Welcome

Hello to all you fellow motorhomers and welcome.
I hope you get as much fun reading this as I do writing it.







Sunday 21 May 2023

Motorhome Security

A common post on many motorhome sites is the notification that a vehicle has been stolen. 

Sometimes this theft is from a driveway right outside of the house.

The realization of this must be absolutely devasting to the people involved. 

So the question arises how to prevent this from happening. 

I have been told that if someone wants to steal your vehicle (motorhome or car) nothing will stop them.
The only thing to do is to make it as hard and as inconvenient as possible.

I would like to suggest 2 things which make stealing your motorhome a less attractive proposition.

They are both relatively cheap and once done you can then forget about things and get back to enjoying outings in your wonderful acquisition.

They don't make breaking into your motohome any more difficult. 
What they do is

  1. Make it easier for your vehicle to be tracked by the police 
  2. Make it more time consuming to modify your motorhome
  3. Make it more expensive to hide the identity of your motorhome
The cheapest and simplest thing is to get your registion number in "stick on vinyl vehicle letters".
The company I got mine from many years ago now sent me 2 sets. 
  • A large red set to stick on the roof. This was so that the motorhome could be easily tracked by any police helicopter.
  • A small red set which I stuck on to the top right hand back of the motorhome. Hopefully some eagle eyed motorist would notice if this was different from the actual number plate. 
Of course these can be removed but this would be very difficult and after a short while almost impossible as a sticky residue would be left behind

The second theft prevention action I took was more expensive but I thought well worth it.

I got a company to engrave my registration number on every window in the vehicle; 
  •    the windows in the cab
  •    all the windows in the habitation area. 

This was considerably more expensvie than the vinyl letters but I think a greater deterrent as it was immediately obvious that a great deal needed to be done to change the credentials of the motorhome


Thursday 29 December 2022

Read of the Month (Dec 2022)

 Even though I have taken some time out from social media,
 I have not stopped reading. 

Yes I have not read as much but
the books have been really interesting, as ever.

I read this book some time ago.

It explains how the geography of countries have influenced their politics.
This in turn influenced their history
both ancient and modern. 

I now have a greater understanding of why certain things happened,
especially recent events such as the war in Ukraine 
and the situation in China.

What is the book?

Prisoners
     of
Geography

     by

Tim Marshall


The information is well presented
so it is easy to read
but with so much information 
it is difficult to remember everything.

In the light of the pandemic and the fall out 
I intend to read this again soon.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


 


Tuesday 10 May 2022

Puppy in a Motorhome(or not)

 At what age do you take a puppy out in a motorhome?

Even though I have had 3 puppies previously 
I cannot remember when I first took them out in the motorhome


Last year my wonderful dog Pearl had a
third litter.
They were born on 1st November
She had 6 puppies
All boys.


I kept one of the puppies even though I would have prefered a bitch.

I have called him Pippin
because that goes well with Pearl.
Pearl is so patient, allowing
him to sleep "on top" of her
even now he is bigger.


Pippin is very good at just 6 months.
We have been away in the motorhome 
but only for day trips.
I am not sure if Pearl aproves.
I intended to then go away just 
for one night as a trial.


This did not happen as I got Covid.
Now I am not sure what to do.

He is still not consistently clean all through the night.
I think this is partly my fault.
Would he behave differently in the motorhome?

Should I try going away over night with him?
If so when?

Any suggestions welcome.


Monday 2 May 2022

Read Of the Month (April 2022)

It has been over a year since I last posted a #ReadoftheMonth.
This had not been because I have not been reading but because
I have been too busy to post regularly

Read of the Month is back

Although it is May I will start with a suggestion for April.

I selected this book originally because I heard the author
Geoffrey Parker discussing it on a podcast. 
It sounded intriguing.

As we were in the middle of a "global crisis" I thought it was a
appropriate to read even though it was about problems
during the 17th century.

Global Crisis 
    War,
    Climate Change and
    Catastrophe
    in 17th Century
         by
Geoffrey Parker

Though all the events described took place many
years ago, it was a depressing book as there seemed to
be so many parallels with today even though the
climate change problems were with a mini ice-age
rather than global warming. 

I persisted with the book. At least in this day and age
science provides many more answers to unusual events
and faster communications allow these to be shared
more quickly.

Despite everything I found it an interesting read.

 









Saturday 13 November 2021

Busy Time (Puppies 1)

 My intention to post regulrly, every week failed miserably.

First there were the maps to complete for my next walking book

Then on 2nd November Pearl had 6 puppies,

       Pearl's 3rd litter next day

Pearl was much more relaxed than I was. This was primarily due to the fact that on hearing she was going to have puppies, people reagaled me stories of puppy mishaps and how lucky I was to have had such successful litters.

This litter has been a surprise.
Pearl was very big in the days just before she gave birth.
Either she was going to have a big litter or big puppies.
I hoped it would be a big litter as big puppies could be a serious problem.

As it turned out she had quite a small litter;
6 puppies all of a similar size 
But 
all dogs(no bitches)
and a range of colour from deep fox red to very pale
(her previous litters were mostly fox red with just one pale one)

The litter of 6 all lying on top of each other








Having a litter all of the same sex is not unusual.
However this has created a problem for for me.
The reason I had a third litter is to keep the darkest bitch.
No bitch.  So what to do?
It is not possible for Pearl to have another litter.

So I am going to keep the darkest boy.

This is going to be a new chapter;
A novel and challenging experience.

Whether or not I will have another litter 
only time will tell..

I have no idea what to call him.
Suggestions welcome.
There is a bottle of wine for the best one.

