Under attack …

let’s start with a lovely photo of Henry on his dad’s old teddy rocker

C and I were discussing multiculturalism this morning, as you do. I have absolutely no problem with a nation of different colours, creeds, races, religions and voices. I guess my military background, with tours overseas, has enabled me to see the best in everyone. And, as an erstwhile Christian, I do not feel threatened by other people’s beliefs – and the Christian church is big enough and ugly enough to look after itself. It doesn’t need us all to feel sorry for it. It just needs to market itself better.

But, do you know what? I do feel as though my culture, my very Britishness, is under attack. We are a country that has always drawn the respect of others. We have one of the longest running democracies, our judicial system is among the best in the world, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we are accommodating of others. We are held up as a nation of sensible people, with a decent civil service, a competent and apolitical military and a health service with no rivals. We are decent and helpful. We come to the aid of others. Our banks are steadfast and our arts are always among the very best. Our scientists are fab and our universities world-class. And we are leaders in many of those fields. Isn’t it great being us, albeit in a self-deprecating sort of way?

Yes. Maybe. Perhaps not so much now. 

I sincerely believe that Brexit and Johnson and his government (I don’t think you can separate those) are driving a coach and horses through our …. that is my … respectability. People are laughing at us. The respect there was for us is no longer. I sense there is an element of banana republic about UK PLC, what with the political lies and the cronyism. The second world leader Johnson met (on Friday) was Victor Orban, a known quasi-dictator, free speech denier and anti-gay. Like for like, perhaps? Johnson is chipping away at the British culture of common sense – or innate goodness and correctness. And I really don’t like him for it. How can we have a man leading this country who is on his third wife, having left his former when she had cancer? How can we?

Enough.

our latest spot

We made it to a small campsite near Leicester and, thankfully with Mrs Sun gallivanting about the place, it’s a pleasant place to be. We cycled 20 miles yesterday, some of which was down a bumpy towpath on the Grand Union … and it was fab. I’ve just come back from a 6 km run with no complaint from my calf (what’s that about?) and the good news is the new satellite system is working brilliantly, as is the internet system – we watched Netflix last night courtesy of a BT Wifi a good distance away. Remember that package cost me just under £80, so there really is no need to spend £150 or get a specialist to fit it. Let me know if you want advice.

lunch by the canal

We’re here until Tuesday, doing not a great deal (C’s just popped out for a run). I’ve started some work with the school and have picked up another individual client, so that’s all good. And I’ve promised my proofreader I’ll have the completed book 7 with her by the end of this week. That means I’ve got a bit to do to get the beta reader comments incorporated. A job for tomorrow, I feel.

the two Alfa boxes are all you need for Wifi routing in the van

Have a safe bank holiday weekend.

We have a dish …

Phew. We made it to mum’s last night having met every traffic jam between Bristol, Telford, Woburn and, eventually Colchester. It was a real wrench leaving Henry (and, ok, Rebecca) at her pals and it is true to say that I really miss them both. We made it to the satellite people, S&G Leisure, on Tuesday night, met up with the guy who looks after the place and then slept like babies. Whilst Doris was getting a new satellite fitted (Oyster Vision III – it’s really sexy) C and walked into Woburn Abbey grounds and what a delight that was.

I think most estates have the odd footpath and, sure enough, Woburn has one which leads almost to its front door. It was a 3 mile walk in, in unnecessarily chilly and wet weather, but it didn’t stop us enjoying the trek and then sitting on a tree stump in front of the house and having a picnic. By the time we got back the lads (it’s a family firm) were getting close to finishing. We had a discussion about where stuff should go and they, kindly, delivered everything we wanted. I couldn’t recommend them enough. 

Woburn Abbey in the background

lots and lots and lots of deer …

The technical stuff. The Vision III is self-seeking, in that you ask for a particular satellite – for Brits this is almost exclusively Astra 2 – and it sweeps the sky until it finds it. Our system automatically skews the receiver (LNB) to get the best possible signal. But it has a good number of satellites listed, so if you wanted to watch Eurosport you could lock onto Astra 1 … and our dish will do that automatically. However, and this was news to me, we have a separate box fitted which picks up Intelsat, a little known satellite. On this you can receive the standard Brit channels way outside the Astra 2 footprint, as far down as southern Spain. It’s technically not legal, in that UK authorities do not advertise this ‘back up satellite’, but the airwaves are free … so we can now get all the terrible news from this country wherever we are. I guess that’s good, no?

