A few interesting days

As reported in the last Blog we planned a trip to Highbridge near Burnham on see to a caravan dealer to look at other awning flooring but frankly after about 15 minutes it became clear that the good stuff from Isabella was really expensive whilst we already had some of the cheaper stuff and so we left after buying loo chemicals, so not exiting visit. From there we went to Burnham on sea which was quite crowded and we had intended to visit a little beachside café for a snack but it looked crowded with long queues and with little car parking space we agreed that this was a waste of time and so went shopping in Wellington Waitrose then home for a fish dinner. The fish counter in this shop is the best we have seen of all supermarkets either in Weybridge or near us now.

Last week prior to visiting the West Byfleet new house we visited Lexus in Exeter to have a Wifi Hot spot fitted  similar to that in the Land Cruiser, or previous vehicle, this was due to take an hour and bit but took three hours and since then it has not worked. After lots of phone calls and email complaints it now appears that instead of fitting the requested unit where I have to supply my own SIM card they fitted a brand new system to Lexus, the trouble is it doesn't work yet. Apparently Lexus are introducing this new system on all new cars in the UK starting soon but as those cars were not in the UK they have not finished the set up and so here I am holding the baby having paid lots of dough for a superior system which does not work and they are unable to also advise what the running costs are as it is not set up yet. This is rather annoying but lets see what happens.

On Wednesday we had lunch with our daughter and grandchildren and then Thursday paid a visit to a bed retailer and eventually ordered some new mattresses for the caravan as the existing ones are quite old , nearly 9 years, and we both seem to be waking with back problems. They are of course not standard size and have to be made to measure which always puts the cost up but now we are waiting to find out what the delivery time will be.

We have pretty much got really organised know with the van having a been completely sanitised  from end to end and so know we can relax a little more knowing there is not much to do except the odd day out and shopping.

The caravan site is quite busy as you would expect after everybody being locked up for so long but when speaking to my brother in law about visiting Salcombe he said it is a nightmare there at the moment with so much traffic chaos and although we were panning a visit as in the previous week both of us had attended either a dentist or other crowded places we decided it would be wise to stay away rather than risk either catching or passing on Covid to the family.

Just seen the news about the three travellers who were charged with manslaughter rather than murder after dragging a policeman to his death. a disgusting decision!! what has happened to real Law and Order.

I am also a bit pissed off with the BLM protest, its rubbish as proven by the fact there are so many black people who have been successful either in sport or other professions it just goes to show what you can do if you work hard. And as for the BLM movement in America I understand there is a movement to try and close down the Democratic party as they had actively encouraged Black slavery for many years, although they have tried to deny this, and with the intention of closing down the Dem party, sounds good to me.

Oh well its fish for dinner tonight and some TV..

Well its been a busy couple of weeks

Well following the announcement that caravan sites can open we urgently chased the opportunity to move to the caravan ad so we did on the 6th of July via a night stop in the the White Hart Hotel in Wiviliscombe.

It takes a littlw while to set up a caravan for a long term stay as there many things you suddenly need which you do not need for short terms holidays but after two weeks being here we are are now well organised, well nearly. We had to purchase a few things to aid creature comfort but now beginning to feel we are in our other home for a while. During the past couple of weeks Noel got his health results back and they were good which is pleasing but then on about 8 days ago broke a back tooth and so we decided to take a look at the new house and see how it was coming along and therefore we had a quick trip back to Surrey and stayed the night in the Cobham Hilton Hotel which was nearly deserted and no restaurants but not a bad price for such a good Hotel.

The visit to the new house was good and we have approx. completion date of 2nd October but this all depends on no more COVID outbreaks and the work catching up on site whilst they appear to be selling or at least reserving a lot more so we will not be the only people in the state it seems. The kitchen units are part way fitted as is the ovens and fridge freezer but still a lot to do throughout the building but the quality is good. The garden being being fenced off and looks bigger that they that had advised but will measure in due course.

The weather in Somerset has been really good and in the last few days we could actually do some sunbathing, well at least sit in the shade as neither of us like lying in the sun and trying to look like an African.

We had a nice visit to see all our grandchildren in Somerset when Michael and Becky came with Ethan to stay with Joanne and Tim and family and so was able to get some nice candid shots of the kids, much better that the formal ones.

We are on a nice site which is quite large right at the end of the caravan park and mostly surrounded by other seasonal pitch people who only appear for weekends mostly and so it fairly quiet. We decided to get yo know our neighbours and invite them round for drinks and nibbles on Saturday night but they all brought their own drinks  and so the effort to get some good wine and beer was wasted except no doubt we shall just have to drink it ourselves.

Tomorrow we are taking a day trip up to a caravan retailer to look at awning carpet followed by lunch and then a tour along the coast back to home and if the weather stays as nice as it is now it should be a pleasant day out as we think we deserve it.

So here is a photo of our home for a while..

Nearly there

Well finally they announced that Caravan sites will open on 4th of July and so we can go to our once the existing caravan can be moved which is due to happen today and so we are planning to travel down to Wiviiscombe via our daughters house in Taunton then pen the night in Wivi and collect our baggage trailer from the Storage Container with the view to getting the awning up and the caravan ready for occupation the same day. We had originally planned to leave the apartment on Monday and then via Taunton to Wivi and that would take about four hours out of our day and we need the time to set up the caravan whilst recovering from the journey as we are not getting any younger.

During the past week we have seen friends in Reading and Weybridge and over the next couple of days need to reorganise the post box to forward our mail to the caravan site in Waterrow. We had a visit from Michael and Ethan yesterday which was lovely and great to see such a beautiful growing boy who is almost potty trained and less than two years old. We have decided to help Michael purchase a new car as his existing Volvo is very old but now has done 145000 miles and not reliable which is the last thing to have when you are travelling with a young child and dog and of course a very important wife.

We will be reaching our 50th Wedding Anniversary next May on 31st 2021 and have been considering how to celebrate and have finally decided on a cruise in the Eastern Med and so late May we fly to Istanbul and then take a Seabourn Ships cruise around the Greek Islands and finishing in Venice, but we also plan to have a few extra days around Istanbul and perhaps other places in Turkey but we have to work an an itinerary.

Noel has had his 5 year cancer check up with a blood test and CT Scan earlier this week with the result being advised next week, its a little slow at the moment as all resources are busy due to COVID but hoping for a good result. Also had a biopsy on my leg where there is a wound which will not heal and so waiting for the NHS to report back and if there is any delay then will go private as my insurance will cover this.

Have been watching the shenanigans with China over Hong Kong where the UK has offered a special citizenship to nearly three million people, where we will put them I don't know but then again a lot may be living in the Uk currently, we shall see what happens but the Hong Kong Chinese are very industrious people and very hard working and if they come to the Uk they will add something unlike other nationalities currently residing here.

The death toll due COVID is very bad but difficult to compare to other countries as the stats are produced in a different way by each country so we will have to wait but the problems in the USA and Latin America is very bad as is further break outs in Australia and Germany so we shall have to be careful.

Finally on BREXIT the EU still does not seem to understand that we do not wan their rules and regulations because if we do accept then they can still rule what we can a cannot do and it looks like our chief negotiator is doing an exvellent job as he is really pissing off the Mr Barnier and his colleagues in crime.