Pastures New......Kentish Midgets Become Devon Dwarfs

Hi All,

Happy New Year to all our friends and family wherever you may be, we hope that 2016 brings you both health and happiness.

For us we are glad to see the back of 2015 and move on as it was a year that we’d like to just completely forget.  As you already know I lost my Dad on New Years’s day and then things just went from bad to worse, I won’t bore you with all the details but to cut a long story short Julie was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in April after almost 10 years of being clear from the first episode back in 2005. We have come to terms with it all now and she is absolutely fine at the moment and long may it continue.  She spent most of the summer having treatment which was tough going for us all but she’s so positive and just gets on with it all and in her words not mine “I don’t have a choice so I just get on with it, it’s not going to stop me from carrying on my life as normal and I am not going to be one of their statistics, I am going to prove everyone wrong”.  Many people say she is an inspiration as just gets on with everything it throws at her and I for sure second that.  So for now it’s just scans and check ups every 3 months and daily medication.

When we returned from our year travelling we thought it would be really difficult to settle back into “normal” life and that we would feel really deflated but what with everything else that we now had to deal with and all the stuff relating to the probate for Dad and sorting out his house etc etc it kept us really busy and although quite stressful and emotional it kept us focused.  Our original plan was to come back and go back to work for a couple of years and then move to somewhere near a beach with a quieter pace of life as we noticed on our return that everything had got even busier and there was just more traffic and more people everywhere.  We said that we’d like to maybe go and live in France but would keep a small base here in the UK but of course that comes with the added complication of work and also the language barrier so it would have been a massive move, the other option would be to move somewhere in the UK that we love, is quieter and has access to our favourite beaches……somewhere like North Devon which we just love and ticks all the boxes.  

Following Julie's diagnosis we decided to do it sooner rather than later so started to look at the possibilities and then began looking for a suitable house, we first looked at a cottage back in April in Georgeham, North Devon, just a stones throw from the beautiful beaches of Saunton Sands, Putsborough & Croyde but at that point hadn’t really decided when we would make the move.  

 Saunton Sands

Putsborough

 

Croyde

The house we first viewed needed a lot of TLC so we decided it wasn’t for us but by July we decided that it was where we wanted to be so we had our house valued and were pleasantly surprised so then the cogs started ticking and we thought that perhaps it was all doable, at the end of the day if you want something you have to go and get it, it doesn’t just come to you, just like when we decided to go travelling we had to make it happen and we never looked back.  We kept looking for other properties but just couldn’t find anything in the right location for the right price etc etc and were being drawn back to the cottage in Georgeham every time, at the end of the day it’s all about location and you’re never going to find something that is perfect so there’s always a compromise so for us it was to take on a bit of a project (as you probably know nothings ever simple with us!!) so that’s what we decided to do and we put our house on the market.

After a summer of showing potential buyers around our home one gentleman came good with a fantastic offer back in August, however as we’ve already said nothings simple with us and he went AWOL until October but the agent told us it was because he worked away in Norway.  When he eventually reappeared in October it all came good and in the meantime we got the ball rolling with the Georgeham cottage and to cut another long story short everything has now gone through.   

Old House

New House

In between house hunting, multiple trips to Devon & back, hospital appointments and work, as Julie carried on working through her treatment, we have still somehow managed to fit in some fantastic weekends catching up with friends and doing what we love.

Kiting at Brancaster

Walking & Catching up with friends in and around the Lake District

So now the major life change bit begins as we are lucky enough with the sale of our house and Dads house to be in a position to give up work and to live the dream in Georgeham in our cottage and although it needs a slight renovation……it will enable us to spend more time doing the things we love in a place we love and will give us something to focus on at the same time. 

They'll be plenty more of this!

It's been a stressful and emotional roller coaster ride since the summer, and the last couple of weeks have been very hectic getting everything down to Georgeham but all our hard work and patience has paid off and we can't wait to begin our new life. To start with all our possessions are in a storage unit and we'll be living in the motorhome on the front garden overseeing the renovation project but we did it for a year so it won't be a problem and at least we'll be able to nip to the beach whenever we like for a walk, surf, sup or kite.

Keeping things simple.....Julie wanted us to take this to the new house..it only weighs half a tonne!!!

The removal lorry was to big for the lane so everything had to be transhipped to the big lorry up on the main road

The main removal lorry

The storage unit filling up rapidly!

The storage unit full to the door!!

While we are waiting for our planning permission to come through to renovate the cottage we thought that we deserved a bit of chill out time and rather than twiddle our thumbs we are off in the motorhome to Meribel in the French alps for a spot of skiing/snowboarding….it’s a bit of de ja vu really as we will arrive there exactly 2 years to the day of our travels back in 2014 and are looking forward to it and catching up with Deb & Pete & Ron & Chris and anyone else that turns up....you are all very welcome to join us.

If you enjoyed reading our blog the first time around then stay tuned as we will keep you updated on our adventures and how we are getting on with the renovations to the cottage.

One last thing before we go... we'd like to say a massive thank you to Julie's mum and dad for all their support over the last few months as it's been a very difficult time for them too so we really appreciate it.

