Life after Marjal, Almeria, Altea Denia and Calpe.

We finally admitted defeat on the 2nd of April and waved good bye to the last few remaining die hard Funsters at Marjal.

With a toss of a coin and a little well meant advice we headed south to the region of Almeria. Pat had spent some time on Google and had  come up with a "Quiet Adults Only" site in the small town of Los Gallardos near Vera. She spoke to the site owner " Geoff " who confirmed that it sounded like the perfect tranquil location we needed after Marjal.

We drove up and down the main road in Los Gallardos several times and couldn't locate the site. I was convinced that it had to be on the north side of the road as they were building a motorway on the south side. You guessed it, the site was in fact adjacent to the building site of the motorway and as we pulled on we couldn't hear ourselves think above the sound of the diggers and lorries which were about 10 meters away.

Anyway, Geoff comes out to great us, which was a bit awkward as we had already decided to "Get the F*** out of Dodge" Geoff was  a strange character with thick glasses. He instantly reminded me of "Louis Dega" who was the character played by Dustin Hoffman in the 1973 film Pappilon . To add to this Geoff had loads of bright red blood like hand prints on his T shirt and I knew that he has probably been torturing small animals for the fun of it. Pat politely asked if the noise from the lorries and diggers ever stopped. The reply was "Never, all day and all night "  Bye Bye Geoff.........

As luck would have it it we stumbled into a a Crap site near Villaricos and had a great couple of weeks . Although the site was sad and neglected, the location was fantastic . It was right on the coast and the cycle tracks were superb. We had not been to this area before but were quietly impressed with it's great beaches and rugged coastline. Right outside the site gate you could pick up a cycle route and go for miles ( on the flat, obviously ) A brand new track along a river bed became a daily ride for us and Pat got up to about 12 km on her new Knee. We went fishing in the sea and caught nothing, participated in the local speciality dish called "Chinese" that appears to be the national meal of Spain now.  Pat learnt how to cook Mussells and they were superb.

The wild life was brilliant and  we saw  Hoopoe ,  Serins,  Black Winged Stilts, and Woodchat Shrike . We even heard that if you go onto the beach at night you might get a glimpse of the Common Poof  that frequents the wooded areas looking for a mate.


On the 13th of April we headed back north to the bay of Altea , which is situated on the east coast of Spain just north of Benidorm. Despite its proximity to the mother ship of mobility scooters , Altea was beautiful and we stayed at " Camping cap Blanch" which was right on the sea front.


We only stayed a few days then joined a Motorhome Facts / Roamers Rally further up the coast at Denia ( 12 km North of Denia to be precise )  The site was an Aire and was packed to the door with Rally goers. We met some great people and had several great trips out on our Scooter to nearby towns and villages. 


A week later the whole Rally moved lock stock and barrel to another small Aire ( Camper ground ) in Calpe. This was a much better location for us and we were only about 1km  from the promenade and the famous rock of Calpe. This area proved to be a great place for the Rally and it was great to meet old friends ( I mean old ) and knew friends. A big thanks to Ken and Jenny who made it happen.

I mentioned the rock at Calpe. Well its a bit bigger than the average rock you would find on the beach, being 332 mtrs tall. It is it's own National park and is home to loads of sea birds.

 you can actually climb up to the top and myself and a younger rally member did just that. It only took 2 hours to the top.  I was able to speak to pat on the site with the Walkie Talkies. I have got to say that this climb is not for the faint hearted and was a bit treacherous and  hard under foot. Luckily, when traversing the narrow paths with shear drop at the side the Spanish had kindly put a bit of rope on place top  try and grab as you plummeted into the sea.

For the full slideshow experience click here  Almeria  Denia and Calpe


Well the rally has now finished and tomorrow we head for Barcelona.........

Life at Marjal

We are led to believe that Spain is on the edge of economic crisis.  Well someone found 22 million euros stuffed down the back of their couch and decided to build “ Marjal Costa Blanca , Eco Resort” camp site.
This site is brand new and probably one of the biggest I have seen, with approximately 2000 pitches. Luckily for us it was only running at about 20 % when we arrived. Its facilities were second to none with plush  toilet blocks with acres of marble and under floor heating. It even had an separate marbled area for washing your dog . ( that's not a euphemism )  The brand knew Spa and Gym were fantastic and included in the price. Pat went to the gym every day ( chasing young Spaniards around ) The Spa had water jets that blasted places that should be blasted . ( I didn’t like the one I named the sac slapper )
The pitches were spacious, but unfortunately had been constructed entirely from apple crumble. Although they looked solid and crunchy on the surface, when it rained it all turned liquid and a few vans had to be towed to new plots. I think constructing camping areas from classical puddings was a grave mistake on the part of the “Marjal “ group.
Although the site is currently quite un attractive ( because its barren and new ) it will eventually develop into something quite special when all the trees and shrubs have matured. It’s location is quite remote and not an an area that I would call “Pretty Spain” but it was only 20 mins from the coast and had a mountain backdrop that was impressive.
Anyway, we didn’t go there for its prettiness, we went to join the Motorhome Fun rally that was taking place . About 27 vans were in attendance and it was great fun meeting up with old friends and making new acquaintances.
The rally went well and included several gatherings that appeared to revolve around food.
Every Saturday saw a mass exodus to the local market for our veg and coffee in the square. We also discovered a local restaurant called Harry’s and became regulars
Several of us attended Spanish lessons with the beautiful Anita but it soon became clear that she had her class favourites
The rally itself seemed to fly by and the 3 weeks went in a flash. It was all too soon that people were leaving and all of a sudden only the die hards with nowhere else better to go were left.
Right from the outset the staff at Marjal told us that they were expecting a large ( 1000 units ) Spanish Rally on the 30th March that would last for about 10 days. No problem we thought as they were going to occupy the far end of the site.
Well about a week before they started the forward party arrived and constructed a marquee which was a similar size to Alaska. I have never seen a tent so big.  Our friends Gerald and Annie ,who had sunk when the crust on their apple crumble gave way, decided to move to a new plot that was even closer to the mothership. Bless them I think they intended to make the most of soaking up the Spanish festivities and culture that we believed would take place.
Well the Spanish rally kicked off and we soon discovered that the newly constructed mothership was in fact a cloaking device for the biggest speaker in the world and  the bass dial was turned to full. Every night ( until the small hours ) our vans shook and nobody slept. I lay in bed listening to the booming bass wandering what it would have been the Aztec King Montezuma who also had a bit of a Spaniard problem.   Poor Gerald and Annie lasted less than 24 hours before they had lost all their mental abilities and had to leave. We followed a few hours later.
On reflection though, the whole stay at Marjal was fantastic, We met some great people and Pat celebrated her 25th Birthday for the second time.

