What are you all up to
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Nice easy drive down to a CL we've used before, a few miles south of Shrewsbury. Lovely big hedged pitches with EHU and water on each pitch. Free WiFi as well.
Been watching dozens of Swallows quartering a mown field. Plenty of young ones in amongst them. The young ones have been using the m/homes and caravan roofs to have a rest.
Day is dry and breezy.
Hope all having some decent weather.
Your day sounded great Oneputt and happy 50th. to you both from both of us.
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It was the same for us when we were there a few weeks before yourself, Kjell., so doubt that we will use that site again.
I tried to post this last night but ran out of puff, well my I-pad!! It was a very wet and windy afternoon and Flyte and I had a couple of soakings. I did manage to complete the cleaning of the inside of the van and empty out gear so it is now ready to take in for its service on Wednesday. Today has been much better than forecast with some decent sunshine but still windy times. Did a bit of essential gardening between dry walks, for a change. Yet another visit to the dentist for me tomorrow morning.
Sounds like you had a grand day, OP. I remembered you mentioning that you had booked the trip but was not sure when it was to happen.
Good to read that you got down to the CL without any problems, WN. Hope you have decent weather and can get to all the places that you have planned to visit.
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Good luck, we returned June 2022 stayed 2 nights in Burgos, 42 degs, unbearable, slept on towels.
Today in Stubbers the sun is shining, wind has dropped considerably and i was able to get out on my bike early doors, been far to windy for the last couple of days. Spanish daughter now in Scotland for a couple of weeks so our resident fox has returned. The six cubs we had in the park i thnk have grown up and moved on, but we still have more than enough in the area. We have a badger sanctuary which is quite near to the beach and i occasionaly saw a couple early doors whilst out with the dog, but not seen any for ages.
Going to sort out the inside of the caravan today, it looks like a bomb has hit it, Spanish daughter only returns for 2 days in a couple of weeks on way to tunnel. OH wants to go to daughters in EG for a week or so and Spanish daughter wants me to return to Spain with her, but far too hot for me, so i think we will put that on the back burner.
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Hi Rufs
The Last time I was down your way around 21 months ago, for my mother in law's funeral, I set off back home to Southport around 4.30 am and as I was driving out of Lee along Manor Way, there was a fox sat in the middle of the road and another one on the pavement. They seemed very laid back and not bothered at all by my car approaching. It may be a common occurrence to see foxes round your area but where I live, it is very rare to see foxes, even very early in the morning when it is still dark.
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Hi vbfg
I am sure we have had a fox population explosion in the last 2 years, we have lived in the bungalow for 14 years, when we first arrived foxes were unheard of, now they are everywhere, I suspect many were living in what was HMS Daedalus which was derelict for many years, but the MOD sold most of the land/property which was a massive area and now it has been developed for housing and business, I have spotted a few that are not in great shape and this is what happens if resources/food are in short supply, then they become a danger, our resident one looks in good shape and not particularly frightened of humans, Gkids want to feed her, yes a Vixen, which is more of a worry, but that is not going to happen. I used to be a licenced gun holder in Scotland, but on checking the gov web site it says
"Other than denying foxes a source of food or shelter, there is very little you can do to control foxes"
and the local council say
"Do pest control deal with foxes?
No, we don’t deal with foxes."you def cannot shoot them.
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I think you are sort of in Bournemouth area Rufs, or at least that region? Has highest density of urban foxes at the moment. They are not stupid, nicer, larger gardens, plenty of food around, so they have been tagged moving from London area. And of course, more new build in rural areas means the resident fox population have it easier once the builders have gone🤣
We have had foxes around for decades, in our little street although now none of us keep chickens and ducks any more, sightings are rarer. We live on edge of a big park and huge playing fields, so they have all the burgers, chips, etc…. left by idle rubbish depositors to supplement their diet now. We managed to keep our chickens and ducks free from attacks for around 20 years, it only took the one time we didn’t get them away early enough. That was a sad day😢
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"you def cannot shoot them."
Not sure where you got that from Rufs but you might find this of interest:
https://www.fieldsportschannel.tv/foxbounty/ where the government have agreed to pay a bounty for the management of predators. The Hunting Act 2004 made it illegal to use dogs to kill foxes, but providing it is done humanely, there is nothing to prohibit them being shot.
A builder friend of mine - (who works mainly to fund his shooting hobby now that he is semi-retired!) is out there most winter nights at the request of local landowners to keep the fox population in check. And he's kept busy!
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"A builder friend of mine - (who works mainly to fund his shooting hobby now that he is semi-retired!) is out there most winter nights at the request of local landowners to keep the fox population in check. And he's kept busy!"
yes in Scotland, we lived off piste so plenty of foxes and especially during the lambing season they were a real nuisance, but i have checked with our local council and they say shooting is a no no unless it is an authorised shoot organised by the council, and guess what they have no money in the budget to even think about doing this, which i can understand, we are very rural and almost on the beach, but the 2 local parks have kiddies play areas and they are frequented by young teenagers during the evenings, and they are surrounded by houses, so not the best idea to go out taking pot shots at foxes, I also gave up my licence and gun when we moved south.
