About Me

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Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Sunday September 18th 2016 - Visiting day

When I woke that morning I lay for a few minutes listening to.....nothing but the sound of the sea. The wind had eventually died down a bit the previous evening though it was still blowing when I went to bed but now there was nothing, and when I took the dogs for their first walk there was hardly a breeze - calm had finally been restored. A large area of very dark grey cloud was hanging around just offshore and somewhere on the horizon the sun was struggling to come through but not quite making it. The combination of the two turned the sky a really strange pale orange colour, and the wind turbines at Scroby Sands, just over a mile and a half out to sea, stood out quite well against the orange sky. 



The sun never really did appear properly, and when I went out just before mid day the sky was quite overcast though it was still very warm. My first port of call was Asda to top up the van with diesel then it was on to Redwings to visit Cauli, my adopted pony. She was in the first paddock near the cafe, busily grazing right over at the far side, and no matter how much I called she wouldn't come over to me so I had to be happy with a couple of snaps of her from a distance.



From Redwings I drove on to Bungay and from there to Harleston to see family friend Ady, then it was back to Bungay to see his mum Jane and finally a visit to his brother Andy and his wife Sue. After spending quite a while chatting on each of the three visits it was just after 7pm when I finally set off to drive the twenty six miles back to California. The daylight was fading rapidly and by the time I got back to the camp site almost an hour later it was completely dark; at least with the new solar lights outside the tent, I could reverse the van alongside it without running into any guy lines. 

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing for a while with my book then planning where to go the following day. Even though it had been cloudy and grey over the last couple of days it was still very warm so I really hoped that the weather would be kind and serve up some sunshine for what would be the last full day of the holiday



6 comments:

  1. I like that you adopt a pony although she didn't seem very appreciative by ignoring you ;) Next time maybe take an apple to tempt her over, she's lovely.

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    1. Although you're allowed to take treats like apples and carrots etc they have to be left in a bin by the reception door as there are strict instructions not to feed any of the horses and donkeys - I've been a Redwings supporter since 1983 so I'm not going to start breaking the rules now.

      Cauli's story is quite sad, she was found in a cauliflower field (hence the name) standing next to the body of her dead companion. She also had a dreadful eye infection that couldn't be treated so her right eye had to be removed, but she manages just as well as the other fully sighted ones. I only adopted her a couple of years ago after my last adopted one, Rusty, died at the grand old age of 35, I'd been supporting him since he first went to Redwings thirty years ago - he was a lovely horse and a gorgeous colour :)

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  2. Wonderful account of another day of memories Tigermouse,
    Loved the pics also.
    Have a great Week-end.
    Yvonne.

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  3. Thanks for the comment and continuing to read my ramblings Yvonne, have a great weekend yourself :)

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  4. Hope you had a good last day of your holiday. Isn't it a blessing when the wind drops. I find walking in blustery wind very tiring. I'm back off to Lancashire next week (fingers crossed for some decent weather).

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  5. It was a good last day although not without its problems. I hope you get some decent weather next week and I look forward to reading about the next section of your walk :)

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I really appreciate good comments - who doesn't? - but due to a recent tide of spam from anonymous readers all comments will now be moderated, and only those with a direct bearing on this blog will be published. I'm sure my regular blog readers/commenters will understand the need for this - and to anyone whose comment isn't published, you know why.