What are you all up to
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@DSB glad you had a good day, I didn’t know about the Cider😁 Plenty to do and see in Etal. Those are indeed the Cheviots, my OH loves cycling around this area, and his done the Cheviot Challenge in the past as well. Just driving around is lovely, the scenery is just so special. The coastal areas tend to be honeypots, but there are some nice places inland. Haven’t been (yet) but Chillingham Castle is supposed to be good, and there’s a special tour where you can see the Wild Cattle as well. There’s another lovely Cafe on the mainland side of the Causeway across to Lindisfarne as well. I’m not sure if there’s a minibus that can get you from the car park on Lindisfarne up to the NT Castle, but might be worth researching? The castle is a very good visit.
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Of course, @Tinwheeler 🤣🤣
David
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.....nothing planned for the next couple of days, @Takethedogalong .... other than possibly spending the time to make saure the caravan doesn't blow away.... Already packed away everything (Except the aquaroll + hoses, the waste water pipes and the EHU lead). Perhaps I'm being over-cautious, but there are still some who have stuff out that could end up elsewhere at the mercy of Storm Floris...
Stay safe everyone.
David
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Belated Happy Birthday, @heddlo Lovely photo of you with your grandchildren. Hope you get some satisfaction when you see your Consultant tomorrow.
It looks like have had another good day out @DSB I agree with tda that Chillingham Castle is worth a visit, but should you go prepare to be surprised.
We had a little drizzle first thing this morning but we got packed up in the dry. The day steadily brightened up, the sun eventually came out and it was quite warm, but it has clouded over again now. We moved all of 16 mls to another THS, this time at Rhos. We stopped here last September and the rally was much busier than today, although there are many more on the adjacent commercial site. We are only here for a couple of days before heading up towards home.We
Hope that the storm does not cause any problems for both those that are away as well as those at home.
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Belated birthday wishes to Mrs @Oneputt and @heddlo - hope you both had a great day - and welcome to the "three quarters of a century" club @heddlo !!
Easy drive to Brid CAMC site, yesterday afternoon (all of 25 miles😀) - only to find absolute chaos here because the power had gone down in the area - affecting over 500 homes, apparently. Thought we were going to get a free stay because they couldn't take payment😉 - ha ha. Anyway, after a couple of hours or so, power was restored - so all went back to normal. Although we had a few spits and spots of rain, it was incredibly hot all afternoon and I'm afraid to say, I really struggled with setting up because of my painful joints. Anyway, all done, albeit slowly😁.
Like @DSB, we had intended putting the canopy up - but have decided against it because of the storm due later and since it's now raining, it looks as if it's on its way. Just good to have a change of scenery and there seems to be some nice people around us.
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You'll be getting some sun later on @richardandros as we had rain this morning but it's gloriously sunny now and I've seen worse winds here.
A morning of meetings to do with ongoing care for MiL. These things take up so much time. Just about to go and carry on doing some more gardening after this cup of tea.
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I had my hip consultant appointment earlier today. Very nice chap not seen him before as the guy I had 3 years ago has now retired. He cheerily told me my hip joint was the worst one he had seen for a very long time, not only bone on bone but my ball joint was misshapen and the socket was worn away. Oh joy!!! Probably be a 3/4 months wait although I hope it’s not too close to the chaos of Christmas holidays as you can never contact anyone if a problem occurs, although is that me just being pessimistic?!
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@Wherenext - you were right - whilst the wind has come much later than forecasted - it's definitely gusting 45+ mph at the moment - it's also very sunny - and hot! 26 degrees in the van at the moment - 'cos we can't open any windows or roof lights because of the wind!!
You have my sympathies @heddlo - sounds horrendous. My right hip seems to getting worse by the day and I won't be any further on until they do the ultrasound scan to determine whether my other joint problems are inflammatory or 'just' osteoarthritis like my hips. At least a 3/4 month wait sounds like you're being pushed to the top of the list.
Definitely going to get out tomorrow - give Meg a run on the beach at Scarbro' North Bay and then a little visit to Harper's Fish and Chips at Staxton😃
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It's teeming with rain here at the moment but the wind isn't too bad.
