Having a shower

Yes I know, I havent blogged for a while. So sorry ;-)
Decided tonight I should really shower...we're parked at a CL site in the UK, near Bristol, in a town called Weston..on the way to Bath... anyway, this CL has a small shower/toilet block, so I decided I would feed the gas burner machine with 10pence coins and enjoy myself, so I tried creeping out the van, about 11pm, with M still sitting in the front seat doing some work...I had to move her washing line contraption we bought today, which fits perfectly into the shower section of the van, but for varying reasons was tonight blocking the front door, so I moved it outside for a few secs so I could get to the showers......crept out the van in the pitch black of night and made it 10metres, before a motion detector lit the entire campsite in halogen lights, with me caught in the beams with big eyes...anyway, nothing to do but carry on another 10m, into the dark shadows until once again, whoosh....detected and more lights..... I decided to make a go of it, and endured another 2 detector sessions, and finally got into the toilet block, got undressed (censor-ed here), fed the machine 10p, and jumped into the shower....fiddled with the knobs until I had a lovely stream of hot water...shoved some shampoo in my hair, and.....brrrRRRRRRRRRRRR, ice COLD water shot out and caught me against the wall..no where to run, I screamed...GOD HELP ME.....and switched the %^&*()**)) shower off...wondering, what to do...quickly decided to shove in more 10p before I froze to death......switched the shower back on, and HOORAY, got some hot water once again...this time I shoved on some shaving cream, and shaved at the same time as rinsing the shampoo..just in time to catch the next wave of cold water, which I avoided...ha! ....got dressed, feeling quite pleased with myself...opened the toilet block door, and peered out into the darkness...it hadnt detected me yet..."right I thought....here we go...perestroica....I stepped forth...missed the top step completely in the darkness and ended up spralled on the slippery cobbled English garden path, with my shaving cream rolling down the path to the CL owners kitchen door....and as the lights all came on at once, I shouted into the night...GOD HELP ME.... trying to catch the shampoo bottle. As I picked up all the bits and pieces, I suddenly remembered....I had left M's rack of washing, outside the camper standing in the rain...GOD HELP ME, I thought...ran back and tried to get it back in without her seeing me ;-)

It's been fun. Will write again soon.
D

Marielle's catchup blog

Hi there. Dean hasn't posted a blog for a while so I thought I would have a go. The days are so long at the moment and 2 days ago literally feel really like a week ago. This morning I was asking Dean where we slept on Saturday night and we really had to think about it. So I will be writing this blog fairly slowly as I need to think. (no comment needed from anyone!)
On Wednesday, we were still at the campsite Houttrak, in Holland. This site really became a base for us because of the relatively affordable internet access. We took the kids to a place called Tun Fun. It is an old metro rail station that is underground. It has been converted into a kiddies playground. Kids heaven, parent's hell. The boys were going in 3 different directions which was really quite scary. They had lots of fun.
On Thursday we needed to go do a bit of shopping and found a shop called IKEA. It is basically a huge Makro but instead of it being one big Warehouse, it's a huge building with different arms to it, so you go through the one section (which could be the linen department) and then the one arm goes off to the kitchenware and so on... The point to this story is that Jesse thought he would go for a little walk. Dean, me, Tanner and Jetan were looking for duvets not realising that Jesse had drifted away. Dean had to go to the van to fetch something. It was at this point that I did hear some crying and just knew it was Jesse. I called for him but there was no way he could hear me. I didn't know which direction to turn in because of all the different sections of the shop and I didn't want to leave where I was because I had to wait for Dean to come back. After about 5 minutes - an announcement came over the interkom, that Jesse Squire, 11 years old was at the front, please can his parents pick him up. I was so relieved but as you can guess was furious with him. I had to leave where I was, drag Tanner and Jetan to where he was (it took quite a while to get to him). When I got to him he was seated between 2 security guards and I really felt that I was given the look that said "you really need to pay more attention to your children!" I had visions of them locking me up. I then had to hurry back into the shop but fortunately as I was walking in I saw Dean. Well I am glad to say that Jesse didn't let go of me all day.
On Friday, we had to go into Amsterdam, because our second born decided to leave Jetan's little sachel at BW Campers. I wouldn't have really minded leaving the nappies and clothing but my BRAND NEW prescription glasses were in that bag and there was NO WAY I was leaving them. There is a history to these glasses but to cut it short, 6 weeks ago, the first pair got stolen, 5 weeks ago I replaced them, 4 weeks ago I lost the replaced ones and and then had to replace those.
Anyway I've gone off on a tangent....
On Friday night, we found an Aire in a place called Gorichem. (Still in Netherlands). For those of you who don't know - an Aire is a camper stop (not a campsite). It is either free or very cheap but may have no services such as water, toilets, waste dispoal etc. But the place we stopped was gorgeous, right on the beach. Jesse and Tanner swam in the sea (Waterpoort) until about 9:30 that night.
Saturday, we then made our way to Calais. Dean had to ask a Frenchman to put petrol in our car and then we paid him cash because we didn't have a card.(SA credit cards dont work in french petrol pumps) A long drive of about 5 hrs (should have been 3!) Got to the Ferry Terminal at about 4pm, bought our tickets to Dover. Joined the line to drive onto the ferry at 10:30pm, witnessed the most beautiful fireworks display I have ever seen. It went on for about 45 minutes. I guess it was some kind of holiday in France. At 11:45pm we drove onto the Ferry. ALL the boys were awake and very excited! Tanner drifted off to sleep on my lap at about 1pm. We left the ferry at about 2pm and found a place to park for the night. In a parking lot, in a marina, just outside the ferry terminal. We would NEVER dream of doing that in S.A.
On Sunday morning Dean woke up at 6am - that's right!!!! I was shocked to! He went walking around looking for a tap so that we could fill up the van. His findings were good and we didn't even have to pay for it. After being in the Netherlands, that was a relief. You pay for EVERYTHING in the Netherlands. I really started to get annoyed when the boys kept asking to go to the toilet when we were out - at 50c a time (R5.00) it was getting kinda expensive.We then went to breakfast at the Premier Inn. By then it was bucketing down with rain. I eventually got to wear my new Pink wellington boots so it was fine with me :)Then we ventured to the entrance to the gates of the white cliffs of Dover. So far, I have to say, that this was the highlight of Dean's and my trip. Only God could have made something so beautiful. After a bit of walking, we eventually decided that we would pay the 25 pounds and go to Dover Castle. It was worth every cent that we spent. We had a tour through the secret wartime tunnels - the boys really enjoyed this. After a lovely day out, we came back to a 30 pound fine on the van. Unfortunatley we couldn't park in the normal parking because of the height restrictions of the van so we parked in the coach parking - Bad move!!!
Sunday afternoon, we were exhausted and couldn't bear to drive around looking for a place to sleep. So we drove to a town called Folkstone. Found a campsite at 24 Pounds. I also needed to do lots of washing. I am going to kiss my washing machine and tumble dryer when I get home! But at least we could stay in a place that was really clean and the boys could play.
That brings us to today. We left the campsite and were refunded 6 pounds because we decided to sign up and join the caravan club - at a fee of 30 pounds of course! But that entitles us to stay in lots of places at reduced rates.
We have finally settled for tonight at a farm. Only 4 pounds this time but no toilets or showers- just an open field.Dean is making a braai at the moment. It is quite late already, almost 8pm, but broad daylight outside although fairly chilly.
Tomorrow we head towards South Hampton to go to the New Forest area. We plan to spend a few days there and then on about the 21st head back up towards Norton, Stockton on Tees, back to Sam.
So on that note, I will love and leave you.
M.

