Plans Afoot

The passage of time seems to be a continual theme and that’s probably because there’s usually a gap of a few months between posts! It’s early March and my first trip away in Clarence this year is only 5 weeks away. We seem to be foregoing the usual March trip to the Peaks this year unfortunately, but at least it isn’t too long until I’m back up in the Lake District. We’re even booked in for a trip up there in August following the bank holiday – can’t remember the last time I had two weeks off booked this early in the year!

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All Change Please

Not only did I think it was a good idea to change jobs (the jury is still out on that one) but because my landlord was putting the Concord Street Clarendon up for sale, I also found myself moving house a month or so ago. Whilst I remain to be convinced about the new job, I’m super pleased with the new place. I’ve had half an eye on moving out to the country for a while now and this place ticks pretty much all the boxes. Not only is it an easy enough commute by train, but it has a garage. And an outside tap……

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Paint, Pints and Peaks

After a very chatty start to 2018 I seem to have reverted to not writing for a while. It’s not as though there hasn’t been plenty going on since Oli picked up his new van at the end of May – there has! I sometimes find it more difficult to write when I’m struggling in general.  Hopefully my upcoming change of employment will help on that front – after five years at Maples I’m moving on to another law firm. Whilst that is most definitely a positive thing, we all know how well I deal with big life changes! In a nutshell, that means we have got a few months of good stuff to catch up with.

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VW Festival 2018

The first VW show I went to with Mark and Sheila must have been somewhere around 2002 I think. Not only was it the coldest I’ve ever been to (camping at Donington in November is not to be recommended) but it also witnessed one of the worst hangovers I have ever experienced. Mark’s home made plum wine was without doubt a key contributor to that. It couldn’t have been a more different day, therefore, when we headed up to Harewood House for this year’s VW Festival. Not only was it an absolute scorcher, we hadn’t been drinking heavily the night before either!

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May Musings

Apparently this May has been the hottest on record. Even in the north we’ve had some awesome weather which has meant a couple of trips away in the bus and some fairly serious rambling. Not only that but there has been a new addition to the group, albeit of the slightly more modern variety.

The middle of the month saw us head back to Cooper’s campsite in Edale to meet up with Darryl and Jo and the Pageant 7. Now I haven’t actually seen the place in decent weather, so was thoroughly looking forward to it. Clarence had even had a decent clean and wax the weekend before in anticipation of some sunshine. Mr Cooper was actually in pretty chatty form when I arrived, although I’m really not that interested in the price of red diesel or the availability of whatever gas he keeps on site.

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Stanford Hall 2018

Here we are in May and we’re already at post number four for the year, which is the sum total of last year’s efforts. This last bank holiday weekend was not only apparently the hottest on record, but also saw me return to Stanford Hall for Leicestershire and Warwickshire VW Owner’s Club annual show. This was the 42nd year of the show and it’s without doubt my favourite – although it seems it’s four years since I last made it there!

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