The Rosabella II's First Trip, November 2010

The Mid-Wales Loop, Nov 5th-7th 2010 (279 miles) 

Well, not exactly the first because we did have a run down to Bristol, just to get an idea of how she felt on the road - great, was the answer.

However, this was our first chance to spend the night and twiddle with all the buttons and switches for real. T had the day off on the Friday and, although reeling from an unexpected defeat on the golf course at the hands of No 1 son, was able to pack the van and get to Hereford in time to pick up K from work at 6 o'clock. A shopping and fuel stop, and we were on our way back to Abergwesyn Common, not the little lay-by we'd inhabited earlier in the year but a larger, flattish spot next to the river at the end of the valley. It was a little scary on the narrow mountain road, still not used to our new dimensions, but we managed to make it to our spot without to much squeaking and just a bit of scraping. Supper was duly cooked and we bedded down for our first night in The Rosabella II. Just as comfy as her predecessor, bed a little smaller maybe, we both slept well, although T was awake early as usual, head full of ideas and jobs to do.

First morning cuppa in The Rosabella II

Breakfast,  washing up, and no water coming through. We couldn't figure it out until we looked in the water tank and found it empty. T thought he had filled it before he left Cleeton - obviously he hadn't, and we'd used more than we thought. Our original plan had been to head for Abereiddy, near St Davids, but we decided that we would forego the pleasure of driving another 80-odd miles and head instead for New Quay, topping up with water there, if we could. We would also try to find some chemicals for the loo as well, just so that we could try that out as well! The Rosabella worked hard up the steep hills and round the hairpins leading out of the Abergwesyn valley but coped far better than her predecessor would have - something to do with an extra 500cc no doubt.  We had coffee and cakes in a cafe in New Quay (The Hungry Trout) and headed back up the coast to Aberystwyth, stopping at a garage on the way to top up the water.

A quick shop at Aberystwyth and off again, heading for Devil's Bridge with the intention of finding somewhere for an overnight on the mountain road to Rhayader. More steep, narrow roads and we pulled on to a Forestry Commission carpark at the entrance to the Hafod Estate. It was dark by now, but we decided to have a cuppa and then get on with a couple of jobs - K sorting cupboards, T messing with an incalcitrant light fitting. Apart from the water pump's tendency to trip the switch every three minutes it was going quite well. That was until T decided to plug the computer in to the 12v socket so that we could listen to some music.

"I'll use this two-way adaptor I think, so we can have that extra light on. Ha! do you remember how the old Rosie always used to blow a fuse when we used it?"

BANG!!

"Sod it, it's done it again!"

T fiddled with the trip switches to no avail. We plugged our auxiliary light in to the van's dashboard socket so we could see what we were doing. T puzzled over where the fuse could be before remembering that when he'd been setting up the old van's leisure battery charging system he'd read that a fuse should be used as close to the battery as possible. A quick scrabble under the driver's seat and there it was - and T knew he'd put spare fuses in one of the boxes he'd packed, in fact he'd told K as much when she'd suggested buying some in New Quay's pound shop. Which was why he was even more fed up to find that they weren't there! still, the cooker worked, the heater worked, the computer could run off it's battery so there were no big problems. T took a bottle to fill by dunking in the water tank - almost empty again! What's going on with the water for goodness sake, it was three-quarters full a couple of hours ago? More sitting down and thinking. The hot water tank takes ten litres, if the tank was slightly less than three-quarters full that would take quite a chunk out of what we were carrying, and there'd been the cleaning that K had started. Maybe it did make sense after all. Bedtime again, worn out with puzzling it all out, b ut we knew there were no serious problems and another great night's sleep ensued.

Forestry Car Park, Hafod

Sunday morning was beautiful. K investigated the porta-loo on the carpark and reported that it was spotless. We decided that we would have a walk before breakfast and set off on a truly beautiful route through the Hafod Estate. It was cold and there was a mist rising from the River Ystwyth, so gorgeous, past waterfalls, ravines, an old ribbon bridge, about two hours of working up an appetite for a huge Left-Over Pasta Fritata, cooked by T for brunch.
 
We headed off for home at about 2pm, over the mountain to Rhayader, a new fuse in Cross Gates, water in Hereford, and back to Cleeton by 6.30 (T managing to scrape the gate post on the way over the grid, damaging The Rosabella's trim in the process.

All in all, a satisfactory start to our relationship with our new van, and an appetite to get out again as soon as possible.
 










