27 March 2024

Arsenal Membership Gifts....

Each time you go to a game you earn points that can be spent on  shop items online (not the main club shops though!!)  or entering draws to win tickets.  

We had 1400 points that basically could only afford either beanie hat or a foam hand!  I used a 1000 points on the beanie. We currently have 745 left and bugger all to spend it on.

So who would have it? 

Phil and I share my membership 50/50. So I created a random name picker from the internet and here is the result!



24 March 2024

Oldham Athletic @ The Daggers

The least said about the game the better. Both sides poor in the first half. Both tried a bit harder in the second half 

They had a shot that hit the post and pinged across the goal to safety.

We had a header palmed off the line by the keeper and then in the death throes a shot from a corner was blocked on the line...


I decided to ride up as the train and tube was a hassle.

I dressed for the worst weather. Three pairs of gloves, two winter and one summery. Waterproof trousers and of course, the old Frank Thomas jacket was brought out of wardrobe.

Like a lot of my gear it's getting old. At least the waterproofness is still good. 

It was sunny when I set off and I decided to fill up the tank in Hythe. Then off into the wind on the M20. By Ashford it clouded over. 

Operation Brock (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Brock) is on and so we crawl along at 50 on the motorway. Brock isn't needed this weekend, but deploying it during last weekend is ready for Easter!

It got greyer ahead but to the right it was all blue sky! Then just after Brock ended it began to rain. It morphed into sleet. Big blobs on the screen and my visor. Then finally... Hail. It rattled off the bike and me like having pebbles fired at me. 

The Frank didn't do much to stop me getting peppered! But even after all these years it was still waterproof.

Once at Dartford then traffic was solid. Lane splitting went okay with only the odd wanker that moved to close the gap.

Arriving at the ground I headed into the car park. The stewards told me to park with another bike right outside the players entrance. 

This is another new ground for me.


After the game it was basically ride the journey in reverse of the way up.

I was home about 1830. Six hours door to door.


And to cap the day off the dipped beam headlamp blew!  It was working when I got home. Went in to get the garage key, and came out to open the garage, and it was out. 


22 March 2024

This week's Greyhound Photos!

 

Valerie the puppy

LtoR: Tyrone, Oscar & Valerie


Oscar


Oscar!

Boo



Vimy 107

🇨🇦 April 9th 2024 🇨🇦

Not long now. Hopefully the weather will improve and it will be a good day out. 

Last year we arrived late and had to park the bikes by the visitor centre. So I will aim to get there earlier and park in the nearest parking. 

In previous years, apart from Vimy 100, there haven't been that many visitors! The small parking near the monument not even half full!

The Battle of Vimy Ridge by Richard Jack

We arrived late last year as it was Easter and we spent far too long at Notre Dame de Lorette having lunch. Mostly because the service was so abysmally sloooooow. On top of that, we had buggered around on the N roads getting there.

This year I will be solo. Billy No-Mates as it were.  I'll take the A26 and pay the toll. Both ways. I need to remember to take the Emovis tag from the Moho and slip it in my pocket.

I have just done the advanced passenger information (API) for P&O. It has to be done every time. Le Shuttle retain the information on their website and travellers simply tick the box to add it to the trip.


Awaycation Summer 2024 - Spain

With the Norfolking About trip over I am now starting to look at the main summer holiday trip to Spain and France.

Altogether we are away for 22 nights. The first two will be spent on the ocean wave going to Bilbao.

I have the next two nights booked in a site on the coast at Laredo. This will give Reggie a chance to recover from the trip. He has been on a ferry before but only for a couple of hours. This crossing looks to be more like 30! 

What then? I have been looking at the "scenic" routes on the map book. These are lined with a green line. In particular the routes through the mountains taking in viewpoints and places of interest.

What looks to be long distances in the "AA Road Atlas Spain & Portugal" is in fact around 60 miles.

The scenic routes criss-cross the mountains and the Picos d'Europa.  

I am using Park4night and Search4Sites to get an idea where there are parkups and camp sites.