"We managed to keep our chickens and ducks free from attacks for around 20 years, it only took the one time we didn’t get them away early enough. That was a sad day😢 "
friend in Scotland had similar experience, used to breed turkeys for Christmas, fox massacred his flock when it broke int his pen, annoyingly they create carnage but maybe only take one bird.
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While Mrs C and daughter were shopping I took a walk up to the the Cathedral in Durham and for anyone visiting I always suggest going through it and coming out through the cloisters and down to prebends bridge which at this time of year with no students is totally deserted. The spinning globe is amazing to watch although I have to point out it is spinning a little too fast.
The last photograph is for Harry Potter fans - it's where Dobby got his freedom.
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Rufs said “friend in Scotland had similar experience, used to breed turkeys for Christmas, fox massacred his flock when it broke int his pen, annoyingly they create carnage but maybe only take one bird.”
Folks think they only take one bird, but in fact, left alone they would come back for more and stash them much like other predators do. Most are disturbed and leave behind the majority of their kill. Terribly upsetting though, we only kept our chooks for eggs, and like most of our pets, were extremely well cared for and much admired, we had a good few rare breed types, others rescued. Our fault. We hadn’t the heart to get more after that.
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A varied day.
Started off by visiting Battlefield Church. This church was built to commemorate those who fell in the battle of 1403 between Henry "Hotspur" Percy and Henry IV. The king prevailed but only just. The photo is of the floor tiling.
We then met up with my brother, SiL and Niece on the journey home to the South Coast from a stopover in Liverpool. There's a farm cafe and shop near the church and a convenient place for them to take a break. Enjoyed a good 2 hour catch up with them.
Then we took ourselves off to Haughmond Abbey for butty eating. As you can see it was a sunny but breezy day.
Did have to have 40 winks later in the afternoon.
A fox killed all 12 of one of our neighbours chickens. They do have a blood lust in them. Not the cuddly animals portrayed by some.
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- Been a enjoyable couple of days here yesterday we went to Moreton in Marsh and spent a pleasant hour at the museum there it’s a small museum just along from the club site focusing on the RAF mainly during WW2 not the biggest museum but for £3 entry fee and had some good exhibits worth a visit for anyone in the area. We have now been joined on site by daughter gdaughter and SIL they were down in Dorset for a week and have now joined us here for a week so last night we went in to the pub in the village and had a few pints in the beer garden lucky it was still quite warm when we left the pub around 10. Up early this morning and away out a cycle then spent an enjoyable afternoon in Oxford one of our favourite cities although it was very warm and very busy we went and had a nice meal at The Turf Tavern a place always on our go to list when in the area. Now back on site and sitting out with a coffee still warm and sunny.
On the subject of foxes we get a lot of them in our area our house is a stones throw from the beach but we get a lot and they come out now at all times of the day and wander around the street as if they own the place we no longer have any pets so they don’t really bother us but we certainly don’t feed them.
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Another fine day today, weather wise at least. Had a joyful morning sat in the dentist's chair and had 3 filling inserted. Came away with both a numb mouth and bum!!😆Did a bit of shopping on the way home, and some more weed extraction in the garden after lunch, along with the usual couple of walks.
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Just catching up as been doing a few chores etc, sorry to hear your news Milliehull and hope your OH is improving.
Now using the pool as all cleaned and treated and lovely to use in this heat could be 38C today at the moment just under 34C.
Glad you got your caravan and tow car sold TG.
Just booked two lunchtime meals at two of our favourite restaurants for 28th/29th for our birthdays and going with friends of ours.
Friday night meal with some friends of ours not as good as one couple we should have picked up rang to say they would be in their own car as they had to pick up friends of their son's from Toulouse Airport seems they got mixed up with dates and our hosts were not too happy heyho these things happen and then Saturday I ended up with upset tummy OH as well but not as bad as me so that was the weekend gone but ok now.
Glad folk are enjoying their breaks now or those going away not long to ours in early September.
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Oo Nellie, you have my sympathy😱 It’s turned foul here now, after a bright start, been out in Mum’s garden. Hummingbird Hawk Moth photos in Garden Snap shot thread👍
Sympathies to you as well RK, hope you get over the upset tums. Hope you are coping ok with the heat. No sign of our pool coming out yet🙁
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Spotted your nice photo in the gardening thread TDA! Not seen any here yet but lots of lovely butterflies.
Just said goodbye to our family and the last but one of the visiting dogs this morning, so nice to see everyone even if all at once, made up for a bad start to the year with so many cancelled get togethers due to illness, etc. Trouble is when they all appear at once it's exhausting but we got through it. We watched our DIL on live stream getting her doctorate at Bath Abbey yesterday, so glad she got to the ceremony, it was quite moving. Empty house now, but next dog expected in a weeks time....and then I think we might get away ourselves?!
