Sneaking away weekends have become a bit of a ritual and one we are starting to get the hang of. Put another way we haven't had an adventure in a while and perhaps I was just getting complacent.
Friday started fine, we got off bright and early and were well ahead of ourselves dropping off the M4 at junction 13. Just as well as on the outskirts of Portsmouth the trafic really densed up and we spent a bit of time sitting round waiting for things to move.
On the boat and let the drama commence. Car on deck 5 bar on deck 7 cabin on deck 2. Leave car, up to deck 7 down to cabin. Realise phone is in car. Up to deck 6 down companionway to deck 4, this companionway does not connect to deck 5, up to deck 6 down to deck 5, a part of deck 5 that does not connect to the part of deck 5 where the car is, up to deck 6, swear a lot. Find the right companionway collect phone up to deck 6 so I can get the right companionway for deck 2. Still, being positive, it certainly kept me fit.
Look over the side at the sad remnant that is the Royal Navy. Various vesssels waiting to be scrapped, there will soon be more historical ships than operational ones at Portsmouth.
Into the restauraunt for a fantastic meal great wine and back to the cabin in the depths of the ship. This is not usually good news as "Depths of the ship" is also "next to the engine room". Cue a night of harsh vibrations, noise and, if the sea is rough sliding round on the floor - we don't usually use the beds.
Not so this time calm crossing quiet cabin, there was even a television that broadcast the bland and boring and no one in the immediate cabins was engaged in a noisy sexathon.
So off the ferry we roared in the morning, not into our usual Roscoff but St Malo. This mean a quick "pop in for breakfast" at a firends in Dinan. By the time we had finished our pop in it was miday and we raced for the house a couple of hours away in central Brittany. I am not sure where exactly I went wrong. But go wrong I did and soon we were headed for the South coast. I didn't realise till we passed Josselin and I had a "how the hell did we get here" moment.
Pull over, map out and work out where we were, could ot use the GPS as the batteries were flat. Another "how the hell did we get here" moment. Plot a route and we arrived at the house very late.
A quick trip to the intermarche for me as she got the strimmer out.
Which would not start - bliss.
Whats more we had booked a table at the excellant Trois Marchands and we were way too late to eat.
Abandon house and head for Morlaix and more shopping. Set off, realise we have very little diesel, divert to nearest town get fuel and loads of cherries which were on special offer. Fitted batteries in the GPS so we could find the Intermarche in Morlaix, which is great except I can never find it. Of course the demon squauk box does not actually know of supermarkets in France it does however know where the petrol stations are, so whilst it was clueless as to where the intermarche could be found it knew exactly where to look for the petrol station.
More shopping and it was on to St Pol where we did more shopping and then went to Red Cash to fill up on wine.
With the 806 approaching full we locked it all up and headed for town. This time I had booked a restauraunt so we managed to get into the Ty Sauzon Creperie and eat ourselves happy.
Back on the ship and the day caught up, barely a pint and I was ready for sleep. The student went straight to bed.
Off the boat and the tedium of UK immigration, I don't know how they think sticking everyones passport through the computer will help them catch Terry Taliban or illegal immigrants.
But anyway I digress, let be positive again, The high wind buffeting the 806 all over the road served to slow me right down which vastly improoved our fuel consumption.....
I could not believe that some thing that loaded could be so pushed around. The car flew about 6 foot in the sideways direction crossing the Severn bridge, something the student definately noticed.
So anyway it was home and loads of unloading to do, in fact there is still unloading to do. Not everything is out of the car.
Today, definitely the last straw in the academic year, the student went to hand in her last piece of written work.I took the opportunity to put in my expenses, taking care not to arrive with the student, all a bit cloak and dagger.
Then it was home through more wind in a dancing round puegeot, working out as we hit the M4 why the student asked if I wanted to drive.
Work outside in the wind was not going to happen and so we settled for a quiet afternoon. Me writing this and the management practicing snoring.
She has a talent for it too....
Then out of the blue this couple came down the drive, they were from a company that wanted to rent some of our land for a small windfarm. Would be 120 pound a week rent and no electricity bills. Something we might need to think about.