Catch up soon,

The Devon Dwarfs

Life Goes On...

Hi all,

So it's been just over two months since we posted our last blog, it's been a busy few months for us both in many ways.

Dad's bike the Triumph Cub kept me really busy and it seemed that every time I fixed one thing then another thing decided to put my patience to the test.  I discovered a problem with the electrics which I thought would be simple to rectify, in the end I had to replace the complete wiring loom, simples I thought.....but how wrong I was!!  Dad's bike is a Super Cub and they only actually made it for 6 months so getting the right parts is a bit of a mission due to it's age of course and also the fact that the parts on this model are different to the standard model.  Not to be beaten I bought a new loom but when I got it none of the colours matched any diagrams so it was back to the drawing board.  To cut a long story short in the end I had to find the correct wiring diagram on the internet then buy the correct corresponding coloured wires and then use the plugs from the new loom I bought and then copy the wiring diagram, to my amazement I did it!!  Then after a fitting a new carburettor and jets she now runs like a dream.  Julie and I have been out and about on her a few times now and have a little chuckle to ourselves as we drive along, it's so noisy and we get the odd back fire now and then and we turn quite a few heads along the way.  Dad would be so proud that we have her back to her former glory mechanically, it's just the actual restoration to do now but I wanted to get her running properly first and enjoy using her this summer.

The wiring diagram!!

Success, we have electrics!!

On the subject of Dad (Gordon), we finally said our final farewell and took him out on the Thames and laid his ashes to rest.  It was a truly amazing evening, and we were blessed with a beautiful evening, the river was flat as you like and we had the most amazing sunset too.  We laid him to rest on the river between Gordon's promenade, Gravesend where he of religiously went and had his lunch and Tilbury Fort on the other side overlooking the old gun emplacements, being an old Ancient Mariner with the Merchant Navy what better place would he want to be.  It was an emotional evening but at the same time a happy ending, we laid him on the water with some flowers and the flowers even stayed with him until he gently submerged to the waters below.  Then my sister Joanna gave me and Leigh a stone each which had come with her flower arrangement, how surreal as she never asked for them but they came with it, so we each threw our stone in and made a wish.  It was a lovely end to such an amazing life.

In April we decided to go down to Beachy Head in Eastbourne, it's somewhere we have never been and never seem to make the time or effort to go.  We were both pleasantly surprised how beautiful it was.  We walked along the top of the cliffs all the way to Birling Gap, a gap in the cliffs where there are steps down to small beach.  The views are amazing and you can clearly see the Seven Sisters as they are affectionately known which are the points along the chalk cliff tops.

The walk along the top of the cliffs

The Seven Sisters

We also had a cheeky trip down to Croyde & Saunton Sands in North Devon, one of our favourite places.  For a change we decided to treat ourselves and stayed in a great B&B with a lovely view straight over to Croyde beach.  It was fantastic to be back at a proper beach again.  

We did lots of walking and had a great two days kiting at Saunton Sands, it made us feel back at home, it's just a fantastic beach and part of the world in every way.

The view from our room

The Drive Down into Croyde Bay

The view down to the vast beach at Saunton Sands

We went back down to Croyde & Saunton again to catch up with some friends the first May bank holiday and walked the entire length of Saunton Beach right round to Estuary which you can just make out in the far distance, it was about 8 miles there and back.  We also had a lovely cycle and covered about 26 miles, again it was great to get out on the bikes.

We never seem to stop and are always busy with one thing or another.  We have been busy in the garden and it's looking great already.  One things for sure, we really didn't miss all the hard work and TLC the garden needs while we were travelling last year, but it's now back to reality trimming bushes and keeping the lawn movers busy - it takes both of us a lot of hard work keeping everything in shape.  Julie loves being in the garden so working part-time gives her time to keep the weeds down and get the lawn mown for me with her push along mower, well it does keep her fit so she couldn't complain.

She does moan about the weeds a bit so I bought her a new toy recently a weed burner, she's like the terminator now and at every opportunity is out there with her flame thrower blitzing everything in sight - I have a job getting her to come in!!  We've lived here 17 years and can't believe we didn't invest in one years ago!!

Bye, Bye Weeds...!

This is the clematis that seems to have gone mad, it really does look amazing at the moment.

We found this picture on the internet which did make us laugh, that really is keeping your bush well trimmed!!

When we were down at Saunton Sands before we went away travelling we picked up a load of drift wood and shells and ever since Julie has been nagging me to make things but we never seem to have time.  A couple of weeks ago she piped up, "I want a chalk board for the kitchen so that we can keep a list of our never ending jobs", so I gave in and made the time and this was the end result which she is absolutely chuffed to bits with and it only took about half an hour to knock up - if you were to buy one it would cost at least £40+.  It's nice to know that it's all reclaimed materials from Saunton Sands Beach.

