Wolverley Campsite Part 2

 

The chief engineer of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal was James Brindley. It was completed in 1771 for a cost that exceeded the authorised capital, and opened to trade in 1772. It was a commercial success, with trade from the Staffordshire Potteries southwards to Gloucester and Bristol, and trade from the Black Country northwards to the Potteries via the junction with the Birmingham Canal at Aldersley.On the opposite side of the canal, on the way to the Queen's head, the road runs alongside the Mini Pro Golf Park and the River Stour. 

The view from the bridge over the River Stour shows the Golf Park and, beyond it, the canal and the Lock Inn. 

I'd forgotten how physical camping can be - whether in a 45ft narrowboat or a campervan less than half its size. By the end of Tuesday, I was very tired and sore. I'd used muscles I'd forgotten were there and my legs and knees had not had a good workout in the fresh air in over a year. As a result, Alf was neglected. He was anxious during the drive up to the campsite and, having slipped his lead on a nocturnal pee expedition on Monday night, I wasn't going to risk losing him to the tempting hunting grounds that surrounded us. He was very cross on Tuesday afternoon when I joined the group for afternoon tea. I'd put down his breakfast early in the day and he had ignored it. Now, it was left outside, in its bowl under the Skadu. When we returned later in the evening, it was to the sight of a huge Crow finishing the last few pieces of Kibble. 

A combination of lack of experience of camping in such a small space, too much physical work, and a long and physically demanding walk, meant that Alf never got the promised 'free running' on the playing fields beside the campsite.

He hated the campervan on this trip. I haven't taken him out in it since last October and he's decided it is a scary thing. Normally, he hunkers down on the back seat, in his seat belt safety harness, and goes to sleep. He spent most of the time, both on the journey to, and the journey home from, Wolverley, with his tail between his legs and panting. 

It's been a steep learning curve for both of us, not least the emotional fatigue that comes with spending time in the company of a group of people who know one another and with whom you are the Newbie. I'm sure it will get easier. I will learn from the mistakes and, on the whole, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Next Stop with the same group - St Neots Huntingdonshire.

Wolverley Campsite and environs, Part 1

The best thing about Wolverley, for me, is that the campsite is right next to the canal. I could sit in comfort at The Lock Inn watching the boats passing through. 

The first was the 62ft Narrowboat Zappa, locking up towards Cookley on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

The dog making all the noise is Alf. He was bored and hungry. He could smell delicious hooman food and we had waited over 30 mins for our cheese burger to be delivered to our table. He was sure there would be better pickings on board and wanted to join the crew.

We waited over an hour in total, for our order to be fulfilled. The half of cider appeared about 20 mins after the order. After a further 15 minutes, the waitress asked if I had ordered food. I had - with the cider. She went away and checked. 

No food order had been received in the kitchen. The kitchen would 'cook it right away' and the cider was 'on the house'. After a further wait of 20 mins, the burger arrived, sans chees, but with a layer of charcoal on both sides. It was inedible, so Alf happily disposed of it for me. I ate the chips. By now I was so tired and hungry and there was no point in making a fuss. The Inn was not coping with post-lockdown Covid rules. It had hired a multitude of waiting staff but was obviously short-handed in the kitchen. My waitress referred to 'she', singular. I imagine that the indoor working conditions left the Inn without sufficient experienced kitchen staff.

Earlier, we had walked to the Queen's Head to join the Small Motorhome Forum members who had booked lunch there. We were to be served in groups of six, so I waited until I presumed the first group had been seated and served. We passed the remarkable St John the Baptist Church on our way up towards the pub.

There was no sign of the others at the tables outside the pub and the route to the rear was barred. I assumed the group had finished lunch and gone walking. I made my way back down towards the canal, past the nature reserve and over the bridge to the Lock Inn.

The route was challenging. It was a steep climb up to the Queen's Head and back down again. Once past the Lock Inn, there was another steep climb back to Levant II. That was when I made the wrong decision to stop and have lunch at the Inn before the final climb. I was tired, out-of-condition, and sore. On reflection, I should have gone to the Old Smithy Tea-room on the opposite side of the canal instead of the Inn. The entrance to the Tea-room was through the carpark's garden. After the disastrous burger, I headed there and picked up an enormous wedge of Victoria sponge to have at what was a fast-approaching afternoon tea back at camp.

The area around Wolverley is lovely and rolling, as one would expect of the Stour Valley in Worcestershire. Kingsford Country Park & Kinver Edge is made up of over 200 acres of natural woodland and sandstone cliffs.  The area has many walking trails that cross over between the two counties and each with its own surprises.  The views of the countryside and forest from the top of the sandstone cliffs are wonderful.  On the Lock Inn terrace there is ample evidence of the sandstone cliff behind it.