R
Friday started fine, we got off bright and early and were well ahead of ourselves dropping off the M4 at junction 13. Just as well as on the outskirts of Portsmouth the trafic really densed up and we spent a bit of time sitting round waiting for things to move.
On the boat and let the drama commence. Car on deck 5 bar on deck 7 cabin on deck 2. Leave car, up to deck 7 down to cabin. Realise phone is in car. Up to deck 6 down companionway to deck 4, this companionway does not connect to deck 5, up to deck 6 down to deck 5, a part of deck 5 that does not connect to the part of deck 5 where the car is, up to deck 6, swear a lot. Find the right companionway collect phone up to deck 6 so I can get the right companionway for deck 2. Still, being positive, it certainly kept me fit.
Look over the side at the sad remnant that is the Royal Navy. Various vesssels waiting to be scrapped, there will soon be more historical ships than operational ones at Portsmouth.
Into the restauraunt for a fantastic meal great wine and back to the cabin in the depths of the ship. This is not usually good news as "Depths of the ship" is also "next to the engine room". Cue a night of harsh vibrations, noise and, if the sea is rough sliding round on the floor - we don't usually use the beds.
Not so this time calm crossing quiet cabin, there was even a television that broadcast the bland and boring and no one in the immediate cabins was engaged in a noisy sexathon.
So off the ferry we roared in the morning, not into our usual Roscoff but St Malo. This mean a quick "pop in for breakfast" at a firends in Dinan. By the time we had finished our pop in it was miday and we raced for the house a couple of hours away in central Brittany. I am not sure where exactly I went wrong. But go wrong I did and soon we were headed for the South coast. I didn't realise till we passed Josselin and I had a "how the hell did we get here" moment.
Pull over, map out and work out where we were, could ot use the GPS as the batteries were flat. Another "how the hell did we get here" moment. Plot a route and we arrived at the house very late.
A quick trip to the intermarche for me as she got the strimmer out.
Which would not start - bliss.
Whats more we had booked a table at the excellant Trois Marchands and we were way too late to eat.
Abandon house and head for Morlaix and more shopping. Set off, realise we have very little diesel, divert to nearest town get fuel and loads of cherries which were on special offer. Fitted batteries in the GPS so we could find the Intermarche in Morlaix, which is great except I can never find it. Of course the demon squauk box does not actually know of supermarkets in France it does however know where the petrol stations are, so whilst it was clueless as to where the intermarche could be found it knew exactly where to look for the petrol station.
More shopping and it was on to St Pol where we did more shopping and then went to Red Cash to fill up on wine.
With the 806 approaching full we locked it all up and headed for town. This time I had booked a restauraunt so we managed to get into the Ty Sauzon Creperie and eat ourselves happy.
Back on the ship and the day caught up, barely a pint and I was ready for sleep. The student went straight to bed.
Off the boat and the tedium of UK immigration, I don't know how they think sticking everyones passport through the computer will help them catch Terry Taliban or illegal immigrants.
But anyway I digress, let be positive again, The high wind buffeting the 806 all over the road served to slow me right down which vastly improoved our fuel consumption.....
I could not believe that some thing that loaded could be so pushed around. The car flew about 6 foot in the sideways direction crossing the Severn bridge, something the student definately noticed.
So anyway it was home and loads of unloading to do, in fact there is still unloading to do. Not everything is out of the car.
Today, definitely the last straw in the academic year, the student went to hand in her last piece of written work.I took the opportunity to put in my expenses, taking care not to arrive with the student, all a bit cloak and dagger.
Then it was home through more wind in a dancing round puegeot, working out as we hit the M4 why the student asked if I wanted to drive.
Work outside in the wind was not going to happen and so we settled for a quiet afternoon. Me writing this and the management practicing snoring.
She has a talent for it too....
Then out of the blue this couple came down the drive, they were from a company that wanted to rent some of our land for a small windfarm. Would be 120 pound a week rent and no electricity bills. Something we might need to think about.
R
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