last few days in Holland

check out pics at www.clientpanel17.com/squires

Sorry for the short blog, but I wrote for 5mins and the page bombed.
We are well.Leaving for Belgium, Luxembourg and France in about 4 days, ...hoping to move back into UK from July17 to Sept1.

Chat soon.
D

last few days in Netherlands

Hello all. Sorry for no blog updates. Have been busy creating a bit of a website to make things easier, and also found a gallery program so we can upload images easier. Check out some images of our UK and Netherlands first 2 weeks at www.clientpanel17.com/squires (will post a better address for everything soon.)

This is our last few days near Amsterdam before moving south towards Maastricht (bottom of Holland), into Belgium, and Luxembourg, and then across from Calais to Dover around the 17July...and slowly back up the east coast of the UK to get to Sam's for the wedding at end of July.

We took the camper in to get a few things checked out..the gas heater wasnt working but we found (after they had replaced every part) that the reason for it was that the previous owner had sealed the exhaust chimney which is common during winter months...ha ha. our hot/cold water issues turned out to be a kink in the shower hose...;-)

So the camper is doing well...we are coping fine...but Internet access is always a problem, but we are doing our best...and trying to balance work and play. Netherlands is a LOT more expensive than the UK. Let's hope Belgium, Luxembourg and France are cheaper :)

Chat soon.
Dean

First week in Netherlands !

