where art collides philosoperontap

includes exclusive NYMR crew changeover vid

Bright breezy morning here at the Whitby Holiday Park. Not a cloud in the sky. Perfect British summer holiday weather. The kettle is on. Tea will be on it’s way shortly. All is well.

I woke up very early again this morning thinking I’d left a light on but no in fact it was the sun. Should think about getting an eyeshade. On the other hand why waste the day. I did have to go out to check out a noise. Think we had a seagull on the roof. The little bugger had also been at our rubbish bag so had to retrieve some of it and return to its rightful place.

After that fell asleep again and had another hour and a half or so. That extra bit of kip is always the best innit.

Walking around the site last night came across another T2, also called Betty. She had a full width bed inside that looked very comfortable. Have decided I’m going to take a picture of every T1 and T2 I see. Might be interesting. This one was a left hand drive and in immaculate nick.

Today we are going home. We were going to have to leave relatively early in order to get John sorted for his week of work experience at Colt in London (arranged by Colt’s newest employee his sister Hannah). Now we hear he is off to Edgebaston with Joe. They will have a great time. Probably still means we will be leaving early as Anne will end up doing all the packing herself. We shall see. I wouldn’t mind swinging by to see the trains at Grosmont before we turn the van South.

The weather forecast is looking good for the next week or two which bodes well for our trip to the Isle of Man.

I must say that the fridge, about which I was somewhat sceptical, has done really well for us. We have had it plugged in to the electrical hookup. I’ve also had the 12v supply that feeds it switched off. It sits directly above the fridge and gets quite warm so not optimal when it comes to refrigeration. Might discuss that with Coops.Anyway the food is cold and I might even need to turn it down a setting or two.

One thing that has stuck in my mind this trip is that there are a lot of caravan parks around Whitby. I guess it’s brought prosperity to the town but they are a bit of a blight on the landscape.

Tonight we are off out to Steve and Helen Dowse’s 25th wedding anniversary. A good time should be had by all. Steve has been one of my camping buddies over the years. Works for Openreach. We had been expecting Joe to drop us off there, at Dunholme Village Hall, but will have to instigate plan B now that he is going to Edgebaston. Ah well. Plan B is probably a taxi.

Warming up nicely here on pitch 39. I think the sun must have risen above the caravan next door. It’s a motorhome actually but I put them almost in the same bracket – caravan with an engine.

Will be finishing off the bacon and sausage this morning. I’ve also kept some mushrooms and half a tomato and last night on our way home we bought a loaf of “Champion Yorkshire Bread” from the park shop. Tha nose.

One of the problems of getting up early and writing a diary entry, having only just written yesterday’s is that you quickly run out of things of a diary nature to say. This is the opposite problem to some days where I have had to hastily jot down a few facts and leave it at that.

Of course a diary shouldn’t just be a list of things you have done in the day. It should reflect the innermost you:) I’m probably not ready to let you have the innermost stuff yet. It may come. To some extent it could be unfair on some people living and I might bump into them. After all Samuel Pepys wrote his diaries in code for exactly this reason. He didn’t have to worry about being read by millions on tinterweb though. Neither do I actually but you never know…

I might have an unpublished version for release posthumously. This would have all the juicy stuff in it. Not sure I have the time, or the juice to do it.

Right, breakfast time…

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In the end we went on a train trip – Grosmont to Whitby (of all places). There was a 90 minute layover in Whitby. Video is a long one but shows a crew changeover on the NYMR – I was just expecting to capture the train arriving in the station but this was a bonus, if you like that sort of thing:)

Hot and sticky drive home. Aircon full on. Ie window open and arm hanging out, guvnor. 24 degrees at 5.30 in Lincoln.

Walk to Robin Hood’s Bay

Sat outside the van having breakfasted very well on bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomato and fried bread. We are walking to Robin Hood’s Bay today for a spot of lunch. 10 mile round trip along the coast.

