What are you all up to
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That's sad to read @Takethedogalong. Hope it finds a new owner that will cherish it like you two have.
I got woken up this morning around 5.30 to a wonderful cacophony of a dawn chorus. OH carried on gently snoring while I enjoyed the orchestra with the solo part coming from the mellifluous sounding Skylark. It was wonderful while it lasted and worth being woken up for. We eventually moved ourselves some 4 hours later, packing up in the dry. We got caught up in the normal Friday holiday traffic heading into Wales but were home for lunch.
Enjoyed the break. The van (Bertie?) was excellent but we might change the Microwave in due course. Its a bit underpowered. A few appointments early next week so we might try to get away again towards the end of the week, if not then early the following week.
Hope you all enjoy your weekend.
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You must be feeling a bit sad, nevertheless @Takethedogalong - will be like saying goodbye to an old friend!
Pleased to hear that you got the damp problem sorted @Oneputt and that Norwich caravans delivered good service.
We had a little problem for the last couple of days we were away - the microswitch failed in the shower mixer valve. That may have been the cause of the pump mysteriously switching itself on. It wasn't a major issue - just turned the bathroom tap on sufficiently to activate the pump and then used the shower as normal. I wasn't surprised - I've already had to change the switches in both of the other taps. I've ordered a complete new tap - easier than fiddling about changing the switch - but fitting it is going to be far from easy. It will mean removing the ABS shower roof panel - to facilitate removing the panel in which the tap sits. At one time I wouldn't have hesitated doing the job myself but I know I will struggle now, so Jon - the former Chief Tech from ALV - has offered to come down from Durham to do it for me. It's nice to have friends like that - but he will be 'looked after'!!
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@Wherenext glad you had a good break, sounds like the new outfit is going well. So, Bertie to our little Gertie, sounds a good idea😄
Yes, it’s rather difficult saying goodbye. We have offered it free to family, but doubt anyone will take us up on it. If we had more time, it would do up lovely, but folks want instant nowadays. If we lived in a tourist area I would do it up and rent it out in the garden. We have too much on, Mum, OH is restoring two classics, we are desperate to get back into some long breaks away again, so we came to a decision this year, after stalling a few times on getting it done up. It owes us nothing, has never let us down, and being from a different touring era, was very easy to maintain ourselves at minimum cost. I can’t even get it into our garden to use as a hobby house sadly as our garage is across the whole width. Would have made a great summerhouse and hobby area for me.
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QUOTE: We plan to use our Gaslow cylinders, one at a time, in the new van as they are both almost full, so we will buy the parts to convert them to Direct Fill rather than fixed, as there is no sensible place to fit an external filling point. END QUOTE
Morrisons, via MFG, have revised their guidance for the earlier ban on refillable bottles after concerted lobbying, led/co-ordinated by Charlie of Autogas Leisure 2000 [now Gasit], Morrisons staff will allow refills to a fixed filler point, but they have discretion to refuse non-permanent bottles. Our M/Home has a skirt mounted filler, but I do keep my welder's gauntlets in the gas cupboard and opening/closing this is one of the 'alert' trigger points. I have a note to self to extract the gauntlets before arrival on the forecourt, and not to anywhere near the gas cupboard during the time that I am on the forecourt. The revised refill instructions were only issued to Morrisons staff about 3-4 weeks ago, so it may be wise to avoid arousing suspicions!
Enjoy your new caravan and playing with the new features!
Steve
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@Oneputt glad you got the van sorted and are happy with the work done
@Wherenext glad you enjoyed your break and trying out the new van hope you can get away again soo
@Takethedogalong that’s a shame about the van but hopefully someone will take it on and get it usable again
We are away got here early afternoon site not too busy considering g he time of year nice and sunny when we got here so set up the Cadac with the plan to use it tonight for the first BBQ of the year but just as it was set up and we were ready it started pouring with heavy winds so that plan was shelved pizza in the oven now instead looks more promising tomorrow though so hoping to get to use the Cadac tomorrow. Not much planned tonight might take a wander to the pub along the road we will see if the rain goes off
Hope everyone else has a nice weekend
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We are now all set up on our very first camping and caravan club site in the Peak District. Journey was pretty good no hold ups. Had a couple of heavy showers but then the sun came out and we were able to see the wonderful views of the peaks bathed in sunshine .
