stations. There are also several foodhalls in the city, but with more people working from home, that may change.
A few empty shops locally, mainly since the council started charging for parking. Used to be 2 hours free, then went to 1 hour, and now nothing. We refuse to pay for parking just to go to the bank, the post office, the dentist or the doctor, seems most agree with us, so the Tesco and M&S car parks, and the nearby residential streets are stuffed while the council owned car parks sit empty.
Restaurants and coffee shops seem to be doing well.
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After a wash out yesterday we woke up to more rain but then it stopped whilst we were having breakfast and it's been a lovely sunny but breezy day.
So on the bikes and off to the Biesbosch Reserve situated to the eats of Dordrecht. A huge area accessed by a small car carrying ferry but we just had bikes. Fantastic day of cycling and birdwatching. Spotted an absolute rarity. No less than a Lesser Spotted Easy Jet!!🤣
Had a lovely day and even our 2 nearest neighbours have decided that we're not here to eat their offspring and engaged us in a chat and even let us borrow a map. One of them comes from Friesland and was amazed that we had spent some time up there and we even had a chat about the long distance ice skating race, The Elfstendentocht, that he has completed three times. Not run since 1997 as the canals it is raced on haven't frozen over since then. I think we earned some Brownie points for knowing about it. Where to spend them though.
I know what DEBSC means about gardening. We'll need to spend the 2 weeks we have at home doing just that by the sound of it.
Enjoy your trips away folks.
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I know what yo mean about town centres. Ours is getting very run down now that JL have pulled out
. I worry about the M&S in the main centre. I think we might just end up with the one in the out of town complex. I would have thought that they might have an opportunity to revamp and make more of the town centre one now that JL are now longer there but that doesn't seem to be the case. The parking in the town centre is also very expensive. The minimum seems to be £3.50 so I try to only shop in town either before or after I have been on duty at the Cathedral as I get free parking in the precincts - but only when I have been on duty.0 -
I think there are at least 4 fairly large out of town centres here, each with an M&S, and the other usual shops, a couple with cinemas too, and all have plenty of eating places, no doubt you could spend an entire day there if you like that sort of thing!
I reckon the main attraction is that if you have several purchases to make, you can take the car and park free. Like millie said, town centre parking is very expensive. We can take the bus, free, into town, but then how do you get your shopping home?
The rates too will be expensive, so between rates and parking charges, the councils are killing the town centres. More on line shopping and fewer people working in the town centre offices could well be the final nails in the coffin.
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Thanks, OP. Hope we can get away well before we get the results, as there is not a lot we can do whatever the outcome beyond wait till the doctor decides on the next step if any.
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Run Down Town Centres
?? Should you really want to see the Standard just come to Crewe -- seems it was built run down in the first place !
but car parking is not that dear MillieH -- only 80p for the first hour. Long enough to amble round the ruins I think !!WN, did you find good cafe's / restaurants in Dordrecht then ??
{ Well you did say you went to the eats of Dordrecht didn't you }
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It’s not just the town centres where the council get greedy over car parking rates. We live in a smallish village and for 30 years the Drs car park was free. Two years ago the council started charging, First 50p an hour now that’s gone up. Now no one parks in it but the small estate abutting it has cars parked everywhere, the residents are so fed up. The once well used car park is usually now empty.
I like to hear that everyone is using their caravans. I like it even more to hear that some are booking statics for their holidays. So many houses here are being sold to be used as holiday lets and Airb&bs, youngsters can’t compete to buy or get on the ladder. Landlords are moving long term tenants out so that they can holiday let their properties. There is virtually no social housing in this part of Devon so we now have much worse than average homeless family problems. We have decided that we will always stick to renting a caravan or go to a B&B for our hols, so as not to make this problem worse in other areas. I’m sure people aren’t aware of these problems when they book a holiday cottage. Sorry for the rant.
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After yesterday's dismal experience in our local "big" town, parking charge £2.70 for two hours I think I'll opt for the nearer small town where parking is 60p refundable at the only two larger shops, Waitrose and Lidl and the smaller shops there are doing better. Presumably the rates have not been too excessive. It was interesting yesterday as I genuinely haven't visited our local town to go shopping since Covid began and it was a shock to see so many boarded up places.
Sadly we have lost our bus service to our smaller town but we do have bus access to a larger village and community hospital.
I'm a child of the sixties whose nearest local city was newly built after the war and I think we had everything to enjoy and it turned us into shoppers!! Things have definitely gone into reverse. Oh well the money saved can go towards the heating bills....
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Brue said:-
I'm a child of the sixties whose nearest local city was newly built after the war and I think we had everything to enjoy and it turned us into shoppers!! Things have definitely gone into reverse. Oh well the money saved can go towards the heating bills....
