Our Diary
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After lots of deliberation, soulsearching and debates we have decided not to continue with our journey. The needs of the family have changed since the concept of the idea some two years ago and the somewhat later than planned departure. We are currently finding a base in Oxford, the children are on their way to starting back to school and Amy is looking for a job and going to sixth form or college. Brian is working and I am looking forward to finding my sanity. There are no regrets we had the idea, undertook the conversion and had a change of lifestyle even if it was for a short time than we anticipated. We thank everyone who has followed our journey over the months and given us moral support during our low times. We are moving on to the next chapter of our lives and who knows where that will lead. We will not be continuing with the diary, I hope you have enjoyed reading our exploits. Farewell x x x
Tuesday 18th March 2008 We had a visit today from Tony, he popped in for a cup of tea and a chat. We had planned to go to Headington and he kindly agreed to give us a lift but Brian came back early and was starting the huge bonfire off so the boys were keen to stay around and help. The farmer from the next field is getting the area’s ready for the lambs to be born, estimated date of delivery 28th March. Alex has been putting all the straw in the pens and is very excited about it all.
Monday 17th March 2008 The fields are flooded because of all the rain so our usual route to the shops is out of bounds, unless we can use a boat. We walked around the road route which seems to take five times longer and when we got back we were all tired out. We are hoping for the rain to stop as the bus is feeling damp, yuk!!!
Sunday 16th March 2008 Our friend “Bruva Brian” came for Sunday lunch and we had a lovely roast leg of lamb. I attempted Jamie Oliver’s hotcross buns with orange marmalade and custard. I wouldn’t say it was that brilliant, it reminded me of Christmas pudding, very rich and spicy. The kids weren’t that impressed either so maybe that’s one not to try again. We had a nice afternoon with Brian, catching up over the last six months
Saturday 15th March 2008 It was a busy day. We had a surprise visit from “Aunty Sue” who we haven’t seen for six months so we had some catching up to do. Steve picked up Brian to go and view some Winnebago’s with him, he is joining the ranks of full timers and is trying to get everything sorted out before his house is sold in a few weeks time. Amy met her friend Tom in Oxford and they came back for a few hours. They left about 5pm for Tom to catch his bus but unfortunately they got held up in the traffic and Tom missed the bus home. The next bus wasn’t until 11pm so we decided it was best if he stayed the night on the bus. An hour or so later they got back to the bus like drown rats. After tea we settled down to watch TV and Snowy paid us a visit. Finally at about 11.30pm peace descended, everyone was in bed. What a day!
Friday 14th March 2008 The boys and I set off early for a walk to the village. Before long we reached the charity shop and had a good rummage around. We picked up four video’s and headed off to the bank and bakery. They boys tucked into a rather large iced yum-yum. Feeling fit we set off on a long walk to Asda taking in the aquarium on the way. My feet were killing me and Sam was complaining about his legs hurting but there was no alternative, we still had about a two mile walk back with the shopping. It was warm and sunny and eventually we made it back to the bus, we had been gone for three hours and were exhausted. After lunch we watched a video and before we knew it Brian was back from work
Thursday 13th March 2008 I suppose it was only a matter of time before the boys discovered the joys of mud fighting. If it hadn’t of been for the fact that Alex is the taller of the two you would not have been able to tell them apart. They were covered from head to toe, it was even inside their ears. There was no way they could get in the shower so they were showered using the outside shower, the water was warm but the air was cold so there was lots of squealing. I had to peg the clothes out on the line to dry them out and crack the mud off before they could even be washed. A few people raised an eyebrow when they saw the washing on the line, they must have thought, dirty cow, what was it like before it was washed.
Wednesday 12th March 2008 Brian has been working today and hopefully there is work for the rest of the week. I set up a washing line as the wind is blowing and I thought it would be good for drying. The washing line that I bought from Asda was a bit flimsy and as I was hanging the clothes on it, it started getting lower and lower with the weight, eventually the clothes were nearly dragging on the floor so only a few bits and pieces could be dried at any one time. A long drawn out job but there’s no alternative.
Tuesday 11th March 2008 The BBC are doing the research on the roads and looking into any problems we may encounter on the journey down so it should be a good journey for us without much hassle. I have been in touch with the local bus garage just to do some checking for ourselves. The roads are suitable and we can drive right down to Lands End on the A30. There is also a parking area that we can use so we should be OK.
Monday 10th March 2008 The weather is bright but not that warm, the boys don’t want to stay out for to long but after school they do get out for a short time. We had a call from the BBC and the filming that we have been talking about is to take place at the end of March. We have to be in Lands End by the 27th, our next adventure is taking shape.
Sunday 9th March 2008 We took a morning walk to Asda, over two fields, following the path of the river and finally reaching the road that leads to Asda. It’s quite a way when you have bags of shopping to carry back so it’s a trip for two or three as it’s easier to get everything we need. Again covered in mud we arrive back at the bus, the joys of living in the country! Saturday 8th March 2008 Caroline and Amy arrived back at around 6.30am. Amy had a lovely week. Brian was out for the day so the kids and I had a lazy day, walking around the farm, doing some exploring and generally getting covered in mud.
Friday 7th March 2008 The boys were up and out early this morning. Feeding the chickens and helping to put the horses out into the field. The sun is shining and everyone is happy.
Thursday 6th March 2008 Around 5.30am the cockerels started crowing and it seemed like then didn’t stop until 7.30am. It is certainly different from the seaside. The boys were up and out early. They are in their element running through the fields, looking in on the sheep and horses and trying to find eggs in the chicken runs. They reluctantly started school and were keen to get finished and get back out to explore.
Wednesday 5th March 2008 We packed up early and set off by 9.30am. Heading towards Brighton to a garage on the A33/A27 junction that sells LPG. I phoned ahead and checked out the canopy size, we were in luck 4.4m we could get under. The roads were clear and we made good time. We arrived at the filling station to find it was a bit of a tight squeeze but we got diesel, LPG and oil. The only thing we needed to do was top up the air in the tyre but we couldn’t do this here so we set off again and headed for the Pease Pottage services. We located the lorry air pump but instead of inflating the tyre it deflated it. We were worried that we might now have a flat but after discussing things with another driver we decided we should be OK to carry on. There is not another service station until Oxford, we really are poorly equipped in this country compared to France where they are every few miles with rest areas in between the service areas. At Oxford we were able to put air in the tyre and before long we were off again. We have a friend who has a farm in Oxfordshire and around 5pm we pulled into our new home for the next few weeks. We are waiting for a call from the BBC about filming in the middle of March so we can take it easy for a few weeks. We have all the facilities at the new location. We even have a hook up which means we can not only us the electric kettle we can run the washing machine and put heaters in the bedrooms. Luxury. Amy is having a good time and went to London with Caroline to the Theatre, it was a complete surprise and she really enjoyed it. Her week away is proving a success I think she will be sad to leave
Tuesday 4th March 2008 The re-cycling car park is not a very inspiring place to stay so we moved the bus onto the sea front and had our days schooling looking over the sea. We made our muffins which turned out to be a great success and were eaten within no time. Alex and I had a trip to Morrisons to stock up. We weren’t able to get any fresh water so we had to carry water back. We were really loaded up and it took us ages to get back as we had to stop every few minutes to give our arms a rest. Eventually we got back to the bus and made some lunch. Before long it was getting dark so we moved off back to the re-cycling car park. There really isn’t much going on down here. We can’t seem to find an alternative place to stay along the coast so we are heading inland to a farm that we know to try and get the doors fixed.
Monday 3rd March 2008 We pulled onto the beach front so the boys can play on the beach. After school the weather changed and it turned really cold and windy. We met Shaun who was parked up next to the bus. We had a chat for half an hour and he gave us a t shirt that he had produced for a band promotion he had been doing. He chatted about the 70/80’s when he worked as a roadie for the punk bands, the sex pistols and the jam. I found the local supermarket and did a bit of shopping. Sam wanted to make some muffins so I bought the ingredients. I carried the bags of flour and sugar and what was probably to much other stuff back to the bus. When I got back I thought my arms would drop off. I made it just in time before a hail storm and it turned freezing cold. We sat and watched a film and then made our way back to the car park for the night. We had been hoping to meet some local people who could tell us about good places to park but it hasn’t happened so far.
Sunday 2nd March 2008 It was not too bad of a night, there were a few cars racing about but in all not too bad. We woke to an awful smell that after some detective work uncovered a box of festering lug worms. What a stench. That was the first job, get rid of them. We set off early and called in to get some LPG at Polegate. The attendant told us to go round to the HGV pumps on the other side of the station. When we got there we found they didn’t have LPG pumps so off we went again round the station and into the normal bay. After locking on the LPG pump and finding we still couldn’t fill up I went to find the manager to discover that they had actually run out of LPG but no one had put the signs on. It’s not like we are a small vehicle able to nip in and out at will, this vehicle is a huge beast so being messed about didn’t go down too well. Off we went to find our place for the night, Seaford, just along from Newhaven. There was a lot of wood washed up on the beach and the boys had a brilliant time making camps on the beach. We couldn’t park on the sea front so we pulled in for the night in a re-cycling depot car park. Not the most exotic location but safe and clean with a good view of the sea. The ferries pull out just across the bay sailing to Dieppe and it is nice to watch as they sail out at night fully lit. We miss our spot in Hastings but things must move on.
Caroline paid us a visit and we did an exchange, Amy went back with her and we had the dog. We decided it was time to move on from Hastings, after lots of goodbyes we set off later than planned and the sun was going down. We pulled into the car park at Hastings old Town, this is where our visit to Hastings started some four months earlier. We had fish and chips and watched a video. The bus is full to the brim with bikes, wellies and things we seem to have collected along the way. Friday 29th February 2008 We got our old generator back, some of the terminals had become loose, these were reconnected and the frayed pull cord was repaired. The new generator however is a different story. The capacitor is not working, this is the main and most expensive part. We will have to pursue a replacement or a refund as you really wouldn’t expect to have to replace parts on an item that is only a week old and that has had only 15-20 hours running time. We are making some changes to our website to make the advertising more prominent, on a few of the pages it is getting lost as the pages get longer and longer. Thanks Gareth for your help with this.
Thursday 28th February 2008 The weather is good so we have solar power as well as a full batteries. We are trying to make headway with sorting out the new generator. One of our friends suggested we should take both of them down to a plant hire company for them to have a look and see what is the matter with both of them. Brian and Tommy went off and an hour later came back with a hire generator that we can use until we have one or both of ours sorted out. I dyed Amy’s hair bright red, I didn’t have any gloves so you can imagine what my hands look like. Fortunately it’s not permanent so hopefully within a few days I will be back to normal.
Wednesday 27th February 2008 Amy and I went into Hastings to buy some trousers for her work experience. She is looking forward to spending the week with Caroline. We were sorted out within half an hour and back on the bus to St Leonard’s. Our new generator gave up the ghost last night. Now we have two that aren’t working. Luckily we were able to borrow one for the evening to get some heat and power. We tried to contact the company we bought it from but can only deal via email so it makes it a long process to sort things out. We had to give the generator back at 9pm but the batteries are fully charged so we should get through another day.
Our friends Steve and Julia came down from Rugby to visit us for the day. We had a rather impressive chocolate cake from the local bakery, I don’t need an excuse for chocolate cake but a visit from old friends is certainly a good reason. I spent what felt like the whole day cooking bacon rolls, just like old times. It was a good day, relaxing and fun. Steve presented us with a box of video’s from his attic, his Scooby doo collection is quite impressive. Monday 25th February 2008 We finally had chance to catch up with Martin to discuss a trip to Ireland to visit him. The outcome was that things are not what they were when he last lived their some 20 years earlier and he didn’t think it would be a good idea to take the bus. We must respect his judgement and therefore our plans to travel Ireland are now closed.
I woke early to hear faint groans from the boys room, after investigation I found Noah clutching his stomach about to throw up. He was pretty miserable about the fact that it was his sleep over and he was ill. I telephoned his mum and she came to collect him plus all the bits and pieces that had accumulate on the bus the week, fishing rods, skate boards, a bike, back pack, with a full boot and a sick child clutching a bowl in the back seat we waved her off. It was a bit disappointing for the boys to have lost their friend but they enjoyed the warm weather and rode their bikes and played on the beach. Saturday 23rd February 2008 The boys played outside for the best part of the day. It gave us a chance to do the obligatory cleaning, you wouldn’t believe how much sand gets bought in on shoes. Noah was having a sleep over, it’s the first time we have had anyone staying apart from Caroline, and the boys were excited.
Friday 22nd February 2008 It was that time again, we had to fill up with LPG. This time there was no confusion we knew the route in and out. Bradley and Noah came along for the trip. The filling station was quite so we didn’t take up too much time. Filled up with LPG, Diesel and unleaded for the generator. Full stocked with fuel and a few chocolate cookies we returned to our parking space. It took less than an hour round trip. A record for us. The weather is warm, the sea is calm and life is good Thursday 21st February 2008 Sam and his new found friend Reece were invited to lunch and to play with another new friend Kelly. Kelly’s gran had kindly offered to pick them up mid morning. Late in the afternoon they returned after a busy day of walking in the woods and a home cooked lunch. They had a wonderful time. Many thanks Francis. We had a surprise visit from our friend from Oxford, Tony and his three children. The weather wasn’t that brilliant so we couldn’t spent too much time outside but regardless we had a good day catching up on old times
Much to our surprise this morning we found a rifle laying along side the bus. I thought it belonged to the TA so called in and asked them to call round get it. It had been decommissioned so could not be use but it was still not the sort of thing you want to leave laying about so it was in safe hands. Noah’s mum called in with a bag of groceries including some hot freshly cooked beetroot. Brian’s absolute favourite. Needless to say it didn’t last for long. What a lovely treat. The rifle wasn’t actually from the TA but they were tracing it’s owner who would no doubt have a few questions to answer.
Tuesday 19th February 2008 We had a meeting with Emily Stein from BBC2. She wanted to discuss the possibility of us taking part in an programme about living in alternatives to traditional houses. After a couple of hours Emily returned to London and we await her call in a couple of days when she can fill us in on the details.
Monday 18th February 2008 I woke about 6.30am as a car alarm was blaring, from the window I could make out flames close to the bus. I raced downstairs to discover one of the beach huts was on fire. I called the fire brigade who were already on their way and it was apparently a car that had been set on fire and had also set a hut on fire. It wasn’t long before matters where under control but the beach hut is burnt beyond repair. We did our schooling this morning as we were hoping to keep going through the week, even though it's half term we had some things to finish off. Noah came round for Alex and they spent time on the beach building a raft. Several hours of work produced a raft that floated for about two minutes before sinking into the sea. With the idea abandoned they spent the day playing on the beach and riding their bikes. Alex was allowed to cycle to Noah's house where to his absolute delight he found Noah had a 6ft pine snake. They stayed long enough for Noah to change his wet clothes and came back for an afternoon on the beach. Sam found a friend who lives around the corner, as it is half term there are quite a few children about. He is happy now to have his own friend and they played on the beach for the afternoon. We had a major clear up on the bus. Brian's angle grinding had resulted in everywhere being covered in a fine black dust. It doesn't take that long to do the whole bus so by the end of the day all the jobs were done. Sunday 17th February 2008 We woke up feeling quite glum within a few hours we would be unable to even boil the kettle for tea, the solar power was working but this alone would not keep us going. We discussed our options. To get the generator repaired would take some time as we have to locate a local dealer first. To purchase a new generator would take several days and our current level of stored electricity wouldn't last until then. We discussed trying to get to a location where we could hook up and at that very moment one of the local's pulled up, opened his van and sitting in the back was a generator. He had in fact just purchased it from someone in the beach huts right next to us. He kindly agreed to us borrowing it for a few days until we could get a new generator arranged. How lucky was that. The gloom had lifted and we carried on like nothing had happened. Alex and Noah cycled to Halfords to get a new tyre of Noah's bike. Sam felt left out so we walked along the beach road to meet up with them. When we arrived the boys had hot dogs, I popped into Tesco's to get a few bits and pieces and we caught the bus back. Brian was feeling industrious and as it was warm decided to tackle to problem with the doors. It has been pending since we got back at the end of December but there hasn't been an opportunity to carry out the work. Out came the angle grinder and before long we had a new plate for the door. We still have to lift one side as it has dropped out of it's runner but we had made good progress for the day. After a lovely roast dinner we finished the day searching for a new generator. Found one on eBay, paid for it and arranged for it to be delivered on Tuesday.
Saturday 16th February 2008 Alex was off and out as soon as the tide started to go out. The great fossil hunt was on. He took the camera to record the events and after several hours they returned with their find. The remains of what we all thought was a fish. Unfortunately it was not complete, part of the body had broken off at some stage but it was still a sizable find. It was a really warm day and lots of people were milling about, three young boys approached the bus and were asking questions about the refit and where we had travelled to. One of the boys, Noah, arranged to come back and fish with Alex later in the evening. True to his word and much to Alex's delight he turned up with his fishing tackle and they spent the evening fishing and chatting on the beach. Our worse nightmare presented it's self tonight, our generator broke down. We had enough power to last the evening but after that we would be unable to use the water, heating and have no power to do anything at all.
Friday 15th February 2008 A local fisherman Taffy offered to collect lugworms for Alex as he has been unable to fish for a couple of days and for some reason his own efforts have produced a very poor amount of worms. Taffy called in around teatime bursting with excitement, whilst digging for worms he had stumbled across a fossil buried in the sand. The tide was coming in so he was unable to dig it out but he planned to go back early Saturday morning and wanted to know if Alex would like to join him.
