What are you all up to
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It’s a strange place is that estate WN. It’s got history of unusual goings on, not least when the area was known as Orgreave. As in “Battle of Orgreave” where the Miners clashed with all the police in possibly the most notorious incident during the strike. It used to be the site of a huge coking plant, but was cleared and then left with no access for years. Have to admit to being a bit puzzled that they did start building on there after what seemed a relatively short period, but it’s on the edge of the huge Sheffield Manufacturing Park and University Complex. I put all the strange goings on down to all the methane😁
I had a statistic on a bike doing a wheelie coming straight at me this morning. Not a child either. I was quite impressed with his bike handling, as it was coming down a 1:5 hill, but he had no road sense or awareness at all. Main bus route, so it’s only a matter of time🤷♀️ The accident I dodged going home the other day turned out to be a motorcyclist, sadly very badly injured, at the bottom of the same hill. My guess is car didn’t see him when it pulled out. Only a couple of months since another motorcyclist hit a bollard on same road. He didn’t survive.☹️ Early morning, no one else involved.
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It's been a busy week for us, not long back from our holiday and then the sale of our motorhome (we'd received an offer and had to make the decision on return.) Out of interest all of the local dealers had full "books" so we had to look elsewhere for a sale. Last year would have been better but that's the way things go. Feels a bit strange at present to have an empty space outside but also a relief that it did actually sell! We were also just in time to cancel next year's insurance etc. so all a bit up to the proverbial line. Now a room full of camping "stuff" to sort.
Waved our daughter and partner off on an Exmoor camping trip, she has to do some Exmoor artwork for an exhibition, just hoping the weather holds up, dreadful day to set up a tent but it looks a bit better over the next few days. I declined to have one more visiting dog, they have two and I suggested they all needed a break...
I will be washing up at our village show tomorrow, so that will keep me well occupied!
Best wishes to Debsc and family, hoping everything goes well.
Hope the weather in the Outer Hebrides is better than here DSB but I'm very pleased to think the midges prefer living up there rather than down here!
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brue I know exactly how you feel. We had mixed emotions when we sold our caravan 2 years ago but it was mostly relief. It definitely turned out to be the right decision for us as OH's mobility is so bad now. I hope you enjoy lots of non motorhome holidays in the future and please do stay on CT as we love to hear your news.
DEBSC All the very best to your daughter and also your grand-daughter and her friend. I do hope all goes well for them all. Take care of yourself you have such a lot going on in your life at the moment.
So pleased to hear that the nellies and WNs had a couple of nice meet ups recently. Both of them look like grand days out.
OH has just had the last of the cardiac tests for the time being. He has just had a 48 hour cardiac monitor fitted and was told to keep calm whilst he had in on. It don't know how that is going to work when he watches the Lionesses play in the cup final on Sunday! We take the monitor back on Monday and then we wait to hear. Goodness knows how long he will have to wait until he gets the results. A GP appointment on Monday to discuss some pain killers for his mobility. I wonder how that will go
.Our garden help started on Tuesday and we are very pleased with the results, especially as he gave our Rambling Rector rose a really good haircut! He is going to come every 2 weeks so I already have a mental list of jobs for next time, including sorting out a bramble that is migrating from next door.
No 1 son and family are in Corfu at the moment and daughter and family will set off to Tuesday to stay with No 2 son and family in N.Ireland. No 1 son has borrowed our cat basket to take their cat to the cattery because they have managed to break the one that we gave them a couple of years ago. I just hope that they don't manage to break this one as well
We hope our cat stays well during the coming week and doesn't need a trip to the vet as we are now basketless.I hope the weather is kind to those away.
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Brue
Sorry to hear you have sold your motorhome, I assume that has been in your mind for some time? Did you think the offer was within your expectation if you don't mind me asking? We seem to be using the motorhome less and less and we are wondering how long we should go on. Margaret is not so keen on the longer trips because we don't have as much storage in this van and I certainly can't see us thinking of buying another. The less you use something the more you wonder if its all worthwhile. We did 63 nights away last year and I somehow doubt we will reach 50 this year.
