A few days in East Horsley Caravanning

Tuesday 8th May
We arrived at the Walton on Thames site to collect our Caravan. One hour later after checking everything we left for a long drive of about 8 miles to East Horsley where we arrived at about 13.30. The sun was shining and there were a few cloudy patches but we were given a great site overlooking the Lake. We spent about an hour getting the van level. The problem was that there was a depression in the ground which was not easily visible and this meant the van leant drunkenly to one side. Anyway we fixed this and continued setting up the water, loo and gas and then discovered that the 12 volt system which drives most things was not working - Damn!
After fiddling and reading all the books for about an hour we realized that there was something wrong which we could not fix. This is not an unknown issue and the caravan site had the business card of a company that they thought might be of help. We gave them a call and they will come tomorrow morning.
The rest of the evening we spent sorting out our things and making ourselves comfortable. This has taken longer than normal as we had almost emptied the van of all items. We then made a quick trip to raid the fridge at our house in Weybridge. Dinner was Lamb Navarine and rice, very nice.
And so off to bed.

Wednesday 9th May

It rained overnight and the weather for the rest of the week looks a bit damp. Anyway the engineer arrived and half an hour later after having found a loose connection in the fuse box, now we are running full speed and all systems are go..
We put up our gazebo as the weather at the moment is not too warm and to put up the full awning might be too time consuming when we won’t use it . Following lunch we walked in to East Horsley and did some shopping and came across the American owned butcher who naturally sells US Grade meat. We used to buy from this butcher several years ago. Anyway we purchased two good US Sirloin steaks. So tonight it’s steak and salad for dinner..
I will miss the Chelsea v Manchester United game on Sky TV tonight unless it’s on the radio? We shall see.
We like this place and so have extended our stay for another 8 nights, its £10.00 a night for everything and very good value. Will take some photos tomorrow and put on the website.

Thursday 10th May
Well the weather is not getting any better!!. It’s still raining and looks to continue for at least the next week. Great.
We went to the Gym this morning and the Cheslea- Man U match was being shown again, that got the heart pumping.
Had to go back home to meet with a Chimney specialist to discuss what is possible with regard to our lounge chimney and fireplace. As part of our house renovation we have thought of moving our fireplace about two feet to the right and this could mean moving or changing part of the chimney. So we met a knowledgeable technician who said it may be possible, perhaps not the full distance, but certainly at least part of the way. It is our intention to remove the coal fireplace and replace with a modern gas fire which can heat the room quickly.
Went back to caravan for dinner and the heavens opened some more, I can’t think there will be any water shortage in our area this year, we shall see. On the way back to the caravan we stopped off in Argos and bought a LCD/DVD TV for the caravan and so was able to catch up with the news and watched a very interesting re-enactment type documentary about Saddam Hussain’s daughters who were married to important members of Saddam government. It was well done but finished late.
And so off to bed.

Friday 11th May

Well blow me we woke up and it was still raining, thinking of trading in the caravan for a boat!! Anyway we had decided to take a cross country trip to another Caravan Site near Redhill. It was well organised but not so attractive as East Horsley. After that we headed back to Cobham for lunch. On the way we passed the Chelsea Football Training Ground, Oh what a hallowed place!!! There was even some fans outside waiting to get player signatures
We had a quick lunch and did some shopping and then went back to East Horsley.
When will this rain stop? Today is our daughter Joanne’s birthday and we are helping her tomorrow with a BBQ at her home for about 25 people. Should be a challenge cooking if this rain continues.
It will be an early start tomorrow as we need to go shopping for the BBQ food with Joanne.

You think traffic is bad on the M25-Look at this!

The Boeing 737 stuck in city road

By Monica Chadha BBC News, Mumbai

No-one is assuming responsibility for moving the plane

Residents of the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) are wondering how long it will take to remove a disused Boeing 737 that has been abandoned in a busy road.

The decommissioned aircraft was being driven through the city at the weekend when the driver got lost and then abandoned the plane.

The Boeing used to belong to the private company Air Sahara.

Some locals are angry that no action is being taken to move the plane. Others say it is a tourist attraction.

It appears that after taking a wrong turn, the driver found himself facing a flyover that was too low for him to take the plane under.

The driver has not been seen since and no-one is assuming responsibility for the 737.