Andy and Mark from Roadpro came down to fit a new satellite dish. It involved lots of in and out of the bus so the boys and I planned a field trip to the fisherman's and maritime museum in Hastings. Around about 11am scaffolding arrived to be put up at the back of the bus so Andy and Mark could work safely on the dish. The weather was overcast but luckily no wind. The boys and I spent several hours at the museum's. Wandering round looking at all the things that had been washed up on the shore. Just along from where we are parked is a prehistoric forest and we saw an acorn found at the site that was about 4000 years old. It was perfectly preserved. Lots of treasures from the wreck of the Amsterdam were on display. Along from where we are parked you can view the remains of the ship
Wednesday 13th February 2008 Well another year older, it’s my birthday, 44 today. The kids got up early to sort out the traditional breakfast chocolate cake and presented me with some lovely presents. All my favourite things, chocolates, a nice bottle of wine, more chocolates and cards. A lovely bouquet of flowers arrived from Caroline. After a fairly uneventful morning we finished the school work and Brian took the boys to the skateboard park again. Sam has had a repair to his board and it seems to be working fine now. We are looking forward to our trip tomorrow and everyone went to bed feeling happy and relaxed
Tuesday 12th February 2008 We took advantage of the weather and visited the skateboard park a little further along the shoreline. I must say that Hastings and St Leonards do have some good facilities. With good rail links to London at reasonable prices it seems a good place to set up home again should we decide at the end of our adventure to settle back in the UK. Doing this journey in the bus has presented us with lots of opportunities that never would have come our way had we continued with our old lifestyle.
Monday 11th February 2008
Monday 4th February 2008 Brian and Sam had a field trip for English. They enjoyed a good morning out. The days are whizzing by and I can’t believe we are into the first week into February already, we can only hope for a break in the weather so we can do the jobs on the bus that are outstanding, it has been dragging on for what seems like forever.
It was a busy day with people popping in to say hi, we were late starting and finishing school. Sometimes it happens that way. Brian went to get some fuel for the generator, that should keep us going for the next two or three days. Thursday 31st January 2008
Amy staggered in around lunchtime after spending the night at Bradley’s. She was sporting a pair of exceptionally high heeled boots and beamed from ear to ear as she proudly plonked her foot on the sofa revealing them in all their glory. A pair of bondage type winkle picker. The sort that I had long given up. Having moved into the comfort zone when it comes to shoes and I ended up sounding like my own mother saying, you’ll regret buying those, you’ll have bunions, corns and any other terrible foot affliction that can be earned by wearing high heels. We all did it though didn’t we, because we loved them. Schooling went smoothly today, Sam seems to be making some headway at last. It was a wet and dismal day again and I can’t wait to be able to spend some time outside. Gary and Lisa called in with a present for Brian, chicken livers. Fried with onion and garlic they were hugely appreciated. In return we cooked for Bradley, scrambled egg on toast. We had a visit from Robin Gibson from BBC South East Today. He would like to come over and film us for the local news. He will be coming at 10am tomorrow. Tuesday 22nd January 2008
Thursday 17th January 2008 Wednesday 16th January 2008 At last the sun is shining, the wind has stopped and the windows are open letting the bus air through. We have been asked to take part in a BBC 5 live programme on Thursday and their outside broadcaster is coming to see us tomorrow. Alex has been fishing most of the day. We were late starting school today, it was after 12 before we got going so we didn’t finish until mid afternoon but everyone was in good humour.
Tuesday 15th January 2008 Amy and Bradley went into Hastings to buy tickets for a show next week. It was a horrible day again, wet and windy. I finally uploaded all the information to the site. I was able to check the stats and we have had over ONE MILLION hits since August. Alex had a call from Newsround and did a short telephone interview for a piece to be put on their website. He was very excited about it. Now that we have had chance to sort things out and I have finally got myself back together we are talking about when we have to move on from here. We are thinking about going to Ireland. We have some friends over there and Brian was made most welcome last time he was there and promised that at some stage he would take us all over so maybe now is the time. It won’t be for a few weeks yet.
Monday 14th January 2008 At last I have managed to get the codes for the website and got the site back onto our computer. The diary can at long last be updated. It has been over a month since we have been able to update our site, it also crashed due to the volume of traffic we received since our feature in the Guardian. Gary has been so kind and allowed us to use his broadband to update the site. Thanks to everyone for their support and lovely emails. Alex and Sam have been lugworming. A bumper crop today. Alex wants to go fishing but it’s too windy. Tim very kindly gave me a lift to Tesco’s. Our stock of tins has been replenished. Bradley is back from his trip and came round for a visit. Sunday 13th January 2008 Saturday 12th January 2008 Friday 11th January 2008 After school Amy and I went into Hastings to visit the internet café. It has been too windy to put our dish up, we don’t want to risk damaging it. We have had lots of emails following our feature in the Guardian, it's so nice that people take the time to contact us. We had a quick look round the shops and looked for some more video’s, I cast my mind back to all those that we disposed of before we left but I had transferred them onto the hard drive, not expecting it to break down so soon. Such is life Thursday 10th January 2008 Wednesday 9th January 2008 I woke up with a terrible bad back, just as Brian has got over his now I’m wandering round like an old woman. Resting it doesn’t seem to do much good so maybe I will try keeping on the move. The website has crashed as there is so much traffic we have exceeded the bandwidth. The wind is so bad we can’t put the dish up incase it gets damaged. The forecast is for severe winds and storms for the next few days. We will just have to sit it out. Tuesday 1st January 2008 Alex was straight out of bed and on the beach with the fishing rod. Not even or a drink or anything to eat, he’s got his lugworms and he is away. He’s like a thing possessed. Sam is stood by his side. Amy is a bit lost as Bradley has gone away to visit his mum for a couple of weeks, she’s spending time on the internet chatting to friends in Oxford. We had a nice roast dinner a bit later than planned and spent the night chatting and reading as still no TV. We spoke to Caroline she went into work early. It was a lazy day we didn’t cook just had cold meat and pickles, the usual stuff. We walked on the beach. It was busy down the lane with kids on their new bikes and scooters and everyone trying out their new fishing rods. It is a relaxing time. Tuesday 25th December 2007 It was a real damp and murky day, the fog didn’t clear for most of the day. We passed the time getting ready for the big day tomorrow, it’s like waiting for the arrival of a baby. It seemed like it would never happen but here we are on the verge of the last leg home Finally we have some better weather. The sun is beating through the windows and we have a chance to air the place out. The boys can actually play out which keeps them a bit more occupied. Amy and I went for a shower because we can’t fill our tanks up at this service area, there isn’t a tap, what a stinking place, the water was cold. This is a horrible services. For a Shell station it is very basic. Highlight of the day. There was a grey heron just outside the bus, Brian and Alex tried to photograph it with Amy’s camera, luckily her’s was in her bedroom, but it was a bit too far away. The boys found a baby rat that was on it’s last legs, they gave it some bread and it perked up a bit Friday 21st December 2007 Brian had been up every two hours to start the bus and is absolutely shattered. If it carries on like this I am not sure he will be able to drive during the day. We are doing about 150 to 170 miles a day, at 40 miles an hour it takes forever. We are trying to get as close to Calais as we can. We will not park in calais for the weekend because of the imigrants, it’s too risky. We drove through some really bad weather, freezing cold but luckily no snow, that’s our mission to get as close to Calais as we can, ready for Monday. Caroline rang and said we could try and get us on an earlier ferry but it would cost us £60.00. I think we would rather hang about over here for another two days than waste the money on the ferry. That would buy our christmas lunch. The journey passed quite quickily today, we are counting down the miles. Alex has been bird spotting, there are lots of eagles on the side of the toll road. He has seen deer in the fields and seems quite happy sitting taking it all in. The kids can’t have the tv on for the whole journey as we haven’t got enough electric to last for the whole day without the generator. It wastes too much time to set it up just for a short while so we have to cope with what we have. Because we are short of water the washing up is piling up. We have not had a shower for over a week. The laundry is also mounting up. We can’t dry anything. God I feel miserable. We pull into the services, the last fuel station before Calais and this is to be our home for the next three nights. This has to be the worst place we have stopped at for facilities. The shop is basic and the shop assistants are rude. Thursday 20th December 2007 Brian had to get up every two hours to start the engine, we were worried it would freeze. The camper van behind us was not very appreciative and at 4am reversed out and blasted it’s horn to show their disapproval. The windscreen was thick with ice and it took us 15 minutes before we could even think about moving. The water pump is frozen, the sink waste is frozen and we all feel in poor shape. There was no water at the Aires so drinks were kept to a minimum. The kids came straight down from their beds, onto the back seat and we were away by 9.30. Brian is driving with his gloves and hat on as the temperatures are low. We drove through banks of freezing fog, it all looks very christamasy but god it’s cold. We seem to be living on French bread as it’s quick and convenient. We stopped at lunchtime and put the generator on for a short while as our batteries are low, it seems the cold has reduced their ability to hold the power. The boys found two cats living wild in the service area. We drove until it was almost dark. One of our headlights is out so we can’t carry on after dark. We also like to pick a spot to park where we can get the generator on. Again another freezing night. Amy and sam are sleeping in with me. The problem is with the ice that during the day if we get any sun it all defrosts and drips into the rooms. It is not pleasant. We are planning to go back to Hastings or St Leonards. We are looking forward to going back. On a positive note is this all part of the great adventure! Wednesday 19th December 2007 Looking like death, we awoke at 6am. Brian had been awake every two hours, checking the engine. I had woken when the engine started and slept lightly because of where we were parked. We wanted to get started early. There was thick fog but we needed to press on anyway. We wanted to be back for Christmas and the only way to do it was drive all day. Get in as many miles as we could. Outside everywhere is white, freezing in the fog. Inside the bus it’s freezing, Brian is frozen to his seat. The fog was thick but we had to press on. The kids all sat in sleeping bags on the back seats, too cold to even bicker. The evening was the worst yet. There were icicles hanging from the bedrooms it was that cold. When we built the bus we thought we would be in Spain or Portugal basking in the warm sun we hadn't planned for this cold weather. We all sat wrapped in quilts and sleeping bags and the hot water bottles came into their own. Sam was feeling unwell and wanted to sleep in with me. I already had Amy in with me so the three of us tucked up in a single bed was compact to say the least.
We had an absolutely bitter night, ice on the inside of the windows. We all have extra quilts and our hot water bottles, what a good investment. At first light we got ready to move off, the kids were up straight out of bed and on the back seat, still in their quilts and with fresh hot water bottles. It is absolutely freezing, you would not believe in a week the weather could change such a lot. All around the trees are frozen, it looks very christmasy. Just wish we had central heating. With a few quick stops for tea to warm us up and a quick bite to eat we kept going towards Lyon. We had arranged to meet Andrew Harris, who was already in Strasburg, at a junction on the way to Lyon, it was a services marked on the map. We got closer and closer and then we realized it was no longer there and we found ourselves going through the peage and on the toll road. The plan to meet had fallen apart. Within a few minutes we were hurtling towards Lyon, out of the corner of my eye a caught a sign about a 7.5 tonne weight restriction in Lyon because of roadworks. We had to change the planned route. I started to hyperventilate, where did we go now. Brian was shouting, which way, which way. Follow those lorries I shouted, puffing in and out like I was about to give birth. Up and around a bend we caught a sign for a service area and we pulled in. Brian opened the door and I felt I could fall to the floor, I could not take any more of the decisions about which way, our experiences with bridges, wrong routes and narrow french roads has totally shattered my nerves. I stood on the step, my legs quivering and tears in my eyes. I just want to get back to England I cried, I felt as weak as a kitten. We phoned Andrew to tell him we had missed the meeting point and by some strange fluke he was parked on the opposite side of the road and pulled up next to us within a few minutes. We managed to find a way to get money, Western Union, Andrew kindly drove me into Lyon. Although very pretty the Christmas decorations would have presented a real hazard to us and the tram lines over the streets would have us caught up like a spider in a web. Andrew typed in the quickest route back to our bus and we were stuck for hours in the Lyon rush hour. It gave me time to look around the sights of Lyon, it’s very cosmopolitan and twinkles away with all the decorations for Christmas. It took us about one and a half hours to get back. It was too late to move to somewhere more suitable so we had to stay in the service area for the night. The lorries parked around us and we were like a wafer thin piece of ham in between two big chunks of bread, blocked in at the back and the front. It was quite intimidating, we usually pick a better place to park. The temperatures were dropping and Brian decided to start the bus every two hours to keep the engine warm
Monday 17th December 2007 Sunday 16th December 2007 We spent a cold and miserable day trying our best to keep warm. The kids are in trying to keep in good spirits, they are looking forward to Christmas. We are making decorations and trying to pass the time. It was a sad day as we pulled out of Palavas les Flots, we needed to get water and find somewhere suitable to park. We had decided to go back onto the Aires. We had been trying to find a bank before we finally left Palavas les flots because we now didn't have our cards to use cashpoints we were totally reliant on having cash available to pay for everything, it seemed there wasn't a bank in the town. We checked out the possibility of going into Montpellier but there wasn't a good route for us. We don’t want to drive the bus into these little towns to find a bank as it creates too much of a problem. We are in a predicament I don’t know what to do for the best. Thursday 13th December 2007 We awoke to the sun blazing through the window, the vicious wind from the previous night had dropped and I peered out. All around were flamingos feeding in a lagoon, some taking off right in front of us. It was a truly fantastic sight. We were parked as close as you could get without actually being in the water. Alex and I went to find bread and milk. Next to us was a lovely park, beautifully landscaped with lakes, area’s for boules, football, tennis. A huge complex for sport. We wandered through and found ourselves walking next to a little inland waterway, the fishermen were pulling in their nets, full of whitebait and shrimps. Gulls and Egrets were swooping into the water, there were hundreds and their noise was almost deafening. We walked into the little town and found ourselves walking down the street we had driven down the day before, it’s amazing that we managed to get the bus down it at all. We got a few supplies and headed back to the bus. We had to find somewhere to park up, the place we were in was totally unsuitable but it was no point moving until we found somewhere, we couldn’t have a repeat of yesterday. Alex and I walked to the motorhome park, it was perfect, only one problem there was a bridge and we couldn’t get under it. We walked for about five miles in total, there was no where to stay. Brian has to stay behind on the bus as our doors won't shut properly after the break in so we can't leave the bus un-attended. This area was very residential and just a small strip of land surrounded by the lakes. We couldn’t stay here. The time was getting on so we decided to stay one more night and move on in the morning. We spoke to several people and there was no where in the arsea we would have to move on. Sam has broken out in a terrible rash all over his body, it' like big red blotches, I think it's because of his anxiety. Wednesday 12th December 2007 It was the day we had been waiting for. We all needed our spirits lifting. We were just about ready to leave when we had a visitor. Nuno from Portugal. His lorry was parked up close to the bus. We had a good chat about the bus, life in Spain and Portugal and the time passed. We pulled away in anticipation of what lay ahead. We followed the signs for Palavas les Flots. We had looked at the maps and it looked like we had a good plan, all the right elements. We drove over a small inland waterway and everywhere you looked their were flamingos feeding. Egrets were flying over the rushes and it really was like paradise. Alex was in his absolute element. All we need to do now was find somewhere to stay. We followed the signs into the town. It was a tree lined avenue that lead down to the beach. There was a small car park right in the harbour. The boys ran straight out and played on the beach. It was lunchtime and the shops were closed for siesta. We had gone through a barrier that would normally been shut and the parking limit was 2 metre's. We therefore had to move and headed off into the unknown. Within a few minutes we were in a small tree lined avenue, not quite single file but two very small roads. At the bottom was a roundabout. Cars were parked all round the edges and each exit had a NO HGV, Coaches or no entry sign. We had one choice so we took it. Off we headed over a bridge and a man pulled up in front of us to prevent us from going any further. We were heading into a camp site but it was closed and their was a barrier. We had to turn round, not an easy task and a whole factory of fish packers came out to view the spectacle. We turned round and headed off back down the same road. We were back on the round about again, No exit for HGV’s, No coaches, where to go, I sort of calculated that technically we were not a HGV so off we went. We found ourselves in the centre of the town in a narrow little strip of a street suitable for a moped, not a double decker bus. People came out of shops to take photo’s. I had bought postcards earlier in the day showing streets in the town, now we were driving down one of those very streets. By god it was tight, the kids were shouting you hit the curb. At the end, no entry signs’ all over the place we had to carry on the only way we could, the road certainly wasn’t built for us. We found ourselves back on the roundabout again. It was like a dead end. Back round the roundabout, which way now. I plumped for back to the fish packing factory, there was another roundabout up ahead with an exit with a 7.5tonne weight limit. Go down there I screamed. Finally, we were out of the town and back on the main road. We pulled up for a breather. We couldn’t park on the side of the road, we decided to follow the larger vehicles. Ahead was a garage so we pulled in fuel for the generator and asked about parking. We were apparently right next to a motorhome park. We breathed a sign of relief. At last we had found somewhere. We need to turn round. Is it clear Brian shouted and a car whizzed past lights flashing on top, it’s OK I called and off we set. Hurtling round the corner came a lorry, far behind it’s escort car we were in the middle of a convey. We had no choice but carry on we couldn’t stop and get off the road. Finally we came to a roundabout and went round twice to get out of the convoy vehicles. We headed off back the way we came. Now it was dark, we had no place to park and the kids were all miserable, they had wanted to be on the beach. Tomorrow we promised and they seemed happy with that. We only knew one place to park so we headed off back it was pitch black, we had no water but had stocks of food so we stopped and put on the dinner. Everyone was unhappy about where we were because it was isolated and dark. We had an unsettled night, Sam woke up screaming in the night thinking we were going to get broken into again. How can you re-assure them that it won’t happen, all you can do is your best. The weather is getting warmer but we are keen to get to the coast now. Although this terrible thing has happened to us we are trying to remain positive for the future. We thought we might make good progress today. We stopped at an Aires for showers and everyone felt refreshed. A driver in the lorry in front came onto the bus and bought a bag full of oranges. They were a welcome relief. Its been so long since we had fresh fruit or vegetables that I was worried we might all get scurvy. We pulled into the services for fuel and realised that the budget buy clock we had bought was losing time and it was actually an hour and a half later than we thought it was. We didn’t want to get to the coast and be looking round in the dark for somewhere to park so we parked up for the night. The area was nice, it was warm and the trees were all Mediterranean. There was a little park for the boys to play. We put the internet on , at least we have one laptop left, we caught up with a few jobs. Everyone was disappointed that we hadn’t got to the coast but sometimes it is not always possible to keep to the plan. In the evening a couple of drivers from the lorry parked next door came to look at the bus and bought us more oranges. Our communication with the outside world has virtually ground to a halt, we can’t update the website as everything is gone. We have to keep a stiff upper lip for the sake of the kids. We were woken about 3.30am, there was lots of noise and a commotion outside the bus. The police were outside, shouting and shining their tourches in the window. Brian was disorientated and didn’t know what was going on, he could just hear shouting. The doors to the bus were jammed open with a petrol can forced in between to keep the doors apart. Brian started the bus to open the doors as they were jammed. The police boarded the bus and kept saying computers. We didn’t have any idea what they were talking about and we started looking around the bus. We discovered that we had been broken into. Somehow they had forced the doors apart and whilst Brian was still asleep came in and out of the bus taking our things. Why Brian didn’t wake up we don’t know, but they managed to get away with our laptops, camera, mobile phone, money, coats and other bits and pieces. They rifled through the cupboards to find the cables for the computers. Brian was in a deep, deep sleep he didn’t hear a thing. He said when he woke up it was like he was at the bottom of a deep pool trying to swim to the top, it took a long time to come round and he was very disorientated. It is possible that he was gassed. This happens apparently to lorry drivers and motorhome owners so we have found out. The kids were obviously very upset. Their laptop had been taken, their school work was on it and all their photo’s. On my laptop was all the info for the website, the codes, all the photo’s, lots of things that were really irreplaceable. I had just done a download of the camera and it was all gone. I went with the police to do a statement, it was a bit drawn out as my French is non existent and the French police spoke only broken English. They were however very kind and got me lots of water, I kept feeling thirsty and shaky. I felt upset and tearful. The police informed me that the driver in the lorry next to us had telephone the police. He had seen three men, two on guard, one inside. They had forced the doors and proceeded to pass things through the gap in the door until they presumably had accomplished their deed. They ran off on foot across the lorry park. At first light we moved the bus to another part of the lorry park, more exposed but in full view. We were all shell shocked. We hadn’t realised there as a huge children’s play area not far from where we were parked. An area where the boys could ride their BMX’s, a rock climbing wall, swings etc. They had a good time, it helped them for a moment to forget the events earlier in the day they were feeling as distraught as everyone else.