Quite a wet night but the site has dried out nicely and today looks like being a goodun. The rain “unfortunately” meant we “had” to get a taxi back from Whitby. Wouldn’t have been a particularly pleasant walk up past the Abbey and around the coastal path especially as it was getting dark.

V nice curry at Indian Moments last night. Had only been open 2 weeks and they brought us a complimentary brandy and baileys as a digestif. No idea how they thought Anne would want the Baileys and me the brandy:) She downed hers in one almost. Found a couple of good pubs in Whitby – The Endeavour and The Black Horse. Both up there on Trip Advisor and both proper pubs as opposed to the food toting tourist establishments. That’s not to say there were no tourists there. Us for example.

Reusing some of my Coast to Coast walk kit today. Didn’t bring the kecks. Wearing shorts instead. Also my Osprey laptop bag instead of the Deuter which I thought would be overkill.

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Made it to RHB at a leisurely 2mph. 2 ½ hours. Loads of people waking the other way but nobody else seemed to be heading South. Unless we started at a different time I suppose. Lunch at the Victoria Hotel at the top of the hill. Cheese sandwich somewhat overloaded with mayonnaise but good sized portions. After a stroll down to the beach and a cup of tea and ginger cake we caught a cab back to the campsite. Opted for spending more time in Whitby rather than walking all the way back.

Now chillin before having a shower and heading out again.

It’s been generally lovely weather today except for a couple of unforecast showers. Perfect camping weather really The good visitors of the Whitby Holiday Park are all sat outside their caravans enjoying their holiday. Particularly one bloke across the way who has a cast on his foot so probably not mobile enough to walk into town to see the sights.

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Walked into Whitby. Had a bit of a pub crawl including a cocktail bar where there was no room  to shake a cat. Most of the other pubs were pretty much dives. We tried booking into a few restaurants but all were fully booked. Ended up at Burgsy’s which happened to be number 1 on trip advisor. Just basic home made burgers. Bottle of shiraz cost £15 and the whole bill only came to £37. Barg.

It’s now only 19.30 and we are back at the campsite. People are just starting to go out but we are back on the countdown to bed. We’ll have to stick it out for another couple of hours really.

I have a couple of decent reds in the cupboard so they may make it easier. Most of the caravanners are congregating outside their vans. Dunno if they’ve eaten. Lots of them have dogs. Seems to be a bit of a common denominator for a caravanner. A couple just walked past and suggested it might be time to stop tapping in on the laptop and think about beertime. Honestly. As if everything revolves around beer! 🙂

It’s funny how people change when they are on holiday. Someone who has turned up in a caravan leaves his home life behind and has an equal status to everyone else who has also turned up in a caravan. It’s all about the caravans and the common interest. There isn’t very much common interest between a caravanner and someone with a VW T2 bay.

Watch the video

videos speak a thousand words

Pottering innit

The featured image is the shelving unit I bought from the BHS closing down sale.  A piece of British high street history. It is now loaded with stuff from the shed. Boxes of weedkiller, a gazebo, some gardening tools. Stuff like that. I can’t be bothered to nip out and take another pic.

Today has been quite leisurely. Pottering around with the camper, printing off boarding passes for the IoM trip, tidying the bench in the garage etc. Bought a couple of plastic baskets to put in the van cupboard and changed John’s train tickets. He is now going a week early in order to do some work experience at Colt Telecom, Hannah’s impending employer. Staying with Tom which is not only v handy but also only a short tube ride away.

We are off out to see the Lincoln Mystery plays tonight. Never been before. Took a quick look to see what this one was about and discovered that it lasts 2 ½ hours. Gulp. There is an interval after an hour. We can take a judgement at that point. It’s outdoors and currently raining but I think it’s just a passing shower. The forecast is no rain. Anne went out for lunch (again 🙂 ) with some pals so it’s just the lads and I eating before we head out. Steak pie. mm.