David
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Good news re your motohome brue and as milliehull said enjoy your non motor homing breaks, as I said last week we are off to cottage near Malvern next year for 2 weeks and the owner asked do we need directions to it and said we know the area well and know how to get there and she laughed and asked if we had lived in Malvern and yes we had for a few years.
Hope Debsc's daughter's operation go well.
We have just reached 40.5C about 30 minutes ago and gosh it is hot outside and very hot air which we do not like so glad we moved water around the water butts earlier this morning and did some washing which dried very quickly, now inside much cooler and looks like we have a few more days of this and storms forecast for the end of next week hopefully.
Have a good weekend folks and enjoy the match on Sunday.
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We have the "how long should we carry on" conversation every so often, but are reluctant to sell the caravan if DD & Co like to use it as the children love going away in it.
We have not been abroad with the van since 2017, and had said we would not take it to Norway again......it is a long way.......but we are now reconsidering.
Next year is my sister's 80th birthday and she has invited the whole family to a party. We would prefer to have our own transport to go around a bit, as would DD, but car hire over there is very expensive, and child seats are a problem, so we are now looking into what it would cost to take the caravan. Ferries are easy to find, cost not too bad, but plane fares to compare are not yet released, so difficult to decide as yet.
There are complications, SIL may be working on exam marking the first week of his holidays, but nothing certain for a long time. If he could fly out then DD and children could travel with us and then fly back......she is now looking at going via Legoland in Denmark! That would save taking a second car. 5 of us can fit in the caravan for sleeping, and in our car, but not 6.
Our main problem, at our advanced age, is getting the necessary insurance, so lots of research still to do.
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At the start of the year we were wondering what decision we would make for this year.
We didn't have our first trip away until April and have been away spasmodically since then but if all goes to plan we should get somewhere near 100 nights away so the decision to keep the caravan worked out. Finding it much harder work but once ensconced, particularly if on a service pitch, still enjoying it. We've also had some time away in cottages. I would have taken what we've had if someone had offered it to me in January so no complaints here.
However I can fully understand members calling it a day. We're quite ready to stop at any given moment if needs be.
Hope you get to enjoy holidaying sans Motorhome Brue.
Best wishes to Millie's husband as well. Hope he finds some respite.
Not too bad this morning but afternoon has compensated for it.
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Sorry to read that you giving up your with the M/H brue, but pleased for you that you have been able to sell it. Hope younger as much enjoyment out of holidaying in another way as you did when touring in the van.
Fingers crossed that your doctor can help with your OH's mobility problems, millie, and that the test results are favourable.
We are determined to continue touring for a year or few yet. We are still on track to do over 200 nights again this year, all being well.We
It was cloudy and windy today but dry until about an hour ago. Paid a visit to Boundary Mill at Colne this morning for a bit of retail therapy, and a very short stop off at Towneley Park on the way back to the van. Managed to book a few more sites for our next trip, so that's the month of September taken care of.
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"Our main problem, at our advanced age, is getting the necessary insurance, so lots of research still to do."
this does become a problem KjeIIN, still to have the conversation with our insurers re my OH's stroke and how this will affect our policy, if indeed they will cover her at all.
A couple of "iffy" days here some sun some rain, today should be sunny but right now it looks very grey, couple more weeks and we are off to Devon for 1 month so hopefully we will have the start of an indian summer
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Hope all has gone well with your daughter's Op, DEBSC.
Millie - I know what you mean about getting garden help. I finally managed to find someone to help me in the garden. Normally - after we have been away, it only takes me a couple of days to get it back to some sort of order, but this year, everything has gone by the board and it was looking like a jungle. Lovely chap who lives quite close to us, came and spent half a day and totally transformed the borders so that they look very tidy now. He has promised to come once a month and do the same - so that saves my aching back and knees! What a relief to have got on top of it.