It looks as though you might not have too long to wait for your op @heddlo
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@heddlo really sorry to hear that, but I suppose it hasn't come as a surprise to you, as you've been having problems. Being told it's the worst the consulatant has seen won't have cheered you up either 😒 I hope you don't have to wait too long, 3-4 months doesn't sound too bad, compared to some. Perhaps, due to it being the worst he's seen, you'll get priority🤞one has to be positive!
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Thanks for all your birthday wishes to both of us and we had a good short break in the Cantal about 35 km below Aurillac a lot higher than here at home and it was much cooler and very green everywhere and would go back again perhaps a bit further into the Cantal.
Enclosing a few photos of a few places we visited even a few churches from the outside and very different building materials to what we have here the tiles on the roofs are called Lauzes and the house where we stayed near in different part of the farm was abut 200 years old and walls about 1 metre thick.
Hope folks are enjoying their breaks away and keep safe from the severe weather.
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Lovely photos @RedKite. Our memories of that area, particularly around Aurillac, is one of walking plus whenever we watched the weather forecast on TV or read it in a newspaper the coldest place shown on the map of France was always Aurillac.🤣 Obviously excluding Winter although it did have its moments even then.
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Grand photos @RedKite thanks for posting them and the information too. Glad you enjoyed your time away.
Hope @DSB was not affected too much by the winds and rain, and that the sun came out as it did for @richardandros
@heddlo not what you wanted to hear exactly I suppose, but at least you now have some idea of what lie ahead in the future. Hope it all works out as projected and doesn't drag on beyond Christmas. All my best wishes.
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We had some rain in the night but it was dry again by morning when the wind started to get up. It has been blowing all day, but not quite as fierce as we expected, although the sun has been out and was quite warm. It was blustery at times, and was strong enough to blow the caravan door off it's magnetic catch just as I was bending down at the van's step, catching me on the side of the head sending me, and my glasses flying!! It took me around 15 mins to find them, underneath the car's front wheel, feet away from the van and where I landed!
We had to do our weekly shopping inbetween walks with Flyte, so firstly a visit to Tesco then a couple of walks along the sea front at Llandudno before calling in at Aldi enroute to the caravan and a further walk. The wind has now decreased a bit in strength but it is still blowing.
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Amazing pictures @RedKite it looks a beautiful area. We haven’t been to that area but stayed near Puy Mary about 20 years ago but, who knows, maybe next year? It looks like some pretty places to visit. Love the huge basket, very unusual.
Hope everyone survived the ‘big storm’ safely, we only got a stiff breeze here!
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"Hope everyone survived the ‘big storm’ safely, we only got a stiff breeze here!"
Thought it was supposed to die down overnight - it's as windy as yesterday - if not worse - here on the east coast this morning😯
Lovely photos @RedKite - reminds me so much of the months we spent on the yacht travelling from Calais to Port St Louis near Marseille, on the canal system. Got to see so many little towns and villages like that😃
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Well, we survived Floris yesterday although we didn't do much, to be fair. We took a trip out to the supermarket at Berwick, and visited Costa!! We were blown around Tesco car park getting from the store back to the car, but other than that all was well!
We did have a problem with the caravan fridge, which started beeping error. I think it was a voltage drop... these fridges do start beeping if the voltage is too low. We switched to 'auto', which took it across to gas, but then defaulted back to electric when the voltage came back up. Several folk here had the same (Dometic) fridge problem. I must remember to write an undersandable list of instuctions of how to work the settings on the fridge... I can't seem to make much sense out of those that are supplied with the fridge!!
Lovely photos @RedKite - great to read what everyone else has been up to.... and please that everone seems to have survived Floris!!
David
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@RedKite such lovely interesting photos, thank you for sharing and happy birthdays.
@nelliethehooker ouch! Hope you and glasses are ok, We had this with heavy MH door, so OH fitted a proper hook catch not long after we bought it.
Glad folks seem to have mainly done ok during storm. It wasn’t too bad here, in fact it seems windier today. Pooch passed his latest vet visit ok, slight change to meds, legs useless but heart and lungs sound, he is still full of life. Decided 7am was his breakfast time this morning😡 and been a ruddy nuisance up to last half hour. Now fast asleep. Long may it last.
