Richard and Sue Wood-Roe

Hello and welcome to our website. Here you will be able to read about what we are doing and follow us having fun. Our life is varied and whether it be working hard at renovating the French house, taking a break in Tenerife or exploring different parts of the world, we try and enjoy ourselves. Here are a selection of blogs that Sue has written. We hope you will find the stories entertaining and amusing.

Malaysian Cruise Jan/Feb 2024

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Malaysian Cruise Jan Feb 2024 Kuala Lumpur, Port Klang, Langkawi, Phuket, Penang, Singapore, Jakarta, Lombok and Bali An amazing variety of countries..... It was an almost twelve hour flight but Malaysian Airways were brilliant. The slender, cabin stewards wore amazing outfits and looked really beautiful with their hair up, red lipstick and false eyelashes. Once we arrived in Kuala Lumpur, the cap...

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Naples to Venice Birthday Cruise

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Birthday Cruise Naples to Venice 24 June 2023 Detoured via Worthing to Gatwick for 9am flight to Rome. Didn’t get to Norwegian Getaway until gone 4pm, no upgrade either despite our bid of £760 each. Not a particularly scenic port and soooo many people. Loads of Americans and children. It’s going to be difficult not to stop comparing this to our Celebrity X cruise to Australia and New Zealand in Ja...

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Australia and New Zealand Feb 2023

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Australia and New Zealand Saturday 11 February/ Sunday 12 February 2023 We left home at 3am for Qatar Flight to Sydney via Doha. Landed at Sydney 8pm on 12 Feb after 30 hrs travelling. It was another two hours before we finally got to the Marriott Quayside Hotel at10pm and the bars were all closed. Doha Airport, it’s enormous Click here to read the full story

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French House Diary May 2023

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French House Diary May 2023 We once again treated ourselves to the more expensive Brittany Ferries route and a Commodore Cabin. It was a pleasant and not very busy crossing. The first visit each year usually involves a lot of cleaning but Don and Helen and their two cocker spaniels, Poppy and Dexter arrived the day before us. They had obviously been very busy and Helen cooked us a wonderful Beef B...

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French House Diary September 2022

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French House Diary September 2022 Tuesday 10 SeptemberThe last couple of weeks have been quite eventful, we have a new King, Charles lll and a new Prime Minister, Liz Truss. We’ve recovered from our 8 hours queuing to see the Queen’s coffin and are ready to do some jobs at the French House. We thought we would treat ourselves and take the expensive Brittany Ferry route, Portsmouth to Caen. All cov...

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French House Diary May 2022

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French House Diary May 2022 Wednesday 4th & Thursday 5th May Used our Tesco vouchers to go through the tunnel, it wasn't busy and all went to plan but it’s a long drive. Arrived at the house about 5pm after stopping at Sees Intermarche. Although the house has been left since August 2021 it wasn't too bad. However, one of the loft windows had been left open and there were loads and loads of dead fli...

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Mallorca - Pollenca October 2021

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Saturday 9th October 2021 We are so excited, Lynn and Malcolm have invited us and Des and Ann to share Villa March with them in Pollenca. We last saw Des and Ann in Tenerife last November but haven’t seen Lynn and Mal since February 2020. No test required before flying as we are all double vaccinated. Picked up our Wilber Toyota Hybrid car hire. Villa March - Pollenca Big discussion about what dri...

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French House Diary August 2021

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August 2021 France has come off the Amber Plus list which means we don't have quarantine when we get back. We are fully vaccinated but have to take a lateral flow flow before we leave France and a PCR test 2 days after returning home.

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Wales April 2021

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Sunday 18 April We originally booked this cosy little fisherman’s cottage on Airbnb for last October but because of Covid restrictions moved it to now. Who would have thought that you wouldn’t be allowed to go into Wales. Even now was not a definite as we are just coming out of lockdown and each country has different rules, all very confusing. The lockdown seems to have worked as our Covid stats ar...

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French House Diary July 2020

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July 2020 Travel restrictions have been lifted for most of Europe as the Covid 19 virus has settled a bit, the death rate for yesterday was 85 with 642 new confirmed cases. It’s still with us so it’s with trepidation that we booked the tunnel to France.