The last few days have been a little hectic, but we've explored a few far corners of the globe:) We left our "wired up" campsite on Friday morning, because by then M was getting a bit irate at being in Holland but not seeing anything yet, due to me having to sit and sort out a few work issues all Thurs, which was a bit of a nightmare, but...on Friday we eventually killed the myth that Holland doesnt have any shopping malls, much to Marielle's delight and relief! We parked our van in the shop parking, and paid R2 (20 euro cents) per hour. We stayed there hours , stocking up on silly things like a wash bucket, a squeegee thing to clean the camper floor, etc etc. Marielle had a whole new happy look, and told me "this shop is the Dutch equivalent to the Crazy store!" I nodded in my all knowing way, but to me all stores look the same....
We found the store in the Tom Tom GPS ...clicked on nearest supermarket, and it guided us there. Problem is that we forgot where it was, so we cant put the info back into the Tom Tom and go back there....which is very strange. In fact, the Tom Tom is a lifesaver. Half the time we dont care where we are, or what road we are in, as long as the Tom Tom keeps shouting out directions, like 300 metres, turn left, after the roundabout, take the 2nd exit, and turn left...you have reached your destination!!!! :)))
The Tom Tom we got 2nd hand from BW Campers only gets you as far as a street number, which works well if you know the street number, but not if you're looking for an Aire in the middle of a farm, so we are still trying to figure out how to download the GPS module and install it...hopefully soon.
The heater in the camper is not working that great, so we'll be asking BWCampers to help with that. Everything else in the camper is working ok, but M is having issues with the water speed...almost impossible to have a shower, but somehow she is managing. So far I have only used the shower at the campsites, at about R5 a shot. (50 euro cents in Holland).
We managed to wild camp for a night and save ourselves 35euro, somewhere in a small back street in Alkmaar we think (not sure where it was actually). We were a little worried at first, but exhaustion set in and we slept right through the night, without a problem.:)
We made our way into Alkmaar central town on Saturday for a look around and found it to be the most fantastic small old world of flea market, fruit stalls, and really cute old buildings, small cobblestreets, music in the streets, a really old big church, and a TOYSRUS..haha. Actually the ToysRUs wasnt in the old part of town, but was a major part of the day for the kids...lots to see, and they could ride the bikes and things around the shop :) The poor sales lady had to keep putting stuff back on the shelves, but I didnt care:) M was stressed because Jetan had lost his one shoe somewhere between parking the camper van (down a side street), and the store. She came back relieved, having found it at the entrance :) We ended up eating 2 pancakes, (which we divided into 4 pieces), and 3 cokes, which all came to about 15euro...ouch... but we "had" to do it, simply because they had this large square with millions of chairs and tables, and M was looking at me with "that"look.
Sunday we woke up late and drove the camper to Haarlem, caught a train from Haarlem to Amsterdam Central Station, a tram from Central Station to the last tram stop (because we didnt understand the woman telling people where to get off), and then caught a tram back, to the Artis Zoo....got in the gates at 2:30pm, and left at 6pm. Kids had a lot of fun, and we made the journey back to our camper, which we had left in a side street in Haarlem (free parking on a Sun), 100m from the Haarlem station. We kept getting lost on the way back to the Houtrak campsite (Halfweg), because we had selected Halfway (Britain) on the Tom Tom and it kept telling us to go the wrong way :))) We worked out our mistake, and got back by 8pm (sun still shining), to the campsite. Tried hooking up on the Internet, and had a problem with the WiFi. Woke up at 6am this morning, had more luck, but have to wait till 9:30am when the office opens to correct the user/pass login on the wireless network.
In a nutshell, we have had a whirlwind weekend. Catching trains has been an interesting achievement.We spent a fortune yesterday, so the next week we are eating noodles:) Jetan is in a good mood this morning, but not much to do at this campsite. I have to whizz through my emails, and sort out the remainder of any issues, while M and the kids entertain themselves. Forgot to mention, we stayed in a different campsite close to Amsterdam on Sat evening. Very nice, but not Internet. Jesse made friends with 2 Italian kids and I ended up running around playing soccer (I realised that at 40yrs old, I am no longer the lean mean soccer machine I used to be)...any way, it was good to show solidarity with my 12yr old, rather than see him getting thrashed by two mafioso kids :) In fact I kicked the ball into a stinging nettle patch, and they ended up fetching it out for me...I pretended to be stung too, to show I wasnt scared, but actually I didnt suffer anything, while they were scratching their legs like mad..*grin*. (The things a person does when in a strange place). At this point we heard Tanner screaming, and I rushed back to the camper. He had gashed his head on a tree branch, but luckily a plaster sorted it out. (he might have a scar for life, but we aint paying for a doctor in Holland, so he can always wear the scar as a momento of his travels :))))
ok, chat sooon. Bye.

We are in Amsteram :) Sleeping in the camper!

ok, I know it's been a while since we last blogged, but if you knew the circumstances you would forgive us :)

We planned to leave the UK on Monday 2nd July, and duly arrived at the ferry terminal to be told that the ferry was cancelled, and we would be put up in a hotel for the night, with free "eat as much as you like" breakfast, and would have to catch the ferry the next evening. We eventually did get to the ferry terminal the next evening, but instead of taking a taxi at 4pounds, we decided to walk to the terminal....we made quite a picture. Jesse and Tanner were dragging suitcases on wheels behind them. I had to larger cases on wheels, one in each hand, while Marielle pushed Jetan in the pram, which had a carchair perched on top, on which Jetan found himself strapped to under my big jacket, and some surboard stretchies....haha. The ferry was a great experience...but Marielle didnt have much sleep...Tanner woke at 4, and then I snored all the way till 5:30, so she couldnt sleep, and ended up with sea sickness ;-) I enjoyed a fantastic breakfast, along with the kids, while Marielle sat looking a little blue...I fed her tea and watermelon...*grin*. Here comes a story that will make you laugh..... I let the kids go and get their own food from the buffet, so they decided to make melted cheese on toast. Unbeknown to me, they lumped a bunch of cheese slices onto their bread and sent it through the rotary toasting maching, which is a bit of a conveyor belt device that ends up sliding your toast down a slope so you can extract it. WELL..... when the boys cheesy toast flipped over to slide down the "ramp" all the cheese ended up smeared on the ramp, with none left on their bread. I noticed the panic on their faces, and ran to help, took one look at the cheese smeared ramp, grabbed their messy bread, and ran away..hehe. I could see people for the next 30mins, surpised to find that when they put in their bread, it came out as bread and cheese! ;-))

