Noting quite like a last minute getaway. @DerekTheWeather has promised great things for the weekend, and when at 9.30pm last night Herself suggested a weekend in the van I jumped at the chance. This is the freedom that a caravan offers.
I managed to finish a few hours early and at 4pm I was parked up in B&Q adjacent to Herself's office waiting for her to finish work.
Not going far this weekend, just over to the CC site at Gowerton. All was well until we crossed over the Loughor bridge into Jacksville when it soon became evident that we were towing during rush hour. We hit stationary traffic by Swansea Sound and crawled past the Harvester and under the low bridge to the lights. It opened up for a little until we came to the lights where we needed to turn right onto the marsh road.
Herself went white and started to click. I looked right and took a sharp intake of breath. Put it this way, Pont y Cob road is no Yank freeway, barely wide enough for two cars to pass it is now choked with a long line of cars and transit vans. It's less than half a mile to the site entrance, but that measly distance takes me a good 15 mins to inch along with just cm to spare.
We join the queue to check in and Herself is a little fraught. Things didn't go too well in reception either, and by the time she emerges I can see she's ready to kill.
We find a nice sunny pitch, and are set up in no time at all. No awning this weekend. After chilling for a bit I get a result. I am supposed to be on call this weekend, so have come away without any shant for myself, but having put some pressure on the Omar Sherrife, my rota is covered. We head over to Asda to rectify the situation and collect a Chinese takeaway on our way back.
We pull up on site and as Herself is dishing up we get a knock on the door. It turns out that we have pitched up next to Herself's cousin and her hubby. What a coincidence. Herself promises that we'll be round as soon as we've eaten, so food is wolfed down before we make our way to their van, armed with chairs and bottles of grog.
They had not seen each other for a few years and we spent a delightful evening under their canopy catching up and talking all things caravanning and The Scarlets.
We had a bit of excitement at 9.30pm when an ambulance came into site with flashing blue lights to attend a caravan pitched 3 up from us. They were on site for nearly an hour and were attracting some attention, before leaving with the rather poorly caravanner loaded up.
Saturday 6 September
Having not had a long walk
last thing last night the dogs are a little restless this morning, and as they
coax me from my pit at just before 9am the sun is still trying to burn off the
mist.
Not heading for the doggy
walk this morning as they need a good run, and put Cerys and Tali in an open
field and they will run their own legs off.
I am reminded of a high security prison as I unlock the steel security
gate, complete with anti vandal paint into no mans land, and then unlock an identical
gate a little further on that leads onto the playing fields at Gowerton.
We join about another 30 dog
walkers and council workers putting up the football nets and marking out the
pitches.
I get back to the van and
Herself has not yet stirred, so I make myself a cuppa and settle down outside
just as the sun burns off the mast of the mist, and watch the site come to
life.
Herself eventually gets up
and we breakfast on bacon butties in the warm morning sun.
As ever when we are away, we
decide we need something. This time
it’s a little coffee table to use outside.
Go Outdoors in Llansamlet had nothing but a quick trip to The Range just
a little further up the road was a little more beneficial,
We went back to site for
just long enough to drop off our purchases before heading back to Llangennech
to watch Roids play rugby. It was a
lovely warm afternoon down the Park and Tali enjoyed the game immensely.
A quick stop off in the
Co-op for wine for Herself and something to cook for tea was necessary before
we returned to site by 5pm to soak up the warm evening sunshine.
As we cruise around the site
I see someone getting up out of their chair and making their way towards the
Miranda. It’s Steve Williams’ brawd,
who I used to work with a few years ago. His parents are pitched a few spaces away from us and he’s called
in to scrounge a few cuppas and a bag of chips.
Turns out that his parents
are away with the gent who got carted off in the meat wagon last night. The good news is that he’s still with us,
but is undergoing tests in Morriston hospital to see what’s what.
We start on our stash of
Stella. There is no better way to waste
time than drink beer outside your caravan and watch the world go by. A familiar
looking people carrier crawls past, then stops and reverses. I’m thinking to myself “What’s this fool
doing?” when he winds down the window and points.
It’s Penarth, a guy who was
pitched on the other side of the field at Trevedra at the start of July! This weekend is turning into a “lets meet
people weekend.” We chew the fat for a
while before I break off as my Stella is warming in the sun.
We put tea on to cook and
blow the froth off a few more. Herself
gives me the 5 min warning and I peel the ring off another one, just as SWB
comes over for a chat. We spend some
considerable time talking families and work before I retreat to the caravan for
tea.
I’m not always the sharpest
tool in the box, but my instincts tell me something is wrong. Herself is scowling at me and the atmosphere
is decidedly frosty.
“Tea is ruined!” she barks
at me. I look at the cooker, and in a heap are some dried our burgers together
with assorted other bits that are far beyond their best.
