Malibu Molly

Happy New Year and a healthy and comfortable 2025.

Today we had a short run out to Dungeness with the simple idea of a walk and get some air. When we set off it was slightly misty. As the day progressed it became foggy instead. In the cold and freezing weather we went into the End of the Line cafe and had a coffee. The last train had departed already and there were few people around. The cafe is good in that half the room is dog friendly with signs on the table showing where to sit.  Who is this strange apparition? Once finished we went for a walk, but it still cold, about 1°C and we didn't get far before running back to the van. Then home time. The drive along the coast was smooth and it got foggier as we went along. A short run out but we needed it and so did Malibu Molly. The Old Lighthouse

Déja-vu! Back to Brighton. Last year for Claire's birthday in February we went to the Caravan Club site in Brighton.  The site is a bit out of the city itself but not far from the Marina. It's an easy enough walk from the site. Once by the Marina you can walk along the promenade alongside the little railway to the pier. Last year it was chilly and we only made it about a third of the way to the pier!! The marina area has restaurants and bars, plus shops and a McDonald's. We did go to Mac and gad a coffee only. We saw a recent vlog where they ordered burgers and bits from the city and it was delivered by scooter to the site entrance barrier. So a year to the date we are going there again. Report to follow.

The second booking for the summer rally/show season is to the west country and the Western Motorhome & Campervan Show! Held at at the Malvern Showground in August. We did the Norfolk Show in "Molly" in 2024 and decided to try a different one in 2025. We have been waiting for the tickets to come online and that appears to have been today. As it happens I was on the train into London to see the Arsenal play at the Emirates Stadium.  Don't panic.  The onboard WIFI was working. I had just clicked to book when we entered the Essex tunnel on our underground way to Stratford International!  Luckily it worked and we are booked.  This one is slightly more expensive than last year in Norfolk but that has to be expected with inflation etc. It actually works out at £37.50 a night with a pitch and EHU. Plus four nights of entertainment with a country music theme. Not that bad as we have paid more than that for some sites. I doubt I will be line dancing. But I do have a c...

The first we have booked is Vanlove 2025.  It's been on quite a few YouTube videos over the years.  Loads from the 2024 event. So we decided to give it a go. It's not until July so we have plenty of time to test to see if the van can sustain us for three of four nights on a runway without electric hookup!  Gulp. It's held on the runway at Elvington Airfield. The airfield is usually the base for land speed record attempts due to the long runway. So that's a weekend in July sorted.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.                                  🎄🎄🎄 Gonks in Malibu Molly.

The last day. Reggie was up early for his loo break and then his breakfast. He had worked out that this new van has a different layout and his bed is under the table next to the warm air vents and not on the bed with us.  We had no plan today other than to drive home.  With the rain starting to ease we could see that the water has receded quite a bit in the meadow at the front of the pitches. Once the chores had been completed we packed up and left.  At the last minute we decided to go to Walberswick or Southwold on the coast.  At the top of the drive we should have turned right.  I turned left. My fault as I had a memory of a pretty awful journey on very narrow lanes coming from that direction once before from Walberswick!  Another added inconvenience was that right in front of us and moving left to right was a big tractor hedge cutting.  What followed was a magical mystery tour of Suffolk in a huge loop with many right turns ...

Storm Darragh continued to batter the country and it rained and the wind blew hard!  The water came up in the field ever nearer the pitches. We had a reasonably lazy morning. Today was pub lunch day with Claire's sister and brother in law.  They came in their VW ID3 and took us to the pub. It's not far but it was raining hard. Very hard.  I had booked a table for 4 in the restaurant.  Reggie had to stay in the van.  If we had chanced it and gone to the other bar (non bookable) where he was allowed, it was empty! Still, I doubt he was that bothered. The food was excellent. We can thoroughly recommend the White Horse at Badingham . Afterwards we settled down to read and watch a few YouTube vids.  The weather still blowing and raining. What will tomorrow bring?

Storm Darragh. The latest storm to hit the UK bringing high winds and torrential rain. It was due to hit the west side of the country on Friday and then move eastwards. We started to load the van with essentials for a weekend away anyway.   The wind was around 45 to 50mph (according to the BBC) as we loaded plus the temperature was around 6°C. We decided that we would go for it, and if it was too rough we could turn round. We set off around 11am. It was windy on the M20 and we made good progress to Maidstone.  The satnav was telling us of 45 minute delays on the planned route. This turned out to be the Dartford Crossing. Due to darling Darragh they had closed the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and opened the eastern tunnel to southbound traffic. On the A2 the queues in the exit lane for the flyover towards the tunnels was tailed back at the top of the hill around a mile away!  We were in lane 2. A live traffic lane. My intention was to go the "old way" pre-flyover an...