Hope you are both feeling better RK, I feel for you in the heat. Our middle grandson flew off to Greece this week and I'm wondering how he is coping.
A pleasant sunny day here with a nice breeze so lots and lots of washing done!
I even picked a few blackcurrants this afternoon so might make a small amount of jam using my Mum's old Good Housekeeping book from 1946.
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Another good day here today quite warm most of the day so we went to Blenheim Palace which was excellent we had been before but it was around 10 years ago. Such a nice place and a very interesting history the audio tour is also good. The grounds are lovely too we took a walk up to the victory monument it’s actually quite a distance from the main house but worth it and the views back to the palace are great. We were there most of the day so it was almost 5 by the time we left and then since we were in the area we paid a visit to Churchills grave at Bladon. Couldn’t be bothered cooking when we got back to the van so went and got fish and chips. It’s raining now so just sitting out in the awning relaxing we were going to take a walk to the pub in the village but the rain has put a stop to that.
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Glad to see you had a grand day Francis.
Our plans were scuttled from the start as it was raining when we woke up and continued all day, even spitting now. Quite heavy at midday. Not worth venturing out so I've had a recharge day. Weather looks fine for tomorrow.
Had an unusual occurrence whilst at Haughmond Abbey yesterday. Sitting there eating our sandwiches when a young man dressed in white shirt and black trousers walked by from somewhere behind us carrying a guitar and a dozen red Roses but with blood splattered all over his neck and shirt. He seemed fine and we looked at each other when a photographer passed us by catching him up and off they walked. No-one else around at the time.
We decided there was no need to panic so carried on eating.
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Thanks, WN, all feels fine at the moment. Shame about not getting out and hope things improve for tomorrow.
RK, Hope that both of you have recovered from your upset tummies.
Good to read that you had a fine day today, Francis. We visited there when we were down at Chippy, but only walked in the grounds and up to the monument as it was too hot to leave Flyte in the car for any length of time. Do they still have scaffolding up around part of the House?
You will find the house very quiet now that the family had gone, brue, and will welcome the rest too. Very nice that you could watch your DIL being awarded her doctorate.
Tda, going to the dentist has been a regular thing recently so I am resigned to it, and thankfully I have not had any severe toothache or other pain to speak of. Like you we had a dry morning but so far since lunch it has rained on and off, so it meant 3 wet walks up to now and probably another wet one shortly.
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Yes Nellie there is scaffolding up at the public entrance not sure what they are doing. They are also dredging the lake apparently for the first time in over 100 years. The monument is huge when you see it up close we had saw it the last time we were here but only from a distance so today made the effort to walk up to see it up close glad we did
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"Empty house now, but next dog expected in a weeks time.."
yes we have an empty house just now, Spanish daughter & 2 dogs currently in Scotland will return in 2 weeks, do miss not having a dog around but not tempted to buy another.
Spent some time in the garden yesterday have to say this part is looking quite tidy now and the grass is reasonably green. The bungalow next door has been empty for 2 years since the old lady died, some family dispute, and the garden is a jungle so i spend a lot of time holding it back, it is that creepy ivy that keeps pushing thru the fence which causes most of the problems.
A bit grey this morning but very sticky, tides are wrong for early swimming, but excellent for mid to late afternoon. Off to the Stroke cliub this morning, every week on a Wedesday, must say it has been a great help just speaking to others about their experiences, some folk are not in great shape, we count our blessings every day, OH drove herself shopping yesterday, and has now discarded her walking stick another couple of milestones .
sorry some folk not having great weather, have to say we have been very lucky, temperatures in the low 20's but more than suffiicient and very little rain
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Thanks folks we have both recovered now. Yesterday did not get as hot as they forecast but still too hot to be out did have a dip in the pool before the heat got going and it was lovely, much cooler this morning so a couple of chores outside before it warms up again but not as hot as yesterday and next week looks a lot cooler, have got shrubs to prune and OH will do some weed cutting not grass so the strimmer will be in use.
Sun now coming out as it was cloudy and cool whilst outside, off to do some shopping a post a letter this morning and hope to get car done in the hand car wash at Carrefour.
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Nice Hollyhocks Rufs👍 I love HH’s, collect seeds from around country on tours, sow, raise and plant in my own garden. We were actually cold here last night. But at least the rain seems to have stopped today. Garden visit for us, hopefully.
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TDA. We have an "outbreak" of Hollyhocks around our village from last years seeds. Nice to see as ours vanished this year.
Sunny here but early road resurfacing prevented any of us from doing much except move cars away from machinery.
Good to read about your Cotswolds trip Francis, I wondered if you'd get to Blennheim as it's quite an impressive place and not too far to travel.
Hope all the other holidays are going well.
The catering department has conked out here today, I'm hoping we can have a meal in our local pub this evening!
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