Sunday 9th December 2007 It started off raining but after a few hours the sun came out and it was warm and sunny. Brian tried to get our satellite TV working as it needed re-aligning so the dish went up and then down, up and down but we still couldn’t get it into a position that would work. Back to DVD’s again
It was a damp start but then around 12 O’clock the sun came out and we headed off again. We planned to stop at an aires to deal with the loo, once that was done we all felt a bit better, our facilities were restored. The road stretched out before us and all you could see for miles was flat land, not a hill in sight, no trees, just ploughed fields.. After an hour or so the landscape started to change, forests started to come into sight and it was quite hilly. After a short while the forests cleared to reveal hundreds of vines clinging to the side of the hill it was quite amazing the difference in the scenery in just a few miles. We pulled into a service area that was very nicely set out with little wooded areas dividing off the car parking. We are close to water, can pick up fuel for the generator, everything we need so we bedded in for the night. Sunday 2nd December 2007 - Reims We all woke up refreshed. It is a bit noisy with lorries running their engines for what seems like hours at a time. After breakfast we caught up on a few jobs. Our loo is full and we are unable to empty it at the moment so we are using the facilities at the services. Amy and I used the shower at the services as we are running low on water in our tank, it was not the most luxuries but we are clean. It has been a miserable day with drizzly rain, there’s not much to do here and the boys can’t play out because it’s muddy. We met a driver from Southend, Graham, who joined us for a cup of tea and a chat. He was just heading ack down to Milan and wished us well. We had the windows open to try and air the top of the bus out a bit and a small blue tit got in, trying to catch it was quite a job, all three kids wanted to help. After a few frantic minutes Alex had it, then there was a scuffle, loud commotion , and then.a thud, the bird had fallen from Alex’s hand and was laying on it’s back with it’s feet in the air. Alex was shouting “you’ve killed it” and cradled it in his hand. He took it out side, within a second the fresh air hit it, it flipped over and flew away. Close shave for the blue tit. Wednesday 28th November 2007 - Dover - Bethune
Tuesday 27th November 2007 - Dover
Monday 26th November 2007 - St Leonards
Friday 23rd November 2007 - St Leonards Thursday 22nd November 2007 - St Leonards Wednesday 21st November 2007 - St Leonards Tuesday 20th November 2007- St Leonards Monday 19th November 2007 - St Leonards We made some good progress with school today. We finished about 12.30pm and I popped round the shop to get a few bits for lunch. When I got back Julia Taylor from the Hastings Observer was on the bus chatting to Brian. They are going to feature a story about us in Friday’s issue. Just after Julia had gone the photographer called in for a shot to accompany the story. We had an early tea and set up for a cosy night in. The wind has increased again, it’s raining and outside is pretty miserable. We had a visit from Gary who came to update us on Lisa’s progress. She has been in hospital since last week. We send our very best wishes and hope you make a speedy recovery and will be home soon. Gary don't forget the offer of help, if you need us just call. Sunday 18th November 2007 - St Leonards What a change in the weather, it was blowing an absolute gale. The sea was so rough the waves were crashing against the beach and turned to white froth that blew into the air, over the road and stuck to the side of the bus. We tried to take Percy, Caroline’s dog, out on the beach but it was hard to walk, the wind took your breath away. The bus was rocking and swaying it was like being on a boat. Worse of all it is freezing cold. Most of the day we sat huddled on the sofa covered in a quilt. We watched “carry on screaming” and were glad when it was time for bed.
Friday 16th November 2007 - St Leonards As promised earlier in the week, I took the boys to the swimming pool. We had a walk along the beach and over the cliffs, forty minutes or so later we were there. I thought it was pretty cold in the pool but the boys were OK. Sam had a slight accident. He jumped in off the edge of the pool, his shorts filled up with air as he hit the water and both the legs exploded and hung in tatters around him. Luckily he had left his boxer shorts on. After swimming we had a macDonalds and made our way to the bus stop. We met Amy and Bradley just going in for the late swimming session.
Wednesday 14th November 2007- St Leonards
Monday 12th November 2007 - St Leonards After the schooling the boys were straight out on the beach. Every day there is something different for them to look at, Alex always manages to find a good stone or some little treasure. Sunday 11th November 2007 - St Leonards Saturday 10th November 2007 - St Leonards We decided that we must go and fill up with gas and the closest filling station is on the A27 towards Brighton. We had planned to leave by 10.30am but we were a bit held up by visitors and managed to get away at 11.30am. Bradley joined us for our short trip, we have enough seat belts for five passengers so he was safely belted in at the back. We made good progress with Brian feeling a bit apprehensive as it had been some two weeks since he last drove. I was navigating as usual, and therefore we did take several wrong turns. The first one, we headed in the direction of the services as signposted only to find ourselves heading into a small village, we knew this must be wrong. We stopped and a bus stopped to give directions to get us back on the right route. We had to reverse into a small side road and during this process Brian narrowly missed a car parked in the street. We had about an inch or so before we hit it and Brian was aware and had stopped. The lady who owned the car was not convinced that Brian was going to miss it and ran from the house screaming, stop, stop, put the hand brake on. She jumped into her car and reversed it back several feet. Off we set again, on the right track and several minutes later we were once again heading off in the wrong direction. We now have another golden rule, even if you think you know the way, look at the map before you set off. A quick detour in Eastbourne saw us once again joining the A27 towards Brighton, then, in the distance, shining like a beacon, the sign for the services. With a sigh of relief, we had made it. We pulled into the fuel bay with one pump on the left side for LPG and as we filled the space for two cars, went round the right hand side and filled up with diesel. We had a bite to eat and a cup of tea and set off back towards Hastings. I decided the time was right to have a drive so Brian pulled over and I got in the saddle, so to speak. My legs were shaking and my hands were sweating as we took to the road. My first time on the road since I passed my test. You are so aware of the weight of the bus, it’s swaying on the road and the fact you have to constantly steer to keep yourself in position on the road. I drove for about a mile or so, managed to conquer a roundabout and then decided it was time to pass the bus back to Brian. He does an absolutely tremendous job getting us all from place to place safely and I am so proud of him. We made it back to Hastings and parked up again. It seemed like it took the whole day just to do this one thing because before we knew it we were kissing the boys goodnight, filling the hot water bottles and getting into bed. Friday 9th November 2007 - St Leonards We are glad it’s Friday, if only for the fact that it means that schooling is over for the week. It certainly takes it out of you trying to keep everyone focused and trying to get the kids to do the work. I wouldn’t be a teacher for all the tea in China, the preparation alone takes ages and your patience seem to get tested to the limits. For all teachers around the world you truly deserve a medal. Christine popped in for a chat and very kindly bought us a clematis. Amy joined Bradley in another marathon swimming session, from 3pm to 9pm. As usual, Amy didn’t take her coat when she went out, they both arrived back exhausted and freezing cold. Within a few minutes she was tucked up in bed with a hot water bottle, a bit of heat and she was out like a light. Thursday 8th November 2007 - St Leonards After schooling, which progressed a bit better than it has done for a while, I went to the chemist to get Alex’s prescription. I indulged in a hot water bottle as the nights are getting pretty chilly. I thought I had better get my own as the kids keep waking up when I was trying to steel theirs in the middle of the night. I bought some belly pork from the local butchers and we had a really nice tea. Bradley joined us to savor the delights of my cooking. The days seem to be whizzing by and with the weather definitely on the change we have to start making plans to move on. Wednesday 7th November 2007 - St Leonards We started well with the schooling but after one hour we had a visit from Andy. He lives in his van, usually in Eastbourne. He was excited about the bus project and we chatted for a while. He teaches Parkour, free running, at Hastings college. This is right up Sam’s street and we asked if he would kindly give Sam a lesson. Alex joined in and the two boys and Andy were soon jumping and rolling around on the beach. Andy gave the boys a demonstration of what else you can do. He did back flips, cartwheels, handstands and really scary jumps over the railings. It was very impressive and Sam can’t wait to practice. Later in the day, Andy and his group of students from the college came along the beach jumping off the walls, over the railings and doing back flips on the beach. I took Alex to the local doctors as his head is getting much worse, we got a prescription of some lotion and shampoo so hopefully that will help. We had roast chicken again for tea. Amy went swimming with Bradley, they were in the pool for over 6 hours and got back at 8.30pm exhausted.
Tuesday 6th November 2007 - St Leonards We had a call from Radio Sussex asking if Neil Pringle could come round to see the bus. We finished school early and just when we were washing Alex’s hair, Neil arrived. We have a chat about the bus and gave Neil the guided tour, which didn’t take very long, then we sat and had a cup of tea and did another interview to be broadcast on Wednesday morning. This time everyone had a chance to put their view across on how they feel about the bus and traveling. In all the interview was about 15 minutes and we are looking forward to hearing it in the morning. I needed to go to the bank in Hastings and the boys and I decided to walk. I hadn’t realised how far it was and half way there Sam decided he couldn’t walk any further. We did some by piggy back and some hobbling and eventually with the bribe of a Macdonald’s we got to the shops. We bought a pair of wellies each for Alex and Sam as they keep getting their shoes wet in the sea and it is a real job getting them dry. Amy and Bradley went into Hastings on their bikes to get some more bleach and we met up them later in the afternoon. It was dark when we set off back to the bus and when we got back Brian was just waking up after spending a peaceful afternoon snoozing in the sun. Amy came back later in the evening with her hair even more bleached blonde than before but the ends are still ginger so she is planning to have one more session. Gary popped in on his way to walk Megan and we sat for a while chewing the fat. I must mention Gary’s website, www.getfitandlivelonger.com Take a look.
Monday 5th November 2007 - St Leonards Amy, Sam and Bradley walked to boots again approximately 2 miles away. Alex went with Tim to set the long nets again and Brian and I had a very rare few hours to ourselves. We didn’t have many visitors so we took the opportunity to do a bit of planning for our next move when we leave St Leonards.. We spent the day having a tidy up, chatting with our visitors and whiling the day away feeling happy and relaxed.
Sunday 4th November 2007- St Leonards We decided to have a roast dinner, chicken, roast potatoes, parsnips and vegetables. It was lovely and we all enjoyed it. Amy and Bradley cycled to Boots about 2 miles away to get the peroxide for dying her hair. Amy went to Bradley’s house for the first session of bleaching.. We spent sometime walking on the beach and collecting shells and coloured pebbles. The boys are spending lots of time talking to the fishermen and helping to bait the lines. Alex & Sam went off with Tim to dig for lugworms and both came back with handfuls of worms. They expel Iodine and it was all over their hands. It is very difficult to remove but I suppose in the next few days it will come off. Alex went down the beach with Tim to set the longlines and bait the lines. Alex would spend all day talking to Tim about fishing and trapping, he is having a brilliant time here. Brian and Alex went out at midnight to get the long lines in that Alex and Tim has set earlier in the day. They managed to catch a few fish, you can read about this on Alex’s page. Saturday 3rd November 2007 - St Leonards A busy morning for us, Brian had to do a few jobs, I had to go to Tesco’s and the launderette again, I wanted to do all the bedding. Amy and I took the bus as it is a bit of a hike from here. The boys were playing on the beach and talking to the fishermen. Alex is like a sponge, he just takes it all in, he really is in his element. He has discovered crabs clinging to the rocks, strings of muscles and watched the fishermen haul in their catch. Alex doesn’t ever want to leave, he thinks this is the best place in the world. Although it is not always easy, it re-affirms that we have made the right decision to make this journey. Amy and I got back from Tesco’s loaded with shopping. Brian had been absolutely inundated with visitors. Gary and Lisa had just stopped for a chat and we invited them in for a coffee, Christine and Richard came along after just finishing painting their beach hut and they joined us as well. It’s quite strange really that in just a few short days you can meet people and chat away like you have known them all of your life. We have been really welcomed into this community and we are grateful for everyone making us so welcome. Hastings and St Leonards you did yourselves proud with the fireworks displays. I don’t think I have every seen so many fireworks the sky was ablaze, faint crackles and loud booms were heard right across the bay. Around 8pm a small group of local families had their own fireworks on the beach and we watched. Gary came along with his son Bradley and Megan, his dog. As the fireworks finished we sat on the bus and chatted. Bradley is a hairdresser and is going to sort out Amy’s hair. Christine and Richard came by, we hadn’t realised they had been on the beach having their bonfire. They came bearing wine and chocolates. Many thanks for your gifts and Richard, we hope you have a good game of golf tomorrow. Friday 2nd November 2007 - St Leonards Everyone was up bright and early, waiting for our interview on Radio Sussex, we counted the minutes from quarter to eight, our slot was on at 10 to 8. Then we received the phone call and suddenly we were on the air. Brian chatted first with the presenter Neil Pringle, talking about the cost of the bus, how many miles to the gallon and the refit. Then it was over to me, a bit unexpectedly as I didn’t think I would be on but there I was chatting away, how many bedrooms have we got, how do we cope living in such as small place and the fact that we have an onboard washing machine. Neil seemed quite taken with our project and said one day next week he will pop in and see us. We are looking forward to that. The weather today has been brilliant, the sun blazing through the windows and giving the bus a good airing, the boys were straight out on the beach after school, they just love collecting things on the beach. After the radio program we expected there might be a few people calling in to see the bus but we were not prepared for the volume of people that descended on us. It was one after the other, the day passed in a blur. At 9.30pm Alex and Brian decided to go out to check Alex’s fishing line that he had put out at low tide earlier in the day. I was watching video’s on You-tube with Sam and the time was ticking away. Suddenly I had this overwhelming sense that something was wrong. I nipped between the beach huts to see if I could see the torch in the distance. All I could see were fireworks going off in the distance and red, yellows and blues reflected in the water. I came back in and sat with Sam for a little while longer but I couldn’t settle, I had convinced myself that something was wrong. I locked Sam and Amy in the bus and walked along the beach huts, it was pitch black and all I could hear were the waves crashing in the distance. It was eerie and I felt panicky. I still couldn’t see any sign of them and by now I was worried that something had happened. What on earth was Brian thinking about going out on the beach at this time at night. I couldn’t walk any further on my own so I banged on the side of Tim’s van, trying not to sound in a panic, I got Tim out of bed to help me find them, lost on the beach. Tim and I set off, ill equipped on my part with a torch equivalent to one candle power, along the beach, Tim telling me where the ropes were to hoist in the boats and trying to avoiding the nets. I still couldn’t see any sign of them, we walked further along the beach, I was questioning Tim about sinking sand and falling rocks. Getting myself in a frenzy about Brian and Alex being lost on the beach. Tim thought they must have made their way back to the bus, I was convinced something had happened, I needed to get to the phone to ring the coastguard. Tim was very calming assuring me that everything would be alright. We made our way back to the bus, in the light of the moon, as we got closer, I saw our bikes were missing. Just my luck I though, first Brian and Alex are missing on the beach and now someone has nicked the bikes. I raced in the door only to find Brian and Alex, watching TV and the bikes, stacked neatly away. I could have killed them for stressing me out. I thanked Tim for his help and dragging him out of bed. Brian said he got back enquiring where I was, the kids said, Oh mum’s wandering about on the beach, you know what she’s like. Thursday 1st November 2007 - St Leonards The boys woke up early and we had planned to start school early and finish early but as usual things didn’t quite go to plan and after all the showers and bacon sandwiches for breakfast we go going about 10am. It was difficult with Alex today he just didn’t want to knuckle down and get on with his work. Hopefully we can have a better day tomorrow. We muddled through and did our time, Alex is coming on with his 7 and 8 times tables and Sam is doing well with his 3's and 4's. We have got to do loads of washing today and the launderette is within easy reach. Four loads later and we are back on top of things. Brian and Alex went to the local petrol station to get petrol for the generator. We need this if we want to use the internet, it takes quite a lot of our power using it and with the solar power and batteries don’t give us enough power to last the day without topping up with the generator. We bought an extra petrol can as it is quite a walk to buy just one can and it means Brian has to do the trip every day, at least with two cans it cuts this down to every other day. We took Amy’s guitar into the little shop round the corner as she has managed to damage the jack plug point. An hour later it was fixed and working well for only £6.00, what a bargain. We have had a constant stream of visitors during the day. We had a call from Radio Sussex asking if we would have a chat on their early morning program tomorrow. We have to be ready for 8am and we are looking forward to it. Wednesday 31st October 2007 - St Leonards The boys were up and out early ,keen to walk on the beach before school work began. They came back with an old driftwood plank piled high with muscles and much to their delight had found a fishing line. It is forecast warm weather today so hopefully we can get some time on the beach. It has been a busy day today with lots of people popping in, we have been introduced to the wild spinach growing along side the beach hut. We have our very own vegetable patch right outside the door. We had a walk along to a very small parade of shops in search of a few basics as Tesco’s is quite away from here. You just wouldn’t believe it, sitting in this parade of shops is a shop selling tartan and kilts and also a music shop selling hi fi’s, guitars, keyboards and a huge selection of mills and boons books, 6 for £1.00 quite a combination! It was been a bit overcast today and we had planned to go on a fossil hunt but that has been postponed for better weather. We carved the pumpkin and put it on the dashboard for Halloween. Tuesday 30th October 2007 - St Leonards It was a chilly night and we are suffering from condensation problems. It would be good to get some form of heating upstairs but the generator would not withstand the use of the electric heater so we have to restrict it’s use to when we are on hook up. The forecast is good for the next few days so hopefully we can get the place aired out. The boys were keen to get out on the beach but first we have to do the schooling. Alex is working hard on his times tables and Sam is persevering with his reading and spelling. He would much rather do maths as he finds it easier to progress. Still Rome wasn’t built in a day and we will built little by little. Amy has been working on our my space site myspace.com/us_on_the_bus. Our webstats have been going up every month and as of today we have had 150,000 hits. We are certainly proving to be an attraction here in St Leonards with more and more people popping in, taking photo’s and giving us renditions of were all going on a summer holiday. Everyone has been extremely helpful and we have received numerous emails from local people with their phone numbers, just in case we get stuck for anything. Thanks to Gary Packer and Bob Hope for your offers of help. We were up at 6am making ready to move on by 8am. We were approached by a local fisherman who enquired if we had seen or heard anything in the night as their fishing hut had been vandalized and all the windows smashed. Unfortunately, we had all been sound asleep and with the wind battering the bus we hadn’t heard a thing. We packed up and made ready to move. We were low on water and the local fishmongers kindly agreed for us to fill up with water. We were informed by one of the locals of a little area in St Leonards that has a parking area so we decided to head off in search of our space for the night. We pulled into a little lane, after checking out the access first, and met Eric who lives in his self built motorhome and travels around. He advised us that we could park up safely behind the beachhuts and really it couldn’t be a more perfect spot. We are right next to a fresh water tap, we can have the generator on as and when we need it. We unpacked and settled in. We were soon welcoming our first batch of visitors, Gary with his wealth of local knowledge of the area and re-assuring us that we would be safe parked where we were. Gary introduced us to each visitor to us as they came by and we were welcomed into the community. We have a view of the sea through the brightly painted beach huts, we can see small fishing boats bobbing about, fishermen casting out their rods and miles of pebbly beach. Brian took the boys for a walk and just before they returned they watched the sunset and sea turned pink, it is lovely here.