It does look like that area is well served with both.

After that? I am thinking of a loop around to the north of Madrid and towards the Pyrenees.

By mid to late May I expect the winter will be well behind us. I would like to head up through the Somport Tunnel, the pass didn't look 7m x 2.9m x 2.3m motorhome friendly when we went over it in 2022 on the bikes, and check out the scenery.

The only fixed date is the return Le Shuttle train home and the night before overnight stay at Guines.

We will have to get Reggie's worming and passport 🛂 stamped between 5 days and 1 day before we arrive on UK soil.

Where to do that? I like the vets in Cavignac to the north of Bordeaux. We have also used others in Abbeville and Neufchatel en Bray.

I am leaning towards Cavignac at the moment. 

It all depends on when we cross from Spain into France.

Neufchatel and Abbeville are a little too close to Calais and the already booked overnight in Guines.

More to follow as the trip gets ever closer.

21 March 2024

Norfolking About! Day 5

After a quiet night at Nelson's Patch we set off. 

We were going to meet Claire's sister, Sally, at  Snape Maltings for lunch, and to have a look around the craft shops and art galleries.  Well, they were. Reggie and I were having lunch and then would have a mooch around the site. 

The cafe was dog friendly but few of the other places were. Maybe the pub?

The drive down would take about an hour and forty minutes according to Ohrex! And it was pretty much spot on. We did overshoot the entrance to the car parking as I thought from the view on Google maps that it would be on the right and not the left. In the end we got parked right at the back in the overflow car park. Parking that was almost empty when we arrived.

Lunch over they went to look around the aforementioned establishments and we had a walk around. My phone ran out of battery and so we returned to the van to put it on charge and to  get the Canon DSLR out!  

(Photos to follow)

Then it was time to leave as we still have about three hours to drive home.  With the M25 and Dartford to contend with we didn't want to be too late.  As it was the traffic on both sets of roadworks on the A12 weren't too bad, and neither was Dartford in the end.

It was just before 1800 that we rolled onto the drive.  The problem with getting home is the unpacking. We did most of it straight away but left a lot until the next day.

Another trip is over. We don't have anything planned now until our big trip to Spain and back up through France in May.

Norfolking About! Day 4

Monday.

With the weather continuing to be good we set off from Wells. Pretty much backtracking along the A149 to Sheringham. 

We once again had hours to cover 30 or so miles. So we decided to stop off at another National Trust site at Fellbrigg Hall. We have been here before. I set the satnav to take us there when we were half way along the road. 

We had thought to simply use Google Maps but one of the turns looked too iffy for the van.

In the end the Ohrex took us on a weird square trip off the main road down the muddiest single track road. We encountered a 4x4 coming the other way with just enough room to squeeze past each other. 

Then we were back onto the same main road around 200 yards from where it made us turn off! It hasn't ballsed up like that before.

The right turn into the hall's long driveway was only about 400 yards further up!

We parked up by backing into a space, separated from an Autoquest 185 by a fence. He had been luckier than us and avoided muddy lanes. The 185 was spotless. Ours is filthy.

With it being Monday there were far fewer visitors and we got a nice sunny table in the courtyard. After a coffee and a sit in the sun we decided it was time to get going. 

We were able to get in to Nelson's Patch, our last overnight from 1300. We wanted to get there early so that we could enjoy the time there and then have a walk to the beach at Walcott.

I had chosen pitch 13. Nelson's Patch has all the pitches named after Admiral Lord Nelson and the ships that took part in the Battle of Trafalgar.

Norfolk has lots of references to Nelson as he was from that area.

Pitch 13 is Dreadnought. Over the centuries since 1801 when this ship was launched, there have been many ships taking the name.


Once settled in we had a visit from the site owner who came to mow the lawn. He chatted with Claire for a while.

We went out for a walk. We left Reggie behind as he didn't want to go far from the van. He had been good for the three days before including long walks on the beaches.