Tomorrow Anne and I are off to Whitby in the camper so look out for lots of pics and vids. Ciao amigos.

Hannah off on travels

Busy day in prospect. Potentially off to Grimsby to buy a CBE switch for the van to drive the tap. Might test the functionality with a normal light switch first. Also need a bigger plastic water container for the sink.

Also going to fit the on/off switch for the fridge. Need to be able to isolate the fridge when it isn’t in use to avoid draining the leisure battery. We are off to Whitby on Thursday so getting the last few bits and bobs sorted.

Simon the technician from Camper UK advised that he would keep the same fridge. Sticking in a new more efficient job is going to be problematic. Venting to allow sufficient air circulation isn’t going to be easy, particularly as we don’t want to cut holes in the side of the van. Simon reckoned we would get 2 or 3 days of leisure battery life when using this fridge. This is better than I was led to believe by the previous owner who figured it would only be 12 hours or so. The clue is to plug the fridge into the mains the night before leaving so that everything is cooled before using the battery.

Hannah is off to Italy today for three weeks. Al Ward is swinging by at 8.30 to take her and Sarah (Ward – her travelling companion) to the station. V exciting. It’s going to be a fantastic trip. They have done a great job organising the travel and the accommodation. Fair play.

I’ve been waking up very early. Today it was before 5am again. You wonder where the line is between just waking up early because you’ve had enough kip and insomnia. I tend to wake up earlier in the summer because of the light mornings, despite having very dark curtains. It’s not a bad time of day to be up.

Last night was a quiet night in. We all sat and watched University Challenge. It’s unusual for all 5 of us (Tom lives in London) to watch the TV together. When I was a kid watching the TV was a communal family event. Nowadays we have so many gadgets that provide the same service that folk watch it in their own space. Anne will even sit in the kitchen and watch stuff on her iPad in preference to sitting in front of the TV.

We are lucky that our house is big enough to fit a family of 6 without getting on top of each other. It’s often difficult to know if someone is even in. We need a pager. A loudspeaker system that calls family members to the phone. Could also be used to call them to the dinner table.

We do make an effort to eat together, at least for the evening meal but often for lunch if we are in. It’s v important, even though it can be a very noisy affair if everybody is at home. Can be v stressful 🙂 Last night we had falafel cooked by Hannah. Very good fair play. It’s our effort to make Mondays a meat free day. Didn’t totally work as we had a McDonalds for lunch but hey… I discovered last night that I like Harissa paste. Why haven’t I noticed this before? A mix of red chilli, garlic and tomatoes. Great stuff.

One of the things about getting up early and sitting at the computer is that the time does go very quickly. It’s all about the Third Law of The Internet. Nuff said.

It’s the start of the Olympics coming up this weekend. London 2012 was brilliant. Rio has had a lot of debate surrounding the readiness, poor state of Athletes’ Village, Russian doping and subsequent bans. One hopes that it will all go ok. It does seem that the Olympic Games are getting to be too big a commercial entity. Lots of sports trying to muscle in on the act, understandably I suppose. Big bucks.

I’ll probably watch a lot of the events. Interesting really that we will sit down and watch the Olympics but never look at most of the sports in the intervening four years. We went to London 2012 but I doubt that we would travel any distance to the games. Prices shoot up. I remember that London was quite empty. Most of the normal tourists stayed away. We did a last minute booking for the Blur gig at the Hyde Park last night celebrations and were able to get the Waldorf Hotel quite cheaply. Lots of unsold rooms.

It’s rained overnight. I need the lawn to dry out today in order to empty the shed and stick the new ex-BHS shelving unit in. Needs reassembling but that shouldn’t take too long (!!!???). The important bit is putting things back in the right place to Anne’s satisfaction 🙂 Also need to get on and progress buying the new network switch (long overdue upgrade to GigE + PoE) and maybe even nail the new CCTV spec I have had suggestions. Hikvision. Need to get the right cost/performance spec.