S&G Leisure were stars

Of course, and only a couple of lines on this, Dominic Cumming’s expose yesterday vindicated my deep sense of angst against Johnson and his crew’s handling of the pandemic. I know DC is not to be trusted, but even if half of what he says is true, all of my/our misgivings appear to be justified. Bloody people. I really can’t cope with them.

Mum’s fine. The new regime is working well. We met the cleaner this morning. She’s originally from Ghana and is lovely. I think that’s going to work out well. The aim remains that we keep mum in the house for as long as possible. She’d hate it in a home.

we made it to mum’s, dish and all …

We’re off tomorrow, heading west to pick up Bex and Henry a week on Sunday, before we come back here to meet great grandmother. That’s going to be quite a reunion – I am looking forward to it.

In the meantime, stay safe everyone.    

All exuberant

who’s the idiot in the red hat?

I have started to spend our daughters’ inheritance. That’s what it feels like. I bought a new starter battery for Doris (£120) as the current one has been fitted for five years. She turns over very slowly in the cold – but never fails to start. And, as the satellite dish lifts and turns from the vehicle battery and as the old dish has stopped a couple of times due to ‘Low Voltage’, I thought I’d get a replacement. It’s not a straightforward swap. There are more wires under the flap than in a Cray computer. Anyhow, it’s done now.

And I bought a set of roof rails for the car (Thule, second hand, used once for £50). We need those when the Ladley family head off to Cornwall in a couple of weeks. Add to that the new campernet and (how exciting?) the new Vision 3 satellite dish which is being fitted at Woburn – hopefully not by the chimps at the safari park – on Wednesday. I’ve mentioned the price before, so I won’t trouble you again. It actually takes quite an effort to write out the total without my hand shaking. Anyhow, you can’t take it with you … although you can leave it to your children. They’ll manage.

how degrading

What was interesting about the battery was I tested the old one this morning, it having sat on the garage floor overnight. Voltage – 12.73v. For any of you who knows anything about 12 volt batteries, that means it’s absolutely fine and we didn’t need to replace it. Oh well. It’s something else for Gumtree.

The good news is Henry is still fabulous. He is a scream – always smiling and (mostly) being well behaved. He also slept through last night from 7.30pm to 6.00am. Goodness, I sound like a worried parent when I should just be a contented grandpa. Which, of course, I am. I drove Bex and Henry to see old family friends yesterday and then on to school friends of hers. And, in a bit, we’re off to Jen and James for pizza. Then, now that Bex’s isolation is complete, next week is the mad rush around the houses to get Henry in front of all of the relies. It’ll be fine.

And we’ve both had our second dose of the AZ vaccine. In fact we’ve just got back from being jabbed. I have to say I am a little nervous about falling ill for a couple of days with it. I don’t want to miss a moment with R&H, but needs must.

second jab, yay!

That’s about it. Next post should be after we’ve had the satellite dish fitted. Hopefully I will be all exuberant and maybe I’ll post my first video of how it works.

Until then, stay safe.

I’m exhausted

I am exhausted. Henry is a bundle of energy and, rightly, whilst he’s with us that has been inflicted on us. It’s common knowledge that C’s not great when she’s had an interrupted night’s sleep (she makes up for it with faultless admin) and so, like when Henry was born, I’m number two on the midnight nappy and bottle shift. Along with that, our serene balanced and ordered days have been shattered by two additional people, one of whom requires constant attention. And it’s been fab. Henry is easily the best thing that’s happened to the pair of us since, I guess, we left the school and drove off into the sunset. Not only is he our grandchild, which makes him special, but he is also a beautiful and contented baby. If you look at him, he smiles. if you put him on the kitchen floor he will entertain himself for ages playing with anything that’s lying about (we try not to leave sharpened cutlery lying about). Sure he grizzles (who doesn’t?) but he never seeks attention. In our eyes he’s as perfect as he can be.

As perfect as they can be

Thankfully, however, they’re not with us for long otherwise we might need post-visit medical intervention. He’s a big lad for 6 months and weighs in at 11 bags of sugar. That’s quite a lot to pick out of a travel cot when your back’s as abused as mine. And he’s strong. He’ll fight you if he wants to get out of a hold, and you need all of your strength to stop him falling to the floor.

