Living the dream - part 1

We have tried to find a spot between Amiens and Beauvais for some free camping. We were on the look out for a quiet spot in a town somewhere. Anyway, to cut a long story short we ended up in a town called Crevecoeur-le-grand. Not exactly a special spot, but for all intent and purposes please believe it is, so that the 'living the dream' part of our tour is a reality. 

Anyway, we went to find the local Aire as per sign post on the local map, however, this seems to be a discontinued site. So having been given advice by a local, and confirmed this advice with another, we parked by the town hall. All was good. Before tea though, the obligatory toilet and hand wash was followed by "there's a red light on the toilet!" Having never seen said red light before, upon further investigation we realised the toilet was full. Thus followed an apt and abrupt curse! However, as we were right next door to the town hall we noticed that there was a toilet, so we could use those facilities instead of ours. So we sat down and we had a lovely tea cooked by Clare of spaghetti bolognaise and home made garlic bread. Then a sense of urgency gathered as the cleaner decided to lock the toilets. After much muddled discussion and running around with a .....well you know what....we managed to use the town hall loos for an emergency evacuation and quickly got the whole procedure finished. Yippee! 

Upon embarking the vehicle for the next course following a thorough hand wash, the alarm was sounding that we were out of water. So the pump wouldn't pump water back into the toilet, the sink, or the water heater. So emergency measures were afoot to not use any water and survive the night somehow...when across the other side of the town square, I saw a girl at a water pump pumping water for fun. I decided that this was a frivolous waste of a rare commodity, and with bucket in hand, I went and filled it. With a certain relief that the problem was going to be solved, I ambled back to the van. The next problem arose though; how to get the water into the correct department in the van without losing all of it. So with a chopped piece of hose, half a water bottle cut with scissors (it's all sounding very Apollo 13 I know) and a measuring jug, we managed to fill a quarter of a tank of water. 

Happiness set in, so after reading and bed time stories, it was time for bed for Jasper and Maya. It then transpired that the town hall car park was a haven for youths, bicycles, mobile phones and then football. A brief discussion ensued and we are now sitting quietly in the van, the children are back in bed, and we are a few corners round the block in a car park. So you'll all be glad to know... We are living the dream!

Ha ha! 

Ed

Glad to be here!

It has been a manic few days, I think that everyone is aware of that. However, it feels good to have travelled a few miles on the French roads and had a smooth transition into French camp life. So our first stop is here in Wimereux on the northern west coast of France, only a few miles down from Calais really. So we are here for 2 nights.  Booking in was fun, I used my little French, gestured, and then worked harder at the French and rather enjoyed it. The girl behind the desk was very forgiving and helped me out, but I still charged on regardless in Franglais! 

Tomorrow's venture will be to cycle down to Boulogne sur la mer for some holiday time. Jasper,  Maya and myself have already experienced the on site pool successfully, and we have ordered breakfast croissants and a baguette. Now, where is the cheese..........?

Ed

Au Reviour Ilminster

On Friday we said a fond farewell to our little house and waved goodbye to Zola and our neighbours who had turned out en masse to wave us off. I must admit, it was a surreal moment and one that will stick in my mind for a while! We are so grateful to our neighbours for their well wishes and support. One of them even gave us a "glad you are buggering off" present, which was meant in the nicest possible way!!! So with a tear in my eye, we set off to Auntie Dot and Uncle Len's in Camberley for the night. It was so lovely to see them again, and Jasper and Maya were thrilled with the little Bon voyage presents they received for the journey. I must say that it's lovely to be supported every step of the way and to feel encouraged that this mad idea is actually everyone's life ambition. We are quite literally living the dream. Last night though was another story. No campsite that we found through Romney to Folkestone (via Dymchurch and Hythe) had a vacancy for us with our rather large motorhome, so after a 50 mile round trip we ended up almost back where we started and paid £15 for the night to stay in a lovely pitch, lovely flat shaded landscaped plot, but with awful facilities which I will not describe as you will honestly wonder how I managed!!! Even Ed felt that I deserved a medal for bravery for using the showers! Needless to say, we will not be staying there again! EVER! Today we have crossed La Manche via the tunnel and I navigated our way through the rolling French countryside to reach our first port of call near Boulogne. The site is huge, with all sorts of activities going on, pétanque in the middle of the road for example, and now as I type and prepare supper, Ed and the children are swimming in the open air pool. Some guys have all the fun!!! But life is good. Thanks for reading. 

Clare 

X

Take That

Radio on, lazy start to our day, sun blazing and after a terrible drive yesterday, today feels good! And the song on the radio, 'Greatest Day' by Take That! Fingers crossed.  Aurevoir people.
By the way. .. Not a caravan site to recommend for facilities, but beautifully quiet and ideal for a one night stop prior to departure on the tunnel. 
Ed

Wagons roll

Simple entry this one. ... we're on our way!
Big love and thanks to everyone so far.