We have now headed south. Updates will follow soon I am sure …………………………………

The Road to Marjal

Recently our lives have been a bit hectic to say the least. I thought retiring would mean lots of doing nothing, going out, laying in etc. I was beginning to think I had been robbed..

Most of you will know that we have a hair brained plan to build a truck and drive around the world. The first stage of such a journey is to get rid of all the baggage you can, so it was decided that we would sell the house and go to Germany to source and build the truck.  I always knew that all the various stages would be on a tight time schedule and the chances of it all coming together were none.

Just to make things even tighter we had a change of plan and decided to squeeze a few months of holiday in as well so we set our sights on Spain.

A week after we moved out of our home we were heading south with all our worldly goods on our backs like a snail. ( Except for the 5 van loads we dumped on our daughters )

We didn't get too far and pitched in at Canterbury for our first stop to meet up with our great friends Andy and Lorraine.  If you haven't been there, put Canterbury on your list, its a great place for a weekend.

Canterbury Aire

Yes I know it looks like a car park and I would be pushed to argue otherwise, but it was cheap and close to town on the Park and Ride.

Early Monday the 27th Feb we were on a ferry and then heading south through France

This was it, the first stage of our new life and it was raining.

Aire at Chateaudin

We knew that Spain was a long way so several stops were factored in. The first night we stayed in a French Aire ( Motorhome stopping area ) on the banks of the river Loir at Chateaudin, South of Chartres on the N10. We were ready to stop as we had had the obligatory " getting lost " in Rouen.

Pat spotted this stop by chance and it's definitely one to remember.

We were parked on the right of this shot just out of view.

The next day we munched through the miles and spend a fantastic evening with our old friends Eric and Jan who are renovating a fantastic collection of barns in a small hamlet near La Rochefoucauld in the Charente region of France. we have been their many times and always seem to take a different route. Well thanks to "Mr Garmin" we excelled this time and did the last 30 miles on single track roads. The next day when we Eric gave us directions to a major road about 1 mile away. We wish we had seen that  the day before.

From here we hot footed it down the Pyenees to stay with an old work mucker at his new home in Araujuzon, near Pau.

Tony and Lynn Clarke gave up life in blighty 2 years ago and for their sins decided to dedicate their lives, souls and bank balances towards the renovation of a fantastic old farm house. They are well on the way but still have a lot of work to do. A great night was had and we thank them for their hospitality.

Knowing that we had a very long  journey ahead of us we got up late and set of just before lunch. !!!!

After about  1 hour we stopped for lunch at the foot of the Pyrenees on the French side. The pressure was now on if we were to make Zaragosa in Spain by night fall. After about another hour eagle eyed Pat saw one of those little camper stop signs nailed to a tree pointing along some little lane . Lets have a look we decided, so we followed the road up and up and up and even more up into the heart of the mountains.     The bends got tighter and snow was heaped up at the side of the roads. I was really proud of myself when we got the end of the road. I remember thinking to myself how well I had done and what a brilliant driver I was as we pulled into the coach park next to a massive french coach.

The Zaragosa plan was abandoned and we decided  to stay here the night. I think it was one of the most beautiful peaceful locations we had ever stayed. We were over 1000 meters above sea level in a snow covered valley in the heart of the Pyrenees  . We were probably the only humans for miles around.    

Zaragosa flew by and we drove a long way towards our elusive destination of Marjal Camping , near Alicante.

A last stopover was required and the only place we could find that was open was a small site in "Puzol" near Sagunto.We were both very tired and when we pulled up outside our hearts sank, It looked like a dump. A quick bit of research revealed tat we had no choice but to use it.

The main avenue in the site looked like the high street Mumbai. The Spanish have a habit of creating what looks like shanty towns from old caravans, sheets of plastic and corrugated  metal. It also looked abandoned like a scene from a nuclear disaster film. The large murals of graffiti were especially inviting.  Anyway the touring section at the rear wasn't that bad after all .

The next day we made it to Camping Majal. This site, near Catral.  is brand new and is absolutely huge . 

We met with our friends from Motorhome Fun and have now set up home for the next month.

despite its newness and lack of greenery it is a fantastic place and the facilities, pool and spa are second to none.

 

So far we have immersed ourselves in Spanish culture and ate in a couple of English Bars.

I think a separate blog entry all about it will follow soon 

 

Anorak Corner

 

Aire in Canterbury     N51.26146     E01.10032

Aire in Chateaudun    N48.11230     E01.32828

Aire in Pyrenees         N42.90999     W00.61923

Camping Pucol           N43.927         W04.3922

 

  

The end of an Era.

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

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"

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.

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.

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.