kpnut

Helen, I have a feeling we’re going to be having plenty to catch up on at the meet. I used to walk home from school over the downs at the end of every term, as we always finished at lunchtime and it was good saving of my train fare that day, sometimes stopping overnight at either Patcham or Truleigh Hill youth hostel and sometimes wild camping. Camping at Huntington Cross on Dartmoor under fly sheets in February after a day spent underground in some muddy Devon cave is a memory I’ll always have -3 yrs running, one snow, one hail and one torrential rain where I woke up in the middle of the night and sat up to realise I’d been acting as a barrier for the water rushing down the bank. A long night spent sitting up after that as otherwise my head would have been in a puddle. A toad had joined us in the morning Big shame in my eyes that youth hostels are now just another type of hotel, and too expensive for many youngsters to have independent adventures. What is the title of this thread????? Think we may have strayed. Sorry.

Excellent tents, but oh so heavy! Does anyone know the name of the A frame tents that were around at the same time. I’ve been racking my mind for years for the name. Orange, rectangular footprint with long sides front and back, with large front door and a frame of two poles with an A shaped ‘hinge’ at the top, frame going between inner and fly if I remember rightly.

Ooh Jean, too difficult a question!

A ‘worried’ emoji is most suited here Biker.

The reason my boat’s called Springer’s Retreat, (that was before he took an intense dislike to the front well. I now can’t even entice him out there to eat his food). Unlike his brother who loves being out on deck - or sometimes Springers’ Retreat (this was on a hire boat when Finlay was a pup). And another snap of a relaxed dog (have posted it before and sorry for the ‘let it all hang out’ attitude! Loving all the photos, keep them coming.

You should have done Grendel, mine had the added bonus of built in drain holes in the floor so all the rain coming in from the leaks could get out. Unless the puddles decided to come in through the drain holes too! Exactly right!

That’s how I feel on the Konectbus 5B between Stalham and Ludham Bridge, hurtling along the road between Catfield and Ludham. Or at least it feels like we’re hurtling along, probably not. I never dare sit upstairs at the front like I used to as a child.

Carole, your tale has made me feel quite sick. The thought of using one of those passing places - ugh

I know roads in the alps like you describe Chris. Being the driver ‘on the wrong side’ is ok as you can see the drop next to you. For the passenger it’s a bit more scary! We went up a hairpinny road between Bergen and Voss in Norway in a Montego estate so loaded up with camping gear that I thought the front wheels were going to lift off the ground. The steering was certainly extremely light. Made worse by all the lorries coming the other way without a care in the world!

Can’t believe I’m posting on a car thread! I had a mini in the late 70s, the one with the wooden bits in the frame that was a bit like an ‘estate’ version with double doors at the back. Was it called a ‘traveller’? Anyway, it only had second and fourth gear plus reverse until I went to the scrapyard to get a replacement gear selector. One evening, I was very loaded up with caving gear for 12 people-lights, helmets, carbide etc plus my own stuff and a passenger with her stuff. I was trying to get up a steep hill in the Mendips and got down to the bottom of second gear, nothing to change down to, so had to reverse back down the hill, turn round and reverse up. On a main road, I’m not sure I’d do it nowadays!

Although I don’t think the leaves look quite right for that. As you say, more plantain-like. The bog arums don’t grow big like skunk cabbage.

My daughter who is a freshwater ecologist says it looks like calla palustris, bog arum.

I have one Helen. I got it last year when I was expecting quite a few different sets of friends on board over the main season. So it was well worth it, certainly saved well over the £10 it cost. The card has no expiry date so it’s just a one off payment. I even use it on my half pint of cider when on my own in the middle of winter.

Springer’s Retreat will give it a go.

It looks like an arum lily of some sort to me. Probably a bog version.

I’ll bring some cakes and other eats.

Is my head playing tricks? No alcohol involved, I promise.

We seem to have two spring meet threads going at the same time. Can they be merged?

We seem to have two spring meet threads going at the same time. Can they be merged?

I operate my windscreen wiper by hand. The lever is above the window so I have to sit up straight and stretch out to use it. Good exercise but seeing as the wiper doesn’t even touch the window, I don’t bother. I prefer the squeegee method of standing by the open front door, one hand on the wheel and stretching over the windscreen with the squeegee. Works better, but I get wet!!! One day I’ll upgrade! I wondered whether it was going to be a quiet week as there seemed a lot of boats still in at Richardsons on Monday evening and I saw very little on Tuesday pm either as I delivered the boat back to LBBY. Thanks for your write up and wonderful photos.

You didn’t miss that much Malcolm, it is very muddy there at the moment. Leave it to dry out a bit before visiting.

And me. Kate, Helen and Graham (Kpnut and Ynys Mon) Springer’s Retreat. Saturday night.

It’s this blessed wind, must be coming straight off the North Sea. My allotment in East Yorks was cold enough for three layers and hat yesterday. Bit better today. But maybe we’re just comparing with the last few years. We used to get regular snow in April when I was young, just as the lambing season started!

My little flip phone used to get topped up with £10 every 6 months. I once topped it up by credit card for £15 and it generated a fraud alert with my credit card who said it was ‘unusual activity on my card’! The same day I had already bought some plane tickets for a few hundred pounds!!! I unfortunately agree Mouldy. Very sad that we live in a society where ‘I’m all right Jack’ pervades, rather than a sense of community and care for others.

They are very expensive to buy in the first place.