Neil and Pat

The end of an Era.

2012-02-08T08:14:00.002Z

After 26 years of living in Ongar, we have sold up and are moving out.

This is clearly a very sad occasion and one that wasn't taken lightly, but we do feel that it is time to move on with our lives and do the things we have dreamed of for many years.

To mark this occasion we decided to have a party for our dear friends who have made our living here memorable.

We were astounded at how many turned up ( despite the snow ) and we hope they enjoyed it.

It was great to catch up with everyone, even though it was a bit emotional.

Please stay safe and keep in touch.

Ypres and Brugge New year 2011

2012-01-06T20:36:00.002Z

Still feeling fat and bloated from Christmas and Boxing Day we set of on the 27th to Belgium with the usual support crew Andy and Lorraine.

Our first stop was Ypres , also known as Ieper , which was only about 50 miles from the exit of the Euro Tunnel.

We stayed on an Aire ( up market Gypsy site for motorhomers ) which was about a 10 minute walk from the centre of town, which we did on the first evening.

Ypres is a beautiful historic looking town with lots of beautiful old Churches, Cathedrals and buildings. This is quite surprising considering that the whole town ( every building ) was destroyed and flattened in the 1st world war and was completely rebuilt between 1922 and 1926.

As luck would have it the builders, some of whom were British, must have had access to the original town plans as it was rebuilt to replicate the destroyed town. A very good job was done as you can't tell.

We attended the very moving last post which takes place at 8.00 pm every evening at the Menin Gate on the edge of the town . Every square inch of this huge gateway is inscribed with the thousands of names of the Commonwealth Soldiers who died in the Great war defending the region.

The town was beautiful and as usual we ended up in a bar drinking a local brew.

The next day Andy and I went on an organised Battlefield Tour of the area with Salient Tours. It was excellent. I was truly ashamed of my appalling knowledge of the great war. We visited several Battlefields, Dressing Stations and Memorials. Although fascinating it was also quite a sad experience when I discovered the true, yet unbelievable, numbers of casualties and needless deaths on both sides. Our Guide Chris was excellent and this tour is well recommended.

The following day we all set of for Brugge , another 50 miles and parked up in another Aire just outside town. We have been to Brugge several times before but always discover more every time we go.

On New years Eve we went into town to join the famous celebrations. On the way in we started to doubt we had the right day as it was deathly silent and nobody was about. We even wondered if Belgians even celebrate New Year. When we got right to centre of town we discovered a moving trail of people like ants all heading towards the square so like dutiful sheep we joined the lines and headed for the celebrations.

Luckily we managed to set up camp in a bar on the edge of the square and only joined to 8000 or so drink splashing ,singing and dancing crowd just before midnight. We are not great at being drunks so after about half an hour the decision was made to head back to camp for a "Cup of Tea ". We walked about 1 mile to get on a bus that took us straight back the the square were we had started. Oh well, even monkeys fall out of trees. Bladders bursting and feet aching we got back to camp about an hour later.

I would recommend Brugge and Ypres as great destinations, we had a fantastic time and look forward to returning soon.

The day we have been waiting for. " Retirement"

2011-12-07T18:27:00.001Z

For a very long time many conversations in our house have started with the words " When I retire we will.... or After I retire we could......."

Well It's only gone and happened.     At Midnight on the 30th of November 2011I became officially ~~unemployable.~~     Unemployed.

To mark the occasion I decided to have a small celebration with just close friends and family.

My Arse.

This plan started to escalate out of control and within no time the aim was to have a retirement do to beat all other retirement do's . The venue was important, we needed to get a location that nobody had had before and had the WOW factor.

There was only one place in London that could possibly meet these requirements

The Tower of London    Yes the real one by the Thames,           No I'm not joking.

As luck would have it being in the Police does have it's advantages in that you not only get a fantastic Public Service Pension ( thank you ) but you do get to meet loads of great people and this included several Yeomen also known as Beefeaters. Strings got pulled and calls made and within no time a great friend called Ken had the Tower of London Social Club booked and even kindly offered to lay on a mini tour of the tower and a private viewing of the "Ceremony of the Keys"

Behind the scenes Pat and the girls started doing secret things and ordering the food. I sent out the invites and managed to get hold of loads of people who I hadn't seen for years as well as the usual crowd from Training, a Bethnal Green and Romford.

The night was brilliant.    All the guest were told to arrive at the gate at 7.30pm for Ken's tour.

I couldn't believe it when I went to the gate , they had only gone and turned up. Anything for a free drink and a sandwich.

My friend and former boss, John Bennet, clearly turned up with the wrong speech.   I still haven't got a clue who he was talking about but who ever it was sounded like a great bloke.    Many thanks John.

Pat looked fantastic and ran around all night being the perfect hostess.

Stephanie and Chris gave a few words claiming that I was a great Dad. ( probably after money ).
Chris did suggest that my greatest achievement was in fact himself.

Rachael, bless her, managed to locate every embarrassing photograph I have ever had taken and get them blown up so that everyone could have a laugh at my expense. ( My day will come girl )

Everyone was so kind and I will miss all of them ( whose names I am already struggling to remember )

Special thanks to the the Barkingside Witches ( you know who you are ) for running around behind the scenes and making it a great night.

The Tower of London has hundreds of years of history behind and now it can add " Neil's retirement do" to its list of events.

The end of an Era.... Phase three begins

Germany again and Willy's Treffen 2011.

2011-11-20T17:38:00.002Z

We decided to go to the Dusseldorf Motorhome show at the end of August.

What an event. Luckily for us we weren't looking for a Motorhome because if you were you would have started to bleed from the ears. There were thousands of them.

Sadly non of them were British which is possible a symptom of the poor quality we produce. Very Sad.

Anyway, we spent two days there and only got around one of the 10 or so halls, but we saw what we went for which was all the trade stands for Motorhome components and equipment.

After leaving Dusseldorf, which was an experience in itself we drove to Mendig to attend "Willy's Treffen " which as an annual event named after its founder Willy Janssen who was a bit of a German Globetrotter.

The event was held on an old army training camp and was packed to the doors with hundreds of Beardy Weirdy people and their trucks. Lots of camp fires, eating and soap dodging going on.

One bloke even turned up with a projector set and screened a film against the side of his truck.

We struggled to get a plot ad as we arrived first we tried to secure three plots for our friends Sandie and Karsten and Ellen and Perry.

