Bath Tec School

Orft To the English Riviera

5/14/2009 4:33:55 PM
The van is moving off it`s pad tomorrow morning .. the gravel below will be bleached again by the summer sun ..hey .. hold on a `mo .. this is after all England in May .. The Van will be moving off it`s pad tomorrow .. the rain will clean the gravel below again .. the hedges and grass will be waterlogged by the time we get back .. that`s if we can refloat the van onto Terra Firma after it slips into the fresh waterlagoon at Slapton Sands ..(bit of a slope on the camp site) .. I`ve packed plenty bottles of Vino Collapso .. cocoa and buscuits ..
Rmember me to the rest of the lads if I don`t make it back .. 
 
"always look on the bright side of life ......  Da Dum Da Dum Da da de Da Di Dum .."

Comments

- 5/14/2009 5:55:10 PM
Hope it dos,nt get too hot for you Bill ,remember the suntan lotion
- 5/15/2009 7:11:44 AM
You be careful Bill, they're funny that lot down there in South Devon.
- 5/15/2009 12:30:09 PM
The weather at Frome is really rubbish today, constant drizzle, whats it like down in Devon Stu?, no need to ask Steve as we all know he must be on a sunbed with a cold beer in his hand.
- 5/15/2009 2:01:34 PM
The weather here's awful Tony, mist, rain, wind, and the prospect no better for the weekend. I blame Williams myself, why couldn't he have gone to Norfolk or Scotland instead of coming down here, I could've warned him if I'd known, they still eat missioneries down there. And as for Steve I satisfy myself with the thought that in month or so it'll be too hot to lie on the sunlounger and his beer will probably evaporate before he can drink it.
 
Regards Stu
- 5/15/2009 5:05:29 PM
Hi Guys
 
Almost like that today Stu, hot and sunny 32C. Secret is to keep the beer in the shade. Enjoy the rain!!! At least the pubs will do a good trade in Devon with Bill down thetre and raining.
 
Cheers
 
Steve
- 5/15/2009 7:37:42 PM
8.30pm. Steve, the sun's come out I've/we've polished off one bottle of Cote du Rhone, contemplating another, and feeling that everythings right in the world. Regarding hols, I think we'll need one once we get back, got to be done though.
Have you checked out any of the MySpace music yet, if you're into folk/singer/songwriter at all try Chris Millington, also worth a listen is the track from Dave Matthews new album, "King something and the wotsits", (sorry can't remember the proper title). On MySpace Calexico do a cracking version of Love's "Alone Again Or", we were lucky enough to see Love twice before Arthur Lee died, absolutely brilliant. Well that's it I'll toddle off to find the corkscrew.
 
- 5/16/2009 9:10:09 AM
Saturday morning and the wind is howling around the garden and its still wet, Bills van must be rocking if its parked by the coast, not as bad as the winds that we had in Spain at the beginning of March, they reached 25% of their power consumption just by wind power for that month, we had to tie the awning down with extra ropes.
Hope your shed is still standing Stu, whats happened to Rich we hav,nt heard much from him lately.
- 5/16/2009 11:08:57 AM
Rich is fine thanks but unfortunately now I'm back at work I haven't as much waffling time. I'll have another visit tomorrow and Monday night and tell you all if I've been embarrassing anywhere over the weekend !!
Have a good weekend all, despite the weather !!
 
Rich
- 5/16/2009 11:55:17 AM
I checked the weather forecast yesterday, as I do everyday for work, and noticed that gale force westerlies, 8 & 9 on the Beaufort scale, were predicted for the South Devon coast, so Bill's probably in Dorset or Hampshire by now.
Yep, caravans still there Tony, rock 'n rolled a bit this morning but not enough to spill my coffee, or distract me from reading the newspaper. 13.00 and it's brightened up for the time being, can't last though.
I imagine you've got some reading to catch up with haven't you Rich? be up in Bristol again at the end of the week, George Thorogood and the Destroyers at the Colostomy Hall, another evening of ear bashing.
- 5/16/2009 2:42:37 PM
Don,t tell us Steve, its warm, a light breeze just so you don,t get too hot and your beer is cold, you hav,nt told us what part of Spain your in.
- 5/16/2009 5:39:01 PM
Hi Tony
 
Sorry to disappoint, it is blue skies, sunny and a very warm 33C. Do you think Bill would be enjoying the same sort of weather? Just about to fire up the BBQ and enjoy an evening of fine wine and dining. We are on the Costa Calida, half around the Mar Menor. Not to many English, thank God. 
 