Behind the Queen's Head the entrances to man-made caves can be found. I'm miffed that I was deprived of a view of these remarkable edifices. Image  By, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

Descend into the valley and you’ll discover caves that were once houses that had been carved into the rock. Just over the border in Kinver, Staffordshire, the National Trust have restored several rock houses that are very much worth a visit. Most of the formal houses were carved into the sandstone cliffs around or before 1770 and may have expanded on existing caves or earlier dwellings.  The Kinver edge rock Houses have often been suggested as the inspiration the Hobbit Holes in JRR Tolkien’s masterworks ‘the Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’. 

Another trip is called for to explore  Wolverley and the surrounding countryside.

to be continued .......

Like a juggernaut

After we bought our boat, in 1994, we moored her in the Cambridgshire Fens, near Ramsey. Today, I took the route to Grantham to visit my Niece. As I neared the turn-off for Huntington, I began to feel uneasy and emotional. This was the turning we took towards Ramsey. Alf was getting more and more agitated, so I decided to pull into the Brampton Hut service station to take him for a short walk - a pee stop. As soon as I turned into the Truck Stop, I burst into tears. Eamonn and I used to pull in here if the A1M was busy on our way home on Sunday, after a weekend on the boat. The Truck Stop offered a bottomless teapot for thirsty travellers. 

This was the first time I had travelled this route alone, since Eamonn died. Had it not been for the pandemic, I would probably have made the trip to Grantham a few times and got used to the memories it triggered. But this was the first time - and I had a meltdown. The memories were happy ones, but the emotion is one with which all bereaved people are familiar.

It's not just the loss of the person who was the centre of my world, It's the loss of a shared past only we understood. More importantly, today, it is the loss of a future we will never share. I didn't make it to Grantham. When I'd stopped crying sufficiently to speak, I phoned my Niece and spoke to her husband. He encouraged me to rest before heading back home when I felt sufficiently well enough to drive. 

The whole thing took me completely by surprise. It's as though the past 18 months hadn't happened as raw grief hit me like a juggernaut. I took to my bed an hour ago, with a hot drink and paracetamol and a hot water bottle for my aching muscles. 

Motivation

 

what is it? 

Abraham Maslow suggested that the need to belong was a major source of human motivation. He thought that it was one of five human needs in his hierarchy of needs, along with physiological needs, safety, self-esteem, and self-actualization. 

The need to be needed is rooted in our need for a sense of contribution to something beyond ourselves. When this need is unfulfilled in the case of job loss, divorce, or significant life-transitions, we may find ourselves beginning to lack a sense of contribution.

In other words, when Eamonn was alive, all my needs were fulfilled. Without him, the need to contribute something useful - to belong - is not.

My hopes of starting a local drop-in event at the Community Cenre, for those who are alone, have lost someone (no matter how recently) and those who are struggling with grief, took a step in the right direction recently.

Last Tuesday, my gardener, Bex, had complimented me on the success of my seedlings over the winter. The sweet peas are in need of support and will need potting on again before hardening off later in the year, but they look very healthy.

As for the lettuces, it is not supposed to be possible to grow them over the winter. So to get them to this stage is quite an achievement. Bex's little pep talk gave me a great boost.

So, later in the week, when I received the invitation to attend the online training session to set up a Pop Up Cafe under the umbrella of The Good Grief Trust, I jumped at the chance. I decided to test the waters and gauge the need for a local Pop Up Cafe. I posted in the Local Facebook Page of which I am a member. Response was immediate. I had set up a Facebook Page for the Pop Up Cafe I am hoping to start. There are already 15 members wishing to join the cafe with many offering to help as volunteers. A local County Counsellor has offered her support.

I'm learning to dance in the rain - and inviting others to join me.

Who knows, my mad idea of setting up a mobile Pop Up Cafe for my travels in Levant II later in the year, doesn't seem so far fetched. There are lots of solo campers who would welcome the idea, I am sure.

The Autumn Road Trip

 

is all booked, with a few minor adjustments. 

One of my friends has a static caravan in North Walsham. We are hoping to get together for a couple of days when I am at her favourite beach.

I decided I'd better book the campsites in case either of the April or May trips is compromised by the pandemic. Most people seem to be planning staycations this year and campsites are filling up in advance.

Another friend send me a postcard, reminding me of how fortunitous it is that I have a Romahome. Despite the lack of use, thanks to the Pandemic. I have been able to book some staycations in the knowledge that I can always re-book if Covid precautions forbid any of them.  I have already re-booked the trip planned for Southwold last November, and have secured the one remaining pitch with hook-up for the dates I want - for the same price.

From Southwold, I head to Long Beach at Hemsby.

Then it's on to the most northerly stop on the trip; Sandy Gulls at Mundesley. It is there that the adults only campsite overlooks the sea. Perched on the cliffs that are constantly eroding. I'm keeping everything crossed for calm weather.