Sandie and Karsten turned up first in their beautiful blue Mercedes 1113A with an Ormocar Cabin on it.
We then heard from Ellen that they were also bringing two other friends in their vehicles , Luckily just as they arrived they opened up another camping area so we all manged to get places.
A great weekend and loads of interesting ideas, trucks and people .

We stayed an extra night more than the rest of the group then set off for Cochem on the Mosel.

Cochem was a very pretty town, right on the river . We took the scooter down the Mosel to Zell which was another beautiful Town on the river.

Most of you Will already know that we are intending to have a truck built in Germany ( to travel the world ) so decided to pay the constructor " Ormocar " a visit in Hauenstein .

We spent a whole day with Peter, the owner and thrashed out loads of the detail of the cabin we are having built.

We finished up with the long drive back to St Omer in France were we had a great morning in the town going around the markets and then into a festival in the park were we listened to a french orchestra playing Glen Miller hits. It was all a but Deja Vue as we had attended the Twinwood festival only a couple of weekend before , which was all about Glen Miller.

Pat also had a chat with some guys who had dedicated their entire lives to growing Cauliflowers. They even dressed like them with green capes and cauliflower hats.

We met up with Andy and Lorraine for the evening. We did all laugh when Andy got himself in a panic because Lorraine told him she had found a leak in the water tank.

Andy finds a leak in his water tank.

Blighty the next day

Oh well , can't wait for the next trip.

Twinwood Festival Bedford 2011.

2011-10-01T13:30:00.000+01:00

This was a new event for us, but one that Pat and Lorraine were looking forward to.

The festival over the weekend 27th -29th August takes place and the Twinwood Airbase which is the American base that Glen Miller flew from on his last flight.

As a result of his un timely disappearance, the entire base has been turned into a working museum dedicated to him and the 1940 Airbase life style.

The event revolves around the fashion, music and dance of the era and everyone dressed up.

Pat and Lorraine and Irene dressed as Land girls , Andy Myself and John wore overalls and went as mechanics.

The music was fantastic, with the John Miller band in attendance.

The highlight had to be the dancing, mainly American Swing Jazz styles and the popular Lindy Hop. The halls were full of vibrant colours and the happiness radiated from the dancers.

We met a dutch couple called Ruddy and Nanda who were Lindy Hop experts but despite all their patient efforts none of us could pick it up.

A very nostalgic fun weekend, which I would recommend to you.

Bad Kissingen Overland Vehicle Show, Germany.

2011-09-28T13:35:00.000+01:00

Most of you who know us will know by now that we are completely obsessed with building an overland vehicle and travelling around the world.

Unfortunately there aren't that many Brits with the same idea but we have discovered that Germany is full of like minded people and most of the companies who make the vehicles and parts are based in there.

A short while ago pat joined an Internet based club ad we have had one meeting with them earlier in the year and we arranged to meet up with them again at the annual festival and show at Bad Kissingen.

The show was fantastic and we camped in a local town area along with about 2000 other vehicles cramed in.

We met up again with our friends Sandie and Karsten and went to a club BBQ on the Saturday night.

Here we had the great fortune to meet Ellen and Perry who have become great friends and will hopefully become fellow travellers..

Here are some pictures of the event.

The Second Whirlwind Tour of Europe

2011-09-28T13:02:00.000+01:00

This time we decided to shrug of the stalkers and we told Andy and Lorraine that we were going to Germany to see a large Overland Expedition Vehicle show at Bad Kissingen in Germany .

We met with Lorraine on the way to the Chanel Tunnel and wished her well on their trip to Lake Annecy in France a few days later .

Well we went to the show which was brilliant ( See additional Blog entry ) then caved in to Andy and Lorraines begging that we should join them so we drove from Germany to Annecy to catch up with them.

Joking apart the location they were staying at was fantastic and right on the banks of the lake.

The cheeky cows even managed to sweet talk the owners into letting us share a plot to save money.

After leaving Annecy we drove to a small town called Rochefort St Claude in the Jura Region of France.This town is famous for its Smoking Pipe Factories ( and respiritory diseases )

Wow. This is an area a that we haven't been to before and it was fantastic. The scenery was stunning and we had a few peacful days there at a Minicipal site on the banks of the river called Camping Le Martinet.

The water in the river felt like it had just flowed off a glacier and was painful to stand in so in true team spirit we decided to get in and see who could last the longest ( seconds ). Pats role was to record this on camera, a task that would ordinarily take about 1 second , but on this ocasion Pat appeared to have lost the ability to work the camera and we had to repeat the task about 4 times to get the shot.

We then meandered back north stopping at fabulous places such as Dole, Lac Giffamont and Challons.

Our last stop before the Tunnel home was at a great Aire at Arques near St Omer in France.
One day a year in Arques they have a festival that includes a massive Rock Concert in a large Sports Stadium. This event is incredibly loud and goes on until 3 am.

You Guessed we picked the right day and parked near the Stadium. ( No sleep for Pat and Andy that night )

Brilliant Holliday

Round up of Smaller Events.

2011-09-28T12:23:00.001+01:00

On the 12th may we celebrated my birthday with a weekend in the beautiful grounds of Clare Priory in suffolk with the EEDA

On the 27th May we went to Thetford rugby Club for a joint meet between motohome Fun and the Honda Blackbird Club. This involved a nice ride out on the motorbike to Wells next to the Sea.

And on the 3rd june we spent the weekend again with the EEDA at Borough Waters , Southminster for a fishing weekend ..... Caught Nothing.

EEDA Cockney Night Kelvedon Hatch

2011-09-28T12:13:00.000+01:00

We really pushed the boat out this weekend 5th-8th May and travelled all the way to Kelvedon Hatch ( 3 Miles ) to take part in a Cockney weekend. I think that Pat was probably the only one who was raelly quallified by birthright.

Loads of Fun, Pie, Mash and Jellied Eels etc.

Lorraine and Pat had been collecting buttons for this event and Lorraine created some great outfits .

Whirlwind European Tour 2011.

2011-09-28T11:54:00.000+01:00

First let me apologise for not keeping this Blog up to date in recent times.

As some of you are aware we are currently trying to build a large overland vehicle for future travel and it has taken up most of our spare time.

Anyway, back to our recent gallivanting around Europe in our trusted motorhome.