Went to collect a new awning this afternoon, our old one was on its last legs, hoping to try new one out while here.
@Francis I had a look at the new Cadac's while OH was making the deal on the awning, will have to try out my persuasion skills.😉
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@HelenandTrevor enjoy your stay in the Peak District. If it is the Bakewell site what did you make of the road in?
It must have been very awkward deciding whether or not to final part with your Cotswold @Takethedogalong I hope your OH comes up trumps finding someone to take on it's restoration.
@Oneputt Good to hear that your dealer has done a fine job on your caravan.
Glad that you have got away again @Francis enjoy your weekend and hope that you are able to get your BBQ tomorrow.
Pleased to read that all went well with "Bertie" (?) the M/H and that you had a good time at the Wirral site @Wherenext
Today was a day of mixed fortunes, as after a wet start it brightened up somewhat but stayed windy and cool, so headed into Annan for a walk and do a little shopping and to fill up with diesel. En route we were contacted by the owner of our next destination cancelling our booking due to an emergency with a horse which had to be taken to the Equine Hospital in Edinburgh and she had no-one to look after the site. After a bit of thought and searching around we decided to stay an extra night here and then was able to book onto another new, to us, site at Castle Douglas, close to our original destination, before continuing with our planned trip. Relatively pleasantly surprised to find that diesel at Tesco was still at 181.9p per ltr, a fair bit lower than other prices we have seen.
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@HelenandTrevor it sounds as though your trip to the Peak District has got off to a good start. I hope you have the same sunny weather as we have here. There is a bit of a cool breeze here though.
@Takethedogalong it must have been a difficult decison to sell your van but I am sure new adventures await.
@KjellNN So pleased to hear that you have sold your old van. You can now look forward to spending time with your family in the new one.
@Wherenext Pleased to hear that your new van 'Bertie' is a success and that you had a good trip.
It has been a busy week here as we have been having our kitchen painted. It was a big job as all the cupboards {of which there are many!) were painted as well and he did a brilliant job. I am now sorting out what needs to go back and what I can 'cull' I have a big box to go to the charity shop and also some needs to go to the tip. I am determined to get rid of the clutter. I have also today been catching up on the washing as it was diffcult to gain access to the washing machine. It has all dried nicely outside but I now have to do the ironing 😕We have aslo had to organise a new fridge freezer as our old one decided that it has had enough and stopped working. It arrives on Monday. Luckily we also have one in the garage so we have had to reorganise that a bit and squash everyting in there. OH decided he wanted Bosch again as he likes their products and he worked with them when he worked at Perkins. On top of that the offside window winder in my car decided not to work so we have had to have that mended as well. Our bank account is now considerably lower than it was at the beginning of the week!
We have had very little in the way of rain here and the garden desperately needs it. We have been watering the last few evenings. Who would have believed it after so many months of rain in the winter.
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@milliehull As I mentioned in a previous post Bosch is usually my go manufacturer for domestic applianes. Washing Machine, Tumble Dryer and Dishwasher all from the Bosch stable. We are thinking about a new washing machine and that almost certainly will be a Bosch. The old one is still working but it must be over 10 years old? Did you go for a Frost Free fridge/freezer. We had a Bosch one for many years and only got rid of it when we had the kitchen done, I am sure it had a few more years in it but it was freestanding and wanted an intergrated in the new kitchen. Not convinced that was the right decision but ha ho.
David
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Yes @DavidKlyne we went for a frost free fridge freezer. The old Bosch one wasnt and we got fed up with having to defrost it. It didn't owe us anything as we had it for years.
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We used to have a Bosch washing machine, only lasted a couple of years and was very noisy, I guess we were unlucky. After that we went for a Samsung (Eco Bubble or something). So far it’s given around 14 years of service and is so much quieter, and still going strong.
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Bosch machines do usually last a long time, our son’s W/M made it to over 20, our daughter’s one was the same. Feels like we have had our dishwasher and washing machine ages, and our daughter’s D/W must be coming up on 18 now. Our Bosch fridges and freezers are over 20 years old too.