Sorry to hear the MH has gone brue but it sounds like the sensible decision. I keep wondering how long we can go on and it might be that downsizing will have to be considered but this van is so comfy and useable once it's set up. I have tried to use 'technology' to make setting up as easy as possible.
I think we're getting to the point where we seriously have to consider whether it's worth putting an awning up. The Omnistor / Veduta has turned out to be a very expensive mistake. Although it's a beautiful awning once erected - it's so difficult to put together (and heavy!) and the fact that Ros is unable to help much means that I was absolutely creased by the time we had finished on Thursday. Trouble is, we seem to have so much 'clutter' (and Meg!
) that to manage without an awning would be difficult.The CS we are on was very quiet when we arrived but has filled up now for the weekend and it has been quite busy all year so far - unlike our experience at NYM last month. Just looking forward to two weeks of doing not much and Ros's birthday BBQ tomorrow (and the weather's looking good!)
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Thanks for your kind comments everyone. We've certainly made the best of our van ownership and have used it a lot over the years, this year was much the same although we were starting to think about letting it go.
DavidK we were a bit out on our sales estimation as it's not a seller's market this year. But we were OK with the offer we received.
It's a strange feeling making these decisions as vans become a way of life but we do feel relief as well, however that's just personal and everyone has their own thoughts and ideas. So I'm glad to hear of new plans and trips on here!
Hope you get some helpful updates for Mr H Millie, thinking of you both.
Enjoy your nice long Devon trip Rufs.
How do I sort out this CT non member thing, I'm still a paid up member for several months ahead?
Edit . We posted at the same time R&R, comfort and ease is a major point with vans! Hope you are enjoying your holiday and Ros enjoys her birthday.
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"it's a strange feeling making these decisions as vans become a way of life but we do feel relief as well, however that's just personal and everyone has their own thoughts and ideas."
yup agree 100 %, we have considered hanging up the keys and taking the wheels off, or even selling, but the caravan is a big part of our life as we use it as a guest bedroom, Spanish daughter always stays in there, she says i snore too much indoors. It does sit on a hardstanding next to the bungalow and it is fully svcd.
We are considering knocking our "over there" trips on the head, normally we would return from Devon end of September then go to Spain mid Oct, but shelved those plans and am looking quite seriously at not going Spring 24 even though we do like to catch some early sun & warmth, we also have the insurance implications to consider, and cost wise is another big factor, i reckon to travel to Spain and return via Portsmouth/Santander would be £2k approx ferry and diesel, that is a lot of nights away in the UK, but if we have a terrible winter then my thoughts might just return to warmer climates
good luck to all those waiting on results, operations etc, and i hope your NHS provider is as good as our was
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"I think we're getting to the point where we seriously have to consider whether it's worth putting an awning up."
we did exactly this on our first trip to Cornwall this year, hated it, felt so naked just stepping out of the van into the big wide world and we so enjoy having our evening meal in the awning when it might be just a bit too chilly to sit outside. We have a Kampa 390 air awning, which, although heavy we have one of those pully systems to hoist it thru the awning rail, i can do this quite easily by myself, it is the pegging out which crucifies my knees.
we did try using a parasol, just to provide a little shade and to stop us feeling so naked, but that didnt work, it kept blowing away in the slightest wind
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“…felt so naked just stepping out of the van into the big wide world…”
It’s strange how we differ. We gave up on awnings many, many years ago and I remember the joy of opening the van door onto the big wide world instead of a claustrophobic ’tent’. Not having an awning let the outside in and there was no longer a barrier between us and the surroundings.
Then there was as the freedom of not having to fight an awning and the simplicity of packing and setting up. Magic! We never looked back.
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Brue
Interesting what you say about the "market". I suppose it was obvious that the sellers market would not last. I keep an eye of the Bailey Motorhomes Buying and Selling Facebook page and do sometimes wonder how realistic the asking prices are. Amazing how many relatively new motorhomes with very low mileage are for sale. I do sometimes wonder if people buy on a whim and come to regret the purchase after a few months? Not quite ready to make the decision yet but the question will keep popping up. I imagine there is a certain amount of relief that the decision has been made and acted on?