The final campsite is back along the coast road towards Southwold. Lighthouse Camping is close to Happisburgh (pronounced Haysborough - yes, really) and its lighthouse.

I'm really looking forward to this trip. Exploring the ever-changing Suffolk coast. I had hoped to visit Sutton Hoo, but the recently-released-on-Netflix  film, The Dig, will, no doubt, ensure crowds of visitors for some time to come. Eamonn and I drove from Southwold a few years ago, only to find that Tranmer House & Exhibition Hall was closed for the season.

Besides, I'd have to take the road south from Southwold, so that is something I must ponder for next year. Mind you, there's a very well-reviewed campsite at Sutton Hoo - just 40 mins drive from Southwold.

Preparations

Along with most of the population, I'm finding Lockdown 3 extremely challenging. Things were much worse when I was without my hearing aids. Now that I have them back, I'm beginning to take control of my daily routines again.

They are very weather-dependent, so the first few days with the hearing aids working were spent on housework and cooking. Yesterday, I made my Saturday Facetime meeting with my old school friend, for the first time in a couple of weeks. We've both been through a rough patch, so it was good to be able to talk about it. We chatted for over an hour - the longest since before Christmas.

The weather forecast for today was very good. It was chilly but sunny. I wrote a letter to a friend yesterday, and the first job after breakfast was to take Alf for a walk and post the letter. I met a neighbour with her dog on the way back home. Normally, the two dogs (both male, both terriers) do not get on very well. But this morning, there was a very quiet, civil greeting, giving their humans a chance for a chat.

After lunch, I had decided I would do some preparation of Levant II for her trip to the workshop tomorrow. I vacuumed and cleaned the interior, and turned the engine over to check that the battery was charged. I needed to reset the calendar/clock after the last time the battery went flat.

Then it was time for tea. It took me a while to remember the procedure for getting the gas hob to work, but not as long as the maiden boiling of the kettle. The view from my seat beside the low table is lovely. The Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn is covered with fragrant blossom on bare stems. 

Alf took up his favourite position, checking out passers-by. The whistling kettle startled him - it's very loud. Water boils quickly on the hob but I am still a little worried about the capacity of the gas bottle.

I have almost decided to ditch the expensive non-working Eberspächer  heating to free up the starboard locker for a spare bottle. I would then be more confident about pitching without electric hook-up and running the fridge  (visible below the hob) on gas as well.

I'm going to ask the workshop to do some major refurbishment of the roof in addition to fixing the leaky rear door. I might as well have the heating removed at the same time, or perhaps they might be able adjust the port locker to take a larger gas bottle? 

While the van is in the workshop, I am going to plan my first road trip. I've decided a tour along the coastal path from Southwold to Cromer, would be an ideal late Spring adventure. I'm not keen to be on my own for the whole tour so will have to do some creative thinking about how to include some company. More on that next time.

Tonight is Mother's Night

 It all comes down to the Mother and her Child. The story is told over and over around the world in various ways, but it always comes back to the Mother and her child. Even in Christian mythos the reference is to "round yon virgin, mother and child."

Who is this Christ Child born of the virgin mother, Mary, at the winter solstice—the time of the year’s longest night? It is Child of Promise: Light born from the Darkness, Manifestation born from the Unmanifest, Life born from the Void—the Void which is not empty, but rather, full of potentialities.  This child is the light of renewed life, who is born into the death and darkness of winter.

And who is the Mother who gives birth to the child? She is the Mare (pronounced: mah-ray, or mah-ree), Mari, the dark and vast bitter sea of space - the Virgin Mother Void from which all things are born. The correlate on earth is the ancient sea (Latin: mare) from which all life came forth - life-forms as numerous as the stars in the sky or the grains of salt in the that same primordial sea.

Early images of the Nativity depict Mary as the Mother of the Son of Light. 

On this night we reconnect with the eternal truth of beginnings - of light emerging from darkness, of life being birthed into being. And on this Solstice Eve night we honor First Mother, as we remember how she gave birth to light, and thus to the universe, and all that is.

The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol ("sun") and sistere ("to stand still"), because at the solstices, the Sun's declination appears to "stand still"; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun's daily path (as seen from Earth) pauses at a northern or southern limit before reversing direction.

Just before dawn tomorrow (local time) comes the moment of solstice - of the sun standing still - the three day pause before movement seemingly begins again on Christmas Day, when the Child of Light and Promise has fully emerged and life starts anew. We celebrate the fact that now is Horus is born from Isis, Adonis from Myrrha, Mithras from Anahita the Immaculate One, and Jesus from the Virgin Mary.

