Poor Gareth. This whole motorhome acquisition event has had the shine taken off it, first by the hassle we had getting our money back for the first one, and now by a fluey cold (is it man-flu, though, I wonder). Our plan to join the family in Stoke this weekend was thwarted by a virus! Concerned that flu might be brewing I insisted we wait a day before getting on the road. It did give us a bit more time to organise the van and on Sunday, we headed off through mid-Wales, anticipating an early camp so that the poorly captain could get some rest. In the event, we kept going (or Gareth, as driver, kept going, drinking strong coffee and sucking cough sweets). We hoped we might make it to a campsite near Stoke and still have some time with the family. Tall order. So we booked ahead to a nice club site near Oswestry (Lady Margaret’s Caravan and Motorhome Club site), arrived in the dark and opened the wine! Chillax!
We're actually heading for Preston. On Tuesday morning we have to be at a motorhome service centre run by a Hymer enthusiast and specialist. The van was booked in for a couple of repairs before we bought it, so Preston is where we have to go. From there - who knows where we might wander. Everything we need is on board.
In terms of this being an exercise in living differently, apparently we aren't so different after all! There are loads of people out on the roads in motorhomes and caravans, going and stopping where the fancy takes them. We were surprised this evening to find this site quite full! And it's a large site! The term “travellers” usually denotes unwashed anarchists in decrepit eccentric trucks, travelling in convoys to wander the countryside making a mess of farmers’ land. However, there is definitely a sector of travellers that are well heeled and conventional in every club membership, satellite TV subscribing, Sunday car-washing, fleece-wearing, M&S shopping respect (sorry, have I just created another stereotype? We don't entirely conform to that one, either). Fat pensions or inheritances have enabled the current older generation to live like birds, and wave at other travellers as they pass each other on the highways and byways. It's another fellowship. Most, of course, have a paid-for home to go home to as well, I suspect, unlike us for whom ‘home’, currently, is a collection of stuff distributed between two sons’ properties, a storage unit and a static caravan. The latter will be our abode once the season starts. Yes, we are buying a house, but we won't be living in it ourselves initially. We will rent it out in order to pay for travel.
Tonight (Monday) we are at Southport in a club site poised to get to Preston early tomorrow. Attached are some photos taken at a beach spot nearby. It's near Pontins and it's clear that the place has seen more vibrant times!
By the way - something to make you smile. When I mentioned in the previous blog post about our not-checking-the-toilet-cassette mistake, I didn't say that while we have a bucket on board…..it's a collapsible one!
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