After having spent the last few days in Warsaw researching the 1944 Warsaw Uprising I decided to spend today checking out the route and campsite for tomorrow. I did this but got side tracked with exploring further the Chelmicki roots.
I found my Chelmicki family tree which goes back to 1409. Can you believe it. I found Dad on it. I now need to send in an update to include myself and the girls. Very exciting.
I also began to check out the places in Poland where the Chelmicki family lived and information about other family members. It appears that dad was not the only one involved in the Uprising. A cousin of his was also in the resistance. Unfortunately she was captured by the Germans and shot. Itappears that our branch of the family has a lot to be proud about. I would like to find out more about the family. I'm not sure if this is possible or practical. Definitely food for thought there.

What a lot we have achieved in the past few days. Gone from Antwerp to Warsaw via Berlin.
Made the most of the opportunity and spent some time visiting the city. Considering my age and roots I found it an emotional experience looking at the remains of THE Wall and the information stands about World War II and its aftermarth and the rise and fall of Communisum as it affected the city.
Despite its history there is plenty to be admired about the city.
Now I am in Warsaw. This too is an emotional experience but of a different kind. The next few days will be interesting.

The dogs are happy with this campsite near Antwerp in Belgium..
 It has everything they need, walks by the canal, walks in woods and opportunities to swim. Sometimes their eagerness for a dip clouds their judgement. 
On the way back from the supermarket in Sint Job in't Goor they eavesdropped on my conversation with my daughter about swimming. A casual OK remark resulted in them racing off to the waters edge and launching themselves into the canal. Unfortunately at a point where there was no where for them to climb out.
Nearby there was an empty concrete mooring station. Here I could get right up to the canal edge.  The dogs however had nothing to dig their claws into to aid their scramble out.  I managed to grab Amber's collar and lift her head out of the water. The look on her face clearly showed her unease at not being able to use her front paws as balast. Anyway with her pulling herself up despite the lack of grip and me grabbing her shoulders and pulling I managed to haul her out. Ruby on the other hand being older was not so flexible and did not even want to attempt climing out. She kept swimming about and was intent on swimming down stream. Helen managed to grab her collar to prevent her swimming away. Together we lifted her up sufficiently to allow her to get some purchase and eventually hauled her out I truly do not know how we manged to get them out.
By this time I was thoroughly soaked. Fortunately both dogs were safely out and the hot sun soon dried my clothes.

Well I finally did it, got the van ready for our trip to Poland.
An email from Rita has prompted me to change our route.
Also thinking about our first day's travel to Dover and the ferry to France I thought it best to stop off at a campsite for a couple of days to "regroup" so to speak and slip into the "motorhome meandering" mode.
Here we are at a campsite in Antwerp Belgium. The weather is gorgeous (but I hear that the weather has improved in good old Blighty). After an early night, I got up early took the dogs for a lovely long walk beside the canal and into some woods. On our way back got lost in a housing estate. I have to say that generally the houses were of a superior type. Many of them were of the "Grand Design" type.
I intended to spend the day working on my website but have only managed to plan the route to Warsaw and look for campsites in Berlin. Time has just sped by. Now the dogs want to stretch their legs again.

Not long now before we set off for Poland. Our trip to Kakow in April and meeting with Rita was certainly unexpected. It was a great help as it gave me a focus for my forthocming trip. The problem was obtaining the information.
There is not a great deal of information about camping in Poland. What there is is contradictory. I do not know quite what to expect. How the dogs will be received is another unknown. In addition to all this I am having probems finding information about my father's family. The reason for this is chiefly my lack of memory. Those people who might have some information are proving difficult to contact.
All in all a journey into the unknown.
I just hope that the weather will not be too bad. I will have problems coping with wet weather like we have had here over the past weeks. The trip might be a lot shorter than intended.

If you are a duck the past few weeks have been the best ever. Unfortunately I don't take ducks away in my motorhome but dogs. 
They are quite happy to go out when it is wet.
However taking them out in the rain is a mission. It takes a considerable time to dress appropriately, putting on waterproof leggings and a good raincoat. On my return space is needed to hang up the wet garments to allow them to drip and the dogs need a rub down. This is a messy operation as not only do they move about but during the process they shake several times spraying droplets of dirty water.
No matter how much they are rubbed down they still emit an unpleasant smell. In a small enclosed space such as the interior of the motorhome this is to be avoided if possible.
With only the odd clear day it has seemed pointless trying to squeeze in short trips.  As a result I have not been away since the last spell of fine weather just before the Jubilee.

Well after a REALLY early start, 4.30am (yes that's right up with the larks), we saw our visitor off at the airport.
The van had been collected after a service and MOT. Bit of a shock this. 
It was just as well that a service and MOT was due. The brakes were not in a very good condition. All has been sorted.
Now the vehicle is already for the off except.............it needs a clean inside and out.
Each day I start with the intention of starting the process of creating a spick and span van. Each day I am thwarted, most often by the weather. It seems pointless to wash the van in the rain and it is impossible to polish it.
Likewise cleaning the inside. Getting to and from the van in the recent inclement weather results in more mess as the wet and damp conditions are trekked into the van.  Also other urgent matters arise that take longer than I anticipate and leave little time to start the mamouth task.
I had hoped to go away for a few days over the weekend but the weather forecast was not very promising. In fact apart from one or two moments of "summer weather" it was generally going to continue to be wet.
Rather than squeeze in a couple of nights somewhere I decided to cut my losses and work on my new website http://www.motorhomemeanderings.co.uk/.
Please do look at it. It is a work in progress and I am planning on adding to it each week especially if I do not go away.
With more visitors on their way it looks as if I am going to be a homebird for yet another week. Who knows!!!

Despite all my best intentions I have not yet established a regular entry. I have decided not to do a daily report as I will definitely not keep this up especially when travelling about but instead to do a weekly one, like an article for a magazine. Careful consideration over the past few days has resulted in my deciding that the best day for me to do a weekly entry is a Wednesday. This I hope will be the first of a regular contribution.
With regards to motor meanderings over the past week there has been little meandering. My previous wandering was just before the Jubilee celebrations.  I managed to go away for a couple of nights during the nice sunny weather at the end of May. Warm and sunny it was in stark contrast to the recent weather.
Since then not only has the weather been terrible (heavy rain and dogs do not make for a relaxed outing in a motorhome), we had guests from the colonys and the van needed an MOT and service. The guest has now moved on and the van has acquired the necessary MOT after some very necessary and essential work on the brakes. Now I con consider where next with the motorhome especially as the weather today was glorious. I will contemplate!!!

I have found it difficult to establish a regular entry to this blog. After considerable though I decided that I would do a weekly blog like an article in a newspaper or magazine. Because of my various commitments I decided that Wednesday would be my blog day.  This is my first entry

The Rewards

The last time I was out in the van was about late January early February. We went to Devies. Though it was quite cold it was dry.
During the night the temperature dropped. As forecast it did go below freezing.  

This morning when I took the dogs out for their first run of the day (a quick short walk so that they can go to the toilet hence its moniker toilet walk) it was beautiful. The trees, bush and grass were cover in a delicate lacy frost, a white mist blanketed the ground and above it all the upper branches of the trees thrust up into a sky that gradually changed from white to a subtle pale blue and a bright half moon shining out in defiance.

It was warm and cosy in bed and I only got up because I could hear the dogs moving around and knew that they needed to go out. The beautiful sight that I encountered during the walk was compensation enough. A hot cup of tea on my return to the van started the day off well