Five nights, five beds.....

At the family party (photo taken by Jane)

Lovely time, curry and beer with Helen and Ian, though not too much beer as we had to travel to Edlesborough for a family party, caught up with a few people we hadn’t seen for ages, so that was nice, though have to admit we were champing at the bit to run away with Charles, Caroline, and Gran for a couple of days near Portsmouth. We’d booked a static caravan (Location: 50deg 49' 17.1"N, 2deg 45 '35.1"W) as it was the only accommodation we could find with a suitable number of sleeping areas (Airbnb listing). Have to say we were quite impressed, and for a few days it served us well.

HMS Victory at Portsmouth

Sunday was ‘anorak day’ visiting the Naval Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth. There was too much to see in one day, but what we did see I think we all thoroughly enjoyed. Have to recommend the audio tour round HMS Victory, it built up to a very exciting crescendo and was very well done. We also visited the modern navy museum and had a short boat ride across to the submarine museum with Charles and Brian visiting the Battle of Jutland while we waited in the queue for the boat.

Jackie, Caroline and Charles listening to the audio tour on HMS Victory

The lamp marks the actual spot Nelson died on HMS Victory

Relaxed evening with easy dinner followed by a round of a game based on the TV program Would I Lie To You? Scary how the mind can go blank (For example - Jackie: 'select the true answer, of all the people held at Alcatraz only 8 were, (a) women or (b)...' make up your own answer....pause.....more pause.....'monsters'), and also scary how well some of the party could trip rubbish off the tongue!

On the boat ride across the harbour to see the submarine museum

Arriving at HMS Alliance submarine

Monday was Caroline’s day, and the beach was her request. West Wittering had been suggested, by many people so off we went. It was busy, but there was enough sand to go round. HMS Victory was constructed and admired by many passers by, along with an Aztec pyramid, a sea monster and a hole to Australia, us childish? Never. Ice cream, well you have to, before heading to Chichester to put Charles on a train, he had a serious party to go to..... we made sure to thoroughly embarrass him by ringing him as he coolly sat on the platform from the other platform so we could shout and wave etc!

In the engine room of HMS Alliance

Silliness on the beach at West Wittering

A more exciting dinner followed by another lying game and an early night. Brian and Gran won both games, Caroline and I are obviously too good...

Caroline had made a request to visit the New Forest, not the most direct route home from half an hour east of Portsmouth, but she is horse/pony obsessed...

Off we went, Caroline in control of the map, all wondering if we were going to see ponies. As it turns out, yes we did, lots and lots, and donkeys (my favourite) and deer one of which did the full cartoon boing, all four hooves leaving the floor at the same time, very funny. We missed the highland cows, but did see a few normal ones and had a lovely time. The scenery and countryside was well worth seeing and we all enjoyed it much more than expected. A good route home after all. Lucy had offered dinner which we gratefully accepted before another couple of hours up the motorway back to Alvechurch, thoroughly exhausted but having had a great few days.

Sand building at West Wittering beach. In the foreground is Charles' Aztec pyramid, behind is Brians HMS Victory with Nelson on the poop deck and the bow of an almost sunken French galleon to the right, beyond Carolines sea creature and further building work watched by AJ (Jackie) and Gran (Pauline)

English holidaymaker at work!

Charles waiting for his train on the platform at Chichester railway station

It wasn't called Chichester Lakeside Holiday Park for nothing!

I've always wondered how they get these static caravans into position

That is a bottle of beer, it is beer in Brian's glass but, although Caroline's drink looks the same, it is actually apple juice (would I lie to you?)

Geese and also swans came past our static caravan each evening

Some of the ponies in the New Forest

Lunch in the New Forest

Donkeys in the New Forest too

You're not supposed to touch the ponies, but this one came up to us

A photo of Caroline taking a photo (I don't have a copy of her photo)

Deer in the New Forest

Charles reading us an extract from one of his political books (it was heavy going!)

Only a week, but the third house we've stayed in!