View The Mid-Wales Loop, Nov 2010 in a larger map

Introducing The Rosabella II

We rearranged our holiday in France, Rosabella-less. While we were away we talked at length about our next van, what we needed, what we didn't, and T had started mapping out his ideas for the layout of the interior. We'd already decided that we were going to look for a minibus with a high-top and we thought we'd spend a few weeks looking for the right vehicle before a winter of working to prepare it for the kind of use we enjoyed.

We arrived home to T's from our holiday in France in the early hours of Saturday. After breakfast we headed off in separate cars to K's to feed the cat and visit the kids. At the traffic lights for the roadworks at the level crossing T ambled down the road to K's car.
"Did you see that van for sale in the front garden in Craven Arms? It looks like an old one."
"No, I didn't notice it. Do you want to go back and have a look?"
"Yeah, why not - we might get some ideas."

A U-turn and five miles back up the road and we were sitting in the back of a 1989 something or other, based on a Fiat Ducato. The interior looked 'lived-in', but the outside looked sound, the engine and underneath were clean and we were impressed.

A test drive later, a bit of haggling, and we were the owners of a 21-years old, left-hand drive, FFB 5-berth motorhome, with all the things we said we would never need - shower, hot & cold water, heating, and, horror of horrors, a loo! Our careful planning, our intentions to be careful with what we bought, our absolute conviction that we only wanted a little 'tent-on-wheels' - all out of the window!

So now starts the next phase in our lives as motorhomers - tidying up the interior, having enough room to stand, sit, eat and sleep without falling over each other and, above all, finding 'our' kind of wild camping spots with a much bigger vehicle.

Stay tuned!!

August 2010 - The Rosabella's Demise

Anybody who reads this blog will, we hope, have picked up on the fact that there has been an emotional attachment to our old van which is over and above the fondness that many of us have for an old family vehicle which has given us lots of enjoyment. T's parents built The Rosabella and it was as a result of his dad's illness that we took her over. She'd been a familiar sight in paddocks at racing circuits all over the UK and had provided bacon sandwiches and coffee for many young riders who went on to great things. She'd then provided us with an inestimable amount of fun, exploring at home and in Europe.

When MOT time came round again we knew that there would have to be a significant amount of work done to keep The Rosabella on the road. We'd had £500 of welding carried out to get her through the previous year's test - we expected that there would be more to be done, and the steering and brakes needed attention as well. The garage called to say that in their opinion, if we wanted to keep her going, we should contact a specialist restoration company but that it was going to cost a lot of money. When we went to pick her up the 'fail' list was four pages long! We decided to ask Harold who runs the garage at the end of the road to have a look - if it could be sorted out, he's definitely the man and he knew how important The Rosabella was to us. We were on our way to Bristol when he rang. "I think it's time to say goodbye" he said, as if he was telling us that an old faithful pet needed to be put down. We asked a few questions but it was obvious that it was the end of the road for The Rosabella.

So, after a couple of years in our hands, many with T's parents, tens of thousands of happy, trouble-free miles, it was time to look for a replacement. There will be a Rosabella 2 at some point and we know we'll have just as much fun and go to just as many places, some familiar, many new. It won't be the same...........

The Rosabella

Cambrian Mountains, 29th - 31st May 2010

Saturday 29th June, Bentlawnt - Abergwesyn Common (60 miles)

Bank Holiday, and we decided we would visit Hay Literary Festival but make a weekend of it by finding a wild camping spot somewhere in the Cambrian Mountains and having a stroll up a hill at some point.

We'd driven the mountain road that passed through Cwm Irfon and Abergwesyn Common the previous year on the way to Pembrokeshire, and had been promising ourselves a return and an explore at some point. A bit of to-ing and fro-ing and we found ourselves a nice little spot, off the road and beneath a fairly steep, grassy hill. Chocks out to level us up and all set for a pleasant, quiet, if not particularly warm night, sleep aided by a nice bottle of red (ignition key dutifully locked in the glove compartment of course!)

Sunday 30th June

A beautiful day, and after breakfast we headed for the top of the hill. It was a fairly easy climb, although we were both a little out of puff by the time we reached the summit. The views were fantastic and we loitered around on the top, both excited at the thought of, not only this little expedition, but also the summer to come - exploring in The Rosabella, climbing hills, coastal kayaking, and of course the big trip we have planned for the autumn - Perpignan, the ferry from Barcelona to Genoa, the French Riviera and back via the Alps. We drank water on the top and then set off back to the toy camper van that was far below us.