We have not gone integrated, we prefer the choice and price of the alternative!
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Nice day today got up and went out a cycle this morning it was a bit drizzly to begin with but brightened up so got a nice 12 miles done. Then came back to the van and relaxed then we went out for a couple of hours but were back at the van for half 3 and it was bright and sunny so we managed to cook on the Cadac for the first time this year it was excellent and we were able to sit outside for a while too I like caravanning in the winter but you can’t beat sitting out in the sun with the BBQ on and a nice cold beer in hand. It did begin to get a bit chilly so we are now back in the van. Not much planned tonight just sit in van have a drink and see what’s on the telly the snooker world championship started today so may be able to persuade SWMBO to watch that lol
@HelenandTrevor you should get a Cadac we are on our second one now we love it you can cook all sorts on it we mostly use it for BBQ and pizza but also occasionally do a cooked breakfast on it it’s a great bit of kit our favourite accessory.
Hope everyone else is having a nice weekend
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KJ
We only went intergrated for the fridge/freezer and the dishwasher when the kitchen was redone in 2020, all other appliance, like the washing machine, tumble dryer and small freezer are freestanding. You could argue that freestanding is the way to go because the appliances are cheaper to buy and easier to replace. I can't argue that built in appliance don't look better. Years ago, when most kitchens had laminent faced doors you could buy appliances with what they called decor frames so that you attach the same laminent to the front of the appliance. I think that sort of arrangement no long exists? Back in 1984 when we first did the kitchen we had an Osby frost free fridge freezer which I think was made in Sweden although it was branded as a John Lewis oroduct.
@milliehull glad you have gone for the frost free version.
David
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@nelliethehooker yes we are at Bakewell, the road in is a bit challenging especially with all the parked cars. When we got to the church in Youlgreave I said we have to turn left, Trevor wouldn't believe me! 🤣Lovely little site though & the wardens here are really friendly The WiFi seems to work well, better than the CAMC. 😉
Lovely day spent with youngest son in Bakewell including lunch at the Thornbridge Brewery taproom, came back with an assorted pack of their beer including some Jaypur. OH just couldn't resist a Bakewell Pudding! 😂
Tonight we had a lovely meal out at The Packhorse, Little Longstone special treat as it is my birthday. Thought of @moulesy as I know its one of his favourite pubs.
@Francis we do have a Cadac very similar to your picture, we have had it a very long time we even had to replace the bbq grill plate a few years ago we wore the old one out. The new ones are a bit different and I really liked the new grill plate and paella pan.
@Wherenext glad you are pleased with your new van and enjoyed your trip away.
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@HelenandTrevor Happy Birthday. W like the Bakewell site but the road is certainly a challenge. The last time we arrived there i had to drive into the gateway just below the church to allow a tanker to get out, and then had to back the van up, after the backlogged line of traffic had got through, with assistance thankfully. All very Hairy!!
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I suspect that you are staying at the Ayr site @Francis You were fortunate to miss the rain as we had lots of showers through the morning down by the Solway, but thankfully the sun came out in the afternoon. We had a couple of walks at Powfoot today, and watched this kite surfer while having our lunch.
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Happy Birthday @HelenandTrevor 🎂🍷
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@HelenandTrevor - read that with great interest! We are up in Derbyshire for the annual walk in a couple of week's time, already got The Packhorse booked for a couple of evenings. They'd run out of Jaipur when we arrived last year - hope you haven't drunk them dry! Great way to celebrate your birthday.
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Happy Birthday @HelenandTrevor , from us, as well.
Fun and games here - we're probably the only two people in Hornsea to have had a shower, this morning! Woke up to find out we had no water and a quick check of the internet revealed that a major water main had burst in the town. It's still off, 6 hours later and just had a text saying Yorkshire Water are delivering bottled water to all our houses - so it doesn't look like being a quick fix.
Fortunately, the caravan is on the drive and plumbed into the outside tap - so inboard tank and Aquaroll were full - so we reverted to camping on the drive. Just hope it comes back on again soon - because we won't be able to do that again.
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Sounds like my idea of a good birthday @HelenandTrevor.
Dog walking for us this morning. Helping our neighbour out as she was called into hospital during the night. Doesn't look good.