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Motorhome Diary September 2019

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FRANCE Segonzac & Milhars September 2019 A warm welcome awaited us at Graham and Susannah's impressive Château. This is our first visitA warm welcome awaited us at Graham and Susannah's impressive Château. This is our first visitas we missed Graham's 60th when Rick had a perforated appendix. They've been here five years andI am amazed how much they have achieved, especially as I know how difficult...

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French House Diary September 2019

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French House Sept 2019 Arrived at Saint Ellier on a beautiful day after an overnight crossing. The main purpose of this visit is to fit a woodburner in the kitchen. Rick and Don purchased one on Ebay for £200. For a few weeks now Rick has been popping in and out of the garage fiddling with it and ordering bits online. Lots of bird sticks in the fireplace

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French House Diary July 2019

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French House July 2019 Friday 5 July 2019 We set of for Newhaven with Don, Helen and a fully loaded trailer: a snooker table, table tennis table, football table, 2 chest of drawers, a corner unit, a wardrobe, a canopy, 2 pictures and a blanket box.

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French House Diary May 2019

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French House April/May 2019 Well we start our French trip in the usual way with Rick having a bad back and thinking he had a chest infection coming. Jen and I had to load the heavy stuff into the car, Jen surprised us with a show of strength. The car was loaded with all the spare linen, a wardrobe, bedside cabinet, picture for landing, headboard and the contents of our fridge. Oh mustn’t forget the...

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South American Cruise Feb/Mar 2019

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SOUTH AMERICAN CRUISE February/March 2019 Valentine's Day – Santiago, Chile Gone are the days when the initial journey was exciting, it took 27 hours to reach Hotel Kennedy in Santiago, Chile. We’re in the capital, financial, cultural and political centre of Chile. The city has the Mapocho River running through it and is surrounded by the Andes mountain range which are somewhat obscured in parts by...

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Isle De Re July 2018

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Today we joined Mike and Thyra at the campsite in La Flotte, Ile de Ré which is an island north of La Rochelle. You reach the island by a toll bridge (16.50 Euros) and we were instantly wowed by the lovely sandy beaches. There are sandy beaches along the south-western side and salt and oyster beds along the north-eastern coastline. We cycled through the narrow cobbled streets that were lined with...

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French House July 2018

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We're in the middle of a heatwave, the World Cup, Wimbledon, British Grand Prix and the Tour de France. It's only 11 days since we returned from France and just under 3 weeks since Rick had his perforated appendix operation at the Argentan hospital. The motorhome is fully loaded with bikes,a wardrobe, cot, stool and various other things for the house. We've even asked Mike and Thyra to bring the b...

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French House June & July 2018

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We had a full house, Don and Helen with dogs, George and Caroline and Caroline's brother MelvinWe had a full house, Don and Helen with dogs, George and Caroline and Caroline's brother Melvin and his Greek wife Georgette, just missing Julie. George and Don had started to repair the churchwall where someone had knocked the end off. Rain put paid to a barbecue, however a feast awaited us. Caroline was...

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French House April 2018

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Picked up Julie for the 10am Newhaven ferry on a glorious day after weeks of rain. Teresa May due to have a hard time in Parliament after the Syrian attack on chemical weapons factories. We were fairly quick settling in, not too much damp mainly the kitchen door which was tight and needed planing down. Rick bought an Induction Hob at home so we had loads of saucepans and frying pans we could no lon...

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French House Oct 2017

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The project to convert the loft is in full swing. We have returned to the house to finish the partitioning and install the bathroom. Follow this link to read Sue's Diary of our visit

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French House Aug 2017

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The project to convert the loft is about to begin. We are meeting up with George and Caroline. Donald and Helen will be joining us later. Follow this link to read Sue's Diary of our visit

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Baltic Cruise June 2017

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Got as far as Arundel when we had to turn back and swap the Freelander for the Discovery as therewas a smell of burning rubber – new alternator needed.The Danes have a special word " Hugge " meaning a cozy feeling of togetherness and maybe that'swhy Denmark is one of the happiest countries in the world. Read More...

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Rick & Sue 27th April 2017

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We left a very frosty garden on a beautiful sunny morning for a calm Newhaven crossing and a pleasant journey onto St Ellier in our new Discovery Sport. The house looked clean and dry and first things first Rick put a match to the fire that Don had prepared. Within minutes we were coughing and spluttering as the house was filled with smoke. Read More...

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Donald and Helen Dec 2016

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Don and Helen visited the house at Christmas in conjunction with a visit to their canal boat Read more.....