All in all … it is a pleasure. And we have a few more weeks of this. Yippee

Other stuff, but not much, has gone on. Bex continues to isolate (10 days is the charter), but having had one post-it-somewhere test come back negative, she went for a voluntary early release test in Clifton yesterday (yes, she’s allowed to travel for that – I’m not quite sure how that works. I drove her into Bristol …). And should that come back negative tomorrow, she can venture out. She still has to take a day 8 test (by post), before the government give her the all clear. Bear in mind she paid for a test before she left Korea, the total cost of testing is close to £700. And those costs will apply to any one thinking of holidaying in a orange flagged country. A family of four – around £2000 in tests.

We had Annie and Alasdair around for a lovely alfresco lunch yesterday (Bex stayed inside) and C’s sister is coming tomorrow, and Jen and James tomorrow night. We’re hoping to use our pals’ Peter and Karen’s pool on Saturday and take Henry for his first swimming lesson. I wasn’t a bad swimmer as did our Jen (we both competed). So we might have a budding Michael Phelps on our hands. Then it’s off north on a round-robin relies trip with Bex from Tuesday. We’ll have a chance to have a new satellite dish fitted (£2350 … yikes) and spend a couple of days with mum whilst Bex is doing her round-robin. And then we collect and her head off (with Jen) to Cornwall. That last bit looks a little bit like a family holiday. I look forward to reporting on that.

As perfect as they can be

I’ve had some minor work/coaching telephone calls. And I bit the bullet and bought a new internet extender for Doris. The old one was 8 years old and one part was irrecoverably broken. In the UK you can buy one of two systems: a Motorhome Wifi package which costs close to £200; or an Alfanet package (like our old one) … and that’s close to £150. Ebay has a dribble of second hand ones, but I lost a Motorhome Wifi bid at £92. By then I thought I might as well buy a new one for peace of mind. Anyhow, you can buy the two major parts separately for the Alfanet package for £85 … which I did. I was concerned because the system is not specifically set up for mobile use and requires some digital know how. I needn’t have worried I connected it and it worked first time. Fab. So broken loo and internet fixed. Tick. (Any questions about any of this, just DM me; I’m more than happy to help.)

And we have the gasman coming on Friday. I don’t do full annual habitation services on Doris (£150) as most of the stuff you can check yourself. Except the gas. I last had her done three years ago, so it’s probably about time we did it again. A man with a van is coming … £75. As you can see, it can be an expensive business.

I think that’s enough. There’s probably a nappy to change, or some toys to pick up before one of us ends up on our backside.

Oh, hang on. I think I’m v close to getting a new narrator. She’s very, very good. And as she’ll have some ownership, she might do wonders for the whole marketing shebang.

Wish me luck on nappy duty … and stay safe.

I smell

I’m not changing my fleece until Bex and Henry leave in 8 days (they go on to see friends and other relies, before we pick them up again and take them onto more relies). It’s pompadour purple, the fleece – and I bought it when we were in Korea last year. I’m not changing it because it already smells badly of baby sick and is crispy with dried snot and dribble. If I took it off it would make its own way to the wardrobe on its own. So, I’m not going to change it because whatever I stuck on next would end up the same way within four hours.

currently we can only crawl backwards, which is a bit awkward

Bex and Henry are clearly here. They arrived on time at Terminal 2 on Friday and, against all of the media hype, they were through customs within half an hour … having a baby helped. But it was like a dystopian movie. We waited in the long term car park for half an hour – which was pretty much empty. And the roads in an out were scattered with tumbleweed. All that was missing were some zombies.

Since then it has been one long baby fest. And that’s been magic. Henry is adorable. And of course we would say that. But he is. I don’t remember our kids at this age, mostly because I was foolishly working pretty hard, but I don’t remember them being this cute or easy. I guess that’s because we get to give Henry back when they leave in a month. And we don’t have to worry about all the things parents worry about on a day-to-day basis. But he could be really grizzly, which he isn’t. And he could be dour, and he isn’t that either. He’s pretty perfect. Anyhow they are in isolation until Wednesday. So it’s pretty much wall-to-wall baby. Thankfully we have a huge house for them to get lost in – he says tripping on a plastic toy, one of ton C has bought filling our very small sitting/dining room floor.

yay, CBBies!