We've been busy in the house too and given the upstairs shower room a bit of much needed TLC.  The underfloor heating packed up but I managed to work out that all it needed was a new temperature probe which I found on the internet for only £14.99 so that was a real result.  Julie wanted to replace the shower doors as they were on their last legs and really scaly so we did that and also fitted a nice new rain head shower head.  Then Julie decided she didn't like the floor anymore so we have screeded over it and fitted a new vinyl flooring that looks like floorboards, it all looks really nice and to be honest was long overdue.

A couple of weekends ago we drove down to Heathfield and cycled along the Cuckoo Trail which took us into Eastbourne.  It was a great cycle along a disused railway line and amongst some lovely scenery, bluebells and wild garlic.  It was a steady incline all the way back so a nice little workout and by the time we got back to the van had just done shy of 30 miles, somewhere else fairly local that we have been meaning to go but never seem to get the time or make the effort.

Last weekend we had an absolutely fantastic trip up to Brancaster in the VW T5, another of our favourite places that we have only been up to twice since we got home.  The weather was beautiful and we got out kiting two days, it was just fabulous to get out and it's warmed up a bit now so that's always a bonus as kiting through the winter is hard work sometimes especially in the North Sea!

Considering the VW T5 was parked up on our driveway with a cover over her for a year she still looks in great condition, sometimes it's nice to have a couple of nights away in her

So that's what we've been up to these last couple of months......we'll be back for an update in another couple of months.

Before we go Julie found this little saying and as I say she reminds me of Edith she thought it was very true.

J&J

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Spring Is In The Air

Hi All,

The month's seem to be flying by, we can't believe it's mid-March already but it's nice that the nights are drawing out and it's feeling more like Spring every day with some warm sunshine and in a couple of weeks time the clocks will Spring forward.  One thing that happens when you are travelling is that you manage to skip the miserable UK Winter which is great as Julie hates it and if it's wet & miserable at the weekend I have to remove all sharp objects from the house!!!  We skipped Oct, Nov & most of Dec so for us it's been a short Winter which is great.

I hate to say but we have well & truly settled back into the work life balance although Julie has fallen on her feet as she only works 8 til 4 3 days a week, Mon-Wed one week and then Wed-Fri the next so every other week she gets 6 days off!!! She is really enjoying her new job and her free time although she is always busy doing stuff and says she doesn't know how she fitted in a full-time job!!!  I am really pleased for her and it means that she can get a lot of stuff done so free's up more time for us at the weekends which is great.

I went to work one Monday morning and discovered this piece of artwork had been done over the weekend inside the building on-site, I know I am a midget but just look at the size of me compared to it, it's huge......it was really impressive and shows there are some talented kids out there.  What was most impressive though was that there was no damage anywhere and no rubbish i.e. spray cans left behind, I hate to think how many cans it took.

Julie also gets more time to see her Mum & Dad which is nice and the other week Julie and Brenda had a spot of light lunch while I sat in my digger eating my sandwiches and apple....!

We had a fantastic kite session down at Camber, probably one of the best uncrowded sessions we have ever had there.   Conditions were absolutely perfect and it was a beautiful sunny day and surprisingly warm.   They are doing a lot of work there at the moment putting in some new sea defences which we think has put a few people off so that's why it wasn't as busy as usual.  The work they are doing doesn't make much difference at all although there are some piles of rocks on the beach downwind and the car park is limited at the moment.  Aline and the kids came down to watch and take some photos, thanks Aline.  I don't think it will be long until Aline & Dick book up some lessons as they both ski and snowboard and are adrenaline junkies just like us!

I have been keeping busy out in the garage working on the Tiger Cub and also swapped my sunglasses for welding glasses as I have Dad's oxyacetylene brazing set so have been practising some new skills and surprised myself at the results.

The Cub has been receiving lots of TLC, I have stripped down and re-built the engine and stopped the oil leaks and fitted a new exhaust as the old one had a rather large hole in it and was scaring all the horses in the surrounding fields.  I am slowly working my way through to get it MOT worthy.

This time last year we were saying our goodbyes to the mountains, Meribel and Pete and Debra who we met there.  We went off round Europe one way and they went the other and although we said we'd try and meet up somewhere in the middle we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Pete & Debra finished their trip at the end of September but went back to Meribel in January for a couple of months and we had planned to meet them in January before we headed home but as we left earlier than expected we never got to meet up.   Last week they got in contact to say that they were on route home after a fantastic two months and would like to meet up with us on their way back home to the Lakes.  We decided to meet them up at Brancaster as it was heading North for them and as Pete learnt to kitesurf while away travelling we thought it would be good to show him our favourite spots up on the East coast.  

It was fantastic to see them both again and catch up on a year's worth of stories, it really didn't seem like it was a year ago that we saw them last.   Andy & Claire our friends from Northampton also made the most of the lovely weather and came up for the weekend in their motorhome.  It was the first weekend away that we have had in the van since we got home it was great to be back in the van but this time only for 2 nights, slightly different from the 350 nights we spent in it last year!!

We had a long walk along the beaches showing Pete the kite spots and then headed to the Jolly Sailors for a well earnt drink washed down with their amazing Fish & Chips, one of the few things we missed while away travelling last year.  It's a great pub and we feel like locals even though it's 150 miles away from home.

So that's it until next month.

J&J
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