The moment of stillness - Silent Night

On Christmas Eve a special quiet is with us. There is a special energy to this night. This silent night is a doorway into the heart of reflection in all of us. Christmas Eve, there is an opportunity to discover the source of all the giving and receiving. If we can go beyond the rush of the season and especially the rush of our own thoughts, there is a mystery to discover that can change our lives for the holidays, perhaps into the New Year, and much longer.

The Christmas stories are all about miraculous events that came out of a night of profound silence. We all know the stories, but do we know the silence from which the stories emerged? Finding time for silence can lead us to an inner silence where the peace and light at the source of the season can be with us. Even if we don't see it because of cloudy skies, we know that the Christmas Star,  last seen 800 years ago, will shine tonight. NASA says the conjunction will appear “spectacular” with a normal telescope or even the naked eye. Let's hope they capture some images for those of us not fortunate enough to witness it for ourselves.

This year, it will be more difficult to find that moment of stillness. There is so much that occupies our thoughts; the anxiety about Covid-19 and the seemingly never-ending round of Lockdowns; the promise of hope with the new vaccines, followed by renewed anxiety as the virus mutates. 

With all the activity, if we can find the opportunity to just be, moments of stillness can be moments of perfect food, feeding some place inside  us that only silence can nourish. Sitting with a fire late at night, the star-filled sky, or watching the sunrise, the sweetness of silence can fill our body and fulfill a part of us that is longing. Snow, wind, rain, nature in its many voices, the music of silence can open and inspire us. In the silence on Christmas Eve is a spirit of giving, unique to this night among all others. There is a stillness that shelters us. This quiet can be our own personal doorway into the heart of simple peace. And simple peace can be a path into new life and new hope for the year ahead, as we emerge from the fear of pandemic into the year of vaccination and new hope. 

This merging of the old and the new takes place tonight, in the spirit of the Winter Solstice, in the still moment of silence that celebrates the merging of the Dark Mother of Yule with the return of the Sun God, and the Mother of the Son of God who brings light to the world.

For me, the new year is one in which I will learn to merge the two version of me. One is the me that was half of a couple. 

My on-line screen persona of Hesadevil encapsulates her.

Hesadevil was confident, adventurous, fun-loving and caring. She strove to experience new things, increase her understanding of the world and all its wonder. At her side was her rock and safe haven -Eamonn.

The other me is the solo traveller. One who is feeling her way in the world relying only on herself. close family, and a few dear friends.

Ukelady has emerged as capable and strong. Building on all that has gone before, while tentatively feeling the way ahead through the fits and starts of the pandemic and the worryingly late resolution of the terms of Berxit Brexit. At her side is the faithful terrier, Alf. 

I wish all that you hope for comes into being in the new year of hope and the return of the light to our lives.

Apologies for the use of both pagan and Christian Myths to help explain where I have reached and how I hope to move onwards. 

Narrowboat v Romahome

 

I had an early breakfast inside Levant II, even though I have not yet been brave enough for an overnight. I'm trying out different configurations to have a permanent 'bed' in place. I think I've opted for a cross-bed behind the diver and passenger seat. I'm very short and can sleep comfortably there providing there is sufficient space to curl up. I've placed the table right behind the sink, which makes a lovely bedside table. I'll take some pictures later to show you how the layout works.

Meanwhile, I took two photos of me and Alf enjoying an early breakfast in the company of a friend on Facetime. The WiFi kept dropping the signal from the house, but not often enough to spoil a (very) socially distanced (Manchester/Hitchin) chat.

Although it was raining, there was no condensation inside, even though I had the little heater doing its stuff. That's a good sign, right?

Comparing the Romahome with the boat is a bit unfair; for one thing, Levant II is much smaller and, therefore, doesn't have all the facilities of a narrowboat. Some things are similar; there are facilities for cooking, and sleeping, and having one's own toilet while on the road, is a blessing.

I had a roast lunch in the Conservatory today. One of the things that cannot be cooked in Levant II is a roast; unless the slow cooker is pressed into service via the 240v link, but then  it wouldn't be a roast. Apart from space, the Romahome cannot carry two 13kg gas tanks in the gas locker, like the narrowboat could. 

I don't expect Levant II to be a clone of Levant. Each has its own pros and cons. With the pro of rapid travel in the Romahome, I can easily forgo the relatively luxurious conditions aboard a narrowboat.

I'm more than happy with Levant II and am looking forward to kitting her out and getting her ship-shape and ready for next Spring. I have plans to spruce up the soft furnishings and brighten up the interior with some colourful cushions and rugs. I am looking forward to trying out some simple recipes on the 2-burner hob. I see one-pot meals in my future. I also want to try out the capacity of the fridge for carrying fresh produce and finding the best storage arrangements for non-perishable. I already have a secret stash of tea bags, together with my favourite boat teapot and mugs.