We got to Amsterdam from the ferry by bus, and actually saw BW Campers offices as we drove into central Amsterdam. (Thank God...hehe...for a while we thought they didnt even exist and we might have given all our money to a Nigerian scammer. :) But they do exist, and were very thorough in everything they gave us. The camper is by no means top of the line. More bottom of the line...but it has everything that we seem to need. We managed to drive it to a nearby campsite, which has Wifi Access at 5euro per 24hrs, or 15euro for a full week. The price for staying one night has been 29euro....although they are found in the ACSI campsite booklet, they dont actually give any ACSI discount. I know it's pricy, but I'm just relieved to be online, so I can keep things up to date on the business side, and we have electrical hook up, water, and the rest. The campsite isnt anything Bev would cope with....*grin*. In fact I have only seen 2 people on the entire campsite....the owner, and a lady walking buy an hour ago...although there do seem to be about 20 tents roundabout.

We dont know what our plan is for tomorrow. I have to plan that tonight. We went to a supermarket this afternoon so Marielle was able to cook us macaroni and mince for dinner tonight. Jetan is now passed out in a single bed at the back of the camper, and the 2 boys are over my head (above the driving compartment), drawing, and moaning non stop at one another...Today was hard, tiresome, and expensive, but on the other hand, we are sitting 15mins from Amsterdam, in the middle of Holland, in a remotely wooded campsite, as a family. Quite an accomplishment I guess :)

Will send pics once I resize and upload them.

Dean:)

Monday Morning: Our touring begins??

Hello hello hello :) Today is the day! We leave Norton in England via train from Stockton to Newcastle, and train via the Metro system to North Shields, where our ferry awaits us. Tickets from Stockton to Newcastle cost 8pound for adults, and 4 pounds for kids. We've got too many suitcases once again, but I'm sure we'll make it up the gangplank:) The wife doesnt feel so sure...! The ferry should be a wonderful experience for the kids. We've got an overnight cabin, and plan to arrive in Amsterdam at about 9:30am in the morning, catch a bus to central Amsterdam (I think the ferry provides one), and then a 300m walk to our camper dealer, www.bwcampers.com . We found a second hand motorhome on their website 5 months ago, and have already paid it off, ...very risky we know, but in this lifetime you cant distrust everyone you talk to. If they do everything they have claimed they will do (serviced the vehicle, arranged insurances, thrown in free bigger batteries, gas cyclinder, drilled 2 holes for my invertor cable, etc), then we should be on our way, popping along the Dutch side roads tomorrow, looking for shops to stock up on food, bedding, toilet paper, and the rest :)

England has been an experience. A good one. No fences on peoples homes. Women walking babies in prams at 10pm down the road. We're no where near London, so maybe that's the difference. I managed to pick up 2 huge map books for Europe and France from the corner cafe yesterday. Just in time too :)

Tesco is a large UK "Hypermarket" type shop, where you can buy anything and everything. I've been eye-ing out the latest glass screen Laptop computers...all in the region of 500pounds...which to me is really cheap compared to the same in SA. Wife told me I dont need a new laptop. I disagree...ha ha.

ok, let's see if this blog posts ok :) We should start posting some really cool pics from hereon out. Trains, Ferries, camper vans, Dutch canals, clogs, and the rest :) 3weeks and a bit in Europe, staying at a few campsites and Aires on the weekends. No tv. Havent told the kids yet. But in 3 weeks, we will have a tv, DVD player, and the rest for them to use just before bedtime :)

Signing out.Bags to pack.
Dean

We missed our ferry!!!

naaa...we didnt, BUT, the ferry was cancelled! Not all is lost however. They've put us up in a 55pound per night Bed n Breakfast close to the ferry terminals. Airconditioned, TV, a hot bath, breakfast in the morning and here's the bonus....they gave the kids a hotel room for themselves...!!!! If I was 12 or 7 and had a hotel room all to myself, I would consider that a REAL bonus. Of course we wont let them sleep in it by themselves, but at least we arent all crowded in one room. Our day today has been a little hectic. We started off catching a train from Stockton station which was an interesting start to our BIG ADVENTURE, because it was such a small piddly station, and we were the only people standing on the platform. Marielle kept asking me a MILLION times.....are we on the right station????? ...actually I'll hand the blog over to her now, so I can go shut the little 3yr old up...he's in the bath and making a racket.

