…….continued from part one
OK let’s calm down. Deep Breaths.
The insurance was finally sorted out. We were going to collect the motorhome that week on Friday 19th December.
Next step – what to buy for it and how to get it all quickly?
Thank you Amazon Prime!
I wasn’t sure exactly what we’d need, but for a start I ordered:
a lime green and white melamine dinner set with coffee mugs,
rubber collapsible salad/dog food bowls,
plastic wine glasses,
a cutlery set with lime green handles,
a bright pink whistling kettle to use on the gas cooker
a satnav especially for motorhomes,
a guide to motorhome campsites in France and,
my all-important security device, an aluminium baseball bat!
Cuddly toy?? That came later.
It all arrived the next day as promised. I love Amazon Prime.
I plundered the airing cupboard for spare bedding. The setup in the Motorhome ( or MOHO as we motorhomers call them) was two single beds, or they could convert into one large double. I wasn’t sure how we were going to sleep with the dogs in there as well, and so I decided that two double duvets and four pillows would be best and we could either wrap them over ourselves on the single beds, or lie on one and cover ourselves with the other if we made the double bed.
Packing…… still unsure. I remembered there was a large “wardrobe” cupboard in the MOHO but I couldn’t really remember exactly how big.
Food?? I wanted to buy delicious French food, but I thought we might need some basics so I put aside coffee, teabags, butter, salt and pepper, milk and instant porridge pots. This was done in the knowledge that as soon as we arrived in France there is a great big Carrefour supermarket which we have used before and I was going to go there and buy Baguettes, confiture, pate, fromage, charcuterie,tomates, Bailey Motorhomepatissierie, et Vin, for a lovely dinner when we arrived at the first campsite that I’d plugged into the satnav.
I booked our passage on the Eurotunnel for Saturday 20th at 17.30, we’d have 24 hours to get the thing packed and ready to leave.
The dread eagerly-anticipated day arrived.
Mike was v.v.v. excited. He’d arranged a lift for us to the Dealer so we could drive it home together.
Dogs were left at home.
We were off.
When we arrived in Wellingborough we saw our Bailey sitting in pride of place on their forecourt. The salesman came bouncing out of the office ready to take our money show us our new home on wheels.
He gave us an in-depth tour of the vehicle and all it’s facilities.
“When you first get into the van always press this button The Master Switch…….. if this light flashes it means the battery is low……..don’t forget to switch the fridge onto gas when you stop…….. if the wise terrapin looks to the west then……… blah blah blah blah “, on and on it went, in and out of our heads it flowed.
After he shut up finished giving us the tour and all his good advice, he gave us the handbook and said “Well it’s all in there”.
We went into the office and handed over all our money and chattels and remade our wills in his favour, he then presented me with a lovely bouquet of flowers and the keys and let us loose.
I drove.
As I got used to the new clutch and kangaroo’d over the forecourt heading for the fast moving dual-carriageway on which the garage was situated. (What fool thought that was a good idea?) Mike wished that he’d paid more attention to the part where we were told how to open the door and jump out screaming.
Oh Ye of little faith. It was fine. I am an excellent driver.
We arrived home at about 1.00p.m. and set about getting the thing kitted out.
The thing I was most concerned about was the “Wardrobe Cupboard”. I looked at it and thought that I could get more clothes into it for our long stay in Spain far more efficiently if I packed them into a suitcase first then pushed that into the waist high cupboard.
Mike was not happy as he had envisaged hanging his stuff in there all neatly.
I packed my largest suitcase until it was completely full. Having travelled with this case many times, I know that when it’s packed full it weighs in the region of 30kgs.
I also know that Mike hates and detests this suitcase when it’s full and I was going to get shouted at when he saw it, and what he’d say when he had to get it down the stairs and lift it into the cupboard did not bear thinking about.
While I’d been packing he’d been doing “boy’s jobs” i.e. filling up the water tank and putting chemicals into the toilet cassette, and he found he was missing a vital piece of equipment which necessitated a quick trip to HomeBase.
While he was out, I lugged the case down the stairs, out of the front door, down the steps and into the MOHO.
I then managed to lift it myself, balance it on one, dare I say slender, hip, and shove it into the wardrobe with about half an inch to spare each side. I have to say that along with running two marathons it was one of my proudest achievements.
When he arrived back he was mighty surprised to see what I’d done, and I like to think, quite impressed.
We continued to load up the van. It’s surprising how long it takes to do going back and forth. I assigned each of us a “Day Cupboard” which we were to use for the clothes and toiletries we would need for the three day journey and gradually all the spaces began to fill up.
Mum popped round to inspect, as did one of Mike’s granddaughters.
Dogs gave their seal of approval and chose their sleeping spots on the floor in the way.
It looked like we were going to be on the road by 10.00 a.m. the next day as planned………
To be continued…..
High-Fiving Palm Trees 