Still finding things to spend on our money in with Bertie. Need a new bike cover as the set up of this one different from the last one.
Hope all those away on sites enjoying the sunshine.
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A quiet warm day here and no chores as OH mowed the plot yesterday and I did housework then went out to do hand mowing with my little electric mower to places OH could not get to then did some strimming a long day but all done except a few small areas to do and a few aches oh the joy of getting old ha ha, tomorrow I will be sorting my Salvia bushes out as frost got them earlier this year and there may be some growth at the bottom of them so out early before it warms up too much as it is south facing.
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Have a lovely brthday @HelenandTrevor. Sorry to read about your water @richardandros - hope they sort it soon.
David
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We are just home from a l
nice few days at Strathclyde park club site weather not too bad was glorious this morning when packing up. Easy hour tow home today and got the van back in it’s space. Just going to do some work in the garden and might get my Merc out the garage not been out in it at all this year but it’s a nice day and we have a car show next weekend so may get it out and get it polished etc for that. Just booked our main summer trip going back to south Devon will be the first time down there since 2022 so looking forward to that Hillhead is getting redeveloped so looking forward to seeing what’s changed. Heading away for the long weekend at end of this month then planning a trip down to the north east County Durham area later in May will need to get that booked@nelliethehooker we were at Strathclyde Park Ayr Craigie is only partially open at the moment with no facilities block but is due to open fulllu at beginning of June after the refurb so we plan to head there then it’s only half an hour from us so one of our local haunts so we visit 9-10 times a year. If you have nothing booked yet it may be worth having a look as I know you don’t mind no facilities block and I believe they are giving a significant discount on pitch fees until the block opens it’s handy for the town and really easy to get to
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A few days in our favourite area. Northumberland!
When we had the caravan it was always our ‘go to’, either staying at River Breamish site, or at Brandon Ford CL.
Warkworth castle from Amble.
Another beautiful Northumberland beach, this one is about 2 minutes drive from our cottage.
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Went out to do the grass when we got back and the strimmer isn’t working so will need to see what the issue is with that. That did however give me an opportunity to get the Merc out took it a drive along the coast a nice 25 mile run it’s first drive in almost 6 months it’s never out in winter will get the hard top off soon so we can get the roof down. When I got back SWMBO was sitting out in the summer house enjoying the sun so joined her and then we had a visit from daughter and Gdaughter who are just back from holiday so was nice to catch up with them they have also booked up for Devon in the summer so will be joining us this year
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Lovely looking Merc @Francis is that looking across to Arran from the Dunure Castle carpark? We are sorted out for our stay up by Culzean, as we are booked into the CS at Maidens again. Hope you get your next trips booked without any problems.
More good views there @heddlo we like that coastal area too.
I hope that Yorkshire Water soon sort out the burst @richardandros and that your supply is back on line before too long. These sort of incidents are becoming too frequent, lack of renewal of essential services due to cash going to the fat cats again and not being spent on the infrastructure.
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We had mixed weather today with long periods of sunshine interspersed with short showers. We had a few short walks along the Annandale Way, due to the paths being flooded in places. We did manage to get to see the remains of St Mungo's medieval Chuch and graveyard and came across an interesting anglers hut by the river.
Paintings decorating The Bield, the angler's hut
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"I hope that Yorkshire Water soon sort out the burst @richardandros and that your supply is back on line before too long. These sort of incidents are becoming too frequent, lack of renewal of essential services due to cash going to the fat cats again and not being spent on the infrastructure."
Thanks @nelliethehooker - it was back on early afternoon and a few minutes afterwards, we got a bottled water delivery from YW because we are on the Priority Services Register! Didn't have the heart to tell the delivery man that he was wasting his time!
I started typing this at about 0900 this morning and Ros was just about to go in the shower when she announced that there was no water again! Rang YW - or rather got a 'call-back' from them - and they said they knew nothing about it. Two hours later, it's back on again - yet another burst main somewhere else in the town according to their website. Your last sentence says it all🙄.
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Had the paving back and front cleaned today. It was the same company that usually does our windows. Previously I had done it with a pressure washer but not achieved such a good job as the professionals!
David
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