To Devon and Beyond

View of the Yealm Valley

Travelling in hot weather with a dog and a car full of camping equipment is not a good idea. And, if you're travelling to an area you're not familiar with, it's even worse.

There we were, riding in our car from Verwood in Hampshire to Yealmpton in Devon with Jessie our trusty Border Terrier. We hadn't been on the road ten minutes when I navigated us away from the A31, which was where we wanted to go, to somewhere completely different, which cost us some time. It had rained overnight and the tent was wet when we packed it up. We needed to get to our destination in plenty of time to dry it out.

After a while, feeling thirsty and needing a toilet break, we decided to stop at a well known service area to meet our needs. To say that stop was a disaster is probably an understatement. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. One of the staff there had just told the boss he was leaving in two days. The atmosphere was bad and the service torturous. And the beginnings of a black mood began to develop for both of us.

Then I made the mistake of asking to stop at the Exeter Service area to use their facilities - on a Saturday afternoon - with someone who hates crowds - nightmare! This was coupled with the fact that Alan, who was doing the driving and was tired and hot, felt my directions were a bit slow in coming. Bad enough - but then things went from bad to worse.

Tempers were getting frayed.The driving speed was going up. Although the weather was hot, the atmosphere in the car was icy. Jessie was making her feelings felt by ensuring she had a lion's share of my seat, which meant that I was now sitting at an angle. I felt sorry for her as there was really nowhere else to sit, the rest of the car being filled with camping equipment.

I mentally breathed a sigh of relief when we turned off the A38 and started to make our way to Yealmpton. But I had reckoned without the slightly vague directions that we had received to find the location for the next seven days, Yealm Cabin.

As we drove up a hill on a single lane road, we looked in vain for the allotted place. Then came those magic words, "You've got us lost". I had been quite calm up till then, but something inside me snapped. With the words, "I'll get out and find it then", I exited the car, slamming the door as hard as I could and went marching up the road to the nearest property.

Now, Alan just cannot stand slammed doors at the best of times and I could hear him swearing at volume as I walked off. By the time I had received directions and turned back, the car had disappeared. My first thought, I'm ashamed to admit, was that he had gone home, which led to the thought "well, let him", as my overheated temper was totally in control and getting the better of me.

Making my way to the house where the owner of the log cabin's lived, I knocked and introduced myself. It was not really surprising, but she did look a bit bemused to be confronted by one person, with no luggage and not a car in sight.

At that point Alan arrived. The small time away had allowed both of us to regain our cool (although I was still angry inside - flaming even). How was the week in the cabin going to go, I wondered?

Drying Out the Tent!

On Holiday - At Last

Well, we actually did it - the first holiday in years and the first 2 week one that we can remember having in very many years.

Alan thought, that because I am such an unknown quantity with my chronic fatigue symptoms, I would not be able to cope with two weeks in a tent, so, we decided to spend the middle portion of our time away by booking a log cabin in Devon.

Camping at Verwood

The first three days were spent in Verwood in Hampshire and were fantastic. Even the service station where we stopped on the way there for a toilet break was a novelty.

The site we used, a Camping and Caravan Club site, I would not call scenic in itself, but was surrounded by wonderful countryside. Although it was beside a busy road, it was very well equipped with a toilet and shower block, a wash-up block and laundry facilities.

One of the main features that appeared to recur during our time away has been the easy ability to get most gloriously lost. It occurred twice in these first few days, but also at other times, of which, more later.

The first time was when we were driving back to the site from Fordingbridge, when we had a moment of serendipity. Arriving at a village called Dakerham, we came across a pub called 'The Compasses' and, on impulse we decided to stop and have lunch there. It turned out to be the most beautiful lunch in the beer garden, beside a cricket field with nothing to disturb us.

The second 'lost moment' was the following day, where we tried to find Moors Valley Country Park we had seen on the Ordnance Survey map. Just a few miles away, or so we thought. We learnt the lesson that day that what you actually see on the map is not how it looks on the ground, finding ourselves miles away in the opposite direction. But after asking directions, we eventually found our way there.

It was a most amazing place with the entrance road surrounded by tall trees, plenty of parking space and loads of people. And it was a week day!  There seemed to be a little bit of everything there, with a golf course, lake, miniature railway and forest walks. And it was there where I first realised that Alan did not want to spend his holidays mixing with crowds. Oops!