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I am in shock! Following my consultant appointment yesterday about my hip replacement I have just been offered a date of 8th September!!!! 🤯😵💫. I have accepted it as we have nothing planned although we had hoped to get away somewhere but needs must. Just need to catch my breath now. This is at the same private hospital I had my previous one done on the NHS.
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@heddlo - Great news. Obviously the Consultant was true to his/her word. Good luck, hope it all goes well for you.
Food shopping first thing then out in the garden for an hour or so. This afternoon spent being Taxi. First to take MiL to Ableworld where she bought yet another 4 wheel aid. I must admit this will be better for her than using the Zimmer frame for accessing the bathroom. At the moment we have a Rollator, this new contraption, a Zimmer frame, a 4 wheel Hostess trolley and a 4 prong walking stick. We'll contact the hospital services to get them to pick up the Zimmer and Hostess Trolley for which we've been very grateful to have. Quick cup of tea at home then to town for MiLs Chiropodist appointment.
It's been mostly sunny today and the washing had a grand drying day.
@nelliethehooker - Ow! Hope you are non the worse for your bashing.
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@heddlo That's brilliant news! I thought I'd done well getting my hip done 9 weeks after seeing the consultant for my initial appointment, but you've beaten that hands down! So now you've no need to worry about whether it'll affect your Christmas either, it'll be well done and dusted by then. Really pleased for you.
Interestingly, mine was also done at a private hospital, but on the NHS.
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Really pleased to hear about the date for your hip replacement @heddlo (...Carol is still waiting, but we are keeping fingers crossed for a date soon.)
We've just got back from visiting Bamburgh Castle. Still quite windy, but nowhere near as bad as yesterday. Hoping we might get a beach visit in soon...
David
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Belated birthday greetings for those who've recently celebrated 🥳 🎉 🎊.
Fabulous photos by so many.
SStill very breezy here! I'm with @Wherenext about drying washing. It's drying the ground here too. We had a few squally showers but I've currently got the hosepipe on my veg plots. I had to soak a couple of recently planted plants that looked absolutely parched 😱. The rest of the borders will need a good soak this evening.
Harvesting tomatoes, the odd germinated carrot 🤔 , runner beans, - doing much better now the temperature has dropped, beetroot is good too, cucumbers, donated plants producing incredibly well. Never tried sweetcorn before, beginner's luck?
At least 6 lots of tassels. Seeds from eldest grandson,his favourite veg apparently. He loves to harvest and eats the produce. Very good at identifying plants. Nursery has a garden where the youngsters sow, tend and harvest. I'm not sure it will be the same at school. The one in our village does have a garden club. I love seeing the children out there.
Not much to report here, just jogging along 🤞. Our electric 'smart' meter has given up. Someone coming out next week, 3 weeks after reporting. Good job I'm in the habit of recording figures in regularly. That started after at least 6 months of the 'smart' gas meter completely failing. Blank screen! None the 3 replacements talk to the supplier. Lesson 2.5 years ago keep reading the meter and keeping a record. That's to be part of the visit too.
@heddlo wow that's really quick. Just time to prepare house/freezer etc.
@nelliethehooker,not red but I did hit letters in the wrong order so had to correct,I hope you're OK and no damage to your glasses. Our motorhome door would do that, we changed the fastener, but we're frightened to do anything to drastic incase it resulted in the door being damaged in the wind.
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Good news @heddlo! That is such quick service. The NHS in our area often use a local private hospital for hip operations which is good as there is less danger of cancellations as they dont deal with emergencies there. You will be all done in time for Christmas. All the best.
Such lovely photos from everyone. We had a busy weekend as son and grandson here for a few days to pick up my little old Clio to take back to N. Ireland. It arrived safely.😁 He drove up the M6 to catch the ferry from Liverpool. I asked him if there were any holdups on the M6 and he replied that he thought that he was the holdup as he didnt drive more than 50mph! It is now officially our grand-daughter's car and we have a space on our drive 😟. Despite being busy with the local family popping in and out to see son and grandson we managed a quick trip to John Clare's cottage in Helpston as for some reason son had never been there
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Great news @heddlo that was really quick. Hope all goes well.