Hello, it's me. Yes I did ask him over and over again if we were at the right station because men simply don't ask for directions do they? Anyway then we got off the station at Newcastle, had to walk through the town for about 10 minutes. You have to picture this, Jetan in his car chair, which is perched on the top of his pram and the pram full of stuff as well. Jesse wheeling one of the suitcases, Tanner carrying jackets and his little booster chair (it's law here for kids his age to sit in one) and Dean wheeling 3 suitcases - through lunch time traffic! We had to make our way to Monument Station, where we bought our tickets for the train to Meadow-well and a buddy coke for one pound (ouch!) We finally got to Platform 3 about 5-10 minutes before the train arrived. And yes, I did keep asking Dean if we were in the right place. The signboard showing the railway line showed that the ferry was at North Shields BUT we didn't buy a ticket to go to North Shields did we, we bought to go up to the stop before! We decided to stay on the train, which was a good thing cause that's where we needed to go. We were told by a young girl on the train, that it would be a 10 minute walk along the Fish Quay to where the ferry departs. Well, we walked for about 2 minutes and Angels dressed as black Taxi cabs appeared in front of us. We were exhausted and happily dished out the 5 pounds for the sweet taxi driver to take us to the ferry. It was quite amusing trying to fit all the luggage into his taxi but we managed.

Then we got to the Ferry Terminal and were asked "Are you catching the ferry to Amsterdam, to which I answered an eager "Yes!" and her response was "well not tonight you're not".

As it turns out, the ferry had had technical problems and was only coming into the U.K tomorrow so we will be boarding tomorrow night. So a taxi was summoned for us, which cost us 3 pounds 80 ! but it is really just up the road from the ferry terminal so I guess the Squire family will be making the trek tomorrow on foot back to the terminal rather than dishing out another R60.00 for the trip.

Supper tonight - is what we would have had aboard the ferry. Buttered rolls and cold chicken but now we have to find another meal for tomorrow night - bummer!

Dean and Jetan have just got out the bath, there is water everywhere!!!! I am now going to chase up my 2 older monsters who think they are on their father's yacht in the other room.

Quick TitBit before bedtime

I tried posting earlier...but then my TMobile disconnected, so I lost the entire thing. Lesson learned. From now on I will blog offline and then just connect, post, and carry on :)
It's been great reading all the posts from friends to some of our blog entries :) Keep them coming. Thanks guys/gals! I'll try and make this a quick fun blog:

Summary so far:
We are all fine and happy, and picking up our motorhome next Monday, after catching a ferry (huge ship actually) from Newcastle to Amsterdam. Funny thing is that a month ago we were dreaming of this advanture, and here we are living it. Interestingly enough, a person's faith is really only tested when you're away from home base. In the UK I feel as though for once we get to exercise our faith a little...not standing on a T box and shouting out "You need to turn or burn", but it's more on a personal level. A relationship with God is more real when you're in a strange country. You either find yourself praying a little more, or a little less. I find myself praying a little more, but in really short bursts here and there...like when two big dogs came bounding towards me while I was walking across a bit of a field yesterday...ha ha. Luckily they stopped and listened to the little woman's voice shouting "cmere Killer...down boy...dont eat the man.. ha ha ha".
So far everything has fallen into place. I've even organised some cable from a family friend which I'll be able to use to connect up our invertor in the camper. It was one of the things I was a little worried about...but life is about trusting that tomorrow, someone will be there, with the answers. (Let's hope I'm still this positive when we get onto the Continent. If I feel there's a total lack of churches in the UK, I'm expecting even less in France and Holland.) For those of you reading this, who dont like God (wouldnt know why, he's really quite cool), I promise not to make a habit of getting churchy throughout this blog. Bear in mind that we do have a whole churchful of people back in South Africa, who really are interested in knowing whether we've "drifted away from the faith" hehehe.
We've been told our kids are really well behaved. I had to ask the guy twice.."are you talking about MY kids"....?..."mine"...are you sure????" It does seem that he was, so I accept the compliment :) Have I mentioned that on a few occassions, when engaged in a solid reprimand, my 3yr old has turned round and declared " Dont shout at meeeee ". You see when the kids sometimes forget there manners and shout at their Mom, she swings round and says "Dont you dare shout at me.. so of course the 3yr old now thinks it's a great term to use...haha.
yesterday I walked to a friends house to use their Internet connection, opened the door to their house, and set off the alarm. First thought was that the cops were going to come bursting down the road. I didnt have their cell number, and all the neighbours were peering out their windows. Jesse (my 12 yr old) wanted to take off running down the road. I had thoughts of trying to explain to the cops that I was just visiting the UK and I really did have passports...and the laptop I was carrying wasnt stolen goods. Luckily we made it back to where we had already walked from, and got back in the car, friend in tow, to switch it off. No harm done, and no weekend in a British jail while trying to explain who I was.
:)
more to come. Marielle plans to blog tomorrow. Watch this space.!

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Well. Just a few more days before we catch the ferry to Amsterdam and pick up our campervan. Been visiting a few shops today....bought a small DVD player for use on the road, plus a 12v to 220v Invertor, so we can use the motorhome batteries for powering normal appliances. The biggest decision was to ditch the idea of buying a satellite dish, and rather use T-Mobiles 3G Wireless internet product in the UK, and put the rest of the savings from the sat dish, towards camping sites in Europe which offer WiFi. We have a CD which we ordered off the web back in South Africa, which shows where these camping sites are, so we should be ok. It's a bit of a risk, but one we have decided to take. Should mean we dont have to set up the sat dish each day, but instead just click a "Connect" button on the laptop. I think one of the things which put me off about Bentley Walker, was that although I was prepared to spend a huge amount of money on the sat dish hardware, they wouldnt give me any help or training to explain how it works. They wanted me to pay 150 pounds for an "engineer" to show us the ropes, and wouldnt budge when I mentioned that the exchange rate from the UK to South Africa was 15:1 . They told me that by giving me an hour or two of training, meant that they were losing business elsewhere, so needed to charge me. I'm glad to say I found another option, and they dont have to worry any longer. Right now I'm sitting using the T-Mobile connection and I'm very happy with it. Was simple to set up, and even though the guy in the "CarphoneWarehouse"shop told me to wait 12-24hrs, I got curious, and set it up after 4hours without a problem. Tomorrow we hope to go to a CarBoot market. Will let you know what that's all about :)