Our good friends and students Andy and Lorraine begged us to escort them around Europe this year and we eventually agreed to let them follow us on our tour.

We set of on on the 21st of April and headed for a quick stopover at Nieuwpoort, Belgium. Obviously Andy and Lorraine ( the Apprentices ) were, understandably, only allowed to stay outside the gates of the site.

The next day we headed for Brugge were we stayed at "Camping Memling" which was perfectly adequate and only a 10 minute cycle from the centre of town.

We had a good go at the local brews which were outrageously strong. I would recommend a great Bar called "De Gare" which is just off the main Square.

After Brugge we went to "Camping Bon Repose, Berdorf in Luxembourg.

Most people view Luxembourg as the Petrol Station of Europe but believe me it is Beautiful, very clean and friendly. We talk a country walk to Berdorf and on the way Andy's hand turned into a balloon following a bite.

We decided to try a local speciality and had a Large Doner Kebab for lunch. Feeling bloated and fat we got the bus home.

The next stop was a rather picturesque car park on the banks of the Mosel river. This was one of those Stellplatz areas that cost very little, but serve a purpose in that they are close to the city. Great for a couple of nights although some people looked like they were there for the summer.

Trier was pretty but will probably blend into all the other pretty cities that we have in our heads .

One of the main reasons for going to Germany was to go to Hauenstien to visit a company called "Ormocar" who build overland trucks.

We had arranged a tour and a chat with them and we were not disappointed with their products and professionalism. We came out thinking that we could do business.

We then drove to a site at Neckargemünd near Heidelberg on the banks of the river "Neckar". Here we celebrated the marriage of William and Kate. We don't really care for them but it seemed like a good excuse to have a drink . The girls even decorated the van.

In the few months prior to the trip Pat had befriended a group of complete strangers on an Internet forum and had arranged to visit them at at one of their homes in a small town called Oppershoffen. near Rockenburg.

Although we hadn't met any of them before they all belonged to a German overland truck builders forum and were all extremely friendly. I had decided to take them two cases of "John Smiths " beer so that they could experience a typical British Beer. They hated it but I wasn't offended.

Me met some great people some of which we have been in touch with since and one couple who we have met up with again on our our last trip to Germany.

We were running out of time so on the 1st of May we made the long drive back up to Belgium and pitched in at a great site called "Camping Groeneveld " in Dienze , Belgium.

I will look back at this holiday with great fondness and it would be fair to say that even the Apprentices behaved well .

In true tradition there is a short video of our trip for your enjoyment. Please ensure that you have the volume cranked up.

Now for Anorak Corner

Aire at De Zwerver, Nieuwpoort N51.13050 E002.76555
Camping Memling Brugge N51.20641 E003.36188
Camping Bon Repose, Luxembourg N49.49036 E006.20541
Stellplatz Trier, Germany N49.74000 E006.62500
Stellplatz, Hauenstein, Germany N49.11210 E007.61190
Campingplatz Neckargamund N49.23473 E008.47343
Camping Groeneveld, Dienze, Belgium N51.00168 E003.34238

Stansted Mountfitchet EEDA 2011

2011-03-13T18:11:00.000Z

The Essex District Association of the Camping and Caravan Club really know how to put on a good social Weekend.

We all stayed at Stansted Mountfitchet School and following the groups AGM we had a great evening with a live Singer.

The usual Crowd were in attendance and Pat got a little bit drunk.

Somerset with Clive and Ann

2011-03-13T17:29:00.004Z

On the weekend starting on the 4th March we went to see our dear Friends Clive and Anne who live full time in their overland vehicle on a site in Somerset.

We stopped overnight on the way down at the Golden Swan Pub Nr Pewsey in Wiltshire.

Clive and Anne are the most adventurous explorers we know and have used overland vehicles to travel all around Central and South America, Africa and the Far East. In a few weeks they are setting off on a huge drive to China and back via loads of countries who's names finish the the word "stan "

Despite getting ready to go they still managed to set aside a couple of days to help us with our plans to build an overland truck.

They are truly special people and we can't wait to hear of their journey. "Good luck"

On the way back we stopped for one night at "Sandy Balls" camp site on the edge of the new Forest. Very Nice .

EEDA Valentines Ball .

2011-02-14T21:28:00.001Z

Billericay in Essex isn't the first place that comes to mind when attending a romantic "Valentines" weekend.

However, having been to a few East Essex Camping and Caravan club events I knew that it would be a great weekend and I wasn't disapointed.

We all stayed in the Grounds of Mayflower School and the main event was on the saturday Night.

Over 200 of us filled a large hall and partied all night to the Mowtown sound of "The Curvettes".

Sadly too much alchohol and fabulous food was consumed to make the night truly romantic, but what the heck there is always next year.

New Year 2010

2011-01-03T18:56:00.006Z

Best wishes and a Happy New Year to all of our Friends and Family

This year we decided to go all the way the Chelmsford and spend the New year at "New Hall School" with the East Essex Camping and Caravan Club. The event spanned the new year and each night had its own theme

The venue was a very posh private school and we had access to the parking areas, ( were we parked ) One of the Halls and the Swimming Pool. Once we had found the way in it became the perfect venue for a New Year Rally.

The usual crowd of Sonja and Kevin, Andy and Lorraine were in attendance

We arrived on the 29th a day after most people and the theme for the evening was a "Scottish Night ".

What this really meant was dressing up and making a complete idiot out of yourself taking part in impossible tasks and challenges. As the drink flowed it got louder and became a great evening. Needless to say we were crap at most of the tasks but what the heck

The next night was pretty somber, so we decided to go out for a Chinese Meal in Chelmsford whilst most of the group went out on coaches to see the pantomime "Aladdin "

New years eve turned out to be a very unusual day.

It all started to go a bit strange in the morning when our good friend Andy went swimming. After he got out of the pool having swam 40 lengths he became disorientated, confused and very forgetful.

We took him to the local hospital were he was diagnosed with a temporary condition known as Transient Amnesia. The good news was that he had recovered fully by the next day. The bad new was that he saw the New Year in from a Hospital bed. It could have been a lot worse, it could have been me . ( Sorry Andy )

Enjoy it mate , we 're off to a party

Despite poor Andy's incapacitation the decision was made to abandon him at the hospital with the small amount of remaining sweets and grapes that I hadn't eaten and go and have a party. ( That's what good friends do )

The New Years Eve party theme was "The Musicals" This meant that each table had to create, in advance, a large table decoration that depicted a Film or TV Musical . The table decorations would be judged and one table would be declared this years winners.

