Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
It has been a very eventful couple of weeks since we last blogged. We became homeless. Our sit in Newcastle was extended by another day as Ian and Anita's flight from Calgary, Canada was delayed by 24hrs due to a technical problem with the aircraft so we stayed on an extra day to look after everything. The only reason we could do this was because our mullion sit got cancelled as well because the lady got rushed into hospital with pneumonia. This has left us without a sit for a few weeks. However, as mentioned in the last blog, we managed to find a cottage in north Yorkshire for 2 x 4 days Monday to Friday for a reasonable cost. The only issue was we couldn't stay there on the weekend in between so we travelled back to Bristol to stay at Karen's brothers.
Not too bad as we decided to lighten the load further. It is amazing what you can do without - we all have such a lot of stuff we don't need really. We have dumped some more clothes, business stuff, books etc we were carrying at my brothers.
On Tuesday 12th May It did take us a lot longer to travel down the motorway than we expected 31/2 hours to do in a minibus what should have taken 2 hours maximum in a car, but I didn't feel comfortable going too fast in the minibus as it was a lot bigger than our car and takes a lot of getting used to. Well you just have to learn to be patient when all you can go is 50 miles an hour and everyone else is overtaking you. That took some getting used too, and especially not getting stressed with other motorists. I am not an aggressive driver but I do like to get from A to B as quickly as possible. It was also interesting going up a 1 in 4 hill (Ouch!) to get up onto the moors which appears to be a plateau. The minibus coped well and we made it up in 2nd gear. Although at one point we could have done our Fred Flintstone bit and our legs would have been faster.
The countryside here in north Yorkshire is fantastic. Everything is so green and lush. I know it's been raining but it's much like Devon with rolling hills and meadows .We are on a farm right in the middle of the Yorkshire moors with horses, sheep , a very large pig(although we haven't seen him) and some nosey chickens and every morning a very noisy cockerel wakes us up . The cottage is small but adequate, I think it must have been a cowshed or pigsty once and they have everything you need here for a holiday, except reliable internet access. This wouldn't normally be an issue if we were on holiday, but as we had booked it specifically because it had reliable internet it has been a challenge. We are not far from Scarborough and York in a place called kirbymoorside.
Nigel spent the last week finishing the removing of all the sign writing from the van and I spent it working. Would have preferred to have spent it sightseeing as we both said we could settle here if the right place came up. The area is so green and made up of lots of small farms and small holdings .As it is high up, the farms are mainly sheep or horses. One evening we did get out exploring and there were sheep and little lambs roaming wild over the roads and around this village called Appleton le moors. The houses here are also lovely the stone is light sandy coloured and very much like the Cotswolds. Everything looks picture postcard.
We did know travelling and working without a permanent address would be interesting and a challenge but this week it has become even more so. It sounds doom and gloom but it isn't, just a very big test of our resourcefulness and our faith. On the way back here for our second week which was booked from Monday 18th until Friday 22nd we had another interesting time.
Monday morning we got up early and packed the bus ready to make our journey northward from Bristol to Yorkshire again only to find ourselves back at Bristol by 3pm on Monday afternoon. In fact we had travelled all of 35 miles up the M5 only to hear a very loud bang!! The minibus then started to shake uncontrollably so we quickly moved over to the hard shoulder and phoned the breakdown. Not the best start but oh well these things happen (EEK!!)
We called the breakdown service at 11.30am only to wait 2 and 1/2 hours in the pouring rain which included hailstones on the side of the M5. Remember you are not supposed to stay in the vehicle as it's dangerous.
We were towed back to my nephew's garage in Bristol to be told he thought it was the engine and we may need a new engine but won't know until Thursday. Nigel enquired tight lipped how much a new engine with fitting might cost and was given that familiar look mechanics give you and that pursed lipped noise "OOOhhh, it could be as much as £1500 - £2000+and that is a second hand one " We looked at each other and I wanted to cry. All our hopes and dreams seemed to be disappearing before our eyes. The minibus was going to be our home when we had no house sits so we werent using our savings up on paying for accomodation and to carry all our travel stuff. What were we going to do now? The only bright light on the horizon at that point was that we hadn't sold our Mitsubishi so at least we could still travel.
We called my brother and asked him if he could take us to where our car was been kept so we could pick it up and get back to the garage to unload the minibus. It took 2 car loads to empty the bus of our worldly goods which we then stored back at my brothers' house.
That night we both felt down and in despair but by the time we had had a good night's sleep things didn't seem so bad in the morning. Also Nigel's brother and sister in law Paul and Jane gave us a word of encouragement which made us feel better and put things into perspective. It is really important to encourage others as you never know how much impact you will be having on someone's life. In fact it's been great to have our family gathering round and helping out.
Today is Thursday and we are waiting for the call from the garage to see what is going to happen. Nigel has spent the last 2 days looking at engines and getting quotes and finding solutions to our problem. He is good like that. He has thought through our options and depending on what the garage says we will take action accordingly.
We will update you in our next blog.
- comments