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France September 2016

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After we finished working on the new kitchen door it was off to Provence in the motorhome. Read PDF file here

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French House Sept 2016

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29/30 August 2016Got a night crossing with cabin for £217 but had to rise at 3.30 am and travel through thick fog inthe dark to reach St Ellier. First time ever that we have opened the house door and been hit by theheat.Its been a great year here as the rest of the family have started to enjoy it:Julie joined us in MarchAlex, Rachael and Anne came to stay on with Julie after we leftGeorge, Carolin...

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Paul & Kate Aug 2016

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Paul Kate Ivan & Elsie August 2016 The first visit for Paul for about 20 years. This has been a long project!! Read More...

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Crete July 2016

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Our lovely trip to Elounda in Crete. It's many years since we have had a holiday in Greece and we jumped at the chance to attend Graham and Susannah's wedding in Elounda, Crete. The wedding was postponed until next Spring but a crowd of us still turned up to enjoy a terrific 12 hour party (2pm – 2am). Click here to read Sue's full story

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France Milhars July 2016

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Our trip to see Alan in his lovely home in the Midi-Pyrenees Just a couple of days after the Brexit vote we were met at Toulouse airport by Alan. It was lovely to leave the British rain and to be able to enjoy the sun whilst enjoying a delicious lunch in one of the squares. There was an obvious presence of increased armed security parading the streets. Despite being a "Remainer" Alan was on good f...

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French House Diary Alex March 2016

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We left Newhaven at the start of the storm giving us a choppy journey. Rach was slightly 'ill' on route becoming acquainted with the toilet. After docking in France,despite the rain, the journey down was fine with the French sat nav doing a stellar job. Read more...

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French House Diary March 2016

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We set of from Newhaven with Julie and a whole lots of bedding in the roof box all ready for the start of the season at the French house. Lovely smooth crossing, Julie and I even wandered around the deck. When we got on the ferry a migrant was being fingerprinted. There hasn't been a problem at Dieppe before but since our last visit in October razor wire has appeared and there were a few migrants...

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Niagara, New York & Bermuda Sept 2015

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A week before we left Rick tore a calf muscle when he was a little over enthusiastic whilst playing Rounders at our “Rudgwick Music Festival family motorhome get-together” (what a mouthful). Hence we got to try out the Heathrow BA mobility assistance with me pushing him in a wheelchair Read more

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French House Diary September 2015

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On arrival the house looked in good shape and someone has been watering our geranium pots asthey were flourishing. There is a bit of life in the village and we keep hearing the sound of a cowseemingly in distress. Rick is glued to the Rugby World Cup, big shock Japan beating South Africa.Jen, Hayden and Lydia having their first family holiday in Tenerife. Read more.......

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French House Diary May 2015

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Calm crossing and after driving through several heavy, very heavy showers we arrived at the house in sunshine. We used the Nav Mii app on Rick's phone as it uses GPS and not the internet. It was our first visit of the year and we were expecting lots of damp and mould but it wasn't too bad. I was dying to see our neighbours Pierre and Isabelle so I could try out my” Michel Thomas French Course” phr...

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French House Diary Oct 2014

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Friday 3 OctoberWhat a pleasure to arrive at La Maison to find it warm and clean, that is apart from a few cobwebs and spiders. Rick immediately set to mowing the lawns as rain was forecast for tomorrow afternoon. Even the lawns weren't too bad, the geranium's are still going strong but quite a few weeds have appeared on the gravel – never mind, all is easily sorted. However, my big pot of IndiaYe...

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France June 2014

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The sun was shining when we arrived in Saint Ellier which was looking very pleasant with all the newly laid roads and pavements. Some big weeds had somehow managed to survive my dose of weedkiller but it wasn't long before they were there no more. They've made a brilliant job of the drain on the kitchen side of the house and have planted a flower border alongside the church side wall. ...

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French House Diary - Feb 2014

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We met Don, Helen and their two cocker spaniels Poppy and Dexter at Newhaven. It was a beautiful day but a bit choppy whilst at sea. Rick was probably a bit delicate from our previous night with Alan and Sheila at The Star in Petworth. This is Chris' new pub. They have been there a year and we didn't know! It was the first time abroad for Poppy and Dexter and they behaved very well. Download PDF F...