We wanted to go to the local shop. Once we got to the beach we went down on the promenade and walked along to where we thought the shop was .. only to find it wasn't!

There was a pub. Luckily to brighten the mood there was an ice-cream can. A 99 was consumed sitting on a bench overlooking the sea. 

As we walked back we found the shop! It was about 50 yards from where we went down to the promenade! We went in and bought a few bits and pieces and bread.

Back at the van we had dinner and another quietish night watching the TV. 

Tomorrow we leave for home.

(Photos to follow)

Norfolking About! Day 3

A little rain in the morning and we were late setting off. we had over two hours to do about 30 miles and so we needed somewhere to stop on the way.  

The National Trust gardens at Sheringham Park was almost on the way. So once we had done the chores etc, I set that into the satnav and off we went.  This part of the journey was pretty much straightforward and we easily found the place and parked in the coach parking area.  There seemed to be space for two coaches next to the electric car hookup spaces. As usual, there were cars parked in the coach spaces! Why?  The car-park was about 50% empty but there were few spaces to accommodate a 7m long van.

As is our habit we tried out the cafe first and were lucky enough to get a seat under cover as it was still drizzling. There were plenty of people there as it was a weekend and also lots of dogs. Reggie ignored them all.....

We decided as it was drizzling to do the shorter "yellow" walk. The park is full of rhododendrons and other trees. The rhododendrons were beginning to flower but not all at once. Another bugbear is when you see a sign that suggests that dogs should be kept in a lead in the park, and you are constantly getting approached by dogs running wild, it does p*** me off. Not everyone wants your dog running at them or jumping up at them. Reggie doesn't like being crowded and looked over by bigger dogs! Rant over.

The second part of the journey took us from here to the coast at Sheringham and then all along the A149 coast road via Cley next the Sea and Blakeney. It's very narrow in places. It's very bumpy in places too. I think I handled it okay though. :)

I missed a turning in Wells and we went around the block and approached the harbour from the opposite direction but I don't think it costs us more than a minute or two. We checked in at Pinewoods about 1430.  After the barrier opened for us I went straight on into the static caravan and glamping part of the park. The left turn that the receptionist told us to turn looked like a car-park behind reception.  It wasn't!  DOH!

In the end we found out pitch, no3.  All pitches are fully serviced and so we have water clean and waste as well as electricity on the pitch.  I need to get a waste pipe to connect to the outlet on the van so that we can make use of the drains for the grey water.  It would save having to use the motorhome service areas and time. Note to self:  check that out!

We had lunch and then set off for a walk to Holkham Beach. There is a gate at the back of the touring park that takes the walker to a path alongside the nature reserver and to the beach. I had expected to arrive on the beach and then walk along the sand to the car-park on the end of the river and then get back to Pinewoods. In the end we did a curious loop and ended back on the same path we went out on.  If we go again, we'll know better. The cafe and shop at the public car-park was closed by the time we got there in any case.

Another night of eating and watching stuff on the Firestick.  We found a series on Prime starring Alfred Molina as a French Canadian police officer in Quebec investigating murders and the running story is that of the missing First Nation women and girls. A scandal of huge proportions along with the forced removal of children to be "educated" away from their heritage.  

Tomorrow, we are moving again. This stop was simply a taster for for site and we might come back.

(Photos to be added when I get to the laptop)


Norfolking About! Day 2

Before we set off, the weather forecast for the weekend wasn't looking too good. On the way up it had rained until we left Essex and had brightened up. A little spit of rain as we approached Cromer but that was all.

This morning after breakfast we got our gear on, walking boots, and set off to find the beach.  It was much easier than we had made it the evening before.  Part of the route goes between two static caravan parks and there is no traffic, but eventually there's a 50m section of so that meant Reggie had to put up with the cars and buses!  There are bus stops right outside the site entrance and so with our senior citizens bus passes we could have used the bus for free.

East Runton has some shops and the de rigeur fish and chip shop and a cafe.  Ideal for the holiday maker staying a little nearer than we were. From the road there's a hill past the car park. Half of which has a height barrier (at the back) and the front half without. Guess where the cars were parked? Yep. In the bit where it was only possible to park a camper over 2m high! 

