Post by jayjay on Sept 29, 2007 19:16:57 GMT
I'm home - I've been to Aberystwyth and back again... apart from one prob (overheating, as detailed in the 'Romahomes in Particular' forum) there were no probs.
By the time I'd got half way to Aber (approx 100 miles) I'd got the hang of the gears and actually little 'Daisy' as I've named her, was very forgiving when I got it wrong sometimes! (for those who didn't know, I'm partially disabled and have been driving an auto around for years, so this is a major victory for me!) I actually enjoy driving her, great fun and lovely being high up and able to see. I had to pull over quite a few times to let impatient drivers go past. Son thought it was folly, he has much to learn about road curtesy methinks!
Well, sonny jim (son#2) had to go back to Uni and that's one of the reasons I bought the little rascal - it was getting too much to drive him there and then drive me back home in a day in the car, approx 200 miles of twisty roads, no duel carriageways after Nantwich!
We had some good times, but mostly the experience was not good.. read on.
The best bit was driving to a lovely beach at Borth. Son went fishing and I walked the dog on the beach in brilliant sunshine, then sat in Daisy and made a cup of tea and read the newspaper, what bliss!
Sonny Jim had arranged to stay/rent a static caravan on a horse stud farm, where the owner had said I could stay for free. On arrival, it turned out the static van wasn't in very good order - the water heater was broken, so only cold water, dirty to the point of disease
, festooned with cobwebs and crawlies and no proper waste disposal - either water or sewage . And the electricity is on a hook-up, not connected to the mains, but the same way a campervan is connected. The sewage (i.,e,loo) is connected to a bucket which needs emptying after two flushes. The water drains away into a field and presumably the nearest watercourse. The chap wants £50 a week not including gas & electric!!! Not good. We left all the stuff (esp. food) in the van and started to clean it so at least we could sleep in it. 
The static van was completely bare, nothing useful at all - no pots, pans, plates, kettle, bucket - nothing - so it was a good job I had them in my Daisy (and plenty of cleaning stuff
). Son had taken pots, pans, knives/forks, etc, but no plates, bowls, kettle, tv or radio....
He came back home with me for the weekend, but has to go back on the train tomorrow, but he is looking for alternative accomodation as soon as he gets there as we both think that even if everything is sorted out, it's only £10 more for a proper room, with all amenities, etc - even the use of a hoover and washing machine! Luxury!
The first night we were absolutely freezing - a heavy frost and clear skies... I would have been warmer in Daisy outside, a smaller space to heat. It will cost a fortune to run that stat van in the winter. The worst thing was going to a loo that IS connected to a septic tank, in an old dilapidated portacabin with no doors, rotten floors and which was the filthiest toilet I have ever seen in my life (I'm not that fussy, but I could not bring myself to sit on that seat), urrrggghhhh - a bucket was preferable.
And they had that very day, separated the mares from their foals, so we listened to them whinny in distress all night, poor things. And we shivered all night, what a nightmare!
The next night was cloudy and a lot warmer, so we slept a bit better. The mares and foals seemed to have calmed down a lot too.
Well, I hope never to have that experience again... Nothing to do with my little vanny, that was superb - but apart from the afternoon at Borth, the rest was really an experience I'd like to forget!
By the time I'd got half way to Aber (approx 100 miles) I'd got the hang of the gears and actually little 'Daisy' as I've named her, was very forgiving when I got it wrong sometimes! (for those who didn't know, I'm partially disabled and have been driving an auto around for years, so this is a major victory for me!) I actually enjoy driving her, great fun and lovely being high up and able to see. I had to pull over quite a few times to let impatient drivers go past. Son thought it was folly, he has much to learn about road curtesy methinks!
Well, sonny jim (son#2) had to go back to Uni and that's one of the reasons I bought the little rascal - it was getting too much to drive him there and then drive me back home in a day in the car, approx 200 miles of twisty roads, no duel carriageways after Nantwich!
We had some good times, but mostly the experience was not good.. read on.
The best bit was driving to a lovely beach at Borth. Son went fishing and I walked the dog on the beach in brilliant sunshine, then sat in Daisy and made a cup of tea and read the newspaper, what bliss!
Sonny Jim had arranged to stay/rent a static caravan on a horse stud farm, where the owner had said I could stay for free. On arrival, it turned out the static van wasn't in very good order - the water heater was broken, so only cold water, dirty to the point of disease
, festooned with cobwebs and crawlies and no proper waste disposal - either water or sewage . And the electricity is on a hook-up, not connected to the mains, but the same way a campervan is connected. The sewage (i.,e,loo) is connected to a bucket which needs emptying after two flushes. The water drains away into a field and presumably the nearest watercourse. The chap wants £50 a week not including gas & electric!!! Not good. We left all the stuff (esp. food) in the van and started to clean it so at least we could sleep in it. 
The static van was completely bare, nothing useful at all - no pots, pans, plates, kettle, bucket - nothing - so it was a good job I had them in my Daisy (and plenty of cleaning stuff
). Son had taken pots, pans, knives/forks, etc, but no plates, bowls, kettle, tv or radio.... He came back home with me for the weekend, but has to go back on the train tomorrow, but he is looking for alternative accomodation as soon as he gets there as we both think that even if everything is sorted out, it's only £10 more for a proper room, with all amenities, etc - even the use of a hoover and washing machine! Luxury!
The first night we were absolutely freezing - a heavy frost and clear skies... I would have been warmer in Daisy outside, a smaller space to heat. It will cost a fortune to run that stat van in the winter. The worst thing was going to a loo that IS connected to a septic tank, in an old dilapidated portacabin with no doors, rotten floors and which was the filthiest toilet I have ever seen in my life (I'm not that fussy, but I could not bring myself to sit on that seat), urrrggghhhh - a bucket was preferable.
And they had that very day, separated the mares from their foals, so we listened to them whinny in distress all night, poor things. And we shivered all night, what a nightmare!
The next night was cloudy and a lot warmer, so we slept a bit better. The mares and foals seemed to have calmed down a lot too.
Well, I hope never to have that experience again... Nothing to do with my little vanny, that was superb - but apart from the afternoon at Borth, the rest was really an experience I'd like to forget!