chow4now

Tuesday ramblings

Not doing much today. Marielle is off with Samantha for bridesmaid dress fitting and other stuff, while I sit with the kids and catch up on business. For the record, our cellphone cant make outgoing calls, Marielle hasnt had access to the web more than a few minutes since being here, so we're a little silent on the "keeping in touch" side of things. I enjoy updating this blog, rather than emailing everyone...so I guess blogging will be a new way of life for me after this trip :)

We pick up our motorhome from BWCampers.com next week Mon. I'm very excited. It will be our new home for the next 6months. We've bought a few plates, cups, knives and forks etc, but havent got any bedding yet. Might borrow some, or buy some in Holland. A family uncle (Brian) is lending us a small colour TV, so the kids will be able to hookup their PS2 game console in those "kids find something to do" times.

We still arent sure where we will be by the end of next week. If we find Internet access at hotspots is decent/cheap enough in the Netherlands and France, we might not worry about the satellite dish option. A big step for us. The success of our trip revolves around our Internet access. We might waive a long holiday through Italy, and just do Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland...maybe a weekend or two across into the Italian side. Eat a pizza. Leave. Visit Venice on another day. We plan to be back:) Maybe when wifi access has saturated the EU ?

ds

Monday and Rain

Here's some pics of the kids and family at Preston Park yesterday :)

It's pouring down today. Not a hint of the sun.:) It's really nice not having to run around packing in a million things into a short holiday...we can take our time and meet people. :) The kids have been great. No squabbling. Flu they had in Durban, SA has cleared up in the UK...apparently the air is drier here? I think it's just that every house has double glass panes, and the moment you walk inside you strip off the jackets and enjoy the central heating that is part of most homes...we're in a council house......double story...bedrooms upstairs and living room, kitchen, bathroom downstairs. Quite a nice layout actually. All the houses are the same:)



Will upload more pics in another post

Weekend in the UK

RightyHo, lots of news , will try to make it as brief as possible. :)
We're staying in Norton on Tees (which I discovered meant there is a river somewhere near Norton called Tees...ahem...), with our friends. Before leaving South Africa, we expected the worst, with an exchange rate of 15 to 1.... we expected the food in the shops to 15 times as expensive....BUT.....we can safely tell you, that if you shop at Tescos, or the little supermarket places round the corner, far away from the hussle and bussle of London, that the UK is CHEAPER than SA.... I swear it's the truth....:) Marielle (the wife) and I are amazed. When we planned a motorhome holiday, we really thought we would have to bite the bullet, but to be honest, SA's prices have escalated to levels, where we now find almost no difference when buying milk, bread, pastas, pizzas, and the rest. We dont normally spend a fortune in SA, and we havent had to worry in the UK either...fair enough we have only been here 2 days, but the sun only sets at 11pm at night, so we feel like we've already been here a week!

Got to tell a funny story at this point. We went off to a mall yesterday, only to find that the malls were built in areas where there were already streets filled with shops, so when you ask someone in a mall where the electronics shop is, he tells you its outside the mall. (strange). I went into a cellphone shop and announced "I am from South Africa"so that we could get past the strange looks I got when trying to communicate with a slightly strange accent. I asked for a starter pack /SIM card for our cellphone, explaining that we just wanted to get SMSs from SA, and not really make any outgoing calls. Cost was 10pounds for the SIM and I bought 5pounds airtime just in case. Here comes the funny bit. I asked them to charge me on my South African Nedbank Credit Card,,,, right.....the one Nedbank had told me was a VISA card that would be accepted ANYWHERE in the UK and on the continent. The woman across the counter looks at me and says...."Its not a chip and pin." I looked back at her, thinking back to our friendly Chip n Dip (chips covered with sauce in a cardboard holder...back in good old RSA) . I said.. "What? What is Chip and PIN " The woman looked back at me (thinking to herself...idiotic person from Africa) . Chip and PIN sir. Your card doesnt have the PIN on it. I thought....ahhh she thinks it doesnt have a PIN. In SA before I left, I sat with NEDBANK enquiries, and I told them I needed a PIN for the card, so I could draw money from the ATM in the UK etc. So I said to the woman...There's no problem.....The card has been activated for PIN.....and I know my PIN for the card....just swipe it and I can punch in the PIN and it should work fine. " She looked at me again and said.... There's no Chip and PIN ON THE CARD SIR! " By now, I realised...there was something wierd going on...her eye was beginning to pop out of its socket... you see, the UK, has CHANGED IT'S SYSTEM.... their credit cards now have a gold shiny rectangle embedded in the card......as an extra security check. South Africa doesnt have this yet, so I was buggered. I couldnt use the SOUTH AFRICAN NEDBANK CREDIT CARD to buy someone at a vendor in the UK, because our cards in SA are BEHIND the security used in the UK...and to top it off, the UK have been using this system for 6months, and NEDBANK in SA, didnt even mention it to me. HA HA. I handed the woman 15pounds cash, smiled, and left. Tried the same thing at T-Mobile, 3 shops down...same story. It's official. No Chip and PIN, you cant use a South African credit card in the UK. All is not lost, I could still draw cash from the UK ATM machine, using the card, but that defeats the point. I want to earn Voyager Miles using the credit card for buying items, and food etc etc.