 

We took slightly different descent routes with K taking a little more time, and care. She spotted T at the bottom of the hill, charging straight past The Rosabella and across the road. He was nowhere to be seen when she did reach the van so she followed the direction she'd seen him heading, across the road, clambering down some steep boulders until she found him, naked as the day he was born, swimming in a little pool formed where the walls of the gorge containing the river narrowed to a grotto. She took advantage of the great photo opportunity with a view to revenge for the 'Life On The Road' picture referred to elsewhere in this blog, before stripping off to join him. Boy, was it cold!! We both got out with that feeling of our skin being on fire, but so refreshed after our exertions on the hill.

The rest of the day was spent lolling about in and around The Rosabella, nattering, reading, writing and sketching, and a brief trip up the road to the mountain bike centre for coffee and cakes - just how a Bank Holiday Sunday should be!

Monday 31st May - Hay Literary Festival

A great night's sleep, a lazy breakfast and off for home via the Hay Festival where we enjoyed the ambience, met friends and heard some good music. The day went so quickly that we decided we would go back to our overnight spot for one more night. K had no work for the week but T needed to be in Shrewsbury for work at 8.45 on Tuesday so it was going to be an early start.

Tuesday 1st June, Abergwesyn - Shrewsbury (75m)

T woke up on Tuesday feeling like death - one of his headaches had hit him with a vengeance. Nevertheless, we headed for home to drop K off. On the way T called his office to see whether there was anything happening but for all sorts of reasons decided to carry on to work - a decision which was to have far reaching consequences for the next six months, but not something for this blog. It was a flat ending to what had otherwise been a happy weekend.


View Abergwesyn Common, May 2010 in a larger map

France, April 30th - May 3rd 2010 (May Bank Holiday)

A quick look at the weather forecast - "You know we were talking about going to Wales for the Bank Holiday? Well, it's going to pour down, let's go to France instead. The weather will be the same but the coffee's better!"

Friday 30th May, Bentlawnt - Dover, (404m)

We were both working on Friday but K arranged to come to T's ofice in Shrewsbury for 4ish so that we had a good chance of catching our ferry at 21.30. T had had to buy three new tyres for The Rosabella but was raring to go, despite a last minute work crisis that needed sorting out. The trip to Dover could have been smoother....... After the panic to get away on time, the rushing to get supplies from K's car into The Rosabella, the work crisis, the traffic around Birmingham, the worry about whether we'd get to Dover on time, the whole enterprise ground to a halt when we realised at Coreley services that the passports were still in K's car - in Shrewsbury! Back we went, a phone call to P&O to change the booking (for an extra £15 - good service we thought) and by 2am we were bedded down in a cosy little layby, just off the A2, for some much needed sleep before our rescheduled crossing at 5.55am.

Saturday 1st May, Calais-Arras (80m)

It was an early start and a great brekkie on the boat before we arrived in a very sunny Calais. We headed for St Omer, which feels like the first really French town after Calais and parked next to the river for a rest (T fettled!) before we headed in to town. The shops were closed for the Labour Day holiday but there was a busy and extensive street market which we duly mooched. Lots of people were carrying posies of flowers, bought on street corners or from children outside their houses. K spotted a cool, retro-style maxi dress which she tried on in the back of the stallholder's rusty van while T stood guard. It fitted perfectly and K reckoned it was a bargain and would be rude not to buy it at €20! Back to the bar in the main square for Leffe. The sun was warm, the beer was smooth and all that was needed to complete perfection was une assiette de frites.There were more stalls that needed viewing before we headed off back to the waterfront and The Rosabella.


We decide to stick to small roads and set off through sunny, flat countryside for the French National War Memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette, and maybe a pitch for the night. It all looked so,.... well, ....... French.

Standing on a ridge, high above the fields, just off the D937 is a huge, white monument in the shape of a lighthouse, marking the area that we know as Flanders, where much of the war of attrition happened between 1915 and 1917. The battle for the hill itself lasted a year, between October 1914 and October 1915. The French gathered together most of their dead from the area and now there are 20,000 identified graves and the remains of a further 25,000 unknown soldiers in mass graves, vast lines of crosses and headstones marking the burial places of mostly French soldiers, but also Moroccans, Russians, Belgians. Most are crosses but some are plain stones in respect to non-Christians, there is an area where headstones bear Arabic script for the Moslem soldiers who lost their lives, and also an area for Jewish soldiers, as was explained later to T by an homme en beret, one of the band of men who have pledged to attend the cemetry at least one day every year and who are there to help and advise visitors.