5 1/2 hours of traffic jams

Great night at the Drill Hall last night with Julie Felix and Lindisfarne. Truth be told we only got back from dinner in time to see the end of Julie’s set but the audience clearly loved her. In fact I looked her up and she was really famous in the sixties and still going strong at 78 years of age. Fair play.

Anne and I had a lovely meal at Chimichanga Mexican restaurant on the Brayford. The staff were friendly and the food, whilst a chain recipe, was perfectly adequate. We were out to enjoy ourselves in any case.

Today we set off at 9ish to go and pick up John and Jo Donnerstag from the YNOT festival. Stopped en route at the Post office in the bail to post Hannah’s Student Finance forms.  Had to wait as we were a little early. Turned out to be a 5 ½ hour ordeal – lots of traffic. Stopped at Maccy D’s in Chesterfield to refuel. When we arrived home Ashley rang to say he was ready to help pick up the BHD shelving unit so I hot footed it down there (Anne gave me a lift).

Miraculously we not only picked up the shelving unit but also the rear shelf of the Peugeot. I’d accidentally left ti there the other day when we had the first aborted trip to pick up the shelves. Good people at BHS. Shame they are going to be out of work.

fish at 85

It’s another 5am Sunday morning. When you are awake you are awake. Eyes need to clear somewhat but otherwise fine. Looks like another warm day in prospect. Anne and I are off to see Lindisfarne at the Lincoln Folk Festival at the Drill Hall. Looking forward to it. The only downside is that the beer selection at the Drill Hall is rubbish. Run by the council… We are having dinner somewhere in town which will be nice, just the two of us.

Enquiries starting to come in for the campervan through the camperbug website. None have bitten yet, other than an advanced booking for next year but one of them must do sooner rather than later. I have a couple of little wiring jobs to do this week before we head up to Whitby. Also had an enquiry for this week which would put the kybosh on the Whitby trip (for which I’ve paid in advance for the campsite) but business is business.

Was quite late to sleep last night – 11.30 ish. Anne was watching the Celebrity Masterchef Final in bed on her iPhone so I drifted off. It was a quiet Saturday night in despite there being attractions all over the place – Joe playing at the Jolly Brewer, and bands on at both the Morning Star and the West End Tap. Friday was such a long day though that the body needed a quiet night aven though it was a Saturday. The days all blur into one anyway.

Cardiff was a successful trip. We had a bbq at Sue’s following a lovely lunch at Fish at 85. Bbq’d breakfast on Saturday morning and then went to Cardiff Bay for a looksee before heading home.

Facing a busy few days. Have to go to Matlock to pick John and Joe Donnerstag up from the YNOT Festival on Monday morning and then figure how I’m going to get the shelving unit I bought back from BHS. Need a pal with a van – I have someone in mind.

Then I have to do Hannah’s student loan form, the paperwork for which still hasn’t arrived. I have printed something off but it doesn’t look like the one I sent off for Joe! The Student Finance company is a bit of a joke tbh. It’s not funny though. It’s stressful for everyone involved. I’ve found an online version but it won’t print off properly. It’s 12 different GIFs of the form!

Whilst I was trying to print the forms off the printer came up with a message saying I was running low on ink so I ordered some online from HP. Nw that is an efficient system. Printer website directed me to HP and a few clicks of a button and the ink will be on its way. Not particularly cheap but efficient and effective. Student finance could learn a lesson or two from them

down the bay

balmy evening in Cardiff

Watch the vid

pizza pizza

Got to cram a lot in today. 9am dentist. Then it’s take the van to CamperUK to get the sink sorted and get some advice on fitting the fridge, After that it’s downtown to get a new SIM and pick Rich up and if possible go to the back door of BHS to pick up the shelving unit I bought yesterday. Hopefully I will be able to dismantle it and fit it in the estate car. May have to do that after Rich has gone.

