Airstreams Throng

The Airstreamers have been gathering in Dorset and Yorkshire. We had a miraculous break in the weather for a weekend at an Airstream-friendly campsite in Dorset, then two weeks later, a cosy paddock and a heatwave near to York.

I really look forward to the gatherings. I've often thought that they are a way for the 'streamers to get their travels off to a start, but of course, in reality, many have already been on the road for a while. But anyway, it's a great time for talking about recent travels and future plans. For others, it can be an excuse to get a bit of maintenance or restoration finished in time for an appreciative audience, or to share your latest modification, or to show off that freshly polished trailer!

In Dorset we had a few new faces, which is always lovely, plus a catch up with some familiar faces we hadn't seen for a while, as well as some really regular gatherers. As people come to more of these weekends, the more the banter and ribbing flourishes. It's just joyful. And because you often know about other Airstreamers via the internet, it's great to put faces to names. This time we met the lovely Jenni and Kevin from Happy Days RV, who rent out their trailers on the site where we gathered.

For the second event, we went up North to Airstreamers Dave and Tanya's paddock. It was just the right size and shape for a cozy get-together, and the sun beat down on us the whole time. I still have the flip-flop tan to prove it. This time, there were no new faces, but the familiarity coupled with our sort of kidney-shaped formation made the group feel very relaxed.

Next? Rockhill Rendezvous in September, of course! It was lovely to hear all the York gatherers bidding each other goodbye with a "See you at Rockhill", like it was a given. Well it is for us, obviously. Our trips to the pub are also known as "meetings", where we each have a notebook and assorted, developing 'to-do' lists. Top of my to do list is "don't break leg!" I've already stepped up my yoga practice to strengthen my legs and ankles. Prevention blah blah blah.

Flip-Flops and Bumble Bees

Spring is here. We have been fooling ourselves for a couple of weeks, excited by a glimpse of sunshine and some chirruping birds, only to be caught out with inadequate layering of clothes. I might start recording my first sighting of a girl in flip-flops, just like I make a mental note of my first bumble bee. I have seen both, the flip-flops before the official first day of Spring, and the more sensible bee since.

I haven't blogged much lately, questioning whether there's a point. Don't we all? I have felt that things have been a bit ordinary, and who wants to hear about that? Then it occurred to me that things may have been just relatively ordinary. After all, we are still living in our Airstream, of no fixed abode. Nothing ordinary about that. Anyway, doing normal stuff is good; dull, but necessary. Sometimes though, days and weeks can go by where you're just dealing with one bit of domestic or personal maintenance after another. I guess this is the ideal time of year to be in that mode; brighter, longer days to get stuck in with chores and jobs. Then, hopefully we're all ready to get on with the rest of Spring and Summer.

The trailer got a wash and a polish last week. I quite like polishing, and going round with a soft toothbrush to dislodge grime and green stuff from the crevasses. I have an eye for it. It's in my genes. Next, I'm going to raid the vehicle grooming kit that we got with our Land Rover, and see what I can gloss or highlight. It's like make-up for your car or trailer. 

These primroses are sitting on the top of our gas bottle locker, and aren't they just little pots of sunshine? Yellow, and the fresh green of new shoots just seem to be the colours of Spring don't they?

Happy Cool Campers

Well, we have reflected and discussed, we have caught up on our sleep and on Wednesday we moved from the site of the Gathering, back to our little Worcestershire hideaway. Now we will now get ourselves organised for taking part in a convoy to northern Europe. Very excited about that.

Our Spring Gathering last weekend was a big success. Phew! If you fill a field with beautiful trailers and vans and friendly people, what can you expect? Everyone mingled and chatted and admired each other's pride and joy. There were some very chilled out scenes, sitting in the sun, cups of tea being made, flags, bunting, lights, flamingos, stripey deckchairs.

Children played, food was blackened, fire warmed us as the night chilled. A downpour during the Sunday breakfast didn't even dampen our spirits (having a barn to shelter in helped heaps). It was just lovely.

As usual I didn't get to spend time with everyone. I think that I need to be on the site as people arrive. That way, at least I get to say "Hi". 

Pete and I really appreciate everyone's help, contributions and enthusiasm, and we will definitely take up those offers of help for the next one. Everyone knows it's the people who really make an event a success, and so many comments were about what a lovely bunch had turned up. It was also fun to have a mix of the Airstreams and the European vintage caravans. It made for a field of style and character.

the view from our trailer

Travel Day

Since today was a travelling day we decided to set ourselves up with a decent breakfast, and all four of our eggs had double yolks! Now would someone please tell me that a double yolk is a sign of good luck while I go and check if our lottery numbers have come up? I mean, what are the chances?

We are now at the site where the Airstream and Cool Caravan Gathering is taking place this weekend. We have been comparing our 'to do' lists and will stock up on supplies tomorrow. Early birds start to arrive over the next two days, then most will join us on Friday. Can't wait to see all the pretty caravans, trailers and camper vans.