Whilst we were looking around we were hailed by a couple of gendarmes who told us that they were closing the site for the evening. T asked if we could stay over and there was an animated discussion between the two of them which resulted in an 'OK' as we only had a little 'camping car'.

As we settled down for the evening we noticed a cuckoo sitting alone on a cross, jumping to the ground from time-to-time and then returning to the cross - a great view of this shy bird.

We were so tired we slept for nearly twelve hours and awoke feeling hungover, or jet lagged or something anyway.

Sunday 2nd May, Arras-Amiens (68m)

Back on the road to Arras and what a surprise when we arrived! A huge square with Flemish architecture, rooves edged with curled gables and a walk to what we thought must be the cathedral, only to find out it was the grandest town hall we had ever seen. Behind this huge, gilded Gothic edifice was a glum-looking, grey stone building - the cathedral. Again, what a surprise! We entered this huge, light space. Warm and bright with atmospheric music piped tastefully, K thought it was the most beautiful cathedral she'd ever been in. A stroll back through narrow streets to The Rosabella and on the road again for Amiens.

All day we'd been passing war cemetries, large and small, British, Canadian, Australian, Polish, Czech, Newfoundland, and German. They were all different, but all the same - young men (and some women) who had died at war. We talked about how it must have been for teenagers, travelling from the New World to an adventure, with no idea what they were letting themselves in for, dying aged 16, 17 or 18 for countries they would only have heard about. What a leveller, and they all thought they were doing the right thing. It really brought it home when we visited the German cemetry - the baddies - the same young men, not knowing who or what they were there for but all with 'good' on their side.

"When two men meet on the field of war,

They both ask 'what are we fighting for?'

And haven't we heard it all before..........?"

At Amiens we stopped by the side of the Somme, our first town centre aire. We did a quick recce, which involved, of course, a glass of Leffe in a cocktail  bar on the water's edge, before changing (K in her new dress!) and dining in Le Porc Saint Leu for an excellent meal of pork tenderloin. The waiter told T that his (T's) French was excellent and he was relieved because he'd been serving English people all day and it was 'doing his head in' (T's rough translation!)

Monday May 3rd, Amiens-Bentlawnt (408m)

Another peaceful night and we set off to search for 'facilities' on a cold and blustery morning. We found a lovely, warm coffee shop where we were given croissants and pain au chocolat fresh from the oven. Then into France's largest cathedral where the wood carvings around the facade are said to tell every story from the bible. It was very grand, very 'balanced' and there was even the head of John the Baptist on show, in case we needed a motivation for pilgrimage. T set off around the maze on the floor of the cathedral, which, it is said, can be completed in lieu of a trip to Jerusalem or Santiago de Compostela, but was thwarted by a group of elderly lady tourists - thats another year without salvation then!

Back to the van, a stop for brunch outside Amiens and pushing on for the coast and our 20.25 ferry home. The route we'd originally chosen was to take us to Le Touquet and then to Calais via the coast road. Another quick squint at the guidebook and we decided to give Le Touquet a miss and head straight to Wimereaux, a nice place with eclectic, quirky architecture, very breezy, waves crashing against the breakers and a nice salon de thé on the promenade where we OD'd on chocolate with crepes and chocolat Liegoise.

On to Calais, the coast road more attractive than we'd expected. We were very frustrated trying to find somewhere to fill up with diesel (much cheaper in France than the UK) and wine. We eventually found Carrefour at Cité d'Europe but couldn't get The Rosabella in to the height-restricted car park. We eventually dumped hera nd raced in to the centre to buy wine, K really flagging now. We decided to eat, omelettes from the coffe shop opposite the hypermarket, served by a charming, helpful woman, and then raced to the port,worrying we would miss another ferry. The boat left late on a rough crossing and we had a marathon drive home, taking it in turns to sleep, arriving back in Bentlawnt at 3.45am. We were worn out but it was an excellent weekend - great idea T!!


View France, May Bank Holiday, 2010 in a larger map

Pwllheli, 23rd - 25th April, 2010 (216m)

Friday 23rd April
We'd been working like Trojans this week, continuing with the 'improvements' to The Rosabella. The alternator gave up the ghost on Wednesday evening and, with no time for visiting scrappies,we had no alternative but to get Harold from the corner garage to fix it. £178, plus another £40 for an oil and filter change while he was at it. Ouch! And 'ouch!' as well because T had hurt his back lugging the leisure battery around.

