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 

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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
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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