David
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Thank you for all your good wishes. Op over and it appears to be ok, they won’t know for sure until she can walk but it’s done. She is in a lot of pain but they are refusing her her usual morphine, which we are glad about, she has been on it for 2 years her GP keeps upping it, the hospital weren’t pleased, but her pain has had to be managed on a daily living basis. Now just the recovery. So forward looking.
Day with Gdaughters friend was lovely, baby delightful. Amazing how far they can get with a ‘bum shuffle’ We relaxed when he was asleep and watched ‘Matilda’ on tv never knew the story.
Hard to give up Motorhome or caravan but as I have said before I think one knows when the time is right. Better than leaving it until you have no choice. As I’ve also said before it was right for us with OHs condition and we were getting to the no choice stage. When we get to having to give up the static stage I will be sad. But as we have learnt there are other options to be enjoyed. Have a good weekend everyone whether at home or away.
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Just to say. She didn’t go down for her op until 5.30pm and taken back to her room at 8.30pm. Maybe private hospitals work on a different time level to the NHS.
David K know what you mean about some selling new vans and buying on a whim. Some people on our static site sell new vans after one or two seasons, and they loose a great deal of money on those static van sales. Strangely it’s often the ones who bought new vans rather than old ones, maybe more money than sense, but then I know that also, for a few, things change in life. Our neighbours bought new, went a couple of times, the wife decided she’d rather not be cooking etc and preferred hotels so they sold after the first season those few breaks away must have cost them many thousands.
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We don't get to use our caravan very much - a week and a couple of weekends a year - but that's because we can't get away more often, nor book much in advance. That's why we bought a caravan in 1976 and the reasons are still valid.
It's oldish (2005) and needed quite a bit of work doing this Spring (OH to the rescue) - but it suits us and it's not worth much. The insurance is very low and no storage to pay so it owes us nothing.
One day we may retire and will get to use it more! I've given notice that I would like to retire from admin when I'm 80. It may never happen as I need to be involved and know what's what.
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I think we're getting to the point where we seriously have to consider whether it's worth putting an awning up. The Omnistor / Veduta has turned out to be a very expensive mistake. Although it's a beautiful awning once erected - it's so difficult to put together (and heavy!).
We had a Isabella Magnum Richard, it was big enough for us two and the occasional visitor. Easy to put up by OH on his own albeit with me holding up the odd pole! It was fairly heavy but not too bad and very robust in strong winds. We never liked the thin lightweight awnings, very flappy and condensation was awful - even the more expensive one we had. Sadly we sold it as part of our caravan sale last year otherwise you could have had it, it was good as new.
Good to hear your daughter has come through her operation well DEBSC, fingers crossed for a positive and speedy recovery. Also hope Mr Milliehull has some useful test results. Sorry if I’ve missed anyone haven’t had much time recently, we are dog sitting and he is very active, we have found that we aren’t!!
As far a selling, or not, leisure vehicles we sold ours not for any health reasons or financial but it was more the process of using it was really getting to me (particularly!). The getting packed, and the unpacking, loading and unloading, setting up on arrival and sorting out afterwards etc, etc. Years ago I enjoyed doing all this but towards the end of last year I could have screamed at the thought of doing it - again and again. Yes we do miss it but not the faff! Coming home from a break with just a suitcase is bliss.
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You’ll scare the wildlife😱
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We have not done much calculating yet, but to the north of Norway is a long and expensive journey. Maybe 4000 miles round trip, so maybe £1250 in fuel plus up to another £1200 in ferries and tolls, depending on the route. Then say 30 site nights en route, to make the journey part of the holiday and see more places, another possibly £1200 as peak season............so could be around £3500-£4000........plus insurance.
That is taking DD and the children with us on the outward journey only, they would have to organise getting home themselves as she would not be able to stay as long as we can.
Once at my sister's house we can park up in her garden and stay as long as we like.
Better start saving!