Stealth support

Just a quick thank you to my Mum! She has been helping ever since the inception of this mad idea and has been there quietly doing little things in the background to help us. E.g. Having the children for sleepovers to give us time for packing, time for gatherings, organising a family bash etc, and just generally doing little things....all of which help to smooth the path of the 'big thing'.
So thanks Mum. It is greatly appreciated, and I just wanted to acknowledge that.

Ed

Packing Nightmare!

According to a Chinese proverb "A journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step" (thanks Deborah Long for that one!). Well, I'd like to disagree. Who would have thought that packing the few remaining clothes for Jasper and Maya would have been sooooo difficult!!!! I have packed. Unpacked. Re-packed, and packed again, this time remembering a tip from the lovely Liz Beale who suggested using drawstring bags for smaller items. Well thank goodness for PE bags!!! How useful, and being the good mother that I am (!) they were washed and freshly laundered ready for the job. All that I need to do now is pack my clothes. It could be a long afternoon. I will need a large PE bag!

Clare
x

Here is a room on wheels by Phillipa Rex

Mr Clements had a thought one day,
That perhaps there was another way
To live a different kind of life,
With much less trouble and strife.

He shared his idea with his lovely wife,
But promptly got the shock of his life
When she said "Oh Ed, you're behind the curve,
Because I've bought a camper, it's parked at the kerb!

I thought one night whilst eating our tea,
That there's more of the world we should see
Let the four of us go and have some fun,
I don't want to wait 'till we're 101!"

Maya said "Goodness, Mum and Dad have gone mad,
but actually ....perhaps it isn't all bad,
Because the idea of learning my maths on a beach,
Actually seems like more of a treat!"

Jasper thought they'd lost the plot,
He liked his school and his friends a lot.
but it was going to be pretty good fun
To attend the new school....."School of Dad and Mum!"

Mr C can't speak French and his German is rusty,
His road maps of Europe are pretty darn dusty,
But he won't let that stop him, he's got his iPad in tow
And with iTranslate installed, he's ready to go!

The Clements' knew what it meant to follow a dream,
They'd given their children roots and were now giving them wings;
They knew in their hearts they'd be making the broadest young minds,
By travelling the world to see what they'd find.

Who knows where they're going or what's in store,
But on Tuesday, for the last time, when you close the Year 4 classroom door,
Perhaps you'll think to yourself "What on earth have I done?"
But just remind yourself this .....the best is to come.

* A VERY SPECIAL EVENING *

What a special evening last night was. The Ilminster Balti House just about survived under the pressure of a full house last night. A fun night with lots of friends, colleagues and neighbours. We are both hugely grateful to all those who turned up. The curries were super, if a little sporadically delivered. There are Facebook photos circulating of a rogue waiter shouting his way around his deliveries!!!!

Apologies to those who couldn't make it. We would've loved to have you there, as and when we come back, we may have a return visit and try and cram more of you in!

I hope people aren't suffering too much. My voice finally gave up last night, might have been something to do with Janet's chilli.

A big thank you to Justin Bloys, a dear friend who came down from Stroud after a day at school to spend the evening with us, to then return last night for his final day at school today!

Thank you one and all for a very special evening.

Ed

Last day at Tatworth

I'm not exactly sure what to say really. As the photo suggests, it was quite an overwhelming (sorry, an over used phrase at the moment) day. After the previous day for the staff leaver's assembly, attention was quite rightly given to the Year 6's. However, the generosity shown by my class/parents/families/past pupils/friends/staff etc was quite amazing. I think most things are in the photo, but just as a brief outline there were bottles, cakes (some eaten and not in photo), pictures, games, puzzles, chocolates, mugs, books, a poem (think I'll type this up on here!), vouchers, ciders, Euros, plectrums (I'll need these), cards, travel health care stuff for the family, diaries..... and the list goes on. If I have missed anything out then I do apologise, but I still can't quite wrap my head around this whole 'thing'.  But what was really special, was the content of the cards, and the personal well wishes and people coming at the end of the day to have a chat/handshake/cuddle. We are both reading cards and letters this morning and trying to digest the lovely words and advice that people have written. Too much kindness and our only way to say thank you is to actually say "THANK YOU".
Off to read cards now.

Ed

Email bar

We have just worked out that if you enter your email address in the bar at the top, then you should automatically get our updates to your email.....if you wish? Try it!

Cake!

This is what this cake looked like at 9:00am this morning. Thanks to the Woodlands for this. However, by 10:30am, it was just a pile of crumbs. See previous post about people's generosity. I am slightly overwhelmed!