Lovely photo @milliehull I must admit I did need to look up who John Clare was, but I will have a read of some of his poems now.
Super photos @DSB glad you had a good day out at Bamburgh, it is a rather spectacular place! We too have had the same happen with our fridge, I now just switch it off completely and wait a while until I think the power has returned to normal before switching back on. It generally happens in the middle of the night and I can't be bothered heading outside to switch the gas on!
Thanks for the concern over my wellbeing. It was lucky that the door hit me on the head or I might now be in real pain!! I have a bit of bruising on the side of my face and around my left ear but thankfully no concussion, or at least so I think. My glasses were a bit bent but they too were soon straightened out.
It has been rather windy all day. We just had a couple of walks along the promenade at Rhos, where we saw a couple of colonies of around 100 Sandwich Terns on rocks opposite St Trillo's Chapel. Packed up when we got back ready for the next leg of our trip.
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Absolutely wonderful news @heddlo - when I said you'd be moved to the top of the list - I didn't expect it to be the very top!! I have to say that I think the NHS is very good at dealing with serious problems - quickly. I know we all moan about long waiting lists but that's all down to the sheer volume of patients. When I had my by-pass done, on my leg artery, a couple of years ago - although I waited almost two years for an MRI scan - as soon as the surgeon saw the results - I was in hospital and operated on within less than two weeks.
@DSB - I wouldn't worry about your fridge problem - same thing happened to me last year and we have the large Dometic fridge/freezer. I'd taken the van to Cumbria for service and was staying on a site near the dealer. Connected EHU and fridge started to beep at me, on and off, all afternoon. Eventually stopped and settled down. Fortunately, I have a power meter fitted in the van so I can continuously monitor voltage and current drawn. As soon as the voltage dropped below 200v - the alarm went off. Apparently, it's designed this way and 200v is the cut-off point. According to the dealer - who use the site regularly - voltage drops like that are commonplace in the area. Never had the same problem again.
The weather here, yesterday was horrendous - wind far stronger than the day before when the storm was supposed to be passing through. Just getting in and out of the van needed extreme care because of the wind pressure on the door. Did manage to get to Harper's for their excellent F&C, though😀.
Can't get over how quiet the site is, though - given that it's the main holiday season - and the fact that there was loads of sea-front parking in Bridlington itself. I expected it to be packed. Although we have chosen to stay here - so I'm not complaining - I do think £42/£43 per night for a hardstanding pitch is putting a lot of people off - and there are very few children on site. On the other hand, almost £50 for a serviced pitch, isn't, apparently - since they're full most of the time! I think that says a lot about the various client groups and the pricing structure.
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...for all the years we have been caravanning, this is the first time the fridge had started beeping at us @richardandros. All is back to normal now.... I guess it was Floris's fault... 🤣
David
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@DSB and @milliehull lovely photos, nice story on the little Clio. @Bakers2 wind has dried our garden up terribly, and I can’t use a hosepipe🥴 so it’s back to lugging watering cans from various water butts. The exercise will do me good🤭
Good news on the hip front @heddlo better than a long wait.
@wherenext (it’s packed in🤣) I will be in touch soon.
Your observation about the Brid Site ties in with what friends have told us @richardandros not busy at all. Ties in with Club giving a free night offer as well.
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We got back home yesterday from 9 nights at New England Bay. We're vey lazy caravanners - no walking up mountains od wandering rouns stately homes. Mostly just sitting around - me reading and picking up birds on the Merlin App, and OH mainly sleeping. I think he slept too much, as he couldn't sleep well in our own bed last night. A few 5 am alarms will soon fix that.
The site was the emptiest we have seen it. Most caravans/motorhomes were near the toilet blocks on on the front nearer the sea. We parked up as we usually do right at the back. Undisturbed and not overlooked. We much prefer not to be in a row.
We were very self sufficient but did eat out a couple of times - both to be reccommended.
The cafe down near the lighthouse -
And a restaurant in Stranraer -
We'll be back up there next year - celebrating 50 years since our first visit.
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