ok, before I leave this posting, what else can I say :) We're having a great time. Went and saw a bunch of old fire engines at an outdoor family day thingie...was lots of fun. It's 8:15pm at the moment, and that means 3 more hours of sun :)

Marielle is having a ball. Kids are loving it. 190 TV channels to choose from, but we pick up our camper in a weeks time, so that will be the end of that ;-) I still havent decided what Internet access to use while we are here. T-Mobile is the best in the UK pricewise...but will know next week when on the continent whether we have to go for the 2 way satellite option, or find a 3G solution to work with round Europe. I bought a wireless network finder yesterday, at Maplin (www.maplin.co.uk ). I might get lucky :)

This part of the UK is just below Newcastle on the map...on the east coast. The weather changes 5 times a day. We put on and remove our layers of jackets 5 times a day. Jesse picked up a Playstation2 game for 97pence yesterday. Thats about R15. He was just lucky though. It was the only one at that price. Havent seen any churches around. South Africa has churches on every street corner. I havent seen one. Really sad actually. A lot of the UK kids seem to be quite angry....I would be worried about parking a motorhome outside where we're staying, would be worried that a kid would break in for the sake of having something to do. Hopefully we'll be parking in small village roads away from built up areas, so will post more about that in time to come. :)

If you need to email us, post replies on this blog and we'll mail you :)

Chow all. Love and leave you.
Dean

We have arrived in the UK !!!!!

Well...what can I say! We are on UK soil :) After an exhausting few days moving between friends homes, stupid bumper to bumper traffic in Joburg to the airport, chaos at Joburg International, (hot, no signs, normal SA unorganisation) we have endured :) ok, let's start at the very beginning.... we arrived at the Joburg airport and walked the entire length of building looking for British Airways check in desks...which we passed by without seeing, friends in tow, pushing 2 fully laden bags...so we had to turn around and walk back again, with Marielle murmering in my ear " I cant believe you didnt ask anyone when we started" to which I replied " why didnt you ask anyone" to which she replied" I thought you had asked!" ...It was fun, getting the suitcases wrapped in plastic...and then loaded back onto the trolleys...only to find that we had a quick route through the BA checkin, because we had already checked in on their website..yippeee.....technology works...:) It was an absolute nightmare getting to the actual plane.....they couldnt have made it more difficult if they had tried....easy if you are on your own, terrible if you have kids and a mound of handluggage to navigate . The kids were very excited. Jesse had a permanent grin. The take-off in the Boing 747 was fun, the British Airways staff were great, food was good, flight was fun, but didnt get any sleep, arrived in Heathrow in the morning, only to find that the interconnecting flight didnt allow you to carry a bag PLUS a laptop. Looking at the queue to get extra bags checked in cargo, we managed to repack our handluggage, from 7 bags to 5...(an absolute miracle I swear). We avoided the queues again and made it through to the final security stage where EU passport holders go left and I go right... only to find that I was quicktracked through the EU side as well, because they took one look at Jetan running all over the airport, Marielle saying.." my husband is in the other queue", ... and decided they needed me to restore sanity at the airport, and just pushed me to the front of the queue and out the other side before Jetan could finally break off the security chain holding the other 300 people in the queue ...it was marvelous...I recommend that if anyone wants to avoid the queues, just get yourself a small 3yr old with curly hair, with a glint in his eye, and a plane to catch....and teach him to scream PLANEEEEEE PLANEEEE PLANEEEEEE ...works a charm.

So here we are...finally, on a friends 3Meg adsl connection in newcastle, writing this blog. I have a nice cuppa English tea and biscuits next to me, and the kids are running around playing with their new accomplices.....Jetan is wearing a Shrek plastic mask....I dont see much of a difference? except maybe that Shrek has funny ears...ha ha.

It's the weekend coming up, and finally time to chill and relax...
Before I go, let me leave you with this thought. In the UK, there are NO mini buses, and NO car guards. *grin* . When we arrived we left the luggage in the back of the car, and I asked...is it safe? The answer was a typical English one. " Yeaa, of course....want a cuppa tea?????"

mmmMMMM ..nothing quite like drinking tea in England. It's like eating Biltong on a farm "stoep".

signing off: On a warm UK day:
Bye

Chicken for dinner :)

Yup...believe it or not, we are having chicken for dinner. We're spending the night with some old friends , in Johannesburg, and spending the day tomorrow with some other old friends, before finally making our way to Johannesburg International Airport (the name has changed but anyway...we'll stick with it for this blog). We're really going to enjoy this chicken, knowing that the chance of having a roast in the next 6 months for a South African family travelling to Europe/UK is almost zero...although perhaps I will drop huge hints to Sam, our friend in the UK....hmmm....