Ed

Overwhelmed/cake/tea/generosity

Half past nine, back from the disco, sitting at home and piling through the next list of things to do. Slightly feeling of being overwhelmed. People in life, our life, the people we have influenced and been influenced by, have really amazed me. A lovely day, finished with too much cake, lots of tea and lots of lovely chat with lots of lovely friends.  This mad, crackers adventure of ours would not be possible without all the generosity, kindness, good will, thoughts and advice. We all (all four of us) appreciate everything that everyone has done. I can't thank everyone via this medium individually, but rest assured, there will probably be photos to follow of cakes, cards........poems specially written etc!!!!!!

THANK YOU ALL!!!!

Ed

(tired now.....zzzzzzzzzzz)

Monster curry night!

Not that we are eating curried monsters, more that we have now booked a MASSIVE 50 people at our curry night tomorrow!!! Naz at 'The Balti House' has taken the last few orders and is now having a panic that we might not all fit in, so be prepared folks for a tight squeeze!!! See you all tomorrow!!! Clare x

STOP PRESS! Our old and dear friend Bloysy has just confirmed he can make it...all the way from Gloucester! Just for the night! Feeling very overwhelmed! The boys are back in town!!!

....making comments

I'm guessing that if anyone wishes to make a comment on the blog, I think you may have to have your own google log in or gmail account. I'm not sure but I think this may be the case. If so, we would love people who do have such privileges to comment as we go!

Ed

'Hello' from Clare

Well hello there everybody! Clare writing for the first time, so forgive me if I repeat anything that's already been written by my darling husband Edmund. This whole blogging thing is totally new to me, and whilst I love keeping in touch with family and friends via email and Facebook, I'm not sure how good I'll be at keeping you all updated with my thoughts, feelings, views, opinions and reports of what our new life is like. And that's just how I feel right now. It feels like we are about to start a new life, which is exciting and totally nerve wracking if I'm honest!!! We were reminded of what a part we, (mostly Ed) have played in the life of the wonderful children of Tatworth School yesterday as they performed brilliantly at the Guildhall in Chard. Their attitude and enthusiasm for the end of year show 'SMIKE' was admirable. I sincerely wish all of those children the very best for their future, whatever that may bring. Following on from that, the after show party/retirement party was another timely reminder of what a great team we have worked with over the past few years. It has been a pleasure and privilege to work for David Knight over the course of 3 years, and to have known the staff for the last 9 years. We are leaving kind, caring, considerate and supportive work colleagues but most of all many many friends behind as we start our new life. Thankyou to all of you, you know who you are, for all of your kind words and well wishes. We will do you all proud as we tour Europe over the next 10 months. Now where is that panic button?!?!
Love and best wishes, Clare x

Welcome to new viewers!

Welcome anyone who is coming fresh to this blog.  Feel free to read as much as you wish. Comments are welcome (make them nice!).
Had a lovely evening at our headteachers retirement bash last night.  A lot of fun after a fantastic show at the Chard Guildhall with the children from school performing 'Smike.'
More posts to follow this week. Could be a busy week though. Lots to do and to complete yet before we leave. It is slightly bonkers now to think that a week today and we will be making our way to the tunnel for an afternoon crossing under 'le manche!'
Ed

We're flagging!

Gifts and well wishes continue. Thanks to everyone. You are all too kind. Just found this in the porch this morning. Some evidence has been left though, so thanks to the Devon Clements'. This bunting will mostly be featuring when we are on a site I think! Thank you

Boom bang a bang

So this mystery parcel arrives from Amazon.  Anyone owning up to sending us the cd? Thanks to the mystery donor for enhancing our trip with Eurovision classics!
Ed

Trial run

So here we are at Monkton Wyld campsite near Axminster.  We've had a lovely day on the beach and are now sampling the life we will lead.  So far so good.  The only thing we are struggling to get fully operational is the fridge. ... But we've forgotten the manual so that doesn't make it any easier to be honest. Family leaving do tomorrow at Mums' in Axminster.  Then only 7 school days left!  
Ed

Already in to it?

Life is good.  I sit here in the sun.  Coffee brewing back in the van,  Jasper and Maya playing and cycling.  Just forgot to bring money for Sunday morning newspapers.  A good night.  Lots of new things to still learn about the van.  Foibles and whatnots!
Anyway. ...a taste of the future?
Ed

Family bash to say 'Au Revoir'

A great day today! All the Southern members of the family gathered today for a happy throng of copious amounts of food, more cups of tea and coffee than you can shake a stick at, and a plethora of jokes/puns etc.

It was a lovely day though and thanks to all for coming and contributing to a happy afternoon. 

Thanks Mum for hosting and organising, and thanks to everyone in the photo for their best wishes, gifts, thoughts and wisdom passed on. We'll see you when we see you, and we aim to see the Donaldsons in the middle of August if all is well! We shall confirm!

But another bought of farewells ( for now) is complete. 2 weeks today and we shall be making base camp number 1. 

Every day closer, and reality bites harder.

Love to all and sundry, and thanks to everyone in the photo for today. Greatly appreciated!

Ed

Leaving school

Leaving school could take weeks.  Given the fact that this arrived today.  Very special!