Encouraging Gypsy cat to drink milk after her funny turn

As usual time has flown past. We had a hiccup on Saturday, just about to go out for the day when little Gypsy had a turn of some sort, she jumped off the sofa only to find her legs weren’t really hers, and not just because they were asleep. She made it to the kitchen only to be sick, she was obviously very shocked and stressed. I immediately rang the vets, where she doesn’t often go, she tends to savage them if they try to do anything apparently! They were closing in an hour for the bank holiday but would see us as an emergency, so across the road to Gill to borrow a cat basket and off we went. 

Ron the heron surveying the canal from a tree top

By now she was suffering from nystagmus (no, I’d never heard of it either) which is dilated pupils, rapidly moving from side to side. The vet nurse took one look and took us to a side room as this is an indicator of her brain being in overdrive with a potential for another fit, so keep her calm and dark, which we did for the next hour and a half till the vet saw us. She had quietened down by then, been put on a warm bed as her temperature was low and did manage to walk in a straight line for the vet. This made me very happy as she’d either been staggering or leaning against things when we’d left the house. So blood test, and cleaning out of the ear which may have been affecting her balance and take her home.

The very nice Queens Park in Loughborough

The call from the vet with the blood results came very quickly and was good news, all the readings were in the normal range, though one kidney result was top end of normal. Poor little Gypsy just slept all afternoon and evening, waking only to drink despite visits from Gill and us offering her all sorts to eat. She did continue to improve and was back to her normal self by the time Peter returned home, so our initial fears that she’d had a stroke seem, fortunately, to be unfounded however looking at her age, her weight loss, her increased drinking, the quality of her fur and things, with my best vets hat on I suspect she is beginning to have kidney problems. Poor Gypsy, poor Peter and poor us!

Wollaton Hall near Nottingham

We finally made it to Wollaton Hall where we had been about to go on Bank Holiday Monday, Brian’s Birthday. Had a lovely day out, the Nottingham Industrial Museum, a very interesting woman in role play as a nail maker, the Hall with its collection of stuffed birds and animals and a random man wandering about with a parrot. What’s not to like? We followed this up with a meal out thanks to the gift card Fiona had sent, not the best, as they were obviously suffering bank holiday fatigue, but a good round off to the day.

Jackie with a very friendly parrot

Peter and Jenny arrived back on Tuesday so we had a very pleasant meal with them before Jenny went home as her son was delivering her cat back to her. One last coffee in bed with Gypsy, who just makes you smile, on the bed, 'you may fuss me till I’ve had enough, however if you stop before I’ve had enough I’ll just gently pat you....'

And Brian too!

Change of plan then followed, not back to mum, but back to Sooty, as Abi had been in hospital since Sunday, she’d gone to the doctor thinking she might have a flea bite or two, only to be told to go straight to hospital where they went through meningitis, chickenpox and measles, before finally settling on an allergy to the antibiotics for her root canal needing tooth! She had been completely out of it at times, but by the time we got to the hospital, having had a cup of tea with Mary, her mum, who really needed to talk, and then to go home, she was almost back to normal, only a few barely visible spots (there had been more, she’d posted them on Facebook) and making as much sense as usual 😉. We waited two hours till she finally got discharged and took her home.

He even gave little kisses

Big Ted having his MOT done

Yesterday both Big Ted and the car were booked in for MOT’s, that neither of them were due, but would put them at a more convenient time for us next year. The van passed with flying colours, but sadly the car needed a new spring fitting. Thought we’d better do this before taking mum and Charles and Caroline away, so, very conveniently, left it with them.

A good evening in the Weighbridge pub with mum, before today pottering in Redditch. A curry tonight with Helen and Ian before going to my brothers tomorrow for a party. Charles is 16 today and Caroline is 14 on September 11th.

What Jackie didn't mention was the mild panic she was having over the entrance door height. When I booked 'Big Ted' in I'd told them he was 3.1m high and they measured their door at 3.17m. Not much clearance and we were a bit worried how accurate the 3.1m height of Big Ted is. Here he is being driven in - all pretty close!

And we thought Big Ted was big! Whilst waiting for the MOT this huge vehicle pulled in to fill up. Two panels this side and two the other side slide out to give an immense space inside. The owner was telling us it is just for the two of them and they tow a car behind as well. They are leaving the UK in November for a three month trip in Spain, perhaps we'll see them on the road (lets hope we don't meet them coming the other way on a narrow road!)