It’s a 5am start today. Reminds me of an early morning in Greece. Although I have been trying to get some work done pretty much most of the rest of the world seems to be on holiday so not much is happening and I am almost by default also on holiday. Life is pretty relaxed anyway.

The phone arrived yesterday pretty much at the start of the 1 hour window given by DPD. Fairly stressed looking driver. I was delivery number 94. All the deliveries seemed to be within half a mile or so of our house.

The first immediately noticeable thing about the phone was the quality of the camera. It is seriously good, especially when compared with that of the Kindle Fire I have been using, which I know is no real comparison. The other thing is the speed. No more waiting for web pages to load.

Very successful pizza making session last night. Joe made the dough and we all did our own toppings and cooked the pizzas on a special stone on the bbq. Came out like a wood fired pizza. The bbq has been a result this year what with the success of the rotisserie.

John is off to the YNOT festival today, after his tennis coaching stint. He has been helping out at the Eastgate Tennis Club Summer Camp. The festival will be a real contrast with the summer camp – grunge versus clean cut. We’ve been digging out kit for him. Already looks as if he has a ton of stuff without adding in the cans of cider he will be smuggling in. Warm cider, yuk.

bought a shelving unit

Got an email last night saying that my phone insurance claim had been approved and a new one would be despatched within 3 working days. This morning woke up to an email with the DPD tracking link showing that the delivery will arrive between 16.35 and 17.35. Yay. I will be whole again.

Did some work on the campervan sink but have decided to leave it to the experts – CamperUK are looking at it first thing in the morning. That’s after I’ve been to the dentist and then downtown to pick up Richard from Lonap and a shelving unit I bought from the BHS closing down sale. It’s a real result at £25 for a very solid double sided unit each with three shelves. Just so happens we need one anyway. Also bought two good solid wooden boxes at £5. You know it makes sense.

Picked up Hannah and Sarah Ward from the train station, dumped their bags in the car and went for lunch at Chimichangas on the Brayford. Sat outside in the sun on the off chance of seeing Guy Martin practising for some hydrofoil speed record. Lots of crowds there but no sign of Guy when we were there. No matter.

En route back to the car bought Joe a second hand hard drive for £4 (40GB) so that he can learn to build a linux server and finally stopped at FatFace to buy a new pair of shorts – nice red pair. Might take a pic when I have my phone back. Will need to get a new sim tomorrow. Jobs jobs jobs.

Weather is still perfect. Tomorrow afternoon is supposed to be wet but the next week is looking good.

good night’s sleep fwiw

Another quiet night in last night. Watched a Beach Boys documentary. Pet Sounds. V good.  Saw the Beach Boys at Wembley Arena a long time ago. The amazing thing was that the hits kept coming. You thought they could surely not have any more songs you knew but no.

Also watched Robot Wars. Quite enjoyed it. Took tom to see it in Sheffield when he was a lot younger.

Sat in the TV room as it got dark then went and closed the back doors. Was another productive day. We can be satisfied.

Anne cooked a lasagne for dinner. The four of us sat round to eat. The norm over the past year has been three of us with Joe, Hannah and Tom being away. A full house now becomes a real luxury. Very noisy mind you:)

After dinner Joe went out to a jam session at some pub or other. He is cramming in the opportunities to play music.

This morning woke up after a great night’s sleep if somewhat sweaty – we don’t open our front window as the noise of the traffic keeps Anne awake. Out early to Tesco to get some bread for John’s packed lunch. He continues his career as an assistant tennis coach today at the Eastgate Club summer camp. Keep him off the streets:). Whilst at Tesco picked up two packs each of strawberries and raspberries that had just been reduced in price. They won’t last the day in our house.

Got to do some work today. Things have slowed down a little as people go on holiday but I can still get something done. Will also have to try and fit in a trip to the tip (possibly two trips) and see if I can get in to see John Hill to pass judgement on my tooth. Urgh.

But first a swim.

