Still Waiting

Neil has just returned from Abu Dhabi but we’re still waiting for a date for him to start work. It seems it could be anything from two to six weeks for all the administration to clear. So our plans for the time before he leaves again are all up in the air. We had hoped to spend some time sailing in the Ionian or even returning to Jávea but with such a vague timescale that doesn’t seem practical. Ah well, we’ll just have to play it by ear.

On the bright side, the garden is looking a lot better for a little Tender Loving Care. Not great, you understand, just a little more tamed. I’ve dug over one of the flower beds and replanted it with some cheap shrubs and perennials from the market. Neil thinks I’m wasting my time at best, making a rod for my own back at worst. His solution is to mow the beds at the same time as the lawn. He may have a point. Either way, it’s likely to all “return to nature” as soon as we leave. Ah well, it gets me out.

 

 

Sold

The caravan is sold. Just as that holiday feeling was growing on us again we accepted an offer, they paid cash and wanted to take her away there and then. We’d gradually reduced the price until we were getting serious interest, dealers trying to beat us down even lower. We’d eventually got an offer we would be prepared to accept if no one else came forward this weekend. They did and they still got a bargain if I say so myself.

We weren’t really in a strong selling position, of course, the pressure was on to sell. You see, Neil had been told to fly out to Abu Dhabi on the 19^th April, only a short week away. Two hours after waving the caravan goodbye, just as we were driving home, he got a phone call from someone else working out there who explained he’d be flying back to the UK a few days later. It will then be about six weeks before he will fly out again to actually start work!

Six weeks! We could have had a month away before having to sell! Ah well, at least it looks like things are happening over there at last. The wheels of administration obviously grind extremely slowly.

Almost Like Old Times

We’re back in the caravan again. It’s amazing how quickly we fell into the swing of things after the winter break, slipping into the old routines almost without thinking. We hitched up after a quick check without any difficulty and had an uneventful, if slow, journey up the M6 to North Wales. Setting up was a doddle thanks to a fairly flat pitch.

The caravan was thankfully in good shape, if rather grubby, after being laid up in storage and with the heating on was soon our home again. There’s something about the roving lifestyle that means we now really quickly make these spaces, be they caravan, rented apartment or boat, into more than just somewhere to lay our heads.

 

Mind you, I’m not sure we would have made this site our location if it wasn’t for the fact that we’re selling our lovely ‘van. For a start, being fairly close to home, it’s not exactly adventurous for us and there’s nothing like a British seaside resort out of season and in the rain for putting the dampers on things.  Besides, it don’t ‘arf pong. I can’t help thinking there must be a meat processing factory somewhere up-wind. You get the idea.

It’s only for a few days while we get her ship-shape then we’ll be heading for Chester. I feel a bit of retail therapy coming on.

 

 

Jobs to Do

We left Spain on a dull weekend with the Benidorm stag and hen parties, much quieter on the return journey and clearly suffering from the night before and arriving back in the UK on a beautiful spring day. Everything seemed to be blossoming while the road into Wales was lined with daffodils. I couldn’t resist spending some time in the garden rapidly​ filling the compost bin with autumn’s detritus. The spring weeds will have to wait for the next decent day which doesn’t look like it will be this week incidentally.

We’ve both got a list of jobs, mostly paperwork still to sort out. This seems to involve a lot of photocopying and scanning of documents. However, top of the agenda is to sell the caravan and an advert has now gone onto eBay ( www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bailey-Senator-Arizona-Caravan-2009-with-motormover-/141238960406?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_ Motorhomes&hash=item20e27f8116 ) With this in mind we’ve booked a site reasonably close to us here in North Wales with a view to fetching her from storage in Hereford tomorrow and getting her ship shape.

Neil still hasn’t got a date for his flight yet but as AD has asked for a copy of his passport today he’s hopeful it will happen soon. He’s always the optimist.