Sunday surprise

Restaurant owner Ramji Thapar is one of the puzzled residents of the Chembur area of the city.

Pradeep Malhotra - 'My work is suffering'

He woke up Sunday morning to find the aircraft on a giant trailer abandoned on the road.

"Saturday night I shut shop and go home and everything is fine," he told the BBC news website.

"Sunday morning when I get here, this aircraft is here near my restaurant!"

The fuselage of the decommissioned aircraft, with the engine, wings and tail removed, was being taken by road to the capital Delhi late on Saturday night.

Reports say it was supposed to be used at a flight training academy.

The plane has become the centre of attraction with people coming from all over the city to take a look.

"I've been fascinated with planes and never seen one so closely," engineering student Vamsi Shastri said. "It's huge!"

His friend Ankur Rane said, "It's fascinating to see an airplane on the roads when one is only used to seeing cars and auto rickshaws."

No joke

However, for Pradeep Malhotra, who runs a catering service in the area, the plane has become a huge problem because it is parked right in front of his shop.

"My work is suffering because the food cannot be loaded in the big vehicles," he said.

"I have to load it in the smaller vans and then carry them to the bigger ones parked at the back.

"I don't know how they are going to take it out because you can't reverse it, its too big, and you can't go further down the road."

Some residents said they had not complained simply because they assumed that the authorities would be making it a priority to get the plane out of the city.

Five days on, it is still not clear who is responsible for the aircraft and its transfer to Delhi.

France Visit

Off to France we went.

This visit to France was quite important but we had such little time and so did things in a bit of a hurry. We left Portsmouth on the Brittany Ferries Sea Cat to Cherbourg, a fast but not necessarily comfortable boat, It travels at 45 knots and can make quite a splash when it hits the waves. Arriving in Cherbourg in the rain we headed off South to see my sister Madeleine and her husband for a few days. Ken, my brother in law, is helping us work on the development of Piplin House and this was the main reason to visit them in a little town called Kervalo which is quite a few miles West of Rennes but much closer to a very nice sea side town called Vannes.
Five hours later after a very pleasant country drive and avoiding motorways we arrived to a lovely glass of champagne. A very nice dinner followed with a few glasses of wine accompanied the meal plus some special wine tasting.
As a present we took them gifts to remind them of blighty, a nice bag which I now realise I did not photograph, of a selection of the best of England. Spam, Corned beef, mushy peas,baked beans,Newcastle Brown Ale, Pork pie and of course Salad Cream. It was all well received together with best newsprint we could find, The Daily Star and The Sun, complete with the busty page three beauties.
The following morning we worked on the plans for our house and then headed of to Vannes to visit the shops and look in Castorama, the French division of B&Q. Stuff is so much cheaper here than UK, up the 40 percent less so we may purchase our bathroom furniture here.

The next day we did a tour by the coast to Port De Navalo and also Port de Crousty, both extremely nice places with tons of boats. Here we had a nice lunch before heading of the see a beautiful Château which was under historic repair.

A lovely day and the weather was great and the country side was rolling and extremely nice
In the evening a few friends of Madeleine and Ken stopped by for an early drink. One of the couples we met were good friends with a Doctor friend we had known in our Hong Kong years. Small world isn't it

We left the following morning and took a quick look at the other house they have purchased which will require quite some work to make it habitable. Then to Courtenay via Rennes and Orleans and a journey of around 350 miles. A very nice day of travelling thro some great countryside before we arrived at our friends Gerard and Mirreille . We have stayed in their house before but know they have finished the building upstairs and added some new bedrooms and bathroom, Gerard did a lot of the work himself.
The next day we met Gerard and Mirreilles daughter and granddaughter. Marjorie who is 18 in August will stay with us for one month whilst undergoing work experience in Godalming.

Here's looking at you kid!!!

The next day we left early for Calais and the boat home. As the following day May 1st was a public holiday the roads around Paris were very quiet and we made good time and arrived in Calais for a 1.30 pm lunch. !20 bottles of wine later we headed to Dunkirk to connect with the Norfolk Line Ferry to Dover. We thought we would try them against P & O and Sea France. These are new ferries and very nice inside and very comfortable although it does take about half an hour longer on this route.
We arrived home at about 8.30 pm a cup of tea and of to bed.
A very useful and successful trip.

To see more photographs of our French trip please go to our Photo Blog on Phanfare. See link on side bar