At the bottom are a couple of fishing boats and the tractors that pull them from the sea. Talking of sea. It was quite a way out and was popular with surfers and some swimmers. 









We turned right and walked along the harder sand, dodging the occasional wave that came up further. The walk to Cromer Pier is about 2 miles?  We didn't let Reggie off the lead, but he was on the longer 8m extendable lead should he want to run about. There were so many other dogs on the beach that we needed to keep an eye on him. As he has got older he tends to ignore most dogs unless they "rush" him.

Once at the pier we went on and found a cafe for a coffee and a sit down. 




It's quite a workout for the calves walking on soft sand. It was quite warm and the cafe had glass windbreaks that did an excellent job. Claire wanted to go into the town to look for an art cafe and so once we had "done" the pier and she had looked in the RNLI museum and shop we headed up into the town.   I had the Canon camera with me and took a few photos as we waited for her in the shop and museum.

(I'll add these to both blogs as soon as they are published and editable - this update is emailed in from my phone)





We found the cafe and while I waited outside she went in for a look. Then it was back to the beach.  We stopped and chatted to a couple who have a patterdale cross as well. Their dog was in their car as at 17yo he was already tired out!  Reg is only 13.5yo!

Walking back was more tiring than expected . The tide was still out but of course the damp hard sand of earlier was now drier and fluffier.

We basically retraced our steps earlier on our way back to Molly. Dinner and an evening of watching the TV using the Firestick.

Tomorrow, we move on to Wells next the Sea and another camp. Only for one night to check it out for maybe a longer stay in the future. As it's only about 30 miles we'll look at a stop somewhere on the way.

Norfolking About! Day 1

Friday.  We finished loading the van up and set off about 1030 or so.  We had to navigate the Dartford Crossing and given that it was Friday, we were expecting a tough crossing.  

For some reason there are four lanes of traffic that approach from both sides. The Bridge coming south and the tunnels going north are also four lanes.  So why doesn't the traffic simply get in lane and drive through without miles of tailbacks on both sides?  There's a 50mph limit and that shouldn't cause any problems, but it does.  

Maybe the drivers that use it are too stupid for their own good!

Anyway although there was some traffic building up it wasn't as bad as we have seen it in previous occasions and we were through reasonably quickly. We usually stop at the services at Thurrock just after the Crossing but we had already planned a farm shop stop at one that had been recommended by The FrenchiesMotorhomies on YouTube.

To get there the Ohrex satnav had decided that we would take the M11/A11 route to Norwich and so this found us stopping for a comfort break at Birchanger on the M11.  It was okay getting in, but bedlam getting out as the roadworks around the junction allied with poorly timed traffic lights meant hardly anyone got out again onto the large roundabout each time they went green!

The next stop was that farm shop. The butcher's shop has some lovely local meat and we bought some of their Toulouse sausages and a pork pie. Some other bits and pieces including a local beer from the main shop.  Parking was easy enough.


Then we were off. The satnav then took us into the edge of Norwich on the laughingly named inner ring road.  Stop/start traffic until we got out to the airport.  We noticed that petrol and diesel is far more expensive here than at home. And that's unusual!

We eventually arrived at the Seacroft Caravan Club site at East Runton about 1630. Check in was simple and this is one of the sites that actually make a note of what  pitches are free.  As we were booked on a hardstanding but no awning pitch we had to look for a set of white pegs delimiting the pitch.  We had a choice of two.  We chose one nearest the entrance and less distance to walk through to the entrance and to the beach...

Once setup and the moho on the ramps and the electricity hooked up we had a cup of tea before venturing out to find the beach. We wanted to see how close it was for a day out the next day. In the end we managed to go the wrong way and ended up in a private area with the beach some 50 to 100 feet below us.  At least we knew now where we went wrong.

Tomorrow we will be out earlier and find the beach and walk along to Cromer pier and town.