A Blogger in Black

Wednesday morning, overcast but mild and a bit muggy. I was up early, the usual mug of builders’ eventually galvanising me into action. I was heading to meet my friend and fellow caravanner Sandra at the train station – usually Euston which is a straightforward enough trip from Crystal Palace – number 3 bus to Brixton then the tube. Thanks to Avanti West Coast being unable to do the one thing in their remit – run a reliable train service – I was instead heading to Paddington – distance wise little further but to be there on time a trip which involved a bus, Overground and three packed tube journeys. Sandra writes: "It was the middle of October 2022 and it was time to pack the suitcase once again and head South for a few days away in London with Richard. Given the well known issues with the railway at the moment, travel arrangements ended up being last minute.   I was to join Richard with another Richard and colleague from Cover4Caravans insurance for lunch, and needed to be i...

Tuesday. The usual early morning cuppa to coax the little grey cells into action, then onto the TFL app to sort my route out for the day. Boring to some but I do enjoy planning days and trips out. Apps and the like make things so much easier, you can almost pretend you’re a local as everyone else is staring at their phones too! It was set to be a later finish today so I wasn't in a rush to get out. There was one last thing to prep for the little slow cooker, and yet another new recipe, this time Hawaiian Pork, for which I'd had to procure some sherry at the weekend - not a drink I'm a fan of. That having been done, this time I made a point of clearing the washing up - as some lazy sod had left it the day before - before doing all the usual caravan jobs. I headed out just before lunch, sporting my high Doc Marten'esque boots - a much cheaper alternative. I knew that there'd be a fair bit of walking and these had proved themselves to be very comfortable indeed and loo...

The rain continued through to the early hours but the light leaking through the bottom of the front blinds suggested the sun had made an appearance. I checked the forecast again and we were all set for a sunny and relatively warm day. I already had a rough idea of what I wanted to do so, after briefly emerging from my pit to make a large mug of tea, settled back in my pit, perusing the TFL app and Google Maps to see what routes I needed to take. I may have grabbed some extra Z's too before eventually deciding to get moving. First item on the agenda once I’d finally surfaced was prepping the evening meal, once again utilising the little slow pot, this time for ‘beef n beer’. My kitchen at home is hardly big, but with less work space in Patsy being organised was key – not one of my strongest points. However in a short time the slow pot was filled and switched on and I set about getting ready to hit the road. The washing up could keep. I would be heading down the hill once again on th...

Saturday morning and it was fair to say I wasn't tip top for some entirely unfathomable reason! Fortunately, there was an online relaxation/meditation session with my friend Lou, something she initiated when Covid started and has been most welcome then and since. I felt better after - it is quite possible I nodded off at some point. There was just one thing to do before the evenings' event, procure some groceries from the Sainsbury's at the far end of the Crystal Palace triangle. You see rather than pack the fridge full of my batch cooking I had decided to use the little slow pot and cook a few meals up in the van from the supplied recipe leaflet. The walk and fresh(er) air did me good and, once back had a quick lunch before settling down for a read and a nap. It was a lovely day; the sun was streaming in, and the book soon fell to the floor. Soon it was time to get ready for the evening - Hallowed Peak at the Phantom Peak experience in Canada Water. Dressing up was encoura...