Then on the fourth day - off to Devon, to our log cabin near Yealmpton, getting lost yet again on our way to the A31. I'm really not used to this navigation thing.

The River Avon at Fordingbridge

Camping Preparations

Before we went on our holiday last month, it was decided that we prepare ourselves - test out the equipment and the tent, and see whether there was anything further we needed to purchase.

tent conditioning time

And so in May, with the permission of obliging (and very tolerant) friends, our bell tent was set up in their garden, so that it could be conditioned. This was accomplished by water being sprayed on it, then leaving it to dry overnight. 

All was successful, with no leaks to the tent and meant that we could move forward to the next phase - that of camping for a couple of nights to check everything out. For that, we went to St Ives Farm in Hartfield, near the Ashdown Forest in Sussex, not too far from our home.

As we were still in May, the nights were rather cold, the first night particularly so. And what with the lambs in a nearby field calling, the birds singing and a rather suspicious snuffling sound (which I later came to the conclusion may well have been a hedgehog and not a mad axe-man), I arose at 5.00am to make a cup of coffee and sat to watch the morning wake up around me.

golden dew

It was truly a magical experience seeing the sun rise and the heavy dew on the grass helping to colour it gold; watching the mist waft across the small lake there and to hear the sounds of the animals welcoming the new day.

One strange thing did happen while we were there. I had purchased a small bottle of hair conditioner on our arrival. On our first night, we both went to the 'wash-up' area to clean our dirty plates. On our return, we saw three birds, two black and one obviously a magpie flying away from our tent as we approached. Investigating further, we found that they had explored the bag of items left outside the tent,and had taken the bottle of conditioner. Their need was apparently greater than mine!

our tent at Hartfield

I've seen the Future - and it's Pine!

Some of the boxes of our pine furniture 

After five weeks without wardrobes in the bedroom or the clothes in the usual drawers and cupboards, any one who knows me would think that I would be tearing my hair out by now. Nothing is in its place. Sometimes there is a search for what is needed for the day, but I appear to be remarkably calm.

I have wondered about this. My dear husband has this urge to prepare for things long before they actually happen, with good reason I might add. He is just better organised than me. When we moved here 6 years ago, we were all packed and ready to go 2 weeks before the date of our move and, whilst it did take away the rushing around that seems to happen before any move, I found it very stressful, living next to boxes of my 'things'. This time however, I feel free. It has been rather nice to live in a bedroom that has been almost minimalist with painted walls and a bed and two sets of drawers. There seemed to be so much space.

The other funny thing is that the bed has been moved round so that it faces the window rather than being under it. It just feels better and we both have been sleeping well. I wouldn't have thought that it would make so much difference, but apparently it does.

Today, the furniture arrived - pine wardrobes and cupboards (of which more later in another post). And yet I feel a little sad amid the excitement of these new items; that we will be filling up this wonderful open space that has been there. It is amazing what you can get used to and even enjoy.

Onwards and upwards towards change and the 'all pine look'.

New Technology Part 2 - Does it get any easier??

I talked in a recent post about my new smartphone. Well, I'm getting more used to it now, but with one slight problem - I can't answer the damn thing. The instructions tell me to press the black phone icon on the screen and then to flip to the green phone icon which appears. It's very much a case of knowing what you should do in your mind but the hands or rather fingers not getting to grips with it - Scary! I suppose with practice I will improve. It's just that panicky feeling I have when the phone starts to ring and I try almost a finger dance to answer it,usually without success, I might add!

So you would think that I wouldn't have any problems with my new laptop. On that score, you are wrong and for similar reasons. It's the touch-pad. I had used one years ago when I was working and touch-pads were just being installed into equipment. I didn't have any problems with it at the time and didn't anticipate any problems this time.

To start, I found that I was enlarging things when I didn't want to or, because of its sensitivity deleting things or filing them into places I didn't want them to go. Then, at other times, it appears stubbornly immobile and I find that I'm tapping at the borders where it seems less sensitive, or even worse I'm absentmindedly  tapping the space bar.

I am getting used to both pieces of equipment, just wishing it came easier to me.