T was still sawing and screwing when Jac arrived and we eventually set off at about 6pm. It's a lovely route up to Porthmadoc from T's, via Welshpool (chips!), Dolgellau and Trawsfynydd and it was a beautiful, bright spring evening. We arrived at Neil's house, on the promenade at Pwllheli, at around 9pm to find the wine flowing and the curry bubbling. We were introduced to Tim, a friend of Neil's and Sue's, who 'had a surprise for us tomorrow'. We went to bed overlooking the beach, tired, full and intrigued.

Saturday 24th April

We were both cold in the night and neither of us slept well. T had the kettle on at 7ish (one of the benefits of The Rosabella's new layout is that we can make the tea from bed!).

We'd been told that we were going out to breakfast and at 10 o'clock we duly headed for the marina. Tim was waiting for us on his 45' motor catamaran, Stray Cat. It was beautiful, luxurious, the sun was beating down and we all felt very privileged that Tim would share his boat with us for a little while. We headed off for St Tudwall's island, the plan being to drop anchor and have breakfast, a bit of a sing and then be back by mid-afternoon.

Sue spotted a dolphin a couple of hundred yards off our port side and Tim steered towards the spot. Suddenly we were surrounded by the whole pod, probably 10 animals, Bottlenose dolphins of various ages. They swam between the hulls of the cat, jumped and rolled all around us and generally entertained us for about fifteen minutes. Everyone was so excited at such a close encounter with these wonderful creatures - a never-to-be-forgotten experience.

Tim then announced that one of Stray Cat's engines was failing and that we were heading back to port. The sun was glorious and, when out of the breeze, very warm. We waited at the entrance to the marina for the maritime version of the AA man to turn up, which he did and fixed the errant motor quickly. We then spent an hour working through our repertoire, singing hard to hear ourselves in the open space. Eventually hoarse, we stopped for brunch of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs - lovely, and very welcome.


Neil had asked if we would sing a few songs in the yacht club on Saturday evening, in return for our drinks. We were struggling a little after our vocal exertions on the boat but we started with a couple of old favourites and, before we knew it, we were in to a full-blown gig to a packed room. We sang ourselves to a standstill and were fed and watered - chips, mayo, wine and beer (so much wine that we had to take some back to Neil's). More curry before crashing, exhausted again, to bed in The Rosabella.

Sunday 25th April

No problems sleeping last night - warm, cosy and completely worn out. Even T slept till 8 o'clock! We mooched, with Jac, around town and up to the chandlery for a couple of bits and pieces before returning to a huge Sunday roast lunch, cooked by Neil and Sue. A big effort was needed to move and head for home (via the Gelert factory shop!) after a great, fun, knackering weekend with Rapsquillion - what a lovely group of people to spend time with!

Devon - 1st-5th April 2010 (504m)

 

Thursday 1st April

We had been working very hard to get The Rosabella habitable in time for a trip away at Easter. The plan was that we would spend Friday in Bristol with K's family, celebrating her dad's eightieth birthday, and then carry on down to Devon, to the site at Bolberry that we'd visited and enjoyed last year.

There were a few last minute jobs to do, nothing important, just fitting the sink and cooker, so T, having been unable to escape from work early, carried on when he got home from work while K organised the bedding, supplies, kitchen ware, clothes and so on.

We set off at about 9.30, very tired but excited at the thought of our first trip since August and, once again, camping wild in The Rosabella, although there was also some trepidation about whether the new set up would work and be comfy, and about The Rosabella's mechanical state - the suspension needs some work.

Fish and chips in Bishop Castle and then on down to the Forest of Dean, where we'd decided to try and find a 'wild' site, as recommended on a website. Nothing doing, apart from a herd of deer crossing the road in ghostly fashion. We turned into a lane which became progressively narrower and narrower, T more and more stressed until we were saved by TomTom directing us to a main road which we recognised as the one we'd turned off half an hour before.

T, fed up and tired, suggested we stayed near Tintern Abbey, so the car park at the back of the ruins was where we spent our first night in the rebuilt-but-not-quite-finished Rosabella. It was pouring with rain and freezing cold outside but, as usual, we were snug in The Rosabella's care.