We knew that some groups were quite competitive and that they had secretly been making their table displays in advance ready to produce on the day.

What we failed to understand was that this competitive spirit had clearly got out of control and that some teams had in fact devoted most evenings of the whole of 2010 planning and creating their displays.       Winning was the only outcome in their eyes, anything else would bring shame on themselves and their families for the next year.

We had decided to go with the musical "The Wizard of Oz" with a twist in that the OZ bit was Australian. So we created a 3 foot square model of Aires rock with a large picture of Dorothy on a pole stuck in the middle of it . We then adorned it with most of the characters of the film , but with an Australian spin on it.    For instance the "Tin Man" became the "Tinny Man" and was decorated as a "Fosters Lager " can.

The painting of Dorothy looked distinctly Transsexual but all in all we were quite proud of our creation and genuinely felt that we were in with a chance of winning.

Our hearts sank when we entered the hall and looked around the room and discovered that we had failed to incorporate moving parts involving pneumatics, hydraulics and complicated electronics . We knew we had lost before the night began.

Andy's illness and absence was instantly forgotten, we had more serious problems to deal with. How could we make our cross dressing Dorothy more competitive. We were in serious trouble .

One group had created a the city scene from "West Side Story" with lights and animation, another had created the fairground scene from "Greece" complete with a moving Ferris Wheel which small children could have ridden on .

The entire set from the Lion king was present and another group had built a full size Kebab House, out of beer cans , in the shape of the Acropolis , complete with a 4 foot high revolving kebab in the centre of it . They claimed that it was an alternative "Greece"

Our Dorothy   ( of doubtful sexuality ) on a stick looked pretty lame in comparison.

We all dressed up to match our displays , Pat was the Glinda the good witch, Sonja was the Wicked Witch, Kevin kindly stepped into the absent Andy's role and became the Tin man and Lorraine was the Scarecrow.

I opted for the alternative angle and went as "A friend of Dorothy's " which is gay code for being gay and dressed as "Dame Edna" .

The competition winners turned out to be the "Lion King "

The next Morning Dorothy the Tranny was consigned to the skip and Andy was collected from the Hospital right as rain again.

In view of the fact that poor Andy had missed the main event we decided to drive up to Polstead in Suffolk for a few days to make up for it. We didn't do much here , a couple of walks and a nice pub lunch .

Lorraine claimed to be crap at Scrabble and then thrashed everyone.

A great start to the year.

2011 Bring it on .

Happy Xmas

2010-12-25T23:00:00.002Z

Happy Xmas 2010

2010-12-18T13:38:00.003Z

We wish all our Friends and Family a Very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

Below are two videos that Pat created .

They are both very similar, only the drummers have changed from Rachael in the first to Stephanie in the second.

( Not enough characters to get us all in one. )

Jonathan is the one with the make up on

version 2 with different drummer

Aylesford Priory 2010

2010-12-12T19:03:00.002Z

This weekend we went to Aylesford Priory near Maidstone Kent with our great friends Andy and Lorraine ( who seems nice ) and Sonja and Kevin.

We parked in the grounds of the Priory courtesy of the Kent MCC, who were having their Xmas party in a Barn within the grounds .

On the Friday we went into the Priory to a Carol service with a band followed by the obligatory coffee and Mince Pies in a nearby building that was set on three floors, Minstrel gallery style.

On Saturday we had a short walk around Aylesford and then onto Rochester were we met our friends Dane and Hazel.

Rochester was hosting a Dickensian market which also had a Bavarian feel about it within the grounds of the castle.

On the Saturday night the Xmas party was brilliant with a superb live band. We all decided to go in fancy dress . Andy, Lorraine and I were Santa's and Pat and an Elf.

Lorraine and Pat made the most of the chocolate fountain.

All in all a fantastic weekend with fantastic friends .

Boro Waters EEDA Fireworks

2010-11-07T18:01:00.001Z

Great Weather, Great Bonfire, Great Company, Great Fireworks, Great Hogroast.,

What else can I say

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T16:43:00.001Z

This weekend we joined up with the old crowd , Kevin, Sonja, Lorraine and Andy at the East Essex CC Halloween meet at West Newland Farm, St Lawrence, Southminster. This was a Halloween themed rally and involved lots of dressing up and scaring children. Lorraine and Pat were quite good at it.

On Friday we took part in the biggest game of Cluedo that I have seen which involved Lorraine becoming one of the characters and some detective work. We won this .

Saturday was great weather and we spent most of the day preparing for the evening trick or treat event for the kids and the social night that followed. Jonathan joined us for the remainder of the weekend and prepared his pumpkin.

The girls created a dimly lit cave style lair in which to sit and entice the kids into before frigtening the S%*t out of them.

Some of the smaller kids looked genuinly disturbed by the experience.

Brilliant weekend again

Pevensey Bay East Sussex 2010

2010-10-10T20:46:00.001+01:00

Brilliant weekend and the weather was unbelievable.

The usual crowd , Sonja and Kevin, Andy and Lorraine ( who seems nice ) and Dane and Hazel and their new puppy Charlie for the Saturday.

The aim of the weekend was to try sea fishing from the beach. I think we had grand ideas of eating what we caught on a big BBQ in the evening. Needless to say the local Fish and Chip shop did okay from us.

On the Saturday we entered the East Sussex Camping and Caravan Club local group Fishing Competition and I came joint last along with several others who also caught nothing.( including Pat )

Sunday was a bit better with a few small Whiting caught but too small to be edible.

Fantastic experience in a brilliant location .

Ride To The Wall 2010

2010-10-03T18:50:00.001+01:00

This fantastic Motorcycle event " Ride To The Wall" is an annual ride to raise funds for the upkeep of " The National Memorial Arboretum" in Staffordshire.

The day started at Drayton Manor Theme Park were about 10,000 motorcyclists assembled. It took 2 hours to get out of the car park

The ride was about 15 miles long and ended at the Arboretum. A short service took place to remember all the Soldiers that have died since the Second World War.

Very Moving

Hoar Park Fishing Meet 2010

2010-10-03T18:08:00.000+01:00

This weekend was particularly busy, we tried to combine two events into one.