Cool Airstreams

The countdown is on and I am getting very excited about our Spring Gathering next weekend. For this one, we at UK Airstreamers have teamed up with Chris Haddon and his My Cool Caravan Facebook followers and we are going to have an eye boggling and mega groovy weekend in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

It is time to dust off the pink flamingos, unravel the bunting......

..... untangle the fairy lights, 

and prepare to chill, laugh and generally relish being surrounded by some of the finest trailers, caravans and RVs in the country. More information can be found here.

Morris Men

We finally got to enjoy some morris dancing. In our three years and a bit of living on the road this is our first encounter. It was the May Day bank holiday and this team (The White Hart Morris Men, I think) were stepping out at The Star Inn,  Ashton Under Hill in Worcestershire.

I had always thought that Morris is an all-male dance, and this troupe was, but apparently there are regional variations and some have women! Wiki describes the dance as "rhythmic stepping", and I think that's pretty accurate. Plus, of course there are complicated formations. There are hankies flung and sticks tapped, bells jangled, and prompts are yelled out. The musicians were ambidextrous, one playing a whistle in one hand and a drum with the other. It's a great entertainment for a beer garden on a sunny afternoon.

Life Outside

Today I had my first al fresco yoga session of the year. The occurence of these is usually limited as much by privacy as weather, but both were in my favour today, after our over-the-hedge neighbours had been for a look at the Airstream. We seem to be having an early summer and it is perfect for starting to spill out of the trailer and do stuff outdoors that is limited to indoors for rest of the year. I think it is about seven months since we put away our outdoor furniture and stored the firepit and barbecue, so it's not a day too soon. When you can leave the door open and seamlessy swap between inside and outside, that is what it's all about, whether you are Airstreaming or campervanning, fulltime or holidaying. I'm outside right now!

To get myself to make time for yoga I took my own advice that I used to give when I taught yoga classes, and that is to aim small. If you think that you need an hour put aside then, unless you're dedicated, you'll just find that you have more pressing things to do, like answer some emails or clean the kitchen bin. So, if you tell yourself that you will simply do ten minutes, or one pose, you are more likely to step onto the mat. The thing is, once you get started you will probably end up adding a few more poses, and afterwards you'll feel more alive and maybe a little bit pleased with yourself.

I have recently bought a cheap foam bed roll to put under my yoga mat to counter lumps and bumps under foot and to help to keep my mat clean. The sun warmed my face, birdsong was ringing  all around me. A couple of brave Goldfinches even dared to use the feeder which was only about eight feet from me. I savoured sustained breaths of fresh spring country air, I reached up to the sky, I thought about having a cup of tea and some chocolate biscuits. I was at one with nature, and then I wasn't. I didn't dwell on the beverage fantasy, but it was a persistent yearning which I have since indulged, and my life is complete and well balanced I feel.

Reality Bites

Here are a couple of pics from a little visit to Broadway in the Cotswolds, ridiculously pretty and a perfectly preserved version of 'Englishness' which only exists in affluent pockets and attracts tourists from all over the world. It is a lovely place to wander about, have some tea and cake, buy something traditional from a traditional shop, look at some yellow houses with their regulation sagey-putty-coloured front doors before returning to the real world.

A few days after I brought the Land Rover home from its cheap-as-chips MOT it started to lose its umph. It wouldn't accelerate at an acceptable rate. I had to return to the hinterlands of Cheltenham to get it fixed, and once more had to 'kill' time, a whole day in fact.

I had a few gratifyingly gratis and discounted experiences in Cheltenham, starting with a free coffee, courtesy of a loyalty card lurking in my purse. I made up for this by signing up for the coffee chain's not-free WiFi. It took as long to sign up as to actually be online.

Next, some reward points helped me to purchase a book (Room, by Emma Donoghue) for £2.44. Then an early summer sale in a department store got me 20% off some new bed linen. So far so good.

All was negated by the bill at Land Rover at the end of the day. This seemingly simple life of ours can be bloody expensive at times. We've chosen this big shiny trailer to live in, which needs a big monster car to tow it. It works by some kind of voodoo/electrics, which has been cleverly designed so that the voodoo/electrics wear out a lot and have to be fixed by the voodoo/electrics pixies, not by mere mortals. You look under the hood and you can't even see the engine. What goes on in there? It looks big and tough but it seems to be made of marshmallows and tissue paper, and it disappoints me quite frequently. Can you tell?

Hey Ho, here's some more Spring stuff. Oh and the book was superb. I devoured it in two days.

Here At Last

We went to see Submarine. It was charming, and funny, and uncomfortable, and beautifully shot, like a french film set in coastal Wales.

We saw cherry blossoms in Cheltenham.

I saw a girl in flip flops yesterday. Where do you go from there?

I have spotted a jay a few feet from the Airstream. All of the birds have on their best plumage.

Feral cats are skulking around.

All of the windows and skylights are open.