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The silhouettes are beginning to appear. It is 21.05, to use the 24 hour clock. Five past nine pm to some. The TV was switched off but is now back on. Something of interest. No doubt.

I have a wood pigeon for company. I can’t see it but I know it is there. It might well be looking at me. Sinister. Maybe. Brainless bird.

The bright screens in front of me illuminate with out a flicker. No flickering screens. No. Smooth screens. High definition screens.  The bewilderment of Charlie Chaplin. Were he still alive today. The flicks. Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. The smooths.

Something occasionally tells me to go out and buy an airgun for the purpose of taking shots at the pigeons and the squirrels. It is never a serious consideration. Never saw the point of gratuitous slaughter. Gratuitous slaughter. Now that’s a phrase that makes you think. Sit up man. I’ll leave it to nature.

Tonight we watched University Challenge. Liverpool were eliminated from the competition. In one fell swoop. A wave of Paxman’s wand. The press of the buzzer. Or lack of it. That’s why they were knocked out. An insufficiently deep knowledge of obscure subjects. 19th century musicals, the mathematics of deep space, Greek philosophers, early 20th century medical breakthroughs, events of 1915, heraldic symbols. You get the idea. Liverpool University did not. Someone has to go…

A cough penetrates the two walls or three doors. Most likely the latter.

I’ve been researching my trip to China. Printing off the visa application. Looking at the hotels I will be staying at. Thinking about the possibility of getting a jacket made whilst I’m out there. If I have time. I don’t do suits.

& crispy duck from rotisserie

Pesky toothache is back. Infact half my lower lip is numb. Will have to go and see John Hill tomorrow. Whilst 2016 has been a fun year it has also been characterised by toothache. It’s an age thing!

6am and it’s looking like another great day ahead weather wise. Had a very successful crispy duck spit roasted on the bbq yesterday. 2 ½ hours. Anne sourced pancakes from downtown and Joe cooked a stir fry. We ate out on the patio.

Also collected a load of duck fat having cleaned the drip tray on the Weber. It’ll be slightly Chinese spices flavoured but I’m sure we will be able to use it for roasties. Talking about Chinese I haven’t yet mentioned my trip to Shanghai at the end of August. Just over a week. Taking in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Should be fun. Need to get visa sorted.

It’s very still out there, No rain overnight. Great time of day. I must refill the bird feeder. We had a fairly productive day yesterday despite my spending over an hour on hold trying to get through to the mobile phone insurance people in response to an email. Bit annoying because on my first attempt it took 45 minutes only to find that the girl at the other end couldn’t hear me. Had to go through the same process all over again.

In the end they told me they hadn’t received my proof of purchase. The work of seconds to rectify and a bit odd as I had already uploaded it when I first purchased and registered the phone.

The biggest annoyance of not having a phone is not being able to take pics and vids. I’m having to resort to screenshots and others’ photos for these diary entries. Have to keep them going as this is going to turn into a book at the end of the year. I’ve done ok so far.

Yesterday was a great cricketing day. We ramped up 589 against Pakistan and they are 57 for 4 in reply. A drubbing in prospect. This is the right kind of test match. At least it isn’t one of those where you are constantly having to turn off the radio because it is going frustratingly badly. On the other hand we do need these games to be a little closer. I suppose Pakistan did with the first test thugh god know how based on yesterday’s performance.

Popped down to the West End Tap for a few glasses of lime and soda last night. Joe was sitting in with Jazz Orbit. Came away before the end. Past my bedtime:) It’s unusual to see me out late on any night. I’m an early doors kind of guy. As are most of my peer group.

We are very much now in the holiday season. Schools broke up  on Friday and the news is full of huge delays at the Port of Dover because the French Authorities have an ongoing state of emergency and are doing lengthy security checks on all travellers. You can understand why they are doing this. They do need to throw more resources at it though.

As well as toothache the year might also be characterised by the growth in violence generally in our global society. Massacres, bombings, shootings all over the place.  I think we have got away with it here in the UK although we have had problems in the past. The world is changing for the worse.