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We did wonder about a static But our biggest problem would be deciding where it was. Living in MK is very convenient for all sorts of reasons as its in the middle of the country but that also means its also far away from many places. With the possible exception of Norfolk we have never really settled on anywhere where we think we would be happy to spend so much time. The IOW is a possibility but you then have crossings to pay for, not so bad if you go for a month at a time. Did think at one time one of our sons was interested in that sort of holiday but he hasn't mentioned it recently. We do have a number of alternatives available to us but it would just mean getting used to living out of a suitcase!
David
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Agree with what you say Rufs - on the odd occasion when we haven't put the awning up, it has felt very strange and then there's the problem of where to put all those 'bits and pieces' - like Meg's plastic food tub - bag full of veg - outside chairs, BBQ, etc etc. Either the van ends up cluttered - or the car does! Plus, I often cook in the awning with the electric griddle even if it's pouring down outside.
We sold our Kampa 390 Grande - mainly because it was too heavy to manage and I thought the Omnistor and Veduta would be an easier option. The guy on Thule's You tube video made it look SO easy. What I didn't realise until later was that he must have been about 6'6" tall and the awning material was a much lighter weight than the real one!! A bit of clever marketing on their part
Just using the roof canopy might be a half-way measure and, of course, we still have the lightweight Sunncamp which is OK but not as versatile as the Veduta.
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We used to have a Fiamma Zip roll out, but after 10 years of 3-4 months annual use the canopy died. They are expensive these days so we went to an inexpensive Sunncamp porch canopy, and now also have the full porch as DD needed something more enclosed......they always eat in the awning out of consideration for our upholstery!!
When it is just us, we rarely use even the porch awning as too much hassle for a 4-5 night stay.
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I must admit that I got quite excited yesterday. For the past few months I've struggled with our main email, and had to device a workaround so nothing important slipped between the cracks. But no one else quite knew what I was doing, so I gave in to the inevitable and got a professional to sort me out, crossing my fingers that the fix wouldn't mean any loss of data.
Phew! I was very relieved to see all the emails come downloading back, including those from as far back as 2002.
And, I have to admit that I do love creating reports to show whatever anyone asks me for. Sad.
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Sorry to hear that you have sold the motorhome Brue. It's always a bit of a balancing act. I've just done a bit of a count, DavidK. We did 79 night out in the caravan during 2022, but like you, I doubt if we will match that this year. However, it's partly to do with how things work out any one year. This year, we have swapped the caravan and so we had a 'changeover period' which held us up a little. We are visiting our daughter at present in the Outer Hebrides (we don't take the caravan), but we have a car problem, so it looks as if we will be cancelling our visit to Penrhros CAMC site in just over a weeks time - never had to cancel a site before!! This year, we have done 53 nights so far (just counted)!! The only month we tend not to get out is December - not because of the weather, but because it's always such a busy month.
I never say 'never', but I have a suspicion that the van we have just bought may well be our last.... mainly because this layout seems to suit us really well.... but who knows what the future will bring and the implications of any future health issues.
For the moment, we don't have plans to give up. One of the things we are doing this year, is living more 'in the van' and less 'outside'. However, this could very well be weather related. The weather this summer for our main holiday has been far less good, so we've tended to use 'inside' more. Rufs and richardandros: We haven't used a proper/full awning for years..... Apart from the extra carriage, and more to the point - the pegging, we just don't really feel we need it, and it only encourages us to take more stuff with us! As many know, we have a Thule windout fitted to the roof of our caravan. Again, because of the weather, we've used the Cadac much less this year.
We haven't been across to France/ Germany/ Italy etc since 2016. I'd love to get back again, but with an aging dog with a heart condition (Lizzie was 12 yesterday 😀) and the more complicated arrangements post-Brexit, I suspect it would not be wise to take her. However, it has given us the chance to explore a bit of Scotland (which we haven't done prior to the last few years).
I think, like many, we'll just 'roll with the punches'.... no doubt time will tell. 😀
David
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