We decided that we wanted to take part in the Annual motorcycle ( Ride To The Wall event ) to raise funds for the upkeep of "The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire and attend a joint Facts , Fun and Roamers Rally at Hoar Park, Ansley Near Nuneaton.

This blog entry is about the rally and I will add an additional entry regarding the Ride To The Wall event.

We drove up the rally in horrendous rain and when we turned up the place was flooded. Alan, one of the organisers said " What ever you do don't drive on the grass". Guess what, I totally ignored his advice and promptly got stuck up to my axles in mud and had to be towed out.

Friday night was a good laugh , we all got together in a barn and had a quiz night that had endless drinking forfeits . Our Chris seemed to get stung the most and ended up drinking about 6 shots of a very dubious cocktail.

Can't tell you how the fishing went as we went out for the day on the bike but Chris enjoyed it and came second.

Saturday night was very social but Sunday was back to heavy rain so everyone left early

Good weekend with some great friends.

Silverstone, Renault Cup 2010

2010-09-19T19:56:00.001+01:00

This weekend we went to Silverstone race Circuit to see the Renault Cup.

The weekend consisted of qualifying and the main races for many different categories of Renault racing cars.
Stephanie and Jonathan came a long and I managed to get Jonathan on one of the Pit tours .
We saw a few accidents and overtaking .
Unfortunately the field we stayed in, opposite the circuit, turned out to be the mother ship for human pond life and we probably wouldn't return there unless we were feeling low and wanted to feel better about ourselves.

The racing was brilliant.

Essex Air Ambulance Bike Ride

2010-09-12T19:47:00.001+01:00

Today we took part in the Annual Motorcycle Ride from Fords at Dunton to Harwich. About 3000 bikes set off and it was all in aid of the Essex Air Ambulance .

Little Easton Manor, Great Dunmow

2010-09-06T16:49:00.000+01:00

Because the weather forecast was great for the weekend we decided at short notice to go away again.

We went with the EEDA to Little Easton Manor, what a little gem of a place in the grounds of the manor which had a few fishing lakes too.

We sat out in beautiful sunshine, had a short ride into Great Dunmow to buy some cakes (defeats the object of exercise) but were yummy. Had a couple of walks along the footpaths.

Saturday night we had an impromtu quiz which our rather large team won. No cheating honest.

It was a really relaxing weekend and were pleased that we went. Even being in the flight path from Stanstead, with the planes throttling up above our van didnt spoil it.

Whitstable August Bank Holiday 2010

2010-08-31T08:19:00.004+01:00

Whitstable on the August Bank Holiday weekend. I would love to say glorious sunshine , baking hot and sunburn etc

Sadly this want the case although it was a brilliant weekend with great friends.

The Great British Summer appears to be history. We had wind that shook the van and rain that hurt.
Putting all that aside we did manage to get out for a cycle to Whitstable and do a bracing walk a Herne bay.

The main event was socialising, and laughing so all good fun

The North Kent coast is beautiful and we were lucky enough to be on a rally field that was only yards from the sea.

Andy and Lorraine's Kite flying skills need to be improved and quite frankly they were crap, but what do you expect they bought the kite for 50 pence in a boot sale. It was the only Kite that was afraid of heights.

Kevin managed to retain his Boule Crown, and we did have a bit of a laugh at some blokes who were drowning their boat and car.

Bristol Balloon Festival.

2010-08-15T16:58:00.001+01:00

We had always wanted to go to the Bristol Balloon Festival so this was it.

We took advice and went with the Motorcaravaners Club ( Nuff said ) who had a plot right opposite the event, couldn't have been nearer.

On the Thursday we went to the "Night Glow". This is were loads of balloons are inflated in the dark and then illuminated by their burners to music. Quite a spectacular even though their timing was crap.

The next morning at 6.00 am we were all out of bed early to see the famous launch of 100 balloons. ( When I say all, this wasn't quite the case as you can see in the photos.

Although this was really impressive I was hoping for some different shaped novelty balloons.

Sadly the weather wasn't brilliant and all the further mass launches were cancelled.

Headcorn

2010-08-15T16:45:00.000+01:00

Its the time for the annual Motorhome Fun ( Southern Section ) fishing contest at Headcorn in Kent.

This happened to coincide with Dane's Birthday.

In view of this we all made sure that Dane caught the most fish and won the trophy.
Pat and I actually spent the day pretending to fish with no hook to ensure the outcome. Andy and Lorraine forgot the rules at the start but soon backed off .

We were however, plagued by wasps and were all taken hostage by a pair of hornets as we sat in the makeshift pub.

Another fab weekend

Stanford Hall 2010

2010-08-02T17:35:00.000+01:00

What a great weekend we had at Stanford Hall, Lutterworth in Leicestershire.

This is the second time we have been to this event to meet up with great friends and see the Firework Competition that takes place in the grounds of the hall.

Jonathan had a great time challenging everyone to badminton and exploring on his bike.

Whilst waiting for the event to start an impromptu game of volleyball occurred with a large football that Jonathan had won in the fair. It was hilarious with Mike and Chris falling off their chairs backwards and spilling their beers all over themselves.

We also managed to catch up with our friends Mark and Anita who are resident on the site. They have just returned from a round the world trip and looked disgustingly healthy.

It was good to catch up with our friends from Facts, Roamers, Nomads and Fun.

Bisbrooke Hall, Rutland

2010-07-25T21:51:00.002+01:00

Another great weekend with the Motor Roamers at Bisbrooke Hall near Rutland Water.

We went out on the scooter to Rutland water with Terry and Michelle on the Saturday for a walk. Pat has a broken knee and terry has a badly sprained foot. We didn't walk very far.

We thought the mobile tea van had a great name for the girls

Greece 2010

2010-07-07T18:32:00.527+01:00

Greece 2010.

27th May to the 4th July

This story starts a few days before we left on Monday the 24th May, when Pat smelt a gas leak in the Motorhome, all you need a few days before you leave. I spent hours trying to locate it and failed. In the end I purchased a device that sniffs gas . Within 5 minutes I had identified that the gas valve on the Fridge was the culprit. The end result was a new valve for £150.00, an unwanted expense at that time.