Friday 2nd April

Awoke to see the ruins towering over us and storm clouds gathering on the hilltops. We were up and off early and stoped at Aust services for brekkie and use of the facilities. We rang K's dad to sing him all three versions of 'Happy Birthday' before making our way to their house at Bristol for hot showers before the celebration lunch at Arno's Court. A good time was had by all despite the quarrels over the 'Bristol' quiz (including K's mum's outrage at T's interpretation of the Bristol motto). K's brother couldn't make it but, nevertheless, K's dad seemed to have a lovely time.

We were on the road again at five-ish, heading to Bolberry. After a long but relaxing journey we arrived on the almost empty site tired and looking forward to bed. We opened the bubbly and toasted K's dad, Colin (who just landed a job) and The Rosabella. We settled down for the night with heavy rain pattering on the roof and The Rosabella rocking in a heavy breeze although it would have taken a fully fledged hurricane to disturb this pair of weary travellers. We both slept well in the peace of Bolberry.

Saturday 3rd April

Tea and biccies in bed, as per usual, and T decided, before breakfast, to get on with one of the jobs that needed doing - drilling a hole in the floor for  the drain from the sink. He had a look from inside and, deciding that he didn't want to drill through any brake pipes or electric cables, thought he should drill up from underneath. Measurements were taken and he duly pushed a probe drill up into what he thought was roughly the right place. "K, can you have a look and see where the drill has come through please?"  "Erm... yes.... you've drilled straight through the water tank. It's pouring out!" Many expletives later, when the mopping up was done, T admitted that it would have been a good idea to remove the tank first. So now we had no water OR drainage! Parking right next to the tap proved to be handy so, unperturbed, we tucked into Millionaire's Brekkie - scrambled egg with smoked salmon, washed down with Buck's Fizz.

A decision to head for Salcombe for a mooch (and a visit to the chandler's for hose and, now, a replacement water tank) was initially thwarted when we bogged down after a couple of yards - the outcome of the heavy rain of the last couple of nights, added to by the contents of our neatly drilled water tank. K called Fiona, the site owner, and together with her son they managed to push The Rosabella to dry land and away.

Salcombe was duly mooched, the essential purchases made (including a bargain Fat Face top for T) and a good lunch in an old, friendly pub.

K's Strogonoff for supper, a fully functioning water system, and the best night's sleep for many months put the cap on a very pleasant day.

Sunday 4th April (Easter Day)

What a lovely start to the day! Dozing in the sunshine, breakfast of hot-cross buns and easter egg, listening to the Malaysian Grand Prix on the radio (won by Sebastian Vettel incidentally) and then a lovely walk along the coast path to Hope Cove.

The Hope and Anchor was packed but we managed to find a corner and had lovely lunches - a ploughman's for T and a lovely mozarella, cherry tomato and spinach pudding for K. This was followed by a beautiful honecomb ice cream, eaten in the sun overlooking the beach.

Legs were like lead even before the walk back up the lane to Bolberry and, again, we both dozed in the sun for a couple of hours before we realised that an early night was just what we both needed.

Monday 5th April

Another good night although we both woke up cold. We nattered with Fiona about work, the weather, the internet, while we finished up our Millionaire's Brekkie bits.

A relaxed trip home - a bit of traffic at Newton Abbot - with both of us realising how much we'd needed the break.

Winter, 2009-2010

Last winter was hard going!

T's Dad passed away in December (see the post at the end of the blog).

It was confirmed that K was going to be made redundant, however, on the day she was due to be given notice the college offered her a different job - not what she wanted to be doing but a job nevertheless.

And then, in October 2009, T was notified that his job was likely to go in a reorganisation. He wasn't too perturbed as the private business is doing OK so he applied for redundancy and early retirement - more travels beckoned. Then, in February, he was told that the reorganisation had been reorganised and that he would be staying after all. C'est la vie!

The winter proved harsh from the point of view of the weather as well. Lots of snow for weeks on end meant that when we weren't snowed in we were struggling to get to and from work.

On the upside, we've been to France twice (Rosie-less). In October we started with the Festival of the Eel in St Laurent and then drove to St Tropez for a couple of weeks, and in March the band had a return trip to St Laurent, ostensibly to work on music, with a couple of gigs thrown in for good measure.

T's car was suffering from alfaelectricitis and so The Rosabella became day-to-day transport. She was great in the bad weather but is now in dire need of a rest. We also decided to reconfigure the interior so she has been gutted and we are aiming to be able to use her at Easter - a tight schedule but something to aim at. Watch this space!