Sunday 28th October 2007 - Hastings We were all hot in the night. Sam had his pyjamas, a fleece, sleeping bag and quilt on in bed. He got overheated and tried to get out of this sleeping bag. His efforts resulted in him falling out of bed, sliding down the ladder and landing in a heap on the floor. The thump and shouts got me out of bed and rushing along the corridor. There he was, now standing upright, still zipped up in the sleeping bag, fortunately unhurt. What a start to the day. I am sure a lesser person would have cracked up by now but I seem to think this is par for the course. The wind is howling and there are hundreds of sea gulls landing around us, they are all squawking and swooping down for the bread the boys have laid out in front of the bus. We wanted to pay for parking for the day and after consultation with the warden and a quick phone call to his office we were advised that we can park all day in this car park for £8.00 so we decided to stay for a few days. It is bleak and the wind is whistling round the bus, we can’t have the sky dish up because the wind is too strong. We put on a film and Brian took the boys out for a walk along the beach. They all came back feeling quite invigorated, Alex was extatic as he had found a dog fish on the beach, it was dead but he was still excited. They threw bread for the gulls as they swooped down over their heads and flew back out over the sea. Brian came back as he had not had a very good nights sleep and I took the boys and Amy out for another walk. This time we found two dog fish, god did they stink, the sea was rough, crashing into the beach and the spray nearly knocking you off your feet but the boys were undetered, they wanted to explore. Just over the breakwater were two young lads on body boards, they must have nerves of steel to face the sea like that, the waves were ferocious and it must have been bitterely cold in the water. After our beach combing and a stop off for an ice-cream we headed off to the warmth of the bus and settled in to watch a film. Around 4.00pm there was a tap on the window it was the traffic warden saying our ticket had expired. We explained about the call to his office and paying £8.00 per day and he went off to make some enquiries. Within a few minutes he was back advising that no one knew anything about this phone call and we were parked with an expired ticket. However, to give us the benefit of the doubt, if we put a further £8.00 in the meter at 6.00pm we could stay till 8am Monday. We felt a bit disgruntled but had no choice but to pay again. After tea we watched a DVD as the wind was still too strong for the satellite dish. Brian and I chatted into the night and turned in with the thought of having to move in the morning. Saturday 27th October 2007 - Brighton - Hastings The boys were up and out early with their friends. Riding around the site and having a ball. There was a play area as well and they were sad at the thought of leaving the site. We had a lazy start to the morning but around 10 had to swing into action getting the bus ready for the off. It was at this point that the visitors started to appear. Firstly, a gentleman and his wife both in their late 60's, she was quite ill and they had decided to come back to England after living in France for many years. He had been taken by surprise at the prices of property in the UK and told us that he sold his property with extensive outbuildings and land for £120,000 but couldn’t get anything along the south coast for his money. They were living in a very small campervan and although conditions must have been quite tough he was in good spirits. We met the couple in the American RV in the next bay and they gave us lots of advice about traveling in France. We slowly made our way round to the water taps and it was a constant stream of people on the bus, wanting a look and chatting, it took us three hours to get off the site. It had been our intention to call in on the travelers on he sea front but the time was getting on so we decided to make our way along to Bexhill. We didn’t use the satnav this time and took advice from the campsite that the coast road was a good road. From Brighton on the A259 towards Newhaven the road was open and wide, we managed a constant 39 miles an hour, cruising along enjoying the views of the sea and the white cliffs. We got into Newhaven and somehow managed to miss the connecting road to the A27 and stayed on the A259 signposted Hastings. What a disaster, this road turned from gently slopping to a roller coaster of huge uphill climbs and then the worst bit, down the other side. We managed a whopping 10 miles an hour on the up, much to the annoyance of all the other cars but on the way down the bus wanted to run away and it was a job to hold it, we didn’t want brake fade. Just when you thought it was over along came the next one it was like the Big Dipper Roller coaster in Blackpool, except this one for real. We passed Beachy Head and Brian and I looked at each other as if to say, should we just jump off, surely this would come to an end soon. Finally, we reached open road and picked up the signposts for the A27 our escape road. We recovered our composure on the road and followed the directs into the campsite. First problem, signpost read weight limit 7.5tonnes except for access so we were OK there. We seemed to be heading into a residential area, the streets were narrowing and then before us was a leafy lane with overhanging trees on both sides. We had to stop, blocking the traffic in both directions, we reversed into a side road and took a deep breath. A lady and her husband came out to enquire whether we were lost and her kind husband leapt into his car and escorted down the lane, with his hazard lights flashing he stopped the traffic for us to straddle the lanes and avoid the overhanging trees. We reached the bottom of the lane and then to our horror, another smaller lane with a width restriction 6.6 feet, luckily this applied to the bottom of the lane only and we only had to get half way down. However, there were some hefty branches overhanging. Brian went to see the campsite owner who bought a measuring stick. We were 300 yards from the site entrance and we couldn’t get in. Plan B, we didn’t have one. Our first golden rule was broken, we would not drive without having a place to go to. This was an emergency we had no choice we had to find an alternative. The second golden rule was about to be broken. We would not drive in the dark. This was also an emergency and now things were reaching a desperate situation, we needed somewhere to stay for the night. Hastings town was only fifteen minutes drive away and with the exception of one bridge, fortunately 15'6", we had a whole foot to spare, we drove into the town, it was dark and I was navigating. Really not a good combination. We reached the coach park in the Old Town next to the own fishing net sheds, right next to the beach. We had reached our spot for the night, it was quite and well lit and there were several other campervans parked up for the night aswell. At least we could gather our thoughts and composure and we had a good laugh about our exploits today. It is very breezy and I am not sure if it is the wind or the half bottle of wine that is causing me to sway along the corridor to bed. Friday 26th October 2007 - Brighton- Hastings We all had a good nights sleep, the boys were straight up and out with their bikes, they have met up with a group of boys and are having a good time. I started early in the launderette, due to the water shortage and flat batteries we have been unable to keep on top of the washing so it has accumulated somewhat. Anyway, it’s all under control and we restocked with clean clothes. I have to say that it is towels which are the biggest problem. We drove the bus round to the water filling station and topped up with water, emptied the loo and parked up again. They take up lots of space and take ages to dry. We decided to walk into Brighton and have a wander around on the beach. They boys went dashing off towards to sea, Brian, Amy and I strolling behind. Within a few minutes we realized that we were on the naturist beach. As it was rather cold he assumed no one would be languishing on the beach in the nude. WRONG. There in all his glory was a young man, obviously feeling the effects of the cold as he was flapping his arms around himself!. They boys couldn’t believe it, a naked man on the beach and then we spotted another one swimming in the sea. Some people are brave. We wandered further along towards the pier and met a group of travelers, one was living in a horse box, one in an army vehicle and one had a lorry with a porta cabin on the back. We stopped for fish and chips and strolled further along the front. A quick walk along the pier managing not to spend any money and it was time to head off back to the bus. We needed a cashpoint so headed off in the direction of the shops and found a lovely little street that had everything we needed, a shop and a cashpoint. We called in at a chemist and the pharmacist took a look at Alex’s head as he has quite a severe irritation on his head. We came out armed with some medicated shampoo that should clear it up in a few days. We bought a hot roast chicken and some crusty bread and hopped on the bus back to the site. It was quite a walk from the bus stop to the site and we were all glad when we finally got back. The boys were keen to regroup with their friends and were straight on their bikes and away. After our chicken and bread I went over for a long hot shower in the shower block. It’s not that we didn’t have enough water on board it’s just that we wanted to keep our tanks full. The boys were out like a light, happy and contented. Amy was merrily talking to her friends on MSN and Brian was shattered and had an earlyish night. I decided to take the opportunity to look for campsites in Hastings as we needed to leave the site as they were fully booked for Saturday night. I found a site called Kloofs near Bexhill, just outside Hastings and it looked ideal. There are not many sites that stay open this time of year so choices are a bit limited.
Thursday 25th October 2007 - High Wycombe - Brighton Ward sent one of his boys around to finish the work rather than us going to his yard as it was packed and it ment having to shunt around all the time. Around 11.30am it was all done, we popped into the yard to fill up with water and headed off. We phoned ahead to the Caravan Clubs site in Brighton, Sheepcote Valley. Off we set, down the M40 and round onto the M25. What an experience for Brian, it was manic with all that traffic. We left the M25 to pick up the M23 and stopped off at Pease Cottage Services for a bite to eat and refuel. The canopy was OK in height so no problems this time. We set the sat nav for the campsite and headed off, Brighton was 20 miles away. First mistake, we missed the turning so had to go on a few more miles and do a U turn. The only problem with going off the route is bridges, we really don’t want to get stuck and have to reverse half way up a bypass. Anyway, after a few stressy minutes we were back on track, Amy sorted out the Sat Nav and off we went. We wound our way through the roads, following the sat nav, turned into the lane that apparently the site was in, and headed straight into a Gypsy Caravan Site. It was not a purpose built site, this was a gathering in the middle of a field, surely this could not be our luck. At the end of the lane was a leisure centre and they kindly allowed me use of their phone. The site was on answering machine and recommended I call the local police in case of an emergency, which I felt it was, we couldn’t stay in a field. Unfortunately, they had not heard of our site and thought we therefore must be at the right place. I thought I was going to have some sort of seizure, I could feel my face going red and my legs went weak. Here we were, close to Brighton, no knowing where to go, what about the bridges, weight limits, security and it was pitch black outside. One of the staff came to the rescue and advised there was a caravan club site down the bottom of the hill. Off we set, missing the turning as we thought it was a car park and ended up parked on Brighton Sea front in the dark. I have to say the kids have been absolutely brilliant, there has been no arguing during the journey and they have been extremely patient. Brian stopped on the front and I hopped on a parked up double decker, the driver was fantastic and came over and directed us to the site. Eventually we got to the right site. Found our pitch and settled in for the night. What a day. This was definitely one of the lows but it ended on a high. We are hooked up, we have water and the internet is on so Amy is happily talking to her friends. Happy Days. Wednesday 24th October 2007 - Stokenchurch - High Wycombe We packed up early and set off to Ward’s yard to get the light fixed. What was going to be a quick job turned out to be a whole day’s waiting around. Eventually it was decided that we would need to come back in the morning to finish the work. We needed to park up in the industrial estate for the night so we popped out to get some diesel for the generator. It was getting dark and we hadn’t a clue where we were going. Eventually we found the garage, again the canopy was too low but this time we could carry the generator to the pumps. In the dark we navigated back to Wards Yard only to find the spot that was allocated to us was a bit too small. We ended up parked on the side of the road, getting the generator going in the dark and the sky dish up in the dark, not the easiest job in the world. We were all cold, tired, fed up and miserable. The only thing going for us was that we had filled up our water tank at Ward’s yard but there had been a kink in the pipe and we only managed to get half a tank. Everyone had a two minute shower, just enough to refresh themselves. It was foggy, bleak and I don’t think I have felt so miserable for a long time. Purely due to the cold. We need to get away to warmer weather. Tuesday 23rd October 2007 - Stockenchurch We woke up freezing and to no power. All of our batteries had gone flat. We quickly got the generator out but had to spend several hours trying to give us some life in the batteries, we also were low on water and could only get a bucket full at a time at the Café. Brian and I felt a bit flat. We called Ward Jones and could get in at 11am on Wednesday to get our light fixed, we didn’t want to hang around a lorry park all day so we headed off to High Wycombe. We wanted to take the boys to the park so we parked up in a side street under a tree. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb, it’s not your every day site, a double decker bus parked in a residential street. They boys had a walk and play in the park and Amy stayed behind on the computer. We just got back and found ourselves surrounded by a group of 10-14 year olds. They were trying to get into the doors and compartments and so we had no choice but to move on. We headed off back to Chris’s Café for another night to wait until we could get into Ward’s yard. We still had no batteries so hooked up the generator and reserved our power. We all had an early night. I had more clothes on in bed than I had on during the day, there was no fear of getting cold. Monday 22nd October 2007-Birmingham - Stockenchurch We packed away all the bits and pieces and left the NEC about 11.30am. We waved goodbye to all the Marshals on the site and asked the NEC traffic controllers the way to the nearest petrol station. They very kindly drove in front of us and led the way to the nearest petrol station to the NEC. Only one problem, the canopy was 4 metres we are 4.29 metres, there was only one way IN and one way OUT. After detailing our plight to the cashiers they were brilliant. Two of them donned their high visibility vests and stopped the traffic on the main road so that we could back out of the petrol station. A huge thank you to the staff at the Bickenhill Service Sation. The first hurdle was over and we headed off down the motor way to Warwick services. We had a problem with the filling pipe and was very kindly assisted by the cashier. We were just topping up when our friend Mike walked around the corner. He hopped on for a quick cup of tea and a biscuit and headed off for Bicester whilst we slowly headed for Oxford. We met up with Sue, Alex’s friends aunty who kindly bought Alex’s coat that we left behind and we also met up with ‘Bruva Brian’ to drop off his pocket surfer. Thanks to Brian for running me to and from the post office. Also to Plastows Coaches in Wheatley for kindly letting us use their coach parking area. We planned to stay overnight at Chris’s Café and eventually arrived about 5ish. It was getting dark and it was cold. A car delivery lorry pulled up along side us and eventually the driver introduced himself as Cliff (no not Richards)_and it turned out he had been one of our customers at the snack bar. Small world. We all had a chat and a cup of tea and after dinner we settled down for the night.