Here are some photos of the litter when they were 8 days old


















Friday 22 October 2021

Back at Last

 I have been unable to post in the blog for several reasons;

  • I was travelling all over the UK and many of the places had no or only poor internet connecction.
  • I only like to do low-grade generic activity on public internet connections.
  • I have been so busy walking, writing and photographing I have had no time for anything else.


Now that I have completed most of the work for my 
2nd walking book I can think about other things.



After my stay at Great Langdale I went to campsites in

  • Worcesershire


  • Suffolk   (footpaths  around the fields)                                                                                                 


  • Norfolk
  • Lincolnshire
  • Leicestershire

  • West Yorkshire (the moors of the NE)



  • County Durham
  • Argyll & Bute

  • Aberdeenshire (Braemar Castle)



  • Dumfries & Galway
  • Cheshire
By this time I had had enough.  
My head was too full.
So I came home to have a rest and collate all my notes

I travelled late on July 11.
No traffic as everyone was watching England in the Euro 2020 final.
They lost.
I was away for several weeks;May to July.
Pearl and I had a wonderful time and met many many fabulous people.




Wednesday 26 May 2021

On the Road

 As this campsite has wifi I can use occasionally
so a short report

I had to go to the NT Campsite in Cumbria 
as the only availability they had was 
beginning of May or middle of August.

The location was stunning with
amazing views.

This is definitely a "walkers" campsite
with lots of people in tents.

Only a few pitches for smaller motorhomes
and campervans because
the access was so narrow, steep and contorted.


Many of the visitors were up early
properly attired for hill walking 
and off all day.


Climbing Scarfell Pike 
was the aim of many
walkers


I found some lovely walks in the valleys.
Even so a walking pole was immensely useful
and there were so steep climbs.


I was fortunate enough to see 
a lamb being born.
Unfortunately because the birth
was so prolonged the lamb was stillborn.



Watching this made me realize
just how lucky I am
how much easier my life is.

Please everyone
Support the Farmers

Saturday 15 May 2021

A Busy Time of Year

Spring Lambs
Here we are halfway
through the month of May
and no post yet.



Apologies it has been an exceptionally busy time:

Woodlands Caravan Park

  • Visiting campsites for research
  • Restoring accidentally deleted folders



  • Working at the election
  • MOT for the motorhome
  • Renewing driving licence   

           (wanting to keep my class 3
            necessary to drive the motorhome
            requires a medical and eye test)

No time and intermittent wifi to regularly post.

I am off on Monday.
Hopefully the final long haul
Then the writing.
With luck and hard work 
(and so long as Boris does not change his mind)
I will meet the August deadline.

This means there may be fewer posts than usual.

So to brighten up this posts a couple of photos




Thursday 29 April 2021

Why oh Why!!

It is wonderful to be out in my motorhome
exploring the countryside 
researching new campsites and walks 
for my next walk book.

An unusual campsite


I am currently at a most unusual campsite
in more ways than one.
(Details of this in the next blog).



Whilst at this campsite
I have been joined by other visitors.
Many of them are accompanied by 
their pet dogs.

This is not at all unusual.
Lots of people who go camping take their dogs.

What mystifies me and was evident these past few days
is why so many people do not feel it necessary
to take their dogs for an actual walk when camping.
Yes they exercise their dog;

  • walk it around the camping field
    or one nearby.
  • throw a ball or frisbee
    for it to chase for a short while. 

The poor dogs.
Especially as there are some interesting walks
for dogs nearby. 


I am also mystified by those
who stay for only one night.
(It is understandable if it is for the convenience
of visiting friends or family in the area).

The surrounding vicinity of most campsites 
is unique in some way; historical, cultural, political etc.
It just needs discovering.
This is most easily done on foot
and by talking to the locals.


I have had some amazing experiences
exploring the surrounding area of campsites 
and talking to people.

Having Pearl helps.
She is an amazing introduction.








Tuesday 20 April 2021

At last We are Off


Not long now.
Pearl and I are off
tomorrow morning
on our first outing of 2021
to continue our research for our next book
another walk book from campsites.



Like everything since the pandemic was declared
this is different to previous excursions.

The biggest difference is that I have booked
many days if not weeks in advance.
I have had to do this because everyone
is holidaying in the UK
for obvious reasons
so unusually everywhere is rapidly
fully becoming booked.

Previously I would only book a pitch
a day or so before I arrived and only
for a couple of days just in case
the campsite was not suitable 
for my book.

So I booked the campsites I wanted to visit
starting from the very day
the government allowed travel.

One campsite prove unsuitable
as I was not prepared to pay £3.00
a night for Pearl!!!!! 
Shame as it looked a lovely place.
I had to spend a great deal of time 
looking for a different one close by.

Then a week before Pearl and I
were due to set off
she came into season.
I did NOT want to be away during this time.  
She finds it uncomfortable
I do not enjoy taking her for walks
especially in strange places.

So I had to change our bookings.
One campsite could not accommodate us;
the other could and the new place
accepted our booking.

We are off tomorrow. Hurray.

I am a bit nervous.
It is such a long time since
I was last out in it.
Reminding myself how things work
and checking that they are in order
is time consuming.
Trying to remember everything is onerous.

This has been a been a very busy week.
In addition to preparing the motorhome
in the usual way; food; water; clothes etc
I have had it washed and polished
and I need a broken hinge repaired.

This is another saga as a new on costs £100.00.
A lot for a hinge I think.
I found a metal company to make a new one.
Organizing the removal of the hinge,
getting it to the centre of town
collecting it and replaced is tricky.

I hope it will be ready this morning
otherwise I have a BIG problem.

I was also hoping to renew
the external markings and
add some additional graphics. to the outside
The company has not got back to me
so this will have to wait now.

I will be glad when I actually set off.
Unfortunately it is rather a long drive.
When I finally arrive I can have a rest

I hope the weather holds.