What are you all up to
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@Takethedogalong I love drive it day always make a point of getting the Merc out that day was good today we saw a few classics on the road too
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@Takethedogalong it was the Yorkshire Wolds Motor Club's "Wolds Wiggle" classic car tour today so perhaps it was some of those that you saw, as they passed both Reiveaux and Kirkham Abbeys. There are photos of some of their vehicles on the North Yorkshire Weather Update Facebook page, including one of a T reg Merc similar T to your's @Francis and a 91yr old Jowett! Thanks for the grand photos from you both.
We have not seen ground in that condition for a long time @Bakers2 hope you get a good dollop of rain soon to get your plants going.
Fingers crossed that the price has dropped a fair bit by the time we get round to Fife @marchie or we won't be doing many miles when we are there.
@vbfg I use the PetrolPrices app to find out where the best value for fuel is close to where we are pitched up and try and fit in the filling up when we go out for the day or to replenish food stocks.
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After last night's shut down and ? Upgrade? I am finding CT very slow and clunky!!
Today it has not been as bright or sunny
to the previous few but atleadtvot has stayed dry. We returned to the Culzesn Estate this morning for a walk down onto the beach and along to Maidens. After lunch we walked around Swan Pond where we saw, appropriately enough a Penn building her nest, and another interesting plant.
This is Rodgersia Bronze Peacock I think
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A lovely few days at the caravan with our daughter. I even had my first spa day. She used the gym for an hour while I had a coffee, then she swam while I sat in the ‘warm room’, and then we enjoyed the indoor jacuzzi and the outdoor warm bubble pool. It was all free in a very smart hotel, as our site provides a few free tickets a year. (Well I say free it’s included in our site fees) OH is here now, we had a lovely day out, with lunch in the garden centre and then spent the afternoon at Chastleton, beautiful weather walking in the grounds, wall to wall blue sky. On Saturday we intended to go into Stratford for Shakespeare’s birthday celebrations but so many roads were closed and mostly the ones with disabled parking in, also it was packed so we gave up in the end as OH didn’t think that he could manage to walk from the large park car park. It would have been good if they had considered that most of the disabled car parking was shut off. Anyway we spent the afternoon relaxing in the sun. We have been very fortunate with the weather so far. Not many people here on site considering the weather. Catchup and coffee with a neighbour who is on her own yesterday, OH had a nap, when I got back he said he can never fathom what women find to talk about for so long 😊.
Loving all the photos. @Bakers2 gosh that does look dry, especially for April. Very jealous of your bean planting, I wish our garden was big enough for vegetables, I miss my allotment but it was too big and became too much work, a small patch would just suit.
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Didn't do that much over the weekend except that Jon (former Chief Tech at ALV) came down from Durham to fix the shower mixer tap for me. It only took him about twenty minutes and my concern that most of the shower panelling would have to come out was unfounded! It's amazing what a bit of knowledge and experience can do😉. He managed to release the ABS panel in which the mixer was fitted, sufficiently for him to get behind it and release the old tap and fit the new one. All now working as it should. He says next time a microswitch fails, he's going to change the whole system over to a pressurised one.
He also went round the van with his damp meter because I was concerned about the two or three 22% readings the last engineer found when it was serviced last November. Jon was surprised since, knowing the van, he said it had always been absolutely dry. Needless to say, the highest reading he could find was 12% and some of the suspect areas were actually showing zero! Methinks Jon will be servicing it this year since he has now got the ability to service both Knaus and Airstreams - for which he is probably the country's leading expert and has already established a nice little business for himself, looking after ones that ALV previously supplied.
Long way to come for a twenty minute job - but that's the sort of person he is😀.
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The problem, if there is one @richardandros, is if he becomes so in demand from previous customers like yourself that his time becomes squeezed. I'd book your service early if I were you. People who provide a good service are in short supply.
Lovely morning here so we decided to go for a morning stroll through a local nature reserve before heading to Tesco. It was glorious. Filled with birdsong and Bluebells and Wild Garlic. All mornings should be like that
Lovely to hear from you @DEBSC.
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Lovely photos @Wherenext I love the sound of birdsong. I never understand people who put the radio on to garden when the birds are singing. My favourite is a pigeon cooing. We have 2 fat fellows who come very regularly to our garden, they are most ungainly and often come into land partly on their bellies. The site swan is on her nest while the male glides backwards and forwards close by, she must be hungry as I haven’t seen her move for over a week.
Hidcote today, all the lilac was out and it had beautifully perfumed the air. I have one in our garden but very few flowers, if any, none this year. I threaten it every year but it really does now have one more year, if no flowers next year then it’s going, especially now I’ve seen exactly how beautiful it should be. Then on to our usual stop outside the Broadway hotel for a drink, very busy there today in the sunshine, only one table left.