Sunday 21st October 2007 It is certainly warmer in our sleeping bags, we are not so keen to get up knowing it’s freezing. Once you are up and about it’s not too bad, a quick blast with the burners on the cooker takes the chill off the air. Brian took Alex off to the lake again as Alex is keen to get another look at the heron. I went to the show again with Sam, we are all relaxed and looking forward to moving onto the next place. We had a visit from some of the ladies who have acted as Marshall’s for the site for the week. We have to say they have all done a fantastic job. They stood out in all weathers seeing in the new arrivals and making sure everyone was seen to their place and aware of the electricity supply, waste water and loo disposal facilities. They have been on duty from early in the morning to sometimes 12 at night to see in the last arrivals. We took a few of them by surprise on our arrival but we have been treated no differently from the other motorhome owners and we thank you for allocating us the perfect spot with lots of room. These people really do a sterling job for the caravan club and without them non of this overnight parking would run as smoothly as it does. Saturday 20th October 2007 We had a visit from Steve Brown and his girlfriend Julia who popped in before visiting the show. Caroline drove up from Hemel Hempstead along with Percy, the dog, (who really doesn’t travel well) so we had a full house. Along with a constant stream of visitors who wanted to view the bus it was a busy day. Caroline bought a boot full of shopping including a lovely leg of lamb for a nice roast later in the week, the fridge is replenished but the chocolate bars unfortunately didn’t make it past the first few minutes they were soon wolfed down you would think these children had never seen chocolate.. In the midst of a sea of bodies I rustled together sandwiches for everyone, before we knew it we were saying our goodbyes for the final time and agreeing to meet again in Spain. Caroline is going to catch up with us in the next few weeks on the south coast but for now it’s a sad goodbye to Steve and Julia. We went with a heavy heart to the evening entertainment, a tribute to Freddy Star, who did at times manage to lift our mood. Brian left early but the rest of us stayed for the group, the final entertainment of the week. Amy and Sam got up for a dance and we finished the night looking forward to the weeks ahead. Friday 19th October 2007 We decided to have a lazy day, Brian took the boys off for a walk around the woods and lakes at the NEC, they had a great time making video’s of the birds and local wildlife. Whilst they were away I managed to catch up with some emails and update the website. I have also printed off loads of worksheet for the boys maths projects. It was quite a nice afternoon but it does get cold in the evening, Amy and I went over to the marque to buy some chips, had a quick drink and got back just in time to watch a brilliant program about alligator turtles in the swamps of Florida. We all had an early night and bedded down in the sleeping bags. We are taking no chances with this cold weather, if it’s one thing I can’t stand its cold feet. I also can’t sleep thinking the boys might be cold in their beds. Amy is the only one who has a heater in the bedroom as she has four windows in the room which keeps it colder than the other rooms. Thursday 18th October 2007
It was absolutely freezing in the night, the temperature is dropping and we are all dreaming of being in warmer weather. We had to move to fill up with fresh water and empty the waste tank. I took the opportunity to have my first real drive. Several times around the campsite car park not a huge deal but it was a start, I even managed to get into third gear, WOW. We all went to the show today, Sam made a B line for the creche and we booked him in for two hours. We had a wander round, picked up Sam and after an hour he was keen to go back so we booked him into the creche for another couple of hours. Tucked into the corner we discovered a Mediterranean food stand, we bought bags of honey roasted cashew nuts, Turkish delight and assortment of ginger, sun dried tomatoes and garlic in a lovely oil and vinegar dressing. It was such a wonderful explosion of taste, a little bit of the Mediterranean in your mouth. We got back to the bus about 6ish and had a surprise, the moment everyone had been waiting for, Cliff Richard's on the bus. After a tour around and a chat Cliff (a.k.a. Jimmy Jemain) went off to do an excellent show in the campsite Marque. We must also mention Mr T’s catering services who have done an excellent job in keeping everyone fed, he does an brilliant carvery. Wednesday 17th October 2007 Brian was still feeling under the weather so I took Sam over to the Creche, or the Crush as he calls it. He absolutely loves it and it quite taken with Ollie, so thanks Ollie for doing such a brilliant job of keeping him entertained. It has to be said that all the people at the creche do a fine job and it is such a brilliant service. I went back a couple of hours later and we then went for a wander roound the show. It was no longer than five minutes before Sam decided to dive into one of the motor homes without telling me and before I knew it he was lost. Alex and I split up to do a search of the area, Sam reappeared after a few minutes and then Alex was lost. I went to see the security guard and he advised me to go and get an announcement put out. Sam and I did a frantic search and headed off to get the announcement put out. Standing there was Alex who had been found by the security guards. So within 10 minutes of being at the show I had managed to loose both of them. After a shaky start we looked around the show and headed off around four o’clock. I was just doing a spot of washing up when a car drew up outside and two people were peering out of the windscreen at the bus. I stepped out and invited them in, it turned out they were the local vehicle protection team checking out the area to make sure everyone was safe and sound. We sent sometime having a chat and they had a look around. Around seven o’clock we headed over to the marque for a splendid evening with entertainment from the Cuf flinks and Union Gap. It was a good atmosphere and the groups were very good. Everyone had a good night and we came back tired.
Tuesday 16th October 2007 It was extremely light in the car park and I had difficulty sleeping, eventually I got up to discover it was only 4am. For some reason the drip in the skylight was back again and dripping in my ear, anther good reason for getting up as I had to sort it out. I couldn’t get the satellite system to work, I must speak to Andrew about that, so I ended up watching Happy Feet on DVD. Our collection of actual DVD’s is limited to kids films as all the other films are on the hard drive and at that time in the morning I didn’t want to set it all up. I did a bit of hand washing and dried some things infront of the fire and before I knew it had to get ready to go out. I had to meet Andrew Harris from Roadpro at 9.30am at the NEC to pick up the tickets that he very kindly gave us to get into the show. I spoke to Andrew about the satellite system and it appears it’s the sky box and we know how to sort it out. After a quick trip back to the bus I collect the children and went over to see the show, Brian stayed behind feeling really wretched. I noticed that there was a creche taking children up to 9 and after a brief discussion we decided that Sam would most probably enjoy the creche more. After an hour I felt guilty and thought he may be upset so went to pay him a visit. He was having a whale of a time playing on the playstation, pool, in the ball pit and far from wanting to leave wanted to stay till the end of the day and come back every single day we were staying at the show. Happy that he was settled we headed off the find the Roadpro stand to purchase one of g their pocket surfer internet gadgets. We passed some lovely motorhomes and huge American R.V’s. We had a pit stop at the natural liquorice stand for some tasting and buying and finally headed off back to get Sam. We decided we had had enough for the day and went back to the bus. We met Eugene, his friend Brian and their dog, Tootsie, you can meet them on the site. Later in the evening we went to the Cabaret, tribute to the Everley Brothers and Elvis. Even though it was pouring with rain there was a good turn out and it was a good evening. We got back at 11pm all tired and exhausted. Monday 15th October 2007 - Ickford - Birmingham
Sunday 14th October 2007 Sam and I walked into Ickford approximately five minutes away, it was a cold and frosty start. We picked up some bits and pieces and had a look around the park there was only a football match on, non of the boys friends were about so we walked back to the bus. Lewis came to pick Alex up for the afternoon and spend their last bit of time together. Sam and I walked into Ickford again and stopped at the Rising Sun pub for a spot of lunch, Ham, Egg and Chips. After a couple of cokes we had a walk around a 13th Century Church. The oldest tombstone we found was a person 99 years old and a child aged 1year and 1 day. We made our way back to the farm and had a lazy afternoon watching tv and chilling.
Saturday 13th October 2007 We woke up bright and early and it was nice to see a different view, behind us were horses in their paddock and to the side of us apple trees, obviously now all bare but with just a few fallen apples laying on the floor. The boys collected the apples in a bag and we went to feed the horses. Sam was a bit nervous at first but soon got round to stroking them. We met Ivor on his Ducatti bike that he purchased on ebay and put a new engine on it. The tax disc reads December 1962, a lovely old bike. We walked into the village of Ickford to the post office for some supplies and the boys went to play in the park. Unfortunately there was no one about for them to play with so they were a bit disappointed and we made our way back. Amy went out with her friend Elizabeth, and the boys and I went for a walk. We took what seemed to be a fairly dry path but as we got further along the mud got worse and worse, at some stages it was ankle high, our shoes were caked in mud. I decided after about an hour it was time to head for home but didn’t want to risk the mud again and took a short cut through some fields. I have to admit my sense of direction is not that brilliant and at one stage I was seriously worried about where we would end up, finally we saw the original track and got back to the bus. The boys went off again on their bikes to see the horses and were allowed to shoot Alex’s bow and arrow that he got for his birthday. In the evening we had our tea and spent some time on the internet. Brian is full of cold, as we all are, but obviously he is 10 times worse than anyone else with man flu! Friday 12th October 2007 Thursday 11th October 2007
Tuesday 9th October 2007 Monday 8th October 2007 Sunday 7th October 2007 Saturday 6th October 2007 Friday 5th October 2007 Wednesday 3rd October 2007 Tuesday 2nd October 2007 Monday 1st October 2007 Sunday 30th September 2007 Saturday 29th September 2007 Friday 28th September 2007 We all woke up early to celebrate Alex’s 12th Birthday. After opening his presents, Brian took him along to the local fishery to book a day’s lesson for fishing with a pole. The boys and Brian drove to North Oxford to check out the LPG facilities at the Pear Tree Roundabout filling station. They found it was closed for two weeks so it was lucky we didn’t drive the bus all the way over there. Garth popped in for a while to go over the new pages to the website, reviews and letters. We packed up and set off to fill up in High Wycombe. We met up with the boys at V&G Engineering and at this point we have to thank them for sorting out our problem with the gas tanks and for the enthusiasm and interest in our bus project, Robbie you do a fine job. Alex’s friend Louise came over for tea and we had chocolate birthday cake. Thursday 27th September 2007 Most of the outside jobs have now been completed. There are still a few paint jobs and filling one hole in the side but apart from that the list has shrunk considerably. Tuesday 25th September 2007 Monday 24th September 2007 Sunday 23rd September 2007 Although it is forecast rain we have decided to press on and start painting the top of the bus. We have to cover up the silver solar paint which is a real mess. It is patchy and dull. It took two good coats to cover it and looks 100% better just for being back to cream. We got rained off but managed to get a good days work in. Saturday 22nd September 2007 After a busy day painting we achieved quite a lot. We all had a treat and went to the fair. Alex won £20.00 by shooting a cork gun and hitting a ring over a pole. He was as pleased as punch. Amy went to the fair with her friend and stayed over for the night. Friday 21st September 2007 There is an awful lot of painting to do on this bus, the black trim, the cream and the red. It all has to be sanded, undercoated, masked up and painting in gloss. It is a big job and I hope we can get through it quickly Thursday 20th September 2007 The weather was awful today and we did a few inside jobs, putting up the curtains in Amy’s room, I have still got to make one curtain as we had a bit of a disaster with the paint when Amy was painting the design.
Wednesday 19th September 2007 I went to Thame early, the fair is being set up in the street, it’s on for three days, last year it rained for the whole time, an absolute wash out. Hopefully this year will be a bit better. I don’t think we will be going it’s so expensive on the rides. At short notice we decided to visit Roadpro in Daventry, Andrew Harris had the new satellite system incorporating broadband to show us. The boys went to stay with Martin for a few hours. They had a great time, they visited the local allotments to see all the different vegetables, they picked apples off the trees and searched for hazel nuts. They stayed at Martins for dinner and came back happy and tired. We watched a film in the evening and the day ended on a high. Tuesday 18th September 2007 The weather is still holding so the painting is number one priority, we are trying to get as much done before the weather breaks. The red is looking very smart and much fresher. Brian is getting a few smaller jobs out of the way, curtain rails and trying to find a small heater for Amy’s room as she has been feeling cold at night.
Monday 17th September 2007 Another early start and morning coffee with Steve Brown. We have finished most of the red undercoat and hope to get onto the gloss before the end of the day. Sam had a fall into the stinging nettles’s his back, neck and arms were completely stung. He was very distraught and I covered him with boots bite and sting cream. It was brilliant, within an hour there was not trace of any sting not even any redness and he is feeling back to normal. Steve popped in again, he is now such a regular visitor he makes us the coffee. We worked on to late trying to get as much done as possible but the weather turned very cold and windy and that called a halt to the painting. Full steam ahead tomorrow. Sunday 16th September 2007 An early start again today and at last we put some gloss onto the bodywork. The cream needs some touching up but the red is so faded it is a complete repaint. It is quite amazing how long it takes but progress is being made. Saturday 15th September 2007 We made an early start with the painting. Our friend, Steve Brown, came down for the day to help with the preparation for the painting. An extra pair of hands is always welcome, it helps move things on that little bit quicker. The boys spent the morning catching newts that had been pumped out of the swimming pool, it is being emptied and cleaned. Alex was in his element, they collected 30 in total. Brian and Sam relocated them in the lake on the golf course. The day ended well with a good amount of washing, sanding and undercoating being done. Tomorrow is the last day of good weather for a few days so we hope to make some more good progress. Friday 14th September 2007
A trip to Jewsons this morning to top up with brushes and white spirit and get ready for the painting. We are going to start on the back whilst it is parked against the side of the store. Brian and Sam spent a considerable amount of time washing the paintwork and then working on the flaking areas with wet and dry. Then the moment we have been waiting for, the first application of undercoat. We primed and undercoated the aluminum panel that covers the sections where the doors were removed. At last the end is in sight. Hopefully we can make good progress over the coming weekend as the forecast is for fine weather however, next week the weather is about to change so we better get our skates on. Thursday 13th September 2007
We had a visit from Steve Brown, we met when he began to visit our truck stop in the garden about a year ago and have been friends ever since. He visits on a regular basis and today was one of those times. We had our usual update about progress with the bus and he helped load the welder into the back of the van. Finally we can get the thing off hire. Brian went to pick up the paint and the boys met Billy a huge New Foundland weighing 15 stone. Sam just loves dogs and we have put a picture of him with Billy on his gallery page. Wednesday 12th September 2007 Martin came over to help Brian with the welding on the frame for the satellite dome. It seems to be taking ages, we were hoping to finish it today but it looks like it will be tomorrow now. Brian will be so happy to have this finished it’s the last major job before the painting. We had a phone call to say all the paint has arrived, we can collect it tomorrow. Tuesday 11th September 2007 The boys and I had a trip out to Thame, they had a farmers market on and we wandered round for a while looking at the lovely cheeses and pies. We bought a pair of slippers for Caroline, the same as the ones we bought for the boys last week. We bought some corn for Alex’s pigeons as they not only have two more chicks they have two more eggs as well. The male is flat out with feeding. Brian welded the stops on top of the bunks and I undercoated them. Monday 10th September 2007 Brian set off early to pick up the ladders for the bunks that were being made by a local engineering company. We have one for each room. Brian also went off to the scrap yard to find some other type of hydraulic lifting system for the satellite dome framework. The paint has still not arrived at the suppliers, hopefully the good weather will hold for the rest of the week so that we can get onto the painting, if it turns rainy we are set for yet more delays. Sunday 9th September 2007 We had a very nice lunch today, roast chicken with potatoes and vegetables. The boys ate up without complaining about not liking cabbage, it’s a first. I cut the carpet shapes to fit the treads on the stairs. My thumb has gone numb, I think cutting carpet with scissors is not the best idea. Brian has been feeling under the weather. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow. Saturday 8th September 2007 I helped Brian with some welding on the satellite framework. It needs to have a small platform on the top so when it is raised it is the same height as the bus. Brian went off to see about an hydraulic system to raise and lower the dome. He came back with a pile of pipes so I think he has something in mind. Caroline came for a visit and bought Percy with her. He doesn’t travel well and left her a nice warm parcel in the boot of her car. I am trying to keep the website up to date, being off the internet is such a pain, it’s funny how you come to rely on things. We have so far not missed the tumble dryer or the dish washer but everyone is feeling the loss of the internet. Friday 7th September 2007 An early start this morning to give the bus a wash over before the sign writers arrive at 9.30am. David and Andrew Cummings of Cummings Signs are supplying and fitting the vinyls and we are very excited about it. The cream panels on the bus washed up well but as we expected the red is really faded. After several hours the job was complete and it looks brilliant. The paint didn’t arrive as expected today so we cannot go ahead with the planned painting over the weekend. We did a few small carpentry jobs, Amy is pushing ahead with the designs on her curtains and I have finally finished all the alterations on the downstairs curtains. The job list is at last shrinking. Hooray. Amy and I went out for a drive and picked up a WIFI signal and managed to get our emails at last. Thursday 6th September 2007 Martin arrived about 10 to help with the frame again. This job has proved to be a lengthy one with the frame having to be fitted to get the sizing right, taken off for adjustments and refitted again. This frame weights quite a lot so it takes some time. Hopefully today now they have the better fixings they can get it finally attached. The bus has to be backed against the store wall in order for them to reach the top section. At the end of the day they finally had the main framework attached. All we need to do is find some kind of mechanism to wind the platform into position when we are parked up and need to use the dome. Wednesday 5th September 2007 The fixings for the satellite frame are not keeping it attached to the bus securely enough so Brian went in search of an alternative. Through various suppliers in Oxford we were given a contact number for a company in Watford. Brian set off with Alex and they decided to test the Navman. He set it for the shortest route and off they went. When they got back three hours later he was not very impressed with the Navman, it had taken him on the strangest route around housing estates, country lanes and everywhere but Watford. Approx two miles from his destination the Navman ran out of power and he was left to find the company himself which he found by accident as he only took the postcode not the address as he thought he wouldn’t need it with having the NAVMAN. Mike, one of our customers from the café, popped in for a cup of tea. I took the children out to Macdonalds who were reported to have free WIFI. When we got there and ordered up the Macflurry’s we discovered they didn’t. We drove round for a while and finally discovered a signal.