Thursday 27th May

We were all packed and ready to set of later that afternoon. Fully loaded, scooter, water, shoes etc. when Pat had the idea of taking the motorhome to the local weighbridge just to see what we weighed. I ( for obvious reasons ) wasn't as keen on this idea. We got it weighed and discovered that we were in fact 200 KG over weight. This wasn't as bad I thought so a bit of re packing and water dumping and we were quite happy that we were all above board and good to go so we set of early.

The tunnel people were very accommodating and we we arrived in France about 5 hours ahead of time..

Our first night was at after about 365 miles near Namur in Belgium at Le Roptai ( ext 23 on the E 411 ). A pretty large but uninteresting site, clean and tidy and at 13 euros per night and 3 mile off the motorway was just the ticket. We left the next morning heading for Switzerland making sure we filled up in Luxembourg on the way ( 98 Cents p/ltr )

Friday 28th May

With a good start we managed to get about 460 miles under our belt and eventually pitched in at " Camping Paradiso" in Melano on the bank of Lake Lugano in Switzerland . A well situated site with slightly small plots but right on the bank of the lake. ACSI price 15 euros plus a sneaky 4 euros local tax added on.

Saturday 29th - 30th May

Lots of Toll roads and narrow lanes later we arrived at a Dutch run campsite in the beautiful countryside near Monteciccardo in the Le march region of Italy.
Camping "Pondere sei Poorte" was a newly terraced large site that was set in a beautiful valley. The swimming pool was fantastic after a long days drive. The entrance onto our plot was quite a steep grassed area. The very large Dutchman said " you will be alright there as long as it doest rain " That night it heaved down and sure enough the ground turned to mud and we got stuck. Luckily a very accommodating man next to us took down his awning to allow us to escape by a different route. We stayed two nights and spent the second night parked on the main path to avoid getting stuck again. On the 31st we drove about 50 miles to Ancona caught the ferry ( Anek Lines ) to Igouminitsa in Greece. It was wet and windy most of the way. They allow you to camp in your motorhome , we hardly came out.

To see photo info go to full screen and click "Show Info " at the top right corner . Esc to return

Tuesday 1st - 5th June

Despite the disappointing weather we landed at Igouminitsa early on the 1st June. Last year we went to Greece with a big checklist of places we wanted to see such as Delphi and Olympia. This year there was no plan so we set of south with no real idea as to where to stop. Pat had read about Ammoudia, a small town on the coast and we headed for there.

When we arrived we expected to see loads of campers on the headland, but only saw one Italian van parked on the other side of the road. To our dismay a large new sign saying " No Camping" had gone up. We spoke to the Italians who told us that the local Mayor had put the sign up a few days before and all the campers had been moved on, much to the annoyance of the local bar owners who liked our money. We stayed for two nights in the road without incident. However, during the second night one of the local bar owners ripped the new sign down and threw it in the river. He then told us we could now camp on the headland. Well it seamed rude not to so we moved over there and stayed another couple of nights, until the Police turned up and served a letter on us saying we had to go or pay 147 euros fine each. So on the 4th day we left.

During our stay at Ammoudia we met some great people. Jelle and Jorine from Holland and Max and Hans ( who later started to stalk us ) from Holland. Max and Hans were members of the same Motorhome Club in the UK as us. ( M.H. Facts )

Ammoudia was a great place with a fantastic beach. It was also the estuary of the Acheron River. We Kayaked about 10 Km up the river and saw loads of wildlife including Terrapins, Kingfishers, an Adder, and a Beaver.

At night the reeds by the river came alive with birdsong which we later discovered were Nightingales. Ammoudia was a great place to stop.

From Ammoudia we drove up into the hills to see the start of the Acheron river at a place called Gliki.

To see photo info go to full screen and click "Show Info " at the top right corner . Esc to return

We then got a call from our fellow evictees "Max and Hans" saying that they had discovered a great place at Kanali beach further down the coast so we set of for there. ( Maybe we were the stalkers ) . When we arrived there were about 12 campers parked on the upper headland facing out to sea. However, after one night we discovered that we were competing for this area with the local Paragliding club who asked us to move to the lower area so that they could run of the cliff. The lower level turned out to be a much better location and was only a few yards from the sea. We stayed here for 8 Nights during which we went on the scooter to nearby Preveze to eat Kebabs and did a whistle stop tour of the Island of Lefkada, which was very nice, especially the west coast and the famous Porto Katsiki Beach

We had a great time here celebrating Max's 50th Birthday ( She only looks 49 ) and meeting some new friends Maria and Ger from Holland.

We did however discover that our bit of beach was in fact the gay cruising beach and we spent many an hour trying to crack the code . What does standing in the middle of the beach reading a newspaper mean or wearing red shorts. We didn't quite work it out.

Sunday 13th - 15th June

Max and Hans had already moved on and had found a good spot on the edge of a large bay between Paterios and Pogonia. So we followed them there. ( Honest, we are not stalkers )

This was great place but after two nights Pat was defeated by the Mosquitoes which had two seats and some had tattoos and knives. We did however kayak across the bay to Paterios and back, which was good fun

To see photo info go to full screen and click "Show Info " at the top right corner . Esc to return

Tuesday 15th - 23rd June

From the outset we had planned ( I know I said we didn't have a plan ) to go to the island of Kefalonia but were unsure as to whether we could justify the additional ferry prices.
Having been bitten to death in Pegonia we thought sod it lets go, so we took the one hour ferry from Vasiliki at the bottom of Lefkada to Fiscardo in the north of Kefalonia. ( 92 euros ). The minute we arrived in Fiscardo we knew that we had done the right move. Kefalonia was beautiful and the far cleaner than the mainland Greece. We drove to the town of Asos which is still in the North. Asos has two parts, a pretty little town and bay and a large hill with a castle on the top which sits on a peninsular past the town. We parked in the carpark at the neck of the peninsular and had two great night there. We ate Kefalonian Meat Pie and Beef Stiffado in a fantastic taverna in the town called Platanos ( recommended. ) This town was clearly on the tourist coach route it was very relaxing although we didn't take the 45 minute up hill walk to the castle as the heat was very intense. The air was very still here and it was intensly hot . Pat found the heat and the smell of the flowers a bit over powering at times.( 40 Dec and very humid )
Whilst in Asos we met a man who was photographing the island. He recommended a small beach in the north west at Atheras. So the next day we upped sticks and moved. His description was right, it was a beautiful bay and we managed camp within a few meters of turquoise water and golden sand . We stayed there for 1 week and even got to know a few locals who dropped vegetables and figs in as the passed by. From here we used the scooter to discover the island. We watched the sun go down at Petani Beach and made a few visits to the local town of Lixouri. We even took a ferry from Lixouri to Argostoli so that we could ride over to a campsite on Sami to see the stalkers "Hans and Max. "
We loved Kefalonia and would love to return someday.
On the 23rd the weather changed and it started to rain so the decision was made to return to the mainland via a ferry to Kyllini. This ferry ( Although Longer ) cost less because we discovered that the Greek's can't measure and in their eyes everything is 6 meters long . If the driver of a huge coach was asked it's length he would say 6 meters. So declaring that we were 8 meters on the way over was a mistake . This ferry cost us 90 euros.