GP surgery phoned to offer us a Covid jab only 2 date option in June a day apart, but we are away. Receptionist said no more available after that so not much choice given. When we tried to book a month ago they had no dates available. So we have already booked elsewhere now at a different surgery, problem with parking there though and the other side of town, so we would have changed to our surgery if we could have.
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@DEBSC sounds like a nice day. If I were you with your lilac I'd give a good prune on your return, feed it, a bit of a mulch and a good talking too!
The air is changing here, but radar not showing showers for us 🥲. I've put my pots of phlox, aster and saxafrage plants in and will put the hosepipe on them - hoping that'll encourage the rain. I need to wait for OH to finish cutting the back grass. That'll be all 3 grass areas cut today and a trip to Dobbies for him. For most folk that that's easy but but for him it's a mammoth lot.
Guess what it's time to get dinner!
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Definitely agree with @Bakers2 re Lilac @DEBSC prune it hard. I did next doors, over our fence, and Mum’s. Now both back in flower.
Sis and me turned a corner today. Mum was diagnosed with MRSA in her foot wound last week, so cue lots of hunting around for antibiotics, lots of bed bathing, everything scrubbed down and washed daily. It’s been horse work at times, but she’s as bright as anything, and doesn’t appear to be ill in any way from all the drugs and extra caring. Nurses have said her wound is now looking better, so 🤞 we have got things sorted.
Managed to get home and into greenhouse, busy potting on all sorts of tomatoes, and got my home grown sweet peas sorted.
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@nelliethehooker. Drove past the Shell garage in Kirkcaldy this morning, taking the M/Home cushions to the upholsterer. Diesel has risen a further 2p per litre, and the price differential against unleaded is back upm to 35p per litre … When I bought my trusty [2nd hand] Citroen BX17RD in 1987, diesel was 37.7p per litre, not much more than the price differential now … 🤨
Steve
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Not good, @marchie and I guess it will get worse before getting better the way the non-talks are going out in the middle East!😫
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Glad that all your, and your sister's, hard work had paid off and that your mum has got over the worst of the MSRA @Takethedogalong , she is certainly a game old lady.
Your OH did well getting the grass cut, @Bakers2 good for him. Fingers crossed that you get some rain and all your hard work planting starts to sprout soon.
Sounds as if you had a great day with with your daughter @DEBSC Have you tried the telephone booking line to see if you can get your covid jabs done at a pharmacy, perhaps at Stratford, that has good parking facilities?
Great service from John on your caravan @richardandros hope you can get him booked for the service when you need it doing.
Grand photos @Wherenext
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Today has been rather mixed with the weather, periods of warm sunshine interspersed with short rain showers. We got packed up in the dry and had a trouble free tow through Glasgow up to Bridge of Allan and the Scottish Regions THS. Thanks for the route info @KjellNN & @Francis . There are about 30 units here tonight, split evenly between caravans and M/Hs but there should be many more arriving before the weekend for the AGM.
I spotted this unusual coloured, lemon yellow, Magnolia on my afternoon walk.
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@nelliethehooker no problem glad you got there ok. Enjoy your stay
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Thanks for the lilac tips. I’ve had it for about 12 years and it’s never flowered properly. I’ve tried cutting it right back but it didn’t work. I’m now trying Monty Don advice. Cutting out the big thick old shoots and some of the new spreading shoots, it tries to spread everywhere, but not trimming the newer main shoots back. If it doesn’t flower next year it’s going. Problem is I’ll never be able to dig it all out, that’s why I haven’t done it so far. It was a cutting from my brothers plant, so I asked him how his was doing, - ‘oh I chopped it all down and dug it out because it never flowered’ so maybe it’s just that plant.
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@Wherenext Great pics we will need to try that track when we are next in the area. When we were staying at Chester last month we managed to get out on the bikes a couple of times there is a nice route along the canal that takes you in to the boat museum at Ellmsmere port I also managed a nice 12 mile ride last weekend when we were staying at Strathclyde Park. @milliehull glad you got the fridge freezer sorted out.
Lovely bright sunny day here today we plan to get the garden tidied up this weekend as we aren't away although we do plan to go away at the end of next week for the long weekend no doubt the weather will turn by then. Going to get the cars cleaned out tomorrow and also give the caravan a spring clean.
Hope everyone else has a nice weekend
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The wonders of modern technology @Francis 😆
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Picked up the new van today, now parked on driveway. Day started dull and chilly but much better by the time we got home. Spent about 3 hours at dealership, excellent handover, plenty of help with unfamiliar mover controller, and to put on front towing cover. Took my small steps along, but will need to get a bigger pair as I could not easily reach to fix cover in place!