Other than that, not a lot’s happened. I haven’t been at my best (so much so I took a covid lateral flow test yesterday, which was thankfully negative). But I have managed to start running again. Thankfully my calf has decided to not complain – yet. I’ve had three out of four beta reader comments back for book 7 in the Sam Green series – and they’ve been fab, which is great. And I think I’ve found a new narrator for Unsuspecting Hero‘s audio book. I’ll add more to that when I’m clearer, but if it comes off the woman who may take it on works for a TV company, so there is some possible advantage there. I remain v excited by the prospects of a series of audiobooks, but it is a complex process, involves someone else (which is costly) and takes effort. I think all this means I have decided to drop my leadership consultancy work. I have some work with the school in a couple of weeks but, after that, I think I’ll let it run out.

start them early

That’s it for now. Henry requires attention. Stay safe everyone.

There’s a thing

let’s start with something nice. This is a computer image drawn by our Jern of Henry. It’s brilliant, isn’t it?

It’s been a bit of a few days. But we’re making progress. Mum was very disoriented over the weekend and I almost drove to Colchester to make sure she was ok. in the end, via some lovely neighbours, we got a friend in and made sure she was safe. Anyhow, the outcome of this is (a little) against her wishes. We have upped her care to five days a week including a cleaner. It’s difficult, isn’t it? I have, with C’s support, been mum and dad’s go to person for years now, even when my brother was alive. It was just the way it fell. At every turn, getting support in has been a struggle with both of them arguing against it … and then both of them benefiting from the experience. Recently mum’s been chumpfing a little as she doesn’t know when the carers are coming in, or when they don’t help her in a way she thinks she should be helped. But they are my eyes and ears. In that respect they are essential.

As a proud woman, mum was particularly against having a cleaner. She says that she cleans the house and doubtless that is her intent. But she’s half-blind and we know that there’s so much more which can be done. Anyhow, after a couple of day’s of long carer exchanges and with a wonderful conversation with a Ghanaian cleaner from Colchester yesterday, we have a new system in place – where I have more control. Mum’s told me that she felt like she’d been reporting the headmaster, and I must work harder at being less instructive. But it’s done, I hope. (Oh, and the carers were concerned that I was being too directing, but without someone taking an overseeing role, it was impossible to know if they were meeting times and commitments, something mum was unclear on.) Oh well. Tis done.

I did ask myself if I was being particularly organised and efficient because I missed being responsible for other people? I don’t know. Maybe that’s the case. Oh well (again).

this is Mary in front of Ferret armoured car. I stick it here because I love Mary and I used to command a Ferret in a previous existence

We’re at Mary’s, which is nice. I’ve had a list of things to do, one of which was to replace Mary’s iPhone. Well, let me tell you. I hate Apple. We are Android/Google people. Apple is a mystery to me and, six hours after starting the switch, I was still no closer to getting onto Mary’s iCloud account to facilitate the switch. Never mind. I have got round the problem and now, as well as a new desk top computer, which I have sorted, she now has a working phone. Phew.

Bex’s route to us (she arrives tomorrow evening) has not been without issue. She had her pre-flight covid test yesterday At the same time she was asked for a ‘finger-prick’ to help test a new process. And … the test showed she has covid antibodies which, if it turned out to be the disease, would mean she would be whisked into government isolation for two weeks. No flight for Bex. Well, thankfully the actual test arrived this morning and she is in the clear. Thank goodness. Anyhow, the fun starts tomorrow.

my ‘I hate Apple’ face

And, here’s another thing. When I was a teacher I was responsible for, among other things, the cocurricular programme – and, specifically I ran the athletics/x-country programme and oversaw the CCF. Today I found out that two of ‘my girls’ have gone through Sandhurst (I knew of one of them). One of the girls has joined my old Regiment as a platoon commander … and the second has been offered an unconditional place along with her. How about that? Both girls are doing really well and I am so pleased for them.

The next time I write it will be Henry Time. I have absolutely no idea what that looks like. I’ll let you know.

Stay safe.

How much?!

I’m bored with politics. It seems to me that our electorate are more interested in going to war with France than they are concerned with the competence and integrity of our current cabinet. It doesn’t help that we have no effective opposition, but to call the Hartlepool by-election as a win for ‘change’, when the current government has been in power for 11 years is a little difficult to stomach. I suppose I shouldn’t care as long as someone’s paying my (and your) pension. What’s interesting is that I am not naturally left of centre. I actually think the Cameron/Clegg alliance was good and, as long as it’s fairly applied, I have nothing against austerity; we all have to live within our means. However, I have found that I am becoming more and more focused on social justice and equality, and if that makes me a Marxist, then so be it. Anyhow, I have temporarily given up on it all. Johnson looks unstoppable at the moment … I’ll live with it until they call me up to back fill a depleted Army to go and fight the French. I might get my white feather out at that point.