Looking back I think that Kefaloni was the highlight of the trip.

To see photo info go to full screen and click "Show Info " at the top right corner . Esc to return

Wednesday 23rd June - 1st July

We arrived in Kyllini, on the Peloponnese, and it was still pretty overcast so with the aid of a local hotels WiFi we located the sun in the south and set of for a place called Gialova. We went there last year and wanted to return. Gialova is a nature reserve on the coast and no wild camping is permitted so we had to bite the bullet and book in at a fabulous modern site called " Camping Erodios". This site is good for water sports , especially windsurfing and the beach front plots are always in demand and mostly unavailable. We parked away from the beach in a shaded area. As luck would have it our area was invaded by the Greek "Africa Twin Motorcycle Club" who although very nice were quite noisy ( Simply because of the numbers ) so the campsite manager offered to move us and we managed to get one of the well sort after beach front plots for the next few days.

Again we discovered the area by scooter and had a morning on the beautiful beach at Voidokilia.

We did however have the slightly humiliating experience of being the only brits in a bar full of about 50 Germans when England got knocked out of the world cup. ( By Germany )

We stayed here for 5 nights then drove back to Kyllini to a wild camping area that we discovered last year.

The beach at Kyllini is fantastic and can be flat calm one minute and then huge waves the next. We met some great people here including a German couple called Gunther and Ingrid, a french couple called Fabrice and Sarah and a Belgium couple called Ingrid and Johanas. A united nations meeting was called and over many beers we put the world to rights. A great evening.

Sadly on the Thursday we had to set off to Patras for the ferry back to Ancona in Italy. Patras is not the easiest town to navigate through so we latched onto some Belgium motorhomes, who appeared to know where they were going, outside the town and the took us right to the port. As usual they crammed us all into one end of the ferry leaving enough room to host the world cup at the other. ( Greek Logic I guess ). Loading was slow as every vehicle was searched for refugees ( I think they were Albanians or Romainians ) who were crowding the port area. To my surprise a few were discovered hiding in lorries and vans. On the ferry we were lucky enough to get an outside place which meant a sea view from the motorhome. We also found that we were parked in front of a Belgium couple, Marc and Pia, who were parked next to us on the way out. ( Spooky )

To see photo info go to full screen and click "Show Info " at the top right corner . Esc to return

Friday 2nd July - 4th July

We arrived in Ancona mid afternoon and the long haul home commenced.

In the first leg managed to get back to "Camping Paradiso" on lake Lugano Switzerland. We turned up late and i had been a bit worried that we might not get in. However, upon arrival I saw that the main camping field was almost empty, strange I thought. I presented my ACSI discount card expecting the same price as on the way down ( 19 euros ) only to be told that discount season was now over and it was in fact 45 euros for the night. No wonder the field was empty. I politely declined. As luck would have it the Swiss are quite lenient about staying in service areas which often have a parking limit of 15 hours, perfect for a nights kip. We stopped in a layby service area that we have used before, about 50 miles south of the Gottard Tunnel. Little did we know that friday night was Gay cruising night and our layby was all action. We had about 15-20 men wandering about all night. They clearly had a different code to the Greeks and there were no newspapers or red shorts in sight. However, white tea shirts appeared to be significant. despite the action we did get a good nights sleep.

The next leg got us to "Camping Krounebierg" in Luxembourg. I was annoyed when I discovered that my sat nav had fed me off the motorway one junction too early in Luxembourg. However, having never really looked at Luxembourg at anything other than a big cheap petrol station, i was very pleasantly surprised. Luxembourg was fantastic, very clean and pretty. The next day we decided to stay off the main roads for the first hour to see some more . We will definitely return here.

We got to the Channel tunnel early and they were again accommodating and we managed to get back home about 5 hours earlier that expected.

What a fantastic journey and holiday.

We discovered some great coastline and met loads of wonderful people.
It was totally relaxing which was just what the doctor ordered .
You Can't get better than that.

Additional Information

For those of us who are a bit geeky or maybe planning a similar trip, we have added some additional information that may help you.

Total Number of Nights 38

Wildcamping Nights ( inc boat ) 28

Payed Campsite Nights 10 ( Total Cost £147 )

Total mileage door to door ( Essex ) 2578

Ferry/ Tunnel Costs

Euro tunnel Return £152.00 ( Free via Tesco Clubcard )

Ancona-Igouminitsa/ Patras- Ancona £300.00

Lefkada - Kefalonia 92 euro

Kefalonia - Kyllini 90 euro

The total spend for the whole holiday including food, fuel and gas etc was £2000.00.

GPS Locations

Campsite "Le Roptai" Belgium N50.6410 E05.8200

Campsite "Paradiso" Lugano Switzerland N45.5524 E08.5845

Campsite "podere sei Poorte" Italy N43.4840 E12.4918

Wildcamp "Ammoudia" N39.1417 E20.2077

Wildcamp " Kanali" N39.0332 E20.4198

Wildcamp " Pegonia" N38.7963 E20.8533

Wildcamp "Asos" Kefalonia N38.3768 E20.5378

Wildcamp " Atheras" Kefalonia N38.3357 E20.4114

Campsite " Camping Erodios" Gialova N36.9524 E21.6960

Wildcamp " Kyllini Beach" Peloponnese N37.8745 E21.1077

Wildcamp" Layby on E35" Switzerland N46.1443 E08.9457

Campsite " Krounebierg" Luxembourg N49.4438 E06.0524

We hope you have enjoyed this blog and if you are planning a similar trip and you think we can help then get in touch

Best wishes

Neil and Pat

Peak Railway, Rowsley, Derbyshire 2010

2010-05-04T16:15:00.004+01:00

This weekend we went further afield ( being a bank Holiday ) to the Peak Railway in Rowsley, Derbyshire.