Will start putting in various bits and pieces at the weekend as we will be busy until then.
DD has finally managed to book in her Skoda Kodiaq to get a towbar fitted, by a Skoda dealer, in about 3 weeks time, so hopefully that will go OK.
Off now to move the van to its parking spot and fit all the security devices. It is a good bit shorter than the old one, and being single axle, much easier and quicker to get into place.
Nellie……do you keep your towing cover on while you have the van parked at home?
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Glad you got your new Caravan @KjellNN and all goes well with the first break away.
No gardening here today woke up to very heavy rain and been raining most of the day it stopped about 2 hours ago and now raining again and looks like more through this week but the ground has lost some of the cracks.
Off shopping tomorrow and OH to get some medication as well, his scan yesterday was all ok on his pancreas and they want to see him again in 6 months time.
Sent part of this afternoon doing a pile of shredding keeps me quiet ha ha, this morning we collected a small pine chest that was advertised on local website and it was 5 minutes from here in a lovely traditional house although built a few years ago and the lady spoke very good English as she said I used to live in Surrey she said she was selling a few things as her husband died a month ago after battling with cancer for 6 years.
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Good question, unfortunately we have not as yet made any plans.
Certainly sometime in July at the latest, but hope possibly mid/ late June.
Meantime I have DD to help to start towing, initially with our car, then with hers once the towbar is fitted, and various bits and pieces in the van to organise
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Hope the new van meets your satisfaction @KjellNN. Might be an idea to at least get a 2 night stay locally somewhere whilst the handover details are still fresh in your mind.
@Francis - If you do fancy the bike ride I would suggest driving to Hooton station, huge car park (£1.50 all day), then cycle back to the road, about 100 yards, turn left and go over the railway bridge. The entrance to the Wirral Way is on the left before you get off the bridge. If you cycle to Parkgate car park you can do one of two things. Turn left and cycle 100 yds to the front overlooking the estuary. Good pubs, chippie, ice-cream parlour or coffee house all easily available. If you want to cycle further then turn right out of the car park at Parkgate for about 100 yds and the Wirral Way continues on the left. You could cycle all the way to West Kirby if you feel up to it. Bit of a way though.
Had a good time today as we visited Burton RSPB once we'd sorted MiLs shower arrangements out. OH absolutely thrilled to butterkins as she found an Orange Tip butterfly egg on some Mustard Garlic. Believe me, I am not joking. Sometimes the simplest of pleasures are the best.
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@KjellNN we have a specialised towing cover for towing but when the van is parked up we always take it off if we’re on our way somewhere and just Doing a 1 night stop over then we leave it on but apart from that take it off as I was told before that they can trap moisture and possibly cause damp if left on for any length of time
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I think my rather mischievous post on the "Disappointed" thread has come back to bite me on bum! As I have mentioned we no longer have a car so our drive is now always empty. It's a shared drive with our next door neighbour which causes no problems. They are away at the moment and they left one of their cars on their drive. The people next door to them decided park across both our drives today which I thought pretty rude? They were having new windows installed today so understandably needed space outside their own house but opposite there is a parking area with nothing parked in it. Or they could have parked on the road down the side of our house so why they parked where they did was something of a mystery. We were expecting a delivery that might have require access into our back garden from the driveway. Anyway he did move it when I asked him but seemed obivious that he had done anything wrong. Thats me off his Christmas Card list, although I don't think I was ever on it!
David
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Hope all goes well with your new caravan @KjellNN l always take the cover off when at home, the same as @heddlo and @Francis, and usually as soon as possible when we arrive on a site unless it is really wet and it looks as if it would dry in situ. We very rarely stop anywhere for a single night but would leave it on if we did. Depending on the weather we do try to put it on in the evening before we leave when on site. I do agree with @Wherenext that it would be prudent to have a couple of nights on a site before you head off on a prolonged trip to make sure everything is working as it should and you are familiar with what's what. Didn't the dealer throw in a couple of free nights at a local site after you picked it up for that very purpose?
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@DavidKlyne - Bit rude of your neighbour. Our house is a corner plot and I concreted part of the garden on the east side to accommodate our caravan quite a few years ago. That space is now vacant as the M/Home fits on our drive. I occasionally use it to fill the M/H with water or charge it as there's a socket there but mostly it stays vacant. Recently we've had requests from 2 different neighbours who specifically asked me if they could park a car on it whilst building work took place and I had no objections. Even had one neighbour leave their caravan on it whilst we were away touring. Made it look like we were home. The offer has never been abused but I would have been offended if they took it for granted to be able to use it without asking first.
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