On my tours around the UK you see the same all around the country. Its seemingly only in the very large cities do you maintain an element of what we have traditionally had. BHS, Debenhams, etc were a large part of many town centres and apart from the like of Primark there has been no other business big enough to make a difference so decay seems to set in. One prospect is that some of those old store will be converted into accommodation. We saw that in Worthing last year. I know I bang on about MK but years ago they built what they called a "Food Centre" just across from the main shopping building. It housed a Waitrose and Sainsburys both of which have now moved to larger premises elsewhere. It begs the question what do you do with what is a pretty large site with a multistory car park in the middle? Well the site has been flattened (except for the car park) and they will be building flats (for rent) and small offices there. That should keep the centre of MK more vibrant with people living on the doorstep of the commercial area. Similar could work in most places if you have the drive to do it which is probably easier in larger towns.
David
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Living in the city centre seems quite popular with the 18-30s generation, but few places have any parking, so if you want to become a car owner, you pretty much need to move out.
Quite a few older buildings and offices in Glasgow centre have been given a new lease of life by being converted to residential use, especially in the more "trendy" areas. It is helping to bring life back to the city centre.
We are now settled on our first site at East Fortune, not far from North Berwick. Very windy, and very sunny, apart from a short shower of very heavy rain. There is a CL and a small commercial here, we have a serviced hard standing on the commercial, which is about 40% occupied. Can see the CL in the distance, 4 vans there.
Booked to go to the Museum of Flight tomorrow, so hoping for a dry day. Sunday we will do some shopping as DD and the 2 children are joining us on Wednesday on our next site, so we need to stock up a bit on their favourites. Monday we are visiting a recently widowed friend who I worked with back in the 70s.
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In our city Perth, we get 15mins free parking in the town car parks and on street if they are run by the council. All other owned car parks charge around £1 an hour. We don't have to many empty shops but the ones that are no more were independant ones 😔
After a lovely day at Mont St Michel yesterday we are now settled for the weekend on a site not far from Cherbourg. Not been up here before but this place is quite nice.
Have a good trip Kj and all others who are away. Those at home don't work to hard.
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On the One Show tonight they had Clare Grogan who starred in Gregory's Girl back in the early 80's. It was apparently based in Cumbernauld the new town in the Central Belt. Some of the architecture was quite brutalist in style and the are discussing whether to demolish the town centre and rebuild it. Obviously Brutalist architecture is quite brutal as the name implies and probably has few friends? However they are campaigns to both keep and to knock it down which could be quite interesting! I fully appreciate that it is not everyone's favourite style of architecture but if we knock it all down it will all be destroyed which from a historic point of view would be sad. Fortunately Preston Bus Station has been listed and is being restored so not all is lost.
David
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Enjoy East Fortune K, it’s a very nice CL, one we need to return to at some point. The Museum of Flight is very interesting, the Concorde is the only plane my Mum has ever been on, she only got on it because it was on the ground!🤣 Always enjoy East Lothian part of Scotland.👍
We have had a great day today. After all the ups and downs around OHs cancelled operation, we have had a very busy week in garden and doing house chores, so decided to take MH for a day out today. Decided to cycle Monsal Trail, which is always fun because of the tunnels, and the fabulous scenery. A good ride, it’s quite a work out as it’s an incline almost all the way out, and we returned into a brisk headwind, so plenty of exercise. Lovely sunny warm day, we finished off with a drive across to Hathersage for Fish and Chips, stopped off to eat them at Surprise Corner, then an easy half hour drive home having missed the worst of the Sheffield traffic. Twenty minutes to sort out and re park up MH, and we are now tired out.🥱 Might look at a CL in Peaks to do another of Trails next week🤔
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We went to the theatre in Cumbernauld when everything was new and we watched A Midsummer's Night Dream performed by actors in cycling gear and sequins, memorable and good fun. The theatre was well designed, very open and made from a lot of metal. Similar to the Theatre on the Lake in Keswick I hope neither get pulled down!
A day at home, more gardening, more on line sharing of candid Jubilee Street party shots, Mr Brue dancing in the streets...
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I am delighted to say every one of our town’s 1960/70s brutalist buildings, flats, library, civic building, education offices, planning office (oh the irony🤣) has now gone. No one wanted to live in them, they were appalling to work in, an eyesore even when new. The only list they ever made was the “to be demolished” one. Our big Tesco Superstore sits where two of these buildings once were, and it’s a vast improvement. Sadly, much nicer buildings were lost when they were put up. Never spoke to anyone who liked any of them. Have seen a few examples of well designed and eye catching brutalist, but it’s not a style I find attractive.
Sheffield still has a huge block forever known as “Camelot”. It became the offices of the NUM when Scargill was in charge🤣
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Here are a few examples of Brutalist buildings around the world. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/most-beautiful-brutalist-buildings-world Worth pointing out that even Le Corbusier, probably one of the most famous architects designed such buildings. One of my favourites of his designs below.
David
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I like the Le Corbusier. But the others in the link? I asked myself if I would want to live in any of them, work in any of them and it was a no. Just not my cup of tea.
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60s buildings aren’t just bad from the outside. 25 years working in the local Civic Centre. We used to dread the winter, when it was freezing. My desk faced the window - where the upside was I had an amazing view from the 6th floor - but the wind blowing in was dreadful, no the windows weren’t open that was just the draft! More recently they wanted to pull it down and had it checked for concrete cancer, so there could be no objections but it’s fine. Now talking about making it into apartments but it’s still a blot on the landscape.
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