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India October 2013

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We had the most amazing visit to India to see the Taj Mahal and many forts and palaces in Rajasthan. We flew to Dehli and spent 16 days travelling around in a minibus with four other people. At the end of the trip we flew down to Mumbai and spent 1 night there to catch our flight back to London. The links below will open up pdf files of Sue's diary. We hope you find them interesting and that they...

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France May 2013

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Sunday 12 May 2013 Loches & Chateauroux 23573 – 23761 = 188 kmsWe finally left about midday and went via Ciral as Rick wanted to get his baguette but we only gotas far as Alencon when he had a big, big panic thinking he had left his mobile at the house.Fortunately it was a false alarm. We stopped at an Aire in the medieval Cite Royale de Loches andwandered around the royal lodge where Joan of Arc...

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French House Diary - May 2013

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French House Diary - May 2013 Tuesday 7 May 2013 On our way to Newhaven and oops Rick has forgotten the sat nav that he paid a fortune to update,never mind we will have to resort to the old ways. However, I see a divorce on the horizon,especially as I am struggling to see the maps and feel sick every time I look down for too long!!!

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Cornwall April 2013

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CORNWALL & DEVON - April 201326 March 2013 Woodbury Salterton 22605 – 22756 = 151 milesIt’s been the coldest March and winter since 1963. We left home at 9.15 am, it was dry but only 1 ° but felt likeminus 3°. Stayed at Brown’s Farm and met Fi and Mark for mussels and chips at The Diggers Rest. Too muchcider and beer – bed at 9pm. Download PDF file- Click here

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Salt Lake Sep 2012

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Never had such a quick turnaround, just back a few hours back from Marrakech before we set off to Heathrow to attend to the funeral arrangements for Auntie Ray. We flew with KLM alias American Airlines from Heathrow to Salt Lake viaAtlanta. The flight wasn’t too bad but I was still suffering from the Morocco tummy. Salt Lake City Sept 2012 pdf

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France Oct 2012

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Tuesday 16 October 2012. Our LD Lines Newhaven Ferry didn't depart our waters until 10am which gave us a somewhat leisurely start from usual. It was a beautiful, chilly, sunny day but the crossing was little choppy. The motorway toll was just over 20 euros and we got to the house about 6pm French time. Donald, Helen and some friends had only been there a week before to celebrate Paula's 60th birth...

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Marrakech Sept 2012

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Rick was off to Wiltshire for his annual PCB Golf Day, Hayden was off to Jersey for a networking couple of days and Jen met me off the train at Gatwick. After a snack and a few glasses of wine we set off on British Airways for the “Pink City” of Marrakech. It's a city of labyrinthine alleyways, but where are all the tourists? Marrakech Sept 2012 pdf Download

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France Motor Home June 2011

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Bordeaux, St Emilion and Mediterranean coast We took an LD overnight crossing from Portsmouth to le Havre. Last off the boat, never mind we have downloaded the latest truck sat nav so we don't get stuck under any low bridges and caught out on very narrow roads, especially those with ditches either side. We have a whole month in France and are hoping to spend a couple of nights at the start and end...

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P&O Cruise Jan to Mar 2012

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Sydney 2 Sydney Cairns and Brisbane Papua New Guinea At Sea to Papua New Guinea Japan Xingang Shanghai Hong Kong Vietnam Thailand 2nd Port Cambodia Phuket to Singapore Sri Lanka and Bay of Bengal Cochin - India Mumbai Dubai Cruising the Red Sea to Dubai Suez Canal, Jordan and more Egypt Athens to Port Said Barcelona to Athens Southampton to Barcelona

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Cuba - Nov 2010

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Download and Read Diary Item

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French House Diary - March 2011

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French House Diary - March 2011 Friday 18 March 2011 Hired a van from Ace in Littlehampton at a special weekend rate of £230. Loaded up Julie’s lounge suite and the boxes of ornaments left over from Busy Lizzies. Back home we loaded up the bed, chest of drawers and bedside cabinet that Don had bought. There was still some space in the van and we made a last minute decision to take Jen’s double bed...

