Nice and easy does it!

Some were wondering why we are not moving regularly (Travelling not constitution!). The main reason at the moment is that there isn't a lot open, unlike the UK the cogs of the French leisure industry don't start turning until 1st April. Also by taking our time we are saving money especially on diesel and if we find somewhere we like then we will stay a little longer. We are taking in so much about the French way of life and we have noticed in some areas it is like being back in the UK in the 1960's. Low population for the area means no queues anywhere! and on some roads you hardly see any traffic. It makes you realise what an over populated country the UK is becoming and the French seem to have more communal values that are often now eroded by the direction the UK is heading. So far, that means its a great place to be with fine wines, great food, no potholes, no road rage, no over the top health & safety and lovely people which equals relaxation nearing utopia. Long may it continue and I hope we haven't peaked too early!.

Our current location must be the French Capital for fishing. It is just full of lakes and fishermen with more fishing gadgets than I knew existed. Everyone talks fishing here and some leave roads out overnight. Today we are watching unmanned rods out on the various platforms around the lake on high tech stands with electronic alarms which every now and then emit a quite tone with a light flashing where a man will rush out from his caravan with wife in hot pursuit with a massive net to catch one of several types of fish that will be on the hook. The fish is then loveingly and gently brought ashore in the net and parted with its hook before its gently lifted into the water free to swim away. No one eats any of the fish which look delicious. I'm going to run out with my frying pan in a minute to capture one when no one is looking!. Apparently its called Coarse fishing, I would call it more like 'of coarse not' fishing.

We had a lovely 9K walk yesterday in really hot weather, we crossed fields and areas here beside the Somme where previously troops from both world wars had marched. We passed derelict buildings probably where troops would have taken refuge watching the next village in the distance to capture from the Germans and got a eerie feeling of what it must have been like for them. We eventually emerged from the woods into a village and could almost imagine the French resistance coming out to meet us with wine and cheese. There is so much history all over these battlefields around the Somme here and so fascinating to learn the local history. We are hoping to visit some trenches left from World War 1 before we depart next week.

We are booked ahead in the far eastern side of France in the Champagne region near the Luxembourg border for Easter and finally heading to the Lorraine region for a while. 

Au revoir!

Yellow card for the Sat Nav!

Monday 26th and we finally left our very nice campsite and village of Licques and headed out of the Plas de Calais region into the Picardie region and the Somme Valley. En route the Sat Nav sent me the wrong way into a no entry street and into a square. Luckily it was a small town that was taking its lunchtime siesta so with red faces we hid amongst some market traders vans before consulting the map and making our hasty exit the right way this time!. Whilst at the town we managed to find a bank to take on some more Euros and on the way out found a supermarket with some very cheap diesel…(£1.21p per litre) hurrah!. Most petrol stations are unmanned and it seems you just chuck in your credit card and off you go. After a long refill I took my card out and the computer system on the pumps immediately crashed much to the mumbling of the local drivers who couldn't get any fuel. I hope they didn't think it was anything to do with me!!.

We arrived at a very spacious campsite and like has been the norm' we were allowed to choose which pitch we preferred. This campsite had only a 2 star rating and seeing Lorraine's face when she emerged from the unisex toilet block indicated that we weren't going to be staying here for too long!. We normally only book two nights and thoroughly check the site out before deciding to stay a little longer. 

This afternoon (Tues 27th) we have sat outside in some lovely weather and chosen our next campsite near Saint Quinten and beside the river Somme. Lorraine's french is getting better all the time and this time we phoned the owners who understood Lorraine perfectly and we are all booked ready to go in the morning.

Christmas came again like the unpacking of the iRon the other day, this time in the form of the Black & Decker iVac!.. What a fantastic machine that is that cleans and hoovers the interior of the van perfectly and has brought another smile to Lorraine's face who now has a fast growing arsenal of 'i' gadgets!. Even the sound level of the iVac is perfectly acceptable as I can only hear a gentle hum of the motor whilst outside drinking wine in the sunshine!… (don't know if this bit of text will get past the censorship).

Internet is really pants on this campsite as well and I am pre writing this ready to walk down to the reception later to get a slow signal to upload it to the blog. Catch up with you all at the next site!..

Au revoir!

Never forgotten!

One of my tick boxes was to visit one of the many British War cemeteries. There are so many around here and it's not until you are over here you realise the sheer scale of what went on and what these ordinary young men and woman had to go through. I visited the Terlincthun Cemetery at Wimille which was one of the nearest to us and also one of the larger with over 3700 graves from the two great wars. I just had to show my gratitude with a few flowers for the sacrifice they made so that we can all do the things we do and take so much for granted today.

We've arrived!

Well, what an exciting day that was. The crossing went without a hitch and customs man just wanted to make sure I had turned the gas off. I realised after the crossing that I had a petrol can on board for the generator which is not allowed but he missed that! Probably Bradley trying to lick him did the trick there, must remember that at other crossings! Once the train spat us out we only had a 25km drive to the campsite at Licques. Lovely away from it all small site run by a very nice Monsieur Lance. We watched Spotlight South West (how weird is that?) over a French salad and will walk into the small village of Licques tomorrow to meet the locals. We will plot our next move tomorrow and will probably head towards Dijon (for some mustard?). Lorraine has spotted a small football pitch to do some running on and I will find a local War Cemetary to visit. Catch up later... Au revoir!

The iPad Vs the iRon

Many of you know how I like my gadgets and how I am often asked by Lorraine (who doesn't embrace the gadget world like me) whether I really need it?! However, the iPad is really becoming a useful tool for us already in many ways not only with emails etc but translations and 'apps' for everything that we need whilst touring. That was until Lorraine opened our new little travel iron, the look of excitement on her face said it all, it was like Christmas had arrived early. This thing was a little beauty and actually upstaged the iPad for about an hour whilst it had its first test run on the inbuilt motorhome ironing board!. So, we have learnt that the iPad isn't everything and even an iRon can bring a smile to your face!.

So far so good.....

It's been two whole weeks since I finished work and it's great! We have all settled into our new way of life including Bradley. Maximus has his new adornments strategically placed with the good luck gifts we were given, thanks again! We've done a few
miles already and we couldn't believe the amount of times we passed Rackenford! We are currently just north of Dover and we have our slot in the tunnel booked for Monday - eek! I'm still managing to get some running done although 'Ike' is yet to get his maiden cycle under his wheels, you know what I mean!! Today sees Andrew, Bradley and I pore over what seems like an endless amount of European maps that Andrew has purchased, wish us luck, it looks like it may take us some time!! So on that note, Au Revoir until next time. Love to you all L, A & B dog xxx

Tunnel booked!

Channel Tunnel is booked for midday this coming Monday 19th. Moving up to Kent on Thursday and we really must get the maps out and plan which direction to head off in!... "bonnet de douche" as Del Boy would say!

We are out of Devon...finally!

We finally broke the cord and got out of Devon today and had a lovely journey up to Emsworth near Portsmouth. We intend to visit the historic quays and HMS Victory and start planning the first few days into France. Thank you to all our family and friends for you kind gifts, cards and good wishes.

Manic!

What a manic few days that was but we are finally out of the Chapel. Motorhome sprung a gas Leak but thanks to a mobile service we met at a parking area on the A361 and it was fixed in a jiffy. Now at Morrisons picking up a few supplies before heading to the first campsite in Tavistock for a good nights rest!