I must admit, one thing I am very happy with, is that both our friends today and tomorrow, both have ADSL broadband internet connections, and so far so good.... I run an Internet business, and this 6 month holiday is not just about taking 6months out to relax. I will be working from the campervan, using some form of Internet. So far it's a tussle between T-Mobile 3G data card while in the UK, perhaps something similar in Europe, or else a satellite dish option from www.bentleywalker.com . My wife and I control different parts of our business, and although we have fantastic staff members back in South Africa and Australia (a virtual team) , we still need to "be there" to clear the more difficult issues which arise. To date I've spent months on the net reading www.motorhomefacts.com posts and other sites, and havent found a solid Internet solution at a decent price yet. Vodacom in South Africa wanted to charge R15 per Meg...on a 3G card...I downloaded a bandwidth tracker and found I was using about 50Megs a day....times that by 30 and again by 15, and you get a monthly Internet bill of R22500 per month....ARE THEY COMPLETELY MAD? It really is rediculous in this day and age, that we cant see roaming agreements where 3G suppliers dont expect you to sell your house to be able to get email?????????

Any way...if you follow this post, perhaps you will learn what experiences we pick up . hmmmm...I can smell the chicken. Gotta go.
Bye.

a quick update

we are still packing to leave.
I have counted....3 kids, 5 big cases, 4 small cases, 2 laptops, 1 pram, 1 satellite dish stand, and 2 files with all our documents....all sitting in my dining room at 10pm at night... contemplating how to fit it all in the car...:)

somehow it will work.

maybe we should leave the kids?

1 night to go

ok. We are officially into the last day. ;-) Having rented out our home to some of our special friends, we plan to spend today moving the last of our humble remains out of our living quarters, and stashing it in a storage facility without any known co-ordinates, and where robbers wouldnt dare to tread (rottweilers and electric fences etc). I also need a haircut. I'm not having another for 6 months, unless a very friendly french girl, preferably a brunette, offers to cut it for free. A haircut, is probably the same price as a months groceries in South Africa....

Into the last leg of our departure planning, and a few things left to do, like go online and book our plane seats 24hrs before the flight lifts off. We have already stashed the very large pram wheels into the check in luggage because we were worried the huge 3 wheeler pram we bought to haul the 3yr old round Europe might be considered to large for the plane, and somewhere we read of extra charges...which amounted to just buying a new pram overseas anyway...watch this space...I plan on chatting up the BA booking lady, preferably french, a brunette... ..

My wife just shouted..."I am french, and I'm a brunette"...so I guess I'm a lucky guy ;-) ...

Thanks to you who have posted some replies..... they are fun to read.

Basic Itinerary

I had only one blog in blogger.com at the time of writing this, so I wanted to make sure if I added a second blog, that it would appear at the top of the list...;-) I thought I should publish a rough itinerary for those who are interested.:

Arrive in the UK: June22nd, 2007.
Spend 10days with friends, and then catch a ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam.
Fetch our motorhome from a dealer in Amsterdam.
Begin our roadtrip.
Holland. Luxembourg.France.Back to the UK. Wales. England. Scotland. London.France.Paris.EuroDisney.Northern France.Switzerland.Austria.Italy.South of France. Holland.UK. Back to South Africa on 28Dec.2007. A total of 6 months and a bit.

I've purposefully left things a bit sketchy. Things will move around a bit. Have you ever tried planning your life 6months in advance? It's simply impossible :)

2 nights to go:

Well, this is nearly it. 2 nights to go and we leave Durban, South Africa, for a 6hr drive to Johannesburg International Airport. (It's now called Oliver Tambo airport, but I like the old name..seemed to make more sense...at least you knew what city the airport was in...remind me to tell everyone about the Munich international airport that simply disappeared when we travelled in Germany 10yrs ago. It wasnt where the map said it should be.) Getting ourselves to the Johannesburg International Airport, with the wife, 3kids, 500 suitcases, prams, and the kitchen sink, is a story on its own. God help us. God help the customs guy who has to deal with us. God help the motorhome that has to ferry us around Europe for a few months. God help the UK and French drivers. God help my wife if she tells me my driving is bad. :) In South Africa we drive on the left hand side of the road. In Europe, it's on the right...in a left hand vehicle. In the UK, we will have a left hand vehicle (we have bought a second hand camper van in Amsterdam) , but will be driving on the left again...but in a left hand vehicle.....I do so hope you are following this... ;-) . Anyway...one day before we are set to leave, I finally got to blogger.com and created this blog. I'll send the url to all our friends, family, and others, and hope it serves the purpose of telling everyone where we are, where we are going, and whether they should send money. I heard today someguy just got back from Europe, and he had paid R50 for a cup of coffee. I decided the best thing would be for us to make coffee in our motorhome, and sell it...ha ha.