Phew.

It’s raining today and that’s playing havoc with my sinuses. So don’t ask me to be generous about anything. Apart from Henry, of course. C’s been out and helped the country’s balance of payments by investing in baby clothes and accessories. And we bought a car seat from Halfords yesterday. I couldn’t fit it for love nor money … and then C tried and we got no further. She was all for me going back into the shop and asking one of the teenagers who work there for assistance. No way. Well, we sorted it eventually. It was incredibly simple in the end, but at one point I though our seat belts weren’t long enough … or Henry might by a misshaped baby. Anyhow, it’s sorted.

I swore a lot

And good news and bad news about Doris’s long work list. I have fixed the loo. In the end it was much easier than I thought it would be. Taking it apart was straightforward and both of the devices which might have been broken (vacuum valve and return valve – £24 and £45) were fine once I played with them. I cleaned everything, put it back together again and it’s all sorted. Fab. Campernet (our wifi booster) has been more problematic. I thought I might have fixed it, and the system does pick up all of the available local wifis, but the signal qualities are really poor. And I have no idea why. So I have ordered a new antenna system (£16.99) which has just arrived. I’ll let you know.

sorted … very pleased with myself

The biggest issue is the satellite system. It’s 10 years old. I’ve fixed it once and serviced it regularly. But it is a complex system – it self seeks and then the knobby bit at the end (a quad LNB) skews on its own axis to get the best signal. It was/is the best on the market … which comes at a price: £2300 fitted. I could buy a reconditioned unit and replace like with like, but even that’s £1200. Well, we have bitten the bullet. We will have a new system fitted when we’re next travelling. In the meantime I’m cutting down on custard creams and bourbons.

the dish arm shouldn’t be pointing in that direction …

I still have a long list of jobs, but those are the biggies. The money doesn’t bother me. Doris is fab and I don’t have any other expensive hobbies (nor does C, apart from baby clothes). So we both agree it will be money well spent. I have started following a few more folk on Instagram who are fulltiming in Europe. And they’re managing … covid and all. One Irish guy is driving around Spain in an old Hymer – a similar model to ours, but older still. Fabulous. We know only too well that it’s not all glamour and there are complexities and issues – like, what happens if you get unwell? But, his/their posts make me smile and help keep my pecker up.

Bex and Henry arrive in Friday. That’s going to be fab, for sure. And tiring. And, we know at some point, a little exasperating as Bex, like all of us, has her ways. But, we couldn’t be looking forward to it more.

calm before the storm

In the meantime, stay safe everyone. Please. (And sorry for the political rants – and, for the record, my calf has twanged again. Ho hum.)

We’re back

we had a lovely walk along the River Wye

We’re back … and already I think we both wish we could have stayed away. C was heard moaning about ‘running two households’. Me? I was already longing for the simplicity of a home on four wheels and a daily changing view. Sure, we’re so lucky. First that we can escape in Doris. Not many people have a motorhome like her. And second, I don’t work to any known schedule and that makes getting away very easy. We are due to take a further ten days when we drop Rebecca and Henry off at her in-laws. And then, when Bex flies home at the end of June we do have, well … forever, if we wish. It helps that we had a really good time, with only two poor days of rain in three weeks. And, whilst it was always a bit parky, that helped when we were pushing hard up a hill or cycling as if we were being chased by a man with a machete.

So, Roland. The real answer is to look forward to the next break, and the break after that. And be thankful that we have a van like Doris which we both love.

That’s told me.

come on, Roland, look on the bright side

We have just under a week before we head down to Mary’s for a couple of days and then, flights and covid willing, we pick up Bex and Henry on the Friday. I have more than enough to fill my time with. I have told you about the things on Doris which need fixing (satellite; loo flush; internet) but there are a number of other niggles and ideas which we have agreed on. That’s going to keep me busy, for sure. C’s on a mission: and that’s to make sure everything is set for the grand arrival. We are driving the pair of them wherever they wish to go and, importantly, we are taken her, Henry and our Jen down to Cornwall for a three day break in June – more in-laws to see. It will be the first time the Ladley family have been away together since we had Christmas skiing in Alpbach, Austria in 2006 – just the four of us (well, five if you include Henry). I look forward to reporting on that!

our final spot … is there a better way to live?