I try and rescue the
situation using the microwave, but to no avail. We sit down and Herself says “This is disgusting!” making a show
of her disapproval. I’m in deep doodoo
here, and even the offer of walking into Gowerton for a takeaway is thrown back
in my face.
So, in silence, I do my best
to chew down on some burgers that are the texture of cork and crunch my way
though a few slices of Houllami. The chips are far too gone even for me.
Herself is not moving, so by
the powers of deduction I figure out that it’s my turn to wash up after
scraping the burnt offerings into the bin.
I’ve been having a little
trouble of late with an attack of gout in my big toe, and it’s a little tender
to say the least. I’m sat on the bed whilst Herself scowls at me from the front
lounge. To escape the frosty atmosphere
I suggest a dog walk. No answer.
In my temper I throw open
the wardrobe door to get my shoes. And in doing so the door scrapes straight
over my gout ridden toe. I see stars
immediately and am close to crying.
Herself starts to smile a little.
In addition to knocking the gout ridden joint, the door has also taken a
layer of skin off my violently throbbing toe.
Shoes are now out of the
question, so I put on my flip flops and pick up the dogs leads. They get excited, springing towards me, and
give my toe the good news with their thundering paws. I am now beyond help as my vision is taken over by star bursts.
Herself than announces that
she’s coming with me as I obviously cannot be trusted!
In the rapidly fading light
we make our way over the gates of Tenko, and I’m leaving a trail of blood
droplets! The walk is shorter than expected as Herself does not want to be seen
in public for too ling with someone walking like John Merrick!
Back at the van the Gin gets
a hammering while we watch the sun setting through the trees before we turn in quite late in the early hours.
Sunday 7 September
The sun is already hot by
the time that I get up with the dogs at 8am, and we head towards the on site
dog walk. This is one of the best I’ve
come across on and site, be it Caravan Club or commercial.
Late last night we decided
to stay another night and I would go to work on Monday direct from the
site. I get told off by the wardens for
not following the correct procedure.
Instead of making another booking for 1 night online, I should have just
popped into the office and extended our stay.
With that business sorted,
Herself announces that she’d like to invite her parents over for the day, so
another trip to Asda is called for while she sorts out the van.
Nana Creaky and Grandpa
Grumbles rock up at 11.30am with the savage straining on his lead, and the
Coffeeathon commences. Nana Creaky’s
coffee habit is getting worse.
We spend a lovely day in the
hot sunshine, taking some time out to walk the dogs, but mostly eating and
drinking, as well as watching the bloke on the next pitch giving his family
food poisoning. The dopey so and so was
only trying to BBQ chicken thighs over an open flame. In 5 mins they were
charred black on the outside and in another 5 they were taken off and served up,
still raw in the middle!
It's that hot today that I erect the UV shelter for the dogs, but they refuse to go in it, instead preferring to roast under the midday sun.
I’m doing some of the “outside”
jobs on the van, when at the service point a Jag towing a big twin axle van
draws up along side me. He winds down his window and I recognise him as the
bloke who was pitched 2 up from us at Trevedra earlier this year.
How many is that , that we
have met this weekend on site? Small
world!
Entertainment is provided by a van and tow car being recovered. I suppose it's one way of saving a few bob on fuel.
Ronnie shows up with my suit
for work and has his new girlfriend in tow.
Farmer Girl (FG) lives and works on a farm but has thankfully changed
out of her cow dung covered wellies for the day.
An hour or so later Roids
turns up with The Fridge and we are out of chairs, until Nana Creaky gets a
cramp episode and they leave for home.
Herself bribes Roids and TF
to walk the dogs with her while I head over to the shower block.
I spend what seems like
hours under the hot gushing water and am feeling on top of the world. I’m dried off and make to step up out of the
shower area to dress. I misjudged the
step and scraped the bottom of my gout ridden toe down the step and slapped it
onto the hard tiled floor below with some considerable force.
Herself said she could hear
the swearing from the field some 150 yards away!
Monday 8 September
Early start this
morning. The alarm was set for 7am, and
I’m up, showered and dressed in my suit by 7.30am.
The view from in my wing mirror this morning is somewhat different to my usual “en route to work” view.
We have to break camp and
then I have to get to work for a 9.30am meeting after dropping the van off at
Ennis to have some repair work done.
Big toe agony aside, it’s
been a lovely weekend. Wall to wall
sunshine. We’ve not done much, but then
you don’t have to. This site is only
around 8 miles from home, much nearer as the crow flies, but it’s away. Away from the phone, away from the list of
DIY and away from the builders next door!
Nice to catch up with so
many people that we’ve not seen for some time, and those we’ve known for rather
less time.
Till next time.