The only thing to do is focus on nice things. Keep the bird feeder topped up:)

I have just worked out how I can use photos taken with the kindle fire. They are automatically uploaded to Amazon Drive so I just have to go there with my macbook and download them. Bit of a faff but any port in a storm innit. Hadn’t really registered that I was getting free storage with Amazon. 5GB. I may have mentioned this before but it is a real nuisance having to rely on the Amazon ecosystem with the fire. Especially the Silk browser. However at only £35 it is difficult to complain. I just rarely use the device.

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Finished the bath sealant. Finicky, hot sweaty job. Watched a how to vid first which proved worthwhile. Main tip is to use masking tape. Meant that my amateur efforts ended up with a good straight line. Now chillin’ on the deck chair on the deck – the only place where there is shade at this time of day. Listning to the warm up for the cricket.

Next job is empty out the workshop. It isn’t really a workshop these days. It’s a brick garden store. Very handy as we can keep a lot of stuff in there but it does end up very untidy as things tend to just get chucked in. Needs a bit of ivy removing from the outside as well. This may get done. V shall C.

So work is done for the day. We have treated ourselves to a Magnum-like ice cream from the freezer that Anne has been keeping quiet about. I’ve had a shower and donned a clean pair of shorts and a white linen tshirt. I shall have to think what to take to China clothes wise. Shanghai and Hong Kong are going to be quite a bit warmer and more humid than here. Might invest in another pair of shorts. Might also be able to buy some gear out there though I doubt they have my size. Didn’t the last time I went which must have been a good 15 years ago. Bought a large silk dressing gown that still turned out too small. Tom appeared in it at Latitude.

Did a post Latitude VW Campervan post on Anne’s Vans. Starting to build up the promo. Still one or two bits need sorting out. Needs a fridge that will last a few days on the leisure battery. The fridge we have now is good for when running the engine or when using an electrical hookup but the folk who had it before us only ever went to posh caravan club campsites. That’s not our style. We wouldn’t mix easily with caravaners although we do have one or two friends with a caravan that we have been away with for the weekend.

Ordinarily now would be a perfect time to crack open a cold beer. Plenty of time until dinner and sitting in the back garden relaxing. Don’t really feel like one though so will give it a miss.

leave your worries on the doorstep

Aargh it’s another gorgeous day in Glockamorra. What is this thing called sun? Grab your coat and grab your hat. No rewind. Just grab your hat and leave your worries on the doorstep. No need for a coat in this weather. Just sun cream.

Dropped Hannah off to catch the 09.30 train from Lincoln Central direct to the the heart of the metropolis, Kings Cross Station. Except the train was cancelled and they were putting on a replacement bus service to Newark. Hannah was fine with it although she won’t have her seat reservation. She’ll be right.

Here is my current jobs list:

Reinforce trapdoor in attic
Affix new deckchair canvas
Tidy workshop
Put away camping stuff
Clean trailer
Fix Anne’s drawer

Also taking Betty round to CamperUK to see if they can advise on fridge fitting.

This evening I am spit roasting a duck. The rotisserie has proved to be a huge success. V succulent meat when cooked with it.

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Made the mistake of calling the mobile phone insurance people this morning. They sent me an email asking me to do so. Now been on hold for at least 30 mins. I have to stay on the phone now having made the time investment. After 45 minutes I got through but the person at the other end couldn’t hear me! Called again and eventually discovered that they hadn’t received my proof of purchase. I did upload this when I first registered the phone and have now resent it by email.

Fixed the drawer whilst I was waiting on the phone. Now also scraped the old sealant from around the bath in preparation for putting some clean new stuff down. Note not on the jobs list but had a pressing need to be done.

Cricket going well. 2nd test England v Pakistan at Old Trafford. 427 for 5. Root 185 n/o, night watchman Woakes out for 58. Not bad. It’s a comfortable listen when it’s going well.