Tuesday 4th September 2007 A busy start to the day, Brian went off to the local engineering company to get some steel to finish the platform on the satellite dome frame. Our friend Martin came over to lend a hand. I took the boys out to Thame Market to find some slippers and pyjamas. Sam is finding that he is getting cold feet and his quilt keeps falling off during the night and he is getting cold. Last night I got up four times to put it back on. Now that I am on the top bunk it is no easy task getting in and out. I have to launch myself like a Thompson Gazelle onto the bed and hope I can grab onto the side to pull myself in. Hopefully the ladder is arriving sometime this week to spare Brian this quite unusual sight each night. I usually do this in the dark but for some reason last night I turned on the light, did the launching and came face to face with a spider dangling from the ceiling. Without much of a panic I dispatched the spider into a tissue but the thought that if I hadn’t of switched on the light I would of either had a spider on my head or it could have dropped down on me in the night. YUK!. Moving on, Amy returned from a visit to her friends house sporting a multi coloured hairdo, one pack of bleach just isn’t enough when you have very long hair so from the top she is bright yellow changing through various shades of ginger until you reach black at the bottom. God only knows what she was thinking, her hair is ruined. I suppose we all go through this stage but I just wished she would have listened, sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Later in the day Alex decided that he really wanted the slippers like Sam’s that he decided he didn’t want earlier so off to Thame we went again. This time I also bought some elastic and ribbons as I am making a hammock for Sam’s toys that he must have at night. It takes about 10 minutes to collect then all off the floor and after the bed is made each one has it’s place on the bed, now they are all in the hammock, 2 seconds, job done. It was a lovely warm evening and we worked until late at night, I am still trying to get to grips with the website picture resizing, I just can’t seem to get it. Monday 3rd September 2007 Today was one of those running around days, getting things prepared and ordered for the week. The exterior paint is on order and will be ready for Friday, the heavy duty locks have been bought for the frame for the satellite dome. We have bought some cushions for the sofa and I am still making curtains, do you know how many curtains you need to fit a double decker bus? Hundreds!!!.
Sunday 2nd September 2007 Seems like ground hog day with more jobs being done, some pictures being hung, coat hooks up. The locks are finally fitted on the front doors, Brian is worn down and can’t face doing anymore work but we can’t stop now we have to get finished. We started the day with the idea that we were packing up to go to High Wycombe to sort out the gas tanks. After a call to the mechanics, Brian was advised to wire up one of the other tanks and use that as he knew the ones he had fitted were correct. This would save us having to make the journey and we could plan a day next week to get it sorted out. Before he started this Brian tested the system and it seems that the gas level has dropped low enough for the pick up arm to get the vapour not the liquid so we are now working OK. This means we can all have a shower, fantastic. Lots of small jobs got planned for tomorrow and hopefully the last few items in the store can be sorted out. We decided to try and sort out the gas leak before starting any other job. Out came the washing machine and we used our new gadget for detecting leaks. There didn’t seem to be any leaks on any joints or regulators. Brian redid all the joints and retested the whole system. There didn’t seem to be any leaks. When we turned the boiler on for hot water it was like a mini explosion as if too much gas was accumulating. Whilst we were running the boiler Brian noticed the pipes were freezing up, he then realised that the problem was with the tank not the pipes, fitting or appliances. The pick up arm in the tank was picking up liquid gas instead of the vapor. After a chat with the mechanics they advised him to expel the gas to drop the level and this would solve the problem. We had not noticed this before as we had never had a full tank. We tried to expel the gas but could not release enough and finished the day off with no hot water, heating or cooker. The only good part about the day was that we managed to locate a leak under the washing machine and fix it. This had been leaking for some time and was dripping into the battery compartment , at least this was sorted out. We have decided to go back to High Wycombe in the morning to get the problem sorted out. What a great start to the day first of all we had a gas leak, the whole of the bus filled up with gas and got us in a panic. This is the first time this has happened. Brian isolated the gas tank and after about half and hour the gas cleared and we seemed to be up and running again. Brian jumped in the van to go to the shop only to discover the battery was flat. After getting jump started he headed off down to Greenford Plant hire to pick up the welder. Things always seem to happen in three’s so our final disaster for the day, the battery was flat on the welding machine so Brian could not collect it. They promised to get a new battery and drop it off later on in the morning. Martin turned up to help with the welding. I went to see Gareth Jones for a second lesson on the website, I needed a run through putting the pictures on the site. When I got back production of the frame for the satellite dome was in full flow, finally we are underway. I managed to get a pair of curtains made. After a slow start we were finally making progress.
Wednesday 29th August 2007 An early start this morning we left at 8.00am to get fuel and head off to High Wycombe. The traffic was light and we made good progress, we arrived just after 9.00am at Myze Farm. It was only supposed to take an hour so Sam and I went off for a walk across the surrounding fields and woodlands. We walked up a hill that felt like mount Everest and found ourselves in a really old wood. It was full of pheasants which Sam thought was great. He said he felt like he was in Jurassic Park and wished a dinosaur would appear through the trees. Imagine that, could I run fast enough!. We walked for miles and eventually ended up back at the bus. It was still not ready and the mechanics advised that we should probably go and have something to eat and come back in a couple of hours. We headed off to West Wycombe and picked plums off the trees in the hedgerows. They were delicious. We found a tea shop in the oldest garden center in Britain. It had an organic shop filled to the brim with jars of jam, chutney and pickles, locally baked bread, organic cheeses, fruit and veg. We stocked up with packs of dried fruit, fruit cake and cheeses. We found the perfect BBQ and hopefully will get back next week to pick it up. Sam managed to find the resident cat, Harvey and decided that he wanted to live in one of the summerhouses in the garden center. He had it all planned out where he would have his TV and wood burning stove, he was totally convinced he could live there. What an imagination that boy has. We wandered back to the bus to find out it still wasn’t finished so off we went for another walk. We found peacock feathers and dinosaur teeth (not really) but sam was convinced. My legs were aching and my feet felt like they were on fire. Eventually we got fed up with walking and went back to the bus. We met a lovely lady who lived in the house next to yard where the bus was parked and we chatted for a while about the bus and our travels. We hope her move to London goes well. Whilst we waited sam found loads of off cuts of wood from a joinery on the farm and occupied himself making buildings. We had a most welcome cup of tea and waited and waited. Eventually at 6.00pm we were finished. I was meant to drive on the way home but I felt under pressure to get back as quick as we could as Amy would be waiting for us so I didn’t drive.
Tuesday 28th August 2007 Monday 27th August 2007 Brian fitted one of the locks to the main door and I made a picnic to take with us the Towersey Festival, a four day folk festival in a nearby village. We had tried to see if we could park in the social club hall as they have hard standing but this has been reserved for skips and disabled drivers. It is not possible to park on the road as it is too narrow. We were wary of parking in the field as it has been so wet lately, we only needed a bit of rain and we would be stuck forever. We had a very enjoyable day. The children tried rock climbing. Sam conquered his fear and made it to the top about 10 times, he likes a challenge. Alex found it too difficult and made it half was up one face. Amy managed to get halfway up one face and let go of the rope thinking it would drop her gently to the floor but she plummeted down the rock face and collapsed in a heap on the floor. The people in the queue found it quite amusing much to Amy’s disgust. She had a go at the other three faces but didn’t fare too well. We stayed into the evening for a concert by the Peat Bog Faeries. It was fun with people jumping about, waving their arms and generally being manic. We decided to leave about 10.30 it had been a long hot day. On the way through the car park I tripped over a piece of string laid out the mark the parking bays. I was carrying a loaf of bread which I launched into the air and it came to rest several cars away. The children found it highly amusing and Brian enquired whether I thought the bread would be alright or should we get another loaf. What happened to Mum are you alright!
Friday 24th August 2007 We had planned to be in West Wycombe at 9.30am for the lpg gas tanks to be changed to two smaller ones. We packed up and I followed on the bus in the van as the plan was that Brian stayed with the bus and I took the children to the park in High Wycombe. We arrived at the engineers yard and after a phone call he advised that he had booked in another job and would not be there for two hours. Obviously we were not pleased but had no choice but to wait. After two hours, still no show, another phone call and a revised time of 3.30pm was set for the work to take place. We left the bus and went off to Ward Jones’ yard to talk about a few jobs that were outstanding on the bus. Brian went back to the bus and I took the children to the park. We were only there for three quarters of an hour when I got a phone call and the bus was finished. I got lost in High Wycombe and eventually found my way back. When I got back there were two gas tanks lying on the floor, the old one and one of the new ones, unfitted. It turned out the tank that was ordered was too big and two others had to be fitted. Understandably we were not happy, the guys at the yard that the fitter works out of advised us that they will take charge of the job and get it sorted out. We have to go back next week for a second try. After a rather uneventful journey back home we parked up for the night and mull over the days events. We have agreed that I will drive next week when we go up to High Wycombe. Clear the roads.
Thursday 23rd August 2007 The weather forecast is good for today so we have decided to start welding the satellite bracket onto the bus. It is quite a difficult job and needs several pairs of hands so Martin has offered to come over and help. I took the children into Oxford on the bus, we are shopping for curtains for Amy’s room. It proved totally useless so we decided we would buy the fabric and make our own design. There is a very good shop called the works that sells acrylic paints at a reasonable price, once it is mixed with an acrylic medium you can use it on fabric. We had lunch at BHS which was not really that good. We came back at around 4.30 to find Brian and Martin still struggling with the bracket. Brian has run out of wire so the day came to an abrupt end. We had a nice dinner with hot rolls, salad, ham and cheese. I heated up a treacle tart to such an extent it was like a bubbling volcano when it came out of the oven. Unfortunately I stuck my finger into it by mistake, oh yes it hurt, dam and blast
Tuesday 21st August 2007 Today was one of those days when you hit a wall and think you can’t go on. The weather is getting us down, to progress of work is slow and we feel like we will never get on the road. We are both exhausted and need a break but what do you do? If you stop it takes longer before we get out of here, if we don’t stop we get even more tired and the jobs slow down to a near standstill? Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.
Monday 20th August 2007 A mind blowing visit to Gareth Jones our Web designer bright and early this morning. I need to take over the new website so I can do the daily updates. Trying to get to grips with three new programs has fried my brain. Hopefully I will get the hang of it soon. Brian fitted the reverse polarity switch so we are now safe for European hook up. A visit from Bob provided a welcome stop and a cup of tea. A bit of a rejig in Amy’s bedroom sorted out the room and made it a bit more manageable for her, for some reason teenagers need to have the phone on charge, the camera on charge, the computer on the tv on, the hair straighteners on, the guitar plugged in, the f-x pedal plugged in and then complain that there is not only enough plug sockets but also not enough floor space!!!!
Sunday 19th August 2007
Saturday 18th August 2007 Brian is concealing the wire for the solar panels
that runs along the wall at the moment, we need some trunking fitting. The
weather is getting everyone down as it is damp and dismal. Brian finished
the luggage rack cupboard door, put on the handle and a chain to stop it
being wrenched open. We are trying to do one main job and one small job
per day. There still seems loads to do. I took the boys into Thame to get
some storage boxes for Amy’s room and some pieces of red felt for the
boys.. Brian fitted Amy’s TV which she is ecstatic about, she can watch
Holy Oaks in piece. I made a quilt cover for Brian’s bed and they boys
drew a heart in the felt, cut it out, sewed it and stuffed it. They did very
well. Both completed it and sprayed it with lavender and took it too bed.
Sam went to bed for his first night without sides on his bed, we think he
will be OK. We cooked roast chicken for dinner, I managed to burn the
potatoes. I was trying to watch tv, cook and clean at the same time. Such
is life. Friday 17th August 2007 An early start this morning. Tim from TSW-Comsat arrived early to make a start on the solar panels. Luckily it was dry. Brian did a few small jobs in between getting up and down on the roof to see what was going on with the panels. We had a quote for the replacement awning canopy and think I need a lie down after that. The sign writing is coming together and hopefully this can get fitted next week. We have had to have the logo re-drawn as it was in the wrong format. The new TV’s are working well and at the moment the boys are glued to it. Sam seems to be the only one able to work the remote. I made curtains for the kitchen window. Hooray, they fit. I found a travel ironing board if folds down into the size of a small bag, its great. I have to say our local caravan centre, Swindon Caravan’s has a very well stocked shop for spares and space saving items as well as BBQ’s, tents, sleeping bags, foldaway chairs. They also sell all electrical appliances from microwaves to TV’s. The manager, Viv, is brilliant with her advice on everything from loo chemicals to condensation bags. I must drive her mad every time I turn up and say, “I don’t suppose you’ve got.....” she rummages around and if they don’t have it she whips the book out and shows you a picture to order it in. Thanks Viv. Everything seems to be coming together at the moment
Thursday 16th August 2007 A very busy day today, we have Sun Ray blinds coming out to look at the canopy as it is a bit tatty. Brian is ordering the steel to make the frame for the CAMOS dome (satellite tv receiver). I have made some enquiries about the curtains that need altering and making for the bathroom and Amy’s room and have decided to make them myself. My last efforts at sewing, were not good, so I really don’t know what we are going to end up with. I will give it my best shot. Alex was very excited as he saw a Buzzard and couldn’t get over how large it was. He then gave us all a talk about sparrow hawks and goss hawks, how they catch their prey. He loves to see the Red Kites that have really settled into the area. We have two that fly over the garden, they are huge birds. When we travel to High Wycombe you can see groups of 12 to 14 at a time. It has rained on and off again today, we need some nice weather again. Late this afternoon Tim from TSW Comsat arrived with the solar panels and the TV’s. Anyone needing to have a dome fitted contact www.tsw-comsat.co.uk arrived A friend of ours, Lee, turned up to look at the welding that needs to be done, the evening was busy.
Wednesday 15th August 2007 Another damp start to the day with heavy rain forecast. We had a visit from a local signwiter who will be producing the vinyls for the outside. Martin came for a visit and bought a huge bowl of plums and hazelnuts picked from a tree in the allotments he visits. Sam was particularly intrigued by the hazelnuts and managed to munch his way through most of them. He also had a bit of a liking for the plums but I think they are a bit tart. Brian and Martin took the front off the bus to try and work out the attachment for the spare wheel holder. Just after the front came off it poured down with rain and that was it for the day. In between showers I managed to dry some washing and have just started using Eco Balls, you don’t need washing powder or conditioner, so far they seem pretty good. A combination of late cooking, ironing and Brian having a shower and the damp outside gave us a condensation problem. I had a terrible nights sleep as I kept moping the ceiling to get the drips off. Once or twice the water dripped in my ear. Not a good night.
Tuesday 14th August 2007 We woke up to a few puddles here and there and rain pounding down on the ceiling. We have decided to go high wycombe to fill up with lpg. The packing up procedure went well and within 15 minutes we were off. We went to get fuel first and were not sure which side we were ment to use the car or lorry side. The answer was in the car side you can only fill up with 100 litres at a time and in the lorry side you have to pay first before you fill. We used the car side filled up then we were off onto the M40 up to high wycombe. The rain was torrential, not the best day for our first trip out. We have a leak in the drivers seat and the rain was splashing down onto Brian’s hands. After a few minutes Brian got used to the feel of the bus and we made it to the lpg filling station in high wycombe. He had encountered parked cars, roundabouts, junctions and traffic on the motorway, even a car pulling out in front of him so all in all a good first time driving experience. On the way back we stopped on a Chris’s café for lunch. The journey back didn’t seem as traumatic to me but Brian was pretty tired by the time we got back. I went shopping for dinner and Brian did a few more little jobs. The children managed to set up the playstation so they were happy for a while. Amy is on wireless broadband so it keeping in touch with her friends. So far everything is going OK.
Monday 13th August 2007 A few more jobs got finished off by Brian and I am trying to unload boxes and find places for everything to fit. I am trying to find a sign writer to get the vinyls put on the side and the new canopy fitted. I tried to find some purpose built bed guards for Sam’s bed but nothing was suitable. I found some collapsible crates to use in Amy’s room when we are traveling as the locks we bought don’t work well. The engineer who was to fit the solar panels cancelled the appointment as a severe weather warning has been made for Tuesday and Wednesday. We ran out of gas just before bed so we have to go and find an lpg filling station tomorrow.
Sunday 12th August 2007 We woke up to rain and cooler temperatures which means we can get a few jobs done upstairs. We started in Amy’s room, ticking off jobs on the list fluorescent light on ceiling, plug socket changed and moved higher up the wall, storage cupboard adapted slightly, door adjusted slightly, drawer runners oiled and two runners changed. We had planned to fit drawer locks but this proved too difficult so we decided to use collapsible crates to secure the drawers when we are on the move. All the door catches had to be slightly adjusted as they were proving a bit too stiff to operate. Alex’s lion head was put up on the wall and we looked at the solar lights. Brian fitted the new gas alarm which seems to be working well. I continued to unpack, throwing more things away, do we need five staplers, I think not. The boys were helping out in the old house as they are taking out the kitchen and digging our ragwort in the front garden. After a cool start it turned out to be another hot day but I managed to get some washing dry. We had a very late tea and needed to put the gas fire on as it turned a bit chilly. I have moved onto the top bunk bed as Brian is having a problem turning over. We were giggling like a pair of kids at my attempts to get onto the top, one leg was stuck on the fishing box and one leg on the bed, not a pretty sight, good job I had my pyjamas on! Eventually I hoisted myself up, for someone who has vertigo and is afraid of heights I am wondering if I am in the best place
Saturday 11th August 2007 What a scorcher today. It is too hot to do any work at the top of the bus, it’s like an oven. One consolation is at nighttime it is nice and cool because we thought it would be too hot. I took the boys strawberry picking, a very poor show we didn’t even manage to get one punnet. There were no gooseberry’s either so the crumble I had planned didn’t happen. We bought some chairs and a couple of tables, the Caravan Centre at Tiddington have been very good. They have been letting us borrow samples to see if they fit before we commit to buy. The gas detector went off at tea time throwing me into a panic as it was indicating a leak. We moved the washing machine and investigated and there didn’t appear to be any gas leak but the alarm was constantly on. We took it outside into the fresh air and it still indicated a leak so we think we have a faulty appliance. We will take it back tomorrow and get a replacement. Caroline came for a visit. We tried to get an early night but it ended up being 12 O’clock again before we turned in.