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French House Diary - Oct 2010

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French House Diary - Oct 2010

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French House Diary - May 2010

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French House Diary - May 2010

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French House Diary - Aug 2001

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French House Diary - Aug 2001

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French House Diary - Sept 2000

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French House Diary - Sept 2000

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French House Diary - April 2000

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French House Diary - April 2000

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French House Diary - July 1999

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French House Diary - July 1999

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The Rhine - Aug 2010

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Our proposed Scandinavian trip with the Harley boys had to be postponed until next May as Peter was unable to ride his bike in Norway until he was 18. It was quite ironic as we were so prepared. Over the past few months we had been sorting out our camping gear, even spending a few nights trying out the new tent and mattresses in the garden. The day after we heard about the delayed Scandinavian tri...

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Lake Como - Sept 2010

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The day started badly with a phone call from Jen saying she was unwell and had bitten through her lip, banged her head and bruised her little finger when she fainted. She had been out with Dan and some friends and had Sushi and a few drinks and thinks it was food poisoning. I made a few frantic phone calls to see what the consequences were if we couldn't go. Fortunately, by the time we got to Chis...

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Montenegro - June 2010

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Montenegro – June 2010 Julie and Douglas have asked us if we would like to go to Kamanari in Montenegro to furnish anapartment they have just bought. They only completed the sale in March after putting the depositdown in 2007. They have had so much hassle that they now just want to get rid of it asap. We gotquite excited and thought if we borrowed their motorhome we could turn it into an exciting...

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Caribbean Cruise - April 2010

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Caribbean Cruise - April 2010 After Rick finishing insulating the loft, building his shed and installing a new kitchen we are definitely ready for a break. It was an early start but booking on-line enabled us to park in the short stay car park for only £66.40 for 10 days. Breakfast at Cafe Rouge, not great. Premium Economy made for a quick check-in and we were fast tracked though security. Bought...

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France Camping - 2009

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FRENCH HOUSE & CAMPING Aug 09Saturday 29 August9.30 am ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe, not sure if we will have a speeding ticket waiting for usback home as Rick was distracted trying to figure out where he had put the key to the box on top ofthe car. It was a pleasant journey from Dieppe to St. Ellier. Carrouges was absolutely packed asthey had some sort of fete with bumper cars and a kiddies ride...

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Norway - Oct 2008

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Sunday 12 October – Bergen, Norway – rain which cleared up in the evening It was a 3am start and we drove to Heathrow in thick fog; it’s not surprising as yesterday was one of those wonderful unexpected sunny, warm October days. I couldn’t fit everything into my 20 kilo allowance so I had to wear my jumper, heavy boots and Jen’s ski jacket. Last on the plane again as we were originally sent to gat...

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Pacific Coast Highway - August 2008

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After the success of the Route 66 roadtrip last October we are now ready to tackle the west side of the USA. Rick and I are being joined by Pete Starkey and Alun Morgan and his son Robert. Unfortunately, Professor Martin Goosey and his son Peter are only able to join us for a short time when we reach San Francisco. Without Martin’s sobering and thoughtful influence the groups’ dynamics may change...

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Galapagos June 2008

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This trip is a treat for Jen after finishing her final uni exams. Left home in pouring rain to meet Jen at Heathrow for a 4.30am check-in. Rick bought some new headphones as I had wrecked his last set. After a short wait at the modern Madrid airport we boarded the Iberia plane for the 11 hour flight to Quito. It wasn’t too bad a flight, the only excitement was when Rick stood up to stretch his bac...

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Route 66 October 2007

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Route 66 Download this free book of our Route 66 holiday (8Mb PDF) Click here to download

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Panama April 2008

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PANAMA CRUISE Friday 18 April 2008 Our flight to Miami left from Terminal 5. The new Terminal wasn’t very busy, checking in our luggage was quick and there were lots of staff there to help direct you; we had to take a satellite train to our gate. Most of the shops were upmarket and they didn’t seem very impressed when I asked if they had a “Next”. It would have been helpful if they had a map to sho...

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World Cruise - Jan 2009

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World Cruise - Jan 2009 Our most ultimate holiday ever! Follow the link below to read Sue's diary of our amazing trip. World Cruise pdf Link

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Barcelona to Rio Nov 2007

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We had to get up at 3.15 am to drive to Heathrow. The flight was uneventful and when we arrived at Barcelona we all assembled around the reps sporting the Marco Polo sign. Oh my god – everyone was so old, what have I done subjecting us to 3 weeks of this. Got on the coach and they seemed even older, I refuse to think of myself as retired, just taking a year out instead Read more here...

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