When I can build up the energy Stu I will write about my loves in music and artists. Have you heard of Zydeco music?
 
Must go now, glass is empty!
 
Cheers
 
Steve
- 5/16/2009 7:55:07 PM
Steve, you mean like, Wayne Toups and Zydecajun, or John Delafose abd the Playboys, cracking stuff a bit of Zydeco, been into it for years, difficult to get hold of much in UK though, no demand.
- 5/17/2009 5:45:59 PM
Steve, this might be of interest to you, John Mayall playing some gigs in Spain between July 10th. and 18th., including one at a festival at Lorca on the 15th. July.
 
TTFN Stu
- 5/17/2009 7:06:18 PM
Hi Stu
 
Thanks for that, Lorca not that far from us. Seen John Mayall last year, sorry just remembered I told you that!!! Will get tickets next week for Steve Winwood just 10 mins from us. did you see the Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood gig at Madison Square Garden? I thought it was excellent and they worked really well together, it came over that they were really enjoying themselves. Double CD out tomorrow.
 
Started warming up today 34C. I love it.
 
Have a great time with George, I would like to see him myself.  Looking forward to your review.
 
cheers
Steve
- 5/18/2009 1:47:46 PM
Well the wind was really howling around Frome yesterday and I sent Bill a text to see if all was well on the campsite, he says he is roped to a power pole to stop the van sliding down the slope and into the lagoon, lets hope he dos,nt drag the pole over and leave the site without power, the weather has eased up a bit and the sun is out but its still not that warm,hope you lads are getting a bit better weather
- 5/18/2009 5:11:27 PM
Hi Tony, Not really! I've been to West Wales today and it was blowing a gale and persisting down with rain on and off. Not nice at all. I'm local tomorrow so I'm hoping for a better day. Not much else to report really.
 
Rich
- 5/18/2009 6:21:07 PM
I must admit to being a bit nervous about driving the motorhome over bridges when its windy Rich, especially some of the ones in France and Spain as you are driving on the right in the slow lane and looking over a very small crash barrier down onto a harbour with ships passing underneath, so goodness knows what a wagon must feel like when its empty going over the Severn bridge although the new one is better than the old one.
- 5/19/2009 9:07:07 PM
I know what you mean Tony, some of those French bridges are scary in a car when it's windy let alone a van, the one at St, Nazaire across the mouth of the Loire especially. Still wind's dropped today so Bill may have been able to unlash himself from the power pole, eithe that or he's lit up like a Christmas tree.
 
- 5/19/2009 9:27:15 PM
On a couple of the bridges, when we first started touring, the other half put her head down between her knees and asked me to tell when we got to the other side and it was all over, she has got a bit used to it now but the odd gust of wind will set her off grabbing for the armrests.
- 5/20/2009 10:40:01 AM
So you've got one of those as well have you Tony ? My Mrs. used to be terrible, I remember once many years ago crossing the Bealach na Ba, the highest public road in GB, goes from sea level to 2000+ft. back to sea level in the space of about 8 miles, single track road, no barriers and some fearsome drop offs, my old Transit didn't have very good brakes and having to reverse at one hairpin with a vertical drop to the sea on one side she climbed into the back and lay on the floor, what she hoped to achieve I don't know but we survived to play another day. Mind you I did get a little nervous myself descending into the Tarn Gorge a couple of years back, but that's because I'm a lousy passenger and she's got a habit of driving in the gutter and braking at the last possible moment, and when the gutter's a perpendicular drop and the road's littered with hairpins you can understand the need to keep a change of clothes in the car.
Slight improvment in the weather today, should be coming your way, hope it stays fine for the weekend.
- 5/20/2009 2:09:13 PM
Yes the weather is slowly improving and the sun is out today, I think the business of jumping in the back or putting your head between your knees is similar to sticking your head in the sand hoping that the threat or thought of it will go away, pity is you cant do that and drive, at least they cant see the look on your face and when its over you can bask in your own bravery!!!