Friday 10th August 2007 Two important jobs today sealing the joints in the roof with aqua mac paint. We have tried for a few days to start this but it has been too hot. We got an early start and managed to cover all of the joints. That hopefully should stop any leaks. Its almost like a rubber paint and is a hell of a job to get off your hands. Second job the shower. Brian took it back off and took it back to the shop as we just couldn’t get it to mix the hot and cold properly and we thought it could be a faulty valve. He came back armed with the knowledge that he had put the hot and cold water pipes around the wrong way. Another five minute change around and we have hot water. Having a shower was brilliant. I feel that we are finally getting there and all the teething problems are being worked out. We have fixed the washing machine in place and it is working well, it doesn’t appear to be as noisy as it was in the house so that's a bonus. We have repositioned the fridge as the door kept swinging open to far and now it all works well. We are all anxious the get away now and do something different. Hopefully in the next few days with a bit of cool weather we can get on top of a few jobs. We found two coat racks that fit perfectly at the bottom of the stairs to keep the coats out of the way as we don’t really want to be unpacking boxes just to get a coat. We got in touch with an old friend, Alan who helped on the building initially. Hopefully he going to come up next week and give us a hand to get things tied up and get on the move.
Thursday 9th August 2007 After a peaceful night we got off to a flying start. Our LPG engineer Roger Bailey was due at 9.30am to speak to Morco and sort out the boiler problem. After a quick conversation with them it was discovered that the inlet and outlet pipes were round the wrong way. After a rapid change over which involved removing the jubilee clips and swapping the pipes over in the battery compartment. Hey Presto, we had hot water to the downstairs sink. Roger checked for gas leaks, there were non and our gas detector device has not gone off either so everything is OK with the gas supply. We checked the bathroom sink, yes, hot water. Turned on the shower, no hot water. We decided to leave that until later and investigate. We must say a huge thank you to Roger, last Friday he had never heard of us and since then has been out twice, once on Sunday morning, he really wanted us to get going and bent over backwards to help. Anyone wanting a corgi registered engineer please give Roger a call on 01491 572174 or 07929 223449. Brian fitted the gas fire back into position and that is working well. I went off to Thame to source storage boxes and came back rather loaded up. We are still trying to unpack and sort out. It is quite difficult finishing the jobs and living on here but we will have to manage. Hopefully we can get the shower going tomorrow. Overall things are working out well, it feels a bit like we are on holiday and a bit strange to be in the garden looking over at our old house. At least this has given us an opportunity to catch up with the jobs and test the systems before setting off.
Wednesday 8th August 2007 We all seem to be sleeping OK. No complaints about the beds or sharing a room. Brian fitted an a gas detector so that when the gas is permanently on we wont have any problem. The threshold step that needed finishing is almost done. We had our first meal using the new cooker. It was only a fry up and pizza, for the boys, but it all worked well. Just get the hot water on and we are all set. It is difficult living, unpacking and trying to work on the bus. I think today was the worse day we have had for a long time. The boys were irritable and fighting most of the day. Lets hope for a better day tomorrow.
Tuesday 7th August 2007 Lots of jobs were done today. The washing machine was bolted into place so it doesn’t fall over when we move. It’s all plumbed in and working a treat. Blocks have been put under the fridge as it seemed to be on a bit of tilt and I carried on trying to get our belongings onto the bus. I thought I had thinned down the possessions a lot but now I am putting things in place we still have to much. I managed to send some emails today, and update the diary which makes me feel like things are returning to normal a bit. The children are all excited about moving on but we still have some work to do before we can leave the garden, they have been sorting out their bits and pieces and really like the bunk beds. So far no problem with sharing a room, hopefully the novelty won’t wear off too soon.
Monday 6th August 2007 Our first night went well, the boys were very excited and took a long time to settle down but eventually dropped off around 12.30. It was very strange sleeping in such a confined space, I felt a bit claustrophobic and thought I had been buried alive. Brian launched himself onto the top bunk using the fishing box to give himself a leg up. He has to be careful or he will catapult himself over the bed and into the window. Amy got herself bedded in with all her cushions and cosy quilt and had a very comfortable night. The place looks a real mess. Hopefully tomorrow we can get a bit sorted out. We have no hot water at the moment so the kettle is constantly boiling. The electricity supply is coping really well and no one is thinking too much about not having a tv yet. They are all too excited. We had planned to go to High Wycombe tomorrow but I think this will have to be cancelled as we have too much to do.
Sunday 5th August 2007 With help from our friends Bob and Steve we set about emptying the house. I really didn’t think would take so long. I was baking hot and we moving all of the furniture out the the rooms and put some bits and pieces on the bus. The lpg engineer spent some time on the boiler and we think it is a fault with the boiler and not the installation. He is going to check it out with the manufacturers in the morning. In the meantime we have no hot water until at least next weekend. We managed to get everyone a bed made, curtains in the rooms and most of the downstairs. All crockery and cutlery is on and the important coffee machine. It is going on forever, we are hot, tired and dusty. Our first night on board and we are all a bit apprehensive. Will let you know tomorrow how it goes.
Saturday 4th August 2007 On the hottest day so far this year Brian was in Caroline’s loft overboard before putting all of our boxes away into storage. I spent the day cleaning the bus. Where it had been in stood in Ward Jones Yard it had got pretty dusty and lots of debris from the new lights being fitted, it was pretty hot work. We have a problem with the water boiler, it doesn’t fire up. We have an engineer coming out on Sunday morning. It will be pretty hectic as we are moving tomorrow.
Friday 3rd August 2007 My nerves are in tatters. This is the morning we get to drive the bus, when I say we I mean Brian. We met Mark from Ward Jones in the layby outside Murze Farm. The plan was for Brian to take Mark back to his yard but our van wouldn't start and we ended up with one of the engineers from Ward Jones' yard coming out with a battery pack and starting our van. Eventually off we started. I was terrified following in the van. When we left home we had planned to stop at Chris Cafe for breakfast but with the van breaking down we changed our mind, much to the disappointment of the boys. However, Brian indicated to turn into the cafe so I followed. The boys were worried about Brian driving the bus because at some stages he did look very close to the kerb. Whilst reversing he hit a small concrete wall with concrete stumps on the top, it could only have been about 2 feet high but it crumpled the skirt on the bottom of the bus like it was made of butter. So, there we stood, one crumpled bus, two frightened kids, one cheesed off husband and me shaking like a leaf. Not exactly the best start. We left our van running and had a quick breakfast in Chris' Cafe and headed off down the motorway (M40) back to our house. Trundling along at 40mph we made it home. The steering is very slack now so we need to speak to Ward about that, a small bit of body work needs to be done. I think the idea is take it easy, we cannot rush anywhere, keep calm, keep patient and get as much driving experience before we hit europe as possible. The new website is planned to go live on Saturday and should be up to date. At last.
Thursday 2nd August 2007 Brian had an early start and headed off to Ward Jones to see how things were going with the new light fittings. They are looking very nice and all have individual switches now. Then on down to Murze farm to check on the situation with the LPG tanks. They have both arrived. I headed off to Oxford with the boys to DVLA armed with the MOT, insurance certificate and engineers report from Ward Jones stating that the bus is now a Motorhome. Finally, we have the tax. We are road legal. The boys and I went to celebrate with breakfast at BHS. Sam was not impressed with his two cold sausages and raw mushrooms. After breakfast we went for the first show to see The Simpsons Movie. We all thought is was really good. Outside the cinema was a small market which we had a brief look around and Alex bought a frog ornament. We spent the afternoon moving more boxes and I did a marathon ironing session.
Wednesday 1st August 2007 HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Brian, we started off with presents. The mobile phone was much appreciated. We are saving the cake till later, it is a bit excessive eating cake at 7am don't you think. Brian went to Pirtek to order the new cables for the LPG tanks. I faxed through the MOT and Engineers Report to Club Care as arranged. At approximately 3pm they came back with a quote that was totally unexpected. Twice as high as I originally thought and only 3rd Party Cover. This threw me into complete panic. I phoned Adrian Flux as we had already got a quote from them in June. With the discount they offer for being a member of the Motor home Facts website it was half the price of Club Care and fully comprehensive. We can pay an additional premium to get six months cover for Europe, not exactly what we wanted but it's a start and at this point anything could happen so at least we have the MOT and Insurance cover note so we can get the tax tomorrow and change the registration certificate. I spent the majority of the day one way or another sorting this out and found the whole thing very stressful. There are so many things going on at the moment that everything is just a blur and the days blend into one another. Stop the world I want to get off. I found a very good quote from Mark Twain that sums up our journey: Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Tuesday 31st July 2007 We were up at 6am on tender hooks, waiting for the MOT. There's a nervousness that's almost like when you are about to give birth you want it to be over because it's been a long wait but you don't want it to happen in case there's anything wrong. The time ticked away and eventually it arrived, we are the proud owners of a brand new MOT. Fantastic. Brian got caught up with the changes to the gas tank, the new pipework and arranging everyone to be in the right place at the right time for everything to take place. He got home at 6.30pm after not having a cup of tea for 5 hours, must be a record. I travelled with the boys into Thame to take back Brian's new phone that we bought for him yesterday, I couldn't mention it as it would ruin the surprise. Apparently the SIM card had expired and the phone could not be used. I ended up changing the phone but not without some hassle. Did a spot more shopping and missed the bus back so had to wait another half an hour for the next one. Alex went over to his little friend Louise's house for tea. I am trying to tie up the loose ends and do more packing, more washing, more ironing. It's like being in a marathon. We are both exhausted. Finally at 11pm after watching the Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock film, 2 weeks notice, I had some sort of hysterical laughing fit. Last year I took Amy to London to audition for the part of Luna in the latest Harry Potter film. The brief said start to queue for 10am so we set off at 5am and arrived in London at 6.30. We were not the first there, some people had camped on the street all night. There with about 5,000 other girls, we stood for hours waiting for a two second interview. I took two folding chairs that I grabbed in the dark from the garage before we left. I started chatting to another mum in the queue and offered her a chair. She pulled it from the bag and to my horror, as she unfolded it a plume of green plastic confetti launched into the air and we both stood looking at each other through a hole that had once been the back of the chair. I could have died with embarrassment and offered her mine which she kindly refused and I can only imagine that the mice in the garage are partial to garden chairs. Oh and by the way, Amy didn't get the part Monday 30th July 2006 Brian left early this morning to go to High Wycombe to see Ward Jones and check over the progress of the bus. All the jobs have been done and we are booked in for 7am tomorrow for our MOT. I rang the insurance company and they are on stand by for the documents so they can issue the cover note. We have arranged for the new gas tanks to be fitted on Thursday and Brian will drive it back from High Wycombe to the house. I have been packing again, throwing away and paid a visit to Thame do collect a final few things. The boys were devastated tonight. One of the baby pigeons has been killed. We think by a rat. We found it about 9pm, they are very upset. Sam got himself into a bit of a state and cried for about 2 hours. Eventually he calmed down. It was a sad end to the day.
Sunday 29th July 2007 Alex's baby pigeon flew for the first time today, the other one is not quite ready yet. I am pleased that he was able to see them right the way through from the egg to first flight, he was worried that he might miss it due to leaving. We had a visit from Bob, it's always nice to see him. We loaded his car up with bits and pieces rather than throw it away. We had a huge bonfire, hopefully the last one. I have been unable to work on the diary as the site had a 'Fatal Error' . Will contact the hosting company tomorrow and find out what's going on. Loads of things still to do, another list to be made.
Saturday 28th July 2007 Another day of clearing out and packing, it's going on forever. Now we have bags to throw, boxes for storage, boxes to go onto the bus when it comes back, I hope I remember what's what or we will be in a right state. Alex has been sorting out his fishing tackle, he's very excited about finally getting away. I am getting nervous. We have revised the leaving date it is now the 7th August mainly due to having to change the LPG tank, this has delayed us slightly but that's life. I have been reviewing the changes to the website it should be finished sometime this week. Hopefully
Friday 27th July 2007 A flurry of phone calls this morning trying to get everything ready for the off. I ordered a survival first aid kit and dental kit, USB hotspot booster for increasing our WIFI range. Sent my article off to Practical Motor home to see if it would be suitable for inclusion in the next issue. We are still packing and throwing things away, surely there can't be much more to do. We are trying to arrange for a new LPG tank to be fitted to the bus before it comes back next week. This will mean we can fill up with LPG, get our Corgi certificate and be able to cook on the bus. Ward Jones is providing us with an engineers report to send to the insurance agents so we can get a cover note and I can change the taxation class.
Thursday 26th July 2007 Brian left early with the boys and headed off to Ward Jones' yard. They were very excited about seeing the buses, especially the night club bus with the pole dancing area, boys will be boys! When they arrived Ward had the bus on the ramps and was giving it a good look over. Generally we are in good shape, a couple of jobs need finishing off which were easier with ramps than on the sleepers that we were using. A seatbelt is being fitted in the drivers seat but generally not too much needs doing. Just thought I would mention that it is raining again, I took Amy to a music shop in Oxford and it was a downpour. I pulled up to park at the side of the road and when I got out I was in a huge puddle. The road was like a river. Amy went to the doctors as she has a real hacking cough. As she doesn't have a spleen she is prone to infections and we therefore got here on a course of antibiotics to clear things up. We took everyone as promised, a day late, to the Harvester for dinner. Alex asked for a 4 oz steak (as in Wizard of), Sam was asked how he would like his steak cooked and he replied 'nicely'. We got through the meal without too much trouble, Sam and Alex were in good humour. Alex was trying to turn his brain off (strange boy). Amy enquired whether it had ever been turned on!!!
Wednesday 25th July 2007 If you could hear noise on this page it would be me screaming my head off. The pressure was really on this morning to get the bus ready for Ward Jones to take it for it's MOT. We started by trying to fit locks to the kitchen cupboard doors. Two hours later we still could not get them to work correctly. The locks attach to the door, in the centre is a magnetic tube that fits inside a hole that you drill in the door. A strong magnet on the outside connects to the magnet inside the door. When the exterior magnet is off the door is locked, when the magnet is on the door catch is open. We could not get the magnet to release the catch thus making our cupboards permanently locked. The time was ticking away and there was still jobs to do. I did a frantic dash to the caravan centre to buy elastic straps to secure the cupboards. The interior now looks like a cats cradle. Brian and Alex went off to High Wycombe to collect Ward. On the way two deers jumped out in front of the van which Alex found really exciting. When Ward arrived he checked the bus over ready for the journey. The first thing he did was remove the earth strap we had put on to make the fan work. Then we had to disconnect the earth on the fan itself. He is going to look at this at his yard. He seemed satisfied that everything was OK and set off for the weighbridge. I followed in the van, my heart was in my mouth. Sam took some photo's of the bus on the weighbridge and we found out our unladen weight was 11540 kg. We had put on 2 tonnes. With the weighbridge ticket in hand I set of for the DVLA in Oxford. What a nightmare. Two major roads into Oxford were closed due to flooding, everywhere else was gridlocked. Eventually I made it to the centre, and sat in the DVLA. Remember how easy it was going to be, change the body type, change the weight, get the new registration certificate and then we could get the insurance. WRONG. Due to the increase in weight the taxation class had to be changed from PLG(private light goods) to PHG (private heavy goods), to make this change along with the body type you have to tax the vehicle, to tax it you have to have the MOT certificate, which has not been done yet as it had only just gone to High Wycombe and also you need an insurance certificate. I had been previously advised I could not get an insurance certificate until the registration certificate had been changed. CHICKEN AND EGG situation. I nearly had a breakdown in DVLA I tried to appeal stating the vehicle was sworn off road so did it really need to be taxed, but to no avail. To calm my self I headed straight for Marks and Spencer's, found a huge bag of chocolate covered caramels which seemed to do the trick. If I was a smoker I would be clanging a few off, maybe I should have started but anyhow the chocolate caramels sufficed. I battled back through the gridlock, got home and in a state phoned DVLA Swansea in case the local office had it wrong, which they didn't, but I felt it was worth I try. I then phoned Club Care, the insurance agents, spoke to Peter, who must think I am totally mad as I ranted at 100 miles an hour about my plight. Peter was brilliant, understood the situation completely and made some enquiries. Within a few minutes he phoned me back and if we get Ward Jones to provide us with an engineers report we can arrange insurance cover and then I can head off again to DVLA. To cap it off it's raining again. I have run out of chocolate caramels and have moved onto a bottle of red wine. Ah, now I am feeling relaxed. By the way, hi to Pat, hope you are enjoying our daily blog and no it's not just coincidence that Brian is sitting down every time you visit. Who's doing all the work? Only joking.
Tuesday 24th July 2007 Up at 5.30 this morning, we had a huge amount to achieve today. We have to devise and make the fixings for the cooker and fridge to stop them jumping about whilst we are on the move. Brian had his thinking cap on and shot off to a local engineering company at 8am for some brackets to be welded. We also cut and drilled square metal bars to fit under the legs of the cooker and fridge, this is then screwed to the floor. Works a treat. We purchased some bonnet clips which were then fitted to the battery compartment cover, along with a couple of padlocks will keep it secure. Dave came to fit the final tyre and put on the valve extensions for the inner back wheels. I spent another day clearing the garage and outbuildings, more rubbish was thrown out, I didn't realise we had so much junk. We worked until 9pm and tea tonight was from cans that of been kicking about in the cupboard. Sam had steak and kidney pie filling and Alex chose mini corn on the cobs. We have agreed that tomorrow night we will have a treat and go to a local restaurant for dinner. Everyone has worked so hard we deserve it. We sold our van so in three weeks our only form of transport will be the bus. I am getting nervous and excited about the trip.
