Tom's Retirement

Friday 21st May 2021 to Thursday 27th May 2021

It was Cfor’s birthday this week, he’s 15 years young!

Before he was a hopeless biscuit addict

Got the van back from the garage, starts like a dream and we’ve even got domestic power now 😀

Spent the week getting everything ready for Devon & Cornwall

The weather was terrible at the weekend and so was the UK’s Eurovision entry…

plus ça change

The real entertainment this week was Dominic Cummings giving Boris & Hancock both barrels.

Boris unfit to lead the country and Hancock a serial liar, who would have guessed!

It’ll all just bounce off Boris though; the public have yet to tire of his lovable rogue act.

Friday 14th May 2021 to Thursday 20th May 2021

The weather has been mixed and I have had to help my youngest with hanging wallpaper so it’s not been a great week. One highlight…

The Flying Scotsman at Buckland

another…

Koch’s Gentian on the North Downs

Trust Boris to lift the lockdown and allow indoor assemblies just as a super transmissible variant gets its boots on. If this ‘Indian’ variant catches hold then I can see travel from the UK might get very difficult again. I’m not sure I could stand another winter in the UK.

Friday 7th May 2021 to Thursday 13th May 2021

To Leith Hill for a picnic amongst the bluebells in Cockshot Wood

There must be a billion Bluebells here but not one of them is actually blue

We had a yomp to the top of Leith Hill…

the tower is still closed due to COVID

The weather has not been great but I’ve managed to get out and about every day.

Three Cornered Garlic

Star of Bethlehem

All the walking has been good for my waistline, I’ve lost 10lb since March 😀

Finally 12 st something 😀

Worryingly there is no news yet from the garage on how they are getting on with Nelly’s electrical issues 🙁

Friday 30th April 2021 to Thursday 6th May 2021

I went to shuffle Nelly into a better parking space but when I tried to start her up there was a strange series of clicks from the EBL99 (it controls charging of the leisure batteries and the power to all the habitation equipment) and then everything went dead. Habitation power and chassis power. Everything.

Nelly off to the repair shop

So I had no I have no electrical power at all. Even the LCD clock on the dashboard had no power. I checked the starter battery and that was at 12.4 volts which is not great but it should be enough to power the LCD dashboard. I checked all the big fuses I could find but they were all okay. The general consensus on the FB Hymer forum is that the starter motor is drawing far too much current and that is draining the battery and upsetting the EBL99.

The EBL99, not something you want problems with.

When the garage bench tested the starter motor it emitted blue smoke and they found the bearings had gone.

They fitted a new starter motor and now the van will start but only on their jump pack. They reckon there is a problem with something they call a battery post. The only problem is they don’t have a Fiat part number for this battery post and Fiat make 7 different versions. They tell me they are looking for online pictures, including on Ebay, to identify the part.  Which sounds like a plan but not a very good one.

The damage so far is £320.67.

Friday 23rd April 2021 to Thursday 29th April 2021

The good weather continues 😀 We managed to fit in a trip to Brighton…

a member of one of Brighton’s top OCGs

They’ve removed a ton of parking spaces from the sea front so we ended up having to park nearly in Hove!

There’s a new minigolf course in town

It’s a little known fact that I won two prizes at the British Minigolf Masters at Worthing a few years ago 😀

The Pirate course turned out to be a bit too easy. The Jungle Rumble course is still the best in town

Took my drone, AirForceTom, to fly it around the West Pier a couple of times…

it’s always an act of faith sending a drone out to sea!

Down at the Marina I had my first ever McDonald’s… I won’t be having a second!

No wonder I’ve a bad back!

Less than 4 weeks to go till Cornwall 😀

Friday 16th April 2021 to Thursday 22nd April 2021

The good weather continued so I did a lot more walking on and around the North Downs.

blue skies over Buckland

When the weather is like this you can’t beat the British countryside, absolutely stunning.

walnut trees

With all the walking in this good weather and my new near chip-free diet I’ve managed to shed 7lbs 😀 Only 4 more pounds till I’m 12st something 😀

a skylark sings over a field near Gadbrook

It’s been quite an eventful week; Julie was 21 again… Prince Philip was buried this week and so was the harebrained European Super League.

The City of London from Reigate Hill

We binged watched seasons 4 and 5 of Line of Duty; the plotting does take some outrageous liberties. I much prefer Bosch.

Friday 9th April 2021 to Thursday 15th April 2021

Weatherwise the week started off gloriously…

the cherry trees in Priory Park

Of course on the 12th when for the first time in 4 months we could all go for an outdoor pie and a pint the weather had other ideas

that was a surprise!

The snow soon disappeared and the blue skies came out so I could continue my tour of the lanes and footpaths of Surrey…

Lesser Stitchwort

the sunshine brought out the dandelions

All the walking I’ve been doing is shifting the lbs 😀

Prince Philip died this week

In an effort to better understand Line of Duty we binged watched the first 3 series which was slightly draining to say the least. I like the way someone is shot in the morning and by lunchtime they have arrested the culprit and confronted them with the forensic test results!

Friday 2nd April 2021 to Thursday 8th April 2021

The weather has been dry and occasionally sunny so I’ve been tramping the lanes, fields and footpaths of Surrey a lot lately and as well as shifting a bit of lockdown weight it’s been great to watch as Spring gathers speed…

The pond at Godstone

it wouldn’t be spring without the Primroses

or the Wood Anemones

or Daisies

Belted Galloway cattle on Colley Hill

Speedwell down amongst the meadow grass

Purple Deadnettle

the sand of Buckland meets the chalk of the North Downs

Blackthorn – flowers before leaves…

Hawthorn – leaves before flowers

Coal-tax post on the North Downs

wild Damson flower

Pulmonari – Soldiers & Sailors

Buckland Pond with a towered barn and a Union Jack

Cuckoo Flowers

Grape Hyacinth

Leigh Mill Pond near Godstone

Alkanet

Great Horsetail – not so great if it’s in your garden!

Shag Brook near Wonham Mill

Non-essential shops and cafés open up on Monday and I’m looking forward to a pint and a pastie 😀

Friday 26th March 2021 to Thursday 1st April 2021

A wet and cold start to the week but the sun came out for UnLockdown Day!

We had a trip to Brighton 😀

A nice walk along the front

the remains of the West Pier

It’s just great to get out of Reigate!

the i360 parked at the top

It wasn’t busy at all…

the birdcage

We had lunch from a chippy on the beach 😀

fabulous curry and chips from the Regency 5/5

Obviously we couldn’t go to the seaside and not have an ice cream

it had to be chocolate!

Can’t wait for the shops and cafés to open on 12th April 😀

Friday 19th March 2021 to Thursday 25th March 2021

Last week of the lockdown and I can’t wait to get out and about 😀

not much happening in Reigate

The weather has been dry so I’ve had a few nice local walks

the windmill on the golf course

sunset over the lake

Tuesday was a year on from the 1st lockdown. I think the kindest thing I can say about Boris is that he means well, 4/10. As for Matt Hancock, he strikes me as a man who finds it difficult to find his own arsehole most mornings, 0/10.

I think that’s BSL for ‘buffoon’