A Beautiful location on the A6 between Matlock and Bakewell.

This was our first trip with the newly formed Motor Roamers. Although this is a new group, it was all the old faces from previous encounters. Great bunch , Good company.

Zoe had managed to get us parked in the Station car park so the steam trains were running within yards of the Motorhomes all day. A fantastic sight and completely operated by local volunteers.

We took the motorbike and managed to dodge most of the rain and get a run to Glossop via the Snake Pass , then back via the Woodhead Pass. Excellent biking roads, but lots of speed traps.

As part of our site fees we also got a ride to Matlock on the steam train. Beautiful town.

In the evening the club pub ( tent ) was opened and the socialising went on until the early hours.

On Sunday we had a group breakfast.

The weekend weather was kinder than had been predicted and on the Monday Pat and I went on the Bike to Matlock Bath, a very picturesque riverside Spa town .

It was great to see such enthusiasm for Trains and nostalgia..

The celebrity Peter Waterman opened the line on the Saturday. Apparantly he is train mad.

Battlesbridge, Essex. 2010

2010-05-04T16:03:00.005+01:00

This weekend we decided to go more locally and met up with the East Essex District Association of the Camping and Caravan Club.

We discovered that this group are extremely active and have most of their meets within about 40 miles from home , so ideal for the weekend .

We went with our good friends Dane and Hazel and on the Saturday we went to Heybridge Basin for a walk and a bit of bird spotting.

Rachael and Dave joined us for a BBQ on the Saturday night

The group were very friendly and welcoming.

Deal Cottington Lakes 2010

2010-04-08T07:22:00.003+01:00

Despite the bad weather reports we all bit the bullet and headed fro Deal on the Kent coast, to take part in the Motorhome Fun annual Easter fishing contest .

Prior to going the camp site " Cottington Lakes " tried to cancel us as they were a bit waterlogged, but agreed to let us stay on their hard standing .

Pat took the marshalling a bit seriously and Jane had a lesson on physics but decided to change all the rules .

The weather was better than predicted but sadly not good enough for fishing so Pats reign as the Funster champion will continue for another year.

In the usual style two tents were meshed together and the Funster Arms was declared open.

On Saturday we all took a trip to a local Motorhome dealer. Sonja and Kevin fancied a Burstner, but the right deal didnt materialise. However Sue took a shine to VW Auto Sleeper which she subsequently purchased .

Pat and I visited deal and Sandwich on the scooter and we fell in love with Sandwich. To be truthful we have actually fallen in love with kent as a County .

The usual suspects were in attendance, Dane & Hazel, Sonja & Kevin, Bob & Jane, Sue, Paul and Debbie, Keith and his family and new friends Ray and Claire.

The end result was a very enjoyable weekend with no fishing at all.

Newark Show MH Fun 2010

2010-04-07T23:09:00.002+01:00

And plenty was consumed by all .

How's your eye Steve.

Swanage, Holton Lea and Pewsey Wilts 2010

2010-03-14T07:56:00.008Z

Another great weekend away .

We started with an overnight stop at Swanage . Parking on the sea front the weather was brilliant.

We then met up with some MH Fun friends, Sonja, Kevin, Pam and Brian to name a few. This was at a beautiful location location in Holton Lea. The plot was in the grounds of a centre for disadvataged people and specialsed in offering Arts and Crafts and a weekend break. The rally raised money for the centre.

The camping area was right on the edge of Poole Harbour and the views were terific.

Unfortunately I am still recovering from a recent operation and Pat is recovering from a broken knee so we couldn' enjoy it as much as we would of liked but managed to hobble around a bit like a couple of old folks.

We then went to a Pub called the "Woodbridge Inn" near Pewsey in Wiltshire were we met Chris and had a great evening. He was on a course nearby. Agreat location to stay in the gardens and the Pub Food was superb.

We managed a couple of hundred yards hobble along the canal. It was colder than it looked.

New Year 2010

2010-01-01T16:03:00.003Z

Happy New Year to our Family and Friends

We spent the new year period in Tollerton ( Yorkshire ) in the motorhome with or friends from the Nomads.

Happy xmas 2009

2009-12-25T20:41:00.002Z

Happy Xmas to you all. We hope to meet up with as many of you as possible next year and wish you a happy New Year

Nomads Halloween Nottingham

2009-11-03T18:23:00.009Z

Another great Nomads weekend at the Nottingham national Watersports Centre.

Jonathan had a great time with his new friend Matthew and dressed up in a scary outfit to go trick or treating with his Nana ( Who just wore her normal Saturday night outfit)

Follow the links below or in the right hand column to see the pictures

The evening was finished off with a sparkler session for the kids.

Can you see any ?

Southport Air Show

2009-09-28T19:24:00.005+01:00

What a great weekend with our northern cousins the "Nomads".

Brilliant show and brilliant company

Have a look the the pictures using the link on the right or below

July 2009 Stanford Hall Firework Display

2009-08-17T20:08:00.008+01:00

31st July - 4th August 2009

Great weekend with the Motorhome Facts crew , made some new friends and caught up with some old ones.

Took Jonathan , brilliant display and Jonathan let off a lantern with the help of Tina's dad

Have a look

To see more photos click here

If you want to see a video of some of the display click here , it was fantastic

July 2009 Appledore , Kent

2009-08-17T18:45:00.012+01:00

24th - 28th July 2009

As most of you know , we have become "Motorhomers" and try to get away as much as we can.

We have met some wonderful people and here is one such weekend in Appledore, Kent earlier

this year.

The village of Appledore is beautiful and we went for several walks into the village and along the river.

Although we are members of several motorhome groups, this was our first encounter with the

Kent section of the Camping and caravan club. They made us vey welcome .

We went with some friends from another group.

Namely Sonja & Kevin, Hazel & Dane and Bob & Jane.

To see all the photos from the weekend click here

Welcome to our World

2009-08-17T18:04:00.001+01:00

Welcome to the very first Blog entry by Neil and Pat

We hope to create an on going log of our experiences and travels, that we hope you will enjoy.

Please feel free to to comment on any of the entries

Thanks for tuning in

Neil and Pat