Monday 24th July 2007 Another wet and horrible day but at least we managed to get a few more jobs crossed off the list. We are still working on the battery cover, the bus batteries had to be taken out during which time one of the terminals was found to be cracked and a fuse connection was cracked. These two had to be replaced. The battery charger was hung on the wall which seems like a simple job but Brian is working with his head in the battery compartment with the rain beating down on his back, not a very pleasant experience. We located the catches for the cupboard doors so they don't fly open during travelling. All we need to do now is fit them. I took the curtains for alterations to a lady in the next village hopefully we can get them back in time. We are really feeling tired, I hope we are ready for the MOT!!!!
Sunday 22nd July 2007 At last a break in the weather. Although most villages around seemed to have flooding our garden is sodden but all the hard standing is clear. I took the children to the local car boot sale which is in a field, there were only a few sellers there but the walkways were churned to muddy tracks, my white trainers didn't fare too well. The boys managed to find some play station racing games, I went for cutting disks and didn't find any. We knocked a few jobs off the list today. The upstairs back window that was falling out has been fibre glassed and re-attached. The leaking connector on the water pipes was changed but for some strange reason the washing machine water supply pipe split and sprayed water all over the inside of the bus. That had to be fixed. We started the outside battery cover panel. This has been a major drilling and riveting job. A piano hinge was used to attach a metal framework to the existing framework and this will be covered with an aluminium plate. We can then lift up this panel should be need to get to the bus batteries in the future. It must be finished by Wednesday when the bus is taken for it's MOT.
Saturday 21st July 2007 After yesterdays downpour we expected to have a few puddles on the bus. We had three, one in the bathroom, bedroom and hallway, fortunately nothing was damaged. The water makes it's way through the window rubbers as they are old and perished in places. Compared to when we first bought the bus and it leaked like a sieve, I think we have probably got to a point where we can't get it any better. In between the showers we managed to finish a few small jobs. Dave from Farrolls came over to fit the remaining tyre. He put the tire on the wheel but couldn't fit it because it began to rain again. We really need to make up some ground if we are going to get ready for Wednesday's MOT.
Friday 20thJuly 2007 What an absolute wash out, all day we have had torrential rain. It has been impossible to work on the bus. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow and we can make up some time. Gareth and I had another meeting about the website and I think we are almost there and hopefully early next week the new site will make it's debut.
Thursday 19th July 2007 The simplest of jobs can take the most amount of time. I tried my hand at fitting the reversing camera. Although I had good intentions of trying to do this on my own allowing Brian to get on with his wiring jobs today, I have to admit that Brian did most of the job. The cables were already through from the back to the front and I had a place to mount it. Sounds simple enough. However, the cable was not long enough so it had it to be pulled through from underneath Amy's bed, formerly the top back seat. As the back window is not able to be opened at the moment the room was extremely hot. Every time you moved you got hotter and hotter. I finally got the cables through. A hole had to be drilled above the cab to allow the cables down. The mount for the reversing camera was to be housed on the original point for the ticket machine but consisted of two metal struts along the sides and a long flat bar along the bottom. Brian cut a sheet of Aluminium to cover the area and I painted it. He used the camera mount as a template and re drilled the holes to take pot rivets, the mount was fitted. Then the cables were all joined. We need now to fit a reducer from 24 volt to 12 volt to give us power and finally one more job can be crossed off the list. All the curtains have been removed from downstairs and we are starting to strip out all the soft furnishings ready to sending the bus for its MOT next week. We are going to start scrubbing the outside with Green Scotch Scourers as advised by Tony the coach Mechanic. When the bus come back from it's MOT it's straight onto the painting. I managed to Contact John Robinson, the previous owner of the bus and found the paint colour. Crown non-drip gloss in Burgundy. I will try again tomorrow and see if I can get this door finished.
Wednesday 18th July 2007 We had real clearing out day today. Our storage area that had been used for things that had been for sale was cleared out. Any remaining items of furniture were disposed of and I think one more good day should see it finally clear. We have booked the bus in for it's MOT and service, next Wednesday so we are really against the clock now. I spoke to Dave at Farroll's and he will fit the remaining tyre on Friday and we will use the new wheel, when we get it, for the spare. The service will be carried out at Ward Jones in High Wycombe and he will also be replacing the lights in the interior with new flush fitting modern fitments
Tuesday 17th July 2007 Having ticked off a few jobs from the list yesterday, Brian decided to embark on the security. I obviously cannot go into detail about the actual security methods we have adopted but it is a fairly complex job. It has taken all day to prepare for connection tomorrow. I spent about an hour at the Crown Decorators Centre as the paint I bought for the new generator housing door was the wrong colour. My hat goes off the Chris Gannon, he tried exceptionally hard to match the paint but in the end we decided to give up for the moment. I have contacted John Robinson, who we purchased the bus from, to see if he can point us in the right direction. We have made contact with a breakers yard in Doncaster who informed us that Atlantean's are in high demand. He usually gets them in on Monday and they are gone by Wednesday, their reliability makes them very desirable. We are intending to pay a visit this week to get some spares off a bus he has coming in. Whilst passing through Wheatley, the next village along, Brian popped into the local coach depot to chat to their mechanic about the engine not starting. Whilst relaying the story about fitting the fan and the earth strap, Brian mentioned that he could jump start the engine. Tony, the mechanic at this point realised to be able to jump start the engine he must have the engine cover up, there is an inhibitor switch, which for safely, stops the engine being started when the cover is up. We closed the cover and hey presto, the engine started. This saved us a huge amount of lost time looking for broken terminals. After work, Tony came for a look around the bus. He has given us some invaluable information and advice and offered to write out a checklist for when we are on the road. He discovered we have an oil leak on the wheel hub which leaks onto the brake shoes, this will need replacing on the service. One of the new wheels that we had powder coated has a crack in it. Tony has show us what to look out for on the others but luckily they seem to be OK. We need to get onto finding a replacement straight away. Overall the engine is in good condition and we should not have any problems. This was a huge relief as we knew generally the engine was good but to have it confirmed by Tony took a great weight off our mind.
Monday 16th July 2007 A good start to today, Brian fitted the shower rail it worked out just right in the end. The bathroom door has been fitted and the carpet bar on the bathroom threshold. My day was very much bits and pieces I started by removing some of the trimming we have used on the upstairs flooring. We think it had got wet at some stage and the plastic coating around the trim had lifted away and become this floppy sack around it. That had to come off and we have decided to use wooden trim instead. The children and I took to baby wood pigeon to St Tiggywinkles Animal rescue a few miles up the road. They take in all sick or injured animals and have a lovely area where animals live if that cannot return to the wild. I had to pay my parking fine today, its the first one for ages. Several years ago, when we had our business in Oxford, parking was a real problem, I was given so many tickets that the traffic warden called me a persistent offender. Feeling rather put out by this accusation I stated I had not robbed a bank, I had only got a few parking tickets. The warden retorted seven hundred and sixty pounds worth to be exact, it's surprising how they mount up isn't it!
Sunday 15th July 2007 The boys came home today full of stories about their stay at Caroline's, they had been to a picnic in the park , rode a bucking bronco and tried the reverse bungee. They were both tired out and happy. A small woodpigeon in a plastic box also arrived with cry's of quick it needs feeding or it will die. I had to do a quick dash to Asda to get stocked up on weetabix so the boys could feed it throughout the day. I think tomorrow a trip to the animal sanctuary is in order, they are much better equipped at dealing with these things. Brian and I spent the day trying to fit the shower rail. They one we purchased from Marston Heating was too wide and was too rigid to be bent into a better shape. Back to the drawing board. I quick jaunt to B&Q saw a new shower rail arrive but as with anything else it has to be altered to fit. We had to devise alternative fixings as the ones provided only fixed at the wall end and we felt it was too flimsy. Brian came up with three more fixings by using some of the parts from the original shower so it was not totally wasted. Hopefully tomorrow we can fit it and move on. I have made a list of the jobs remaining so we can cross off the jobs and keep our morale up. Just one drawer back, it is three A4 pages long with one line entries such as paint the bus, I think we still have some hard work in front of us. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help with the sanding, we are waiting for the long range weather forecast to confirm the dates.
Saturday 14th July 2007 Brian took the boys to Hemel Hempstead early this morning for a weekend treat at Caroline's. Caroline has kindly agreed that we can use her loft as storage so Brian measured up for the overboarding at the same time. I have finally got to grips with the utility room, it's quite amazing what you find at the bottom of the laundry baskets, so far one action man leg, a fluffy giraffe and the shell of a painted egg have appeared from the murky depths. Amy had a day out in Abingdon at a music festival featuring local bands, some of it was outside and fortunately it stayed dry all day. The day was written off as far as the bus was concerned and most of the efforts today have gone into clearing out the house. It seems to go on for ever. I finally put some items on ebay, four to be exact. Not a lot I know but it's a start. I have seen the first proofs of the new website, we need to make a few changes but it's almost finished. The boys have had a good day in Hemel, Alex found an injured pigeon which is now in Caroline's kitchen in a box being fed weetabix with a syringe. There was a fair on in the town and the boys talked Caroline into letting them go on a really fast, high ride. Alex was terrified and thought he was going to die and Sam kept crying "I want my mum". I think next time we go to the fair they will be a bit less eager to go on the fast rides. However, they survived the ordeal and don't seem to be too traumatised.
Friday 13th July 2007 This was definitely an unlucky day for us. After turning the Kenlowe fan round it still appeared to be blowing not sucking. We decided to try it with the engine running to see if this made a difference and guess what, the bus will not start. We think it could be that one of the wires has got so old and hard that a terminal has snapped off, all we need to do is find it. That could take some time so we are leaving it at the moment to get on with some of the other jobs. Brian went to High Wycombe to pick up the remainder of wheels which have been sandblasted and powder coated. We can now get the last two tyres fitted and that will be another job ticked off the list. I have tried my hand at siliconing the wall joints. This is a horrible messy job and I am not that good at it, there is more over me than on the wall. It's not like I can give up because it's got to be done so tomorrow it's straight back to it. Again it was one of those really frustrating days when you feel like you have not achieved anything, the clock is ticking and I am in a panic again.
Thursday 12th July 2007 A well earned day off from the refit ,we all went on a day trip to London. Kids go free on the Oxford tube so a very reasonable £28.00 for all of us to have a day in the Capital. We went to the Natural History Museum which is free to get in. It was extremely hot and when you get up to the rooms in the top of the building it was stifling. However apart from being exceptionally hot, we all had a good day and have promised the children that before we leave the house we will have another trip and go to the London Dungeons and Madame Tussauds. We have a problem with our Kenlowe fan, although it is working it is blowing and not sucking, after another call to Kenlowe we have to take it all off and turn the fan around. That's the first job for the morning. So far it has taken us the best part of a week to fit this fan.
Wednesday 11th July 2007 We have to thank Bill from our local garage at Tiddington for coming to our rescue and sorting out the fan problem.
Tuesday 10th July 2007 It was one of those days when things just don't work out. Brian has spent all day trying to wire in the Kenlowe fan. One minute we have power at the switch then we have power at the fan, it's completely over my head, it has been a frustrating day as it's still not working. We fitted the battery charger to the bus batteries as we were unable to start her this morning. Apparently we had a loose terminal, which is now fixed. I have spent the day packing the items that are going into storage. It seems to be never ending and I am worried that we will never be ready. Tomorrow its a major effort with ebay to try and off load some of the item we still have for sale and silicone in the gaps between the ceiling and walls of the bus just to finish the rooms off. We have a Bang & Olufsen TV on a motorized stand for sale, anyone interested drop me an email.
Monday 9th July 2007 At last I feel like I have made some headway with our documentation. In this order, when the bus goes for its MOT we have it re-weighed at the local weigh bridge. I take the ticket along with the registration document to the local dvla office and change the body type, not the tax class as I was originally advised. This means we can leave it sworn off road as you do not need to tax the vehicle to make this change. When the DVLA send the registration document back and we are now classed as a motorhome I can fax this to Club Care who are going to arrange the insurance. Once they have the Corgi Certificate, which is in hand, the MOT certificate, which will be done, we should be all set. Assuming the insurance certificate comes through on time we can tax, on 1st August, and there you have it. I hope it all goes as smoothly as this. We can travel confidently that we are covered for 12 months travel within the EU countries. Brian has struggled all day with the wiring for the Kenlowe Fan. Kenlowe have kindly emailed the wiring diagram but we are still struggling
Sunday 8th July 2007 Today the Kenlowe fan was fitted into the bus, it looks great in its new housing. This will allow us to pump more air into the engine if we are going up hills or if we feel it is too hot and the engine might overheat. Brian attached all the wiring and apart from fitting the switch in the drivers cab we are finished there. I have had quite a lazy day today, cooking and shopping, that's about it. The week ahead is going to be very busy and we are trying to push on and get out of the house by the end of July. Will we do it?
Saturday 7th July 2007 Today we both had a well earned rest. I just could not get any enthusiasm for more cleaning, clearing or packing. We have been working flat out for months now and I think today we came to a grinding halt. I took the boys to the cinema to see Pirates of the Caribbean. I thought it was very good, action packed and I managed to stay awake for the whole film. I discovered a fantastic website called desertdetours. It's about trips into Morocco. We would love to get there if we could, it seems there are many obstacles in the way but if there's a way we will do it. Check out the desert tours website on http://www.desertdetours.com/. The pictures are amazing, the sand dunes, souks and the oasis. Look at the pictures, play Sting's 'Desert Rose', and I feel a rush of excitement that I haven't had for a long time. Am I strange?
Friday 6th July 2007 Happy birthday to Amy, 15 today. We had an early start with birthday cake for breakfast not the most healthiest but very tasty. Finished painting the bathroom door finally. It will have that may coats of paint on it wont fit in the gap by the time with get round to hanging it. I painted the housing for the new fan again. Brian is finishing off lots of tiding up jobs before getting into the new big project. CCTV. You have to protect yourself don't you. We put some of the mattresses in place but feel that they are a bit two thick. We most probably could have done with six inches rather than eight depth as it does tend to bulk the beds out a bit. Never mind we have extra comfort but it does feel like the light its almost totally obscured in the room. We had a visit from Andrew Harris from Roadpro. Andrew is kindly supplying us with a satellite dome for sky tv and two solar panels. Thanks Andrew for your time, we both enjoyed your stories especially the caravan in Morocco and the stolen donkey. If you remember the Terry Wogan joke we would love to hear it. A busy end to yet another busy day but I feel like the end is in sight.
Thursday 5th July 2007 Will it ever stop raining? Every time I get the paint out is pours down. So far today I have managed to paint one side of the bathroom door and the new housing for the fan we want to add to keep the engine cool in hotter weather.
Wednesday 4th July 2007 Our new battery connection cables arrived today from Powermaster. Thank you to Katie what a fantastic service, we only ordered then yesterday afternoon. You are a star. We can now fit the batteries into their permanent position and tick off that job. The last storage cupboard for the boys rooms was built and fitted. I bought the bedding for Amy's room I only wish I could find some curtains. I would offer to make then but my last attempt on a sewing machine was a disaster. When I was pregnant with Amy some 15 years ago I attempted to make a maternity dress. There was so much material involved I struggled to sew it. I did think at the time it looked a little on the large size but hey, I was pregnant. When it was finished it would have fitted two pregnant ladies and could easily have been used as a bedspread. I think my measurements must have been out slightly. This was my final attempt at sewing. Note to myself, tomorrow, look in the yellow pages, find someone who makes curtains. I have finally managed to remove all of the moss from the drivers window. There was quite a little eco system going on there. Along with two huge moths about a ton of debris was removed and now not only can it be opened, but you can also see through it. Always a bonus to the driver.
Tuesday 3rd July 2007 Where does the time go. Over a month since my last entry. My early new years resolution is to update the log every day. Today is the first day. A milestone was reached . After weeks of wiring, waiting for switches, consumer units and what seems like endless amounts of cable and switches the invertor was brought to life. Eureka, a big pat on the back for Brian as he managed to get it all working. We now have the sound of radio 2 to keep us occupied. You might say we could have used a battery powered radio but our promise to ourselves was to plug it into the bus sockets and we did it. We are now getting to grips with the manual !!!!!!!! The big clean has started today, getting all the tools that are no longer required off the bus and scrubbing, scrapping and tidying up (that's my department).
Saturday 12th May 2007 Hooray, Hooray, we are on our way. Finally he's passed.
Thursday 26th April Brian didn't pass again. Third time lucky?
Monday 2nd April Bad news, Brian didn't pass. We have a re-test booked for 26th April.
Tuesday 27th March Brian is taking his LGV Class 2. His test is on 2nd April. Will keep you posted. Yes I know there's a big gap but sometimes there are not enough hours in the day to do everything
Wednesday 21st February 2007 Brian has taken the theory test for LGV Class 2. He Passed, that's brilliant. All he has to do now is catch up with me on a first time pass on the practical. Would he live it down if he didn't, I don't think so!
Friday 16th February 2007 I have just spent the last week on an intensive driving course to take the LGV Class 2 test. The result, A PASS, first time round. A huge thank you has to go to my instructor from Big Wheelers, Alan Bunney, god he deserves a medal for putting up with my tears and constant lack of self belief. His encouragement was much appreciated and I am sorry for being a nervous wreck the whole week. Thank you to Kim for your advice and as soon as more photos are available I will post them on the website. Champagne all round on Friday to celebrate my birthday earlier in the week, Valentine's day and of course the big one, the passing of the test day.
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A lovely gift from our visitor