We’re back a little earlier than expected mostly because we both want to vote tomorrow. In the 2019 GE I voted Labour, mostly because I was struggling with Johnson and the current Tory bunch. The local Labour candidate looked sensible and she had more chance of overturning the in-place Tory guy (who I am definitely not fond of). It was a protest vote as the Lib Dem and Green candidates had as much chance of winning as I have securing a major publishing deal. Well, you know what happened … 80 seat majority later. I am going to do the same again tomorrow – anything but Tory at the moment. Will it make a difference? I sense not. It seems that His Donaldness’s quip that he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and they still vote for him, appears to be the same with Johnson and his crew. There is such a lack of integrity … such a wealth of poor policy making, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m expecting too much from my leaders?

Ho hum.

Anyhow … stay safe everyone. We’re keeping our heads down so we remain safe for Rebecca and Henry’s arrival.

A bit knackered

I’m a bit knackered. We’ve been busy, whilst staying put. The campsite by the Severn has filled up and emptied again and we’ve watched the world go by. It is a fabulous spot and if you don’t mind climbing, either on foot or by bike, there are some fabulous walks, runs and cycles. And that’s what we’ve been up to.

oh look, a dam

We did the motte and bailey castle walk, which was fab. And then we cycled up to the local reservoir, which was quite a climb, but on top of the moorland, as beautiful as you like. It’s fascinating to find places which are reasonably close to us, but so unpopulated and deserted – like much of northern Scotland. It was a surprise and, with Mrs Sun peeking out from behind clouds and with a northerly wind to cool us down, it was one of our nicest bike rides, for sure.

We then had a day off (I did run a mile and a bit, straight up) by walking into town, which is lovely (Llanidloes). And then today we cycled up to a local forest for a picnic. The OS Map showed a ‘blue bike’ by a picnic site and, typically, as we pottered up on our e-bikes, we were met up and down by hardened cyclist who immediately looked down on us. But, in fairness to us, we were knackered at the top … and it wasn’t until we got down down and I checked our route that we realised we’d done 450 metres of climb in 8 miles (up). So well done us!

tireder than we look

And that neatly brings me onto the bikes. I know I’ve gone on and on about them since I started penning this blog over 7 years ago, but they are fab. It’s fair to say that when we reached the forest picnic site today, C was a bit tired and emotional but, if it wasn’t for the fact that I had left the keys in the door of the van (well, that’s where we thought they might be), the views at the top and the ride there was special. With our new(ish) batteries – 20 AHr each – we’ve done 32 miles of very hilly cycling in the past few days and we still have half a battery left. That’s quite something, I think. If you are thinking about buying one, don’t be shy about dropping me a comment and I will help out where I can. They have been a game changer for us … and they’re working well after 8 years ownership.

The keys, BTW, were in Doris’s door where I’d left them. My bad. 

trees and a lake

Doris has been put through her paces this time round. We’re on our fifth night without electric, which is a big thing, if you think about it. The two roof solar panels (200 watts in all) have been charging the lithium ion batteries without fuss. At one point we were drawing 15 amps into the batteries by way of recharge, which is no mean feat. Because the sun is high and the clouds infrequent, I haven’t deployed our 50 watt stand-alone panel, because there has been no need. And we have been using the inverter to boil water, rather than use gas. The kettle draws 60 amps, but only for a few minutes, and the sun (or the alternator, if we’re driving) quickly replenishes that. Ineterstingly I think our crux is going to be gas. We’ve left the heater on overnight whilcst we’ve been here and the fridge continues to suck gas. I reckon on two (refillable) 11kg cylinders we could probably manage two weeks in this sort of weather before we’d have to refill. Electric? Forever, I reckon.

However, one bit of bad news is the self-seeking satellite dish has broken. The on board box wouldn’t speak to the top box and, until I manually sorted it, it was lowering the dish out of position, which was in danger of breaking things on the roof and/or getting blown off if we were to drive away with it at an odd angle. I have two choices. The first is to have a go at fixing it when we get home … which I will. If that doesn’t work, and I don’t think it will, I’ll have to get a replacement. How much? £2,200 fitted. Possibly £1,800 if I fit it myself. I’ll keep you updated. I could get a reconditioned one for just over £1,000, but there’s no warranty, so going ne is likely to be the answer. 

Other than that, we’re fine. We’re heading back into England tomorrow and will stop somewhere for a few nights before we get home – readying ourselves for the Bex and Henry bonanza – on Friday. It’s going to be great.

And, you’ll be pleased to hear … no politics today. Just keep safe everyone.      

you gotta luv this photo