View from The Eight Bells Jevington

On a happier note, we went to Jevington for a walk last week on a beautiful day filled with sunshine, followed up by a drink at The Eight Bells together with a shared dish of cheesy chips smothered in tomato sauce and a sunbathe. I leave you with the view from the beer garden - it doesn't get much better than that.

Change - Just a Massive Spring Clean!

It is strange how you can go for years, just ticking over; not over happy with how things are style and comfort wise in the house, but relaxed enough to put up with it. Then one small (or maybe, not so small) thing happens, which leads to other things; which leads to yet other things and all of a sudden you feel like you're in the midst of a whirlwind. Change has come into your life and your home like a raging tempest and it will never be the same.

We were suddenly in the position to purchase a new computer. As we had already purchased a smartphone and become aware of WiFi, we decided to go for for a laptop and WiFi printer to go in the study. The computer had previously been in the bedroom, near to a phone point. Moving this equipment really opened up the possibility of sorting out the main bedroom at last, six years after moving into our home in Seaford.

My husband, bless him, turned into Action Man, and commenced preparing the walls for painting - filling holes and removing lumps and bumps. As we had moved the computer etc , it was also deemed an excellent time to get rid of the old filing cabinet and put a new one into the study, giving more space.

My New Study

This of course meant that the files within the filing cabinet  had to be pruned. This was a difficult job for me as I like to keep things from my past - so hard decisions had to be made. Then there were the wardrobes that were there when we moved in. Apart from my clothes, they had also become a hoarding place - so yet more sorting out. In three weeks, Alan must have been taking bags of 'stuff' up to waste site every couple of days, with me feeling ever more miserable as more stuff disappeared.

Now, about a month on, I can see the benefits. We still are waiting for new furniture (more about that another time), but the room looks fresh and clean, with new carpet, the bed in a different position (and both of us sleeping better) and me knowing where most of my paperwork is (at last!).

New Technology - Part 1

As part of our ongoing preparations for our camping expeditions this year, my kind husband suggested that, in order to keep up with emails and Facebook when we go away; that I purchase a smartphone – as long as it did not end up costing us megabucks. If only he had realised that in doing this, we were entering into a world of pain, verging into insanity.

It has been some time since we gave any consideration on getting a new phone. Our last mobile was bought over twelve years ago and has always been for emergencies only. It's never been any problem and it chugs away wherever we need it. I don't even know the number, it's so rare we use it. But I know that technology has moved on. Even when I purchased with my latest computer, which is two years old now, I noticed that  there have been massive changes since the last time I bought one, seven or eight years before.

And two years later, technology has moved again, with there being a significant drop in sale of your traditional computer with a tower hard drive, and more sales of laptops and tablets.

My New Smartphone

It had been the plan initially to obtain a tablet of some sort and I very quickly became very bogged down with what was around and what it was required to do. In the end, reality set in. I realised that the size and weight of the item would need to be considered, if it was to be of major use when we go camping, so a tablet would really not be light enough and space will be limited. I also knew that if it was a phone as well, it would be a good way of killing two birds with one stone. The Motorola Moto G smartphone very quickly established itself as being the best value for money, so I took the plunge and purchased it.

It arrived very quickly. Opening the packaging, I soon realised that the instructions were quite sparse. The first job was to insert the sim card. This was a nightmare as you have to prise open the back in a certain way. It says something (to me anyway) when you have to look at someone doing the same action on Youtube, to ensure you're not getting it wrong and ripping the phone to pieces.

Once you have done this, for someone who hasn't done this before, you are left hovering on an air of indecision. Who do you register with? How do you get the emails to the phone? We started out with an Orange pay as You Go Top up, when was used up very quickly in the setting up of the phone, so more money was needed. And how do you do that?

For those of you rolling around in hysterical laughter that someone of the mature age that I am does not know these things, please consider, I had not been in a position health-wise to even consider going through this process, quite apart from the money issue.

In the end, through trial and error (because I was initially given wrong information), I managed to set up a plan with Orange and I managed to link in my emails so I could access them on the smartphone. It did make me pause for thought, that when confronted with something new, anything that you do with it can seem frightening; or if that word sounds too strong, try edgy instead.

Now, a couple of weeks on, I love my phone and what I can do with it, even going to a pub which a Wi-Fi hotspot and using it there. I am very pleased with this accomplishment. Maybe it was just as well that we started small and learnt from that, because bigger things were on the horizon.