Little Bealings, Suffolk

 Friday 25/06/21

Bokkie is currently nestled at a house-sit near Ipswich, on the East coast.  As usual, it took us and the animals a couple of days to get used to the new arrangements but now we have settled into a nice routine.



We have two Border collies, Ruby and Charley and two young cats, Dolly and Garth, and all are an absolute pleasure.  The dogs are real personalities with Charley determined to herd anything she can find; cats, balls, brooms and the watering can are some of the things that set her off.  We always know when there is a cat approaching as Charley heads off, crouches in the grass or behind a bush and escorts the cat through the house.  They don't seem to mind the attention and even offer Charley the occasional cuddle, something sheep don't usually do.

Charley keeping a close eye on Garth, who could not care less.

Charley, daring the ball to move out of formation; Ruby not quite so committed.


It's a lovely part of the world and close enough to Baldock that Charmaine popped in to spend the weekend with us.  We took a short trip to visit Felixstowe and had a lovely stroll along the beach (in spite of the weather) and looked at some of the stunning gardens in the area.


A more appropriately sized bench

I am managing to get some much-needed work done on Bokkie as the MOT highlighted the state of some of her electrics.  All the original Fiat lighting circuits were extended to the modified Hymer bumper and lights and the connectors are failing one by one.  Salty spray from the roads has caused the terminals to corrode badly and, after 20 years of operation, it was time to replace them all.  Access problems meant the bumper had to come off but this certainly is making the job a lot easier.

Luckily Toni has been keeping my strength up with some fantastic cooking and baking.


Bokkie showing her ankles

We're also trying to find a suitable replacement seal for the fridge door which has deteriorated to the point that it needed replacing.  The main issue is they don't sell them as spare parts and have stopped selling the complete doors as well.  One of the biggest problems of owning an older motor-home is always availability of parts but it keeps it interesting for me - always trying to find new solutions to solve problems.

We're here for another  week and need to start finalising when and how we are going to travel to Portugal for our next sit.

Bonus pics:-
Toni checked with the cats to see if they also wanted to play ball...

lol

rotflol


Hebden Bridge

 Saturday 12/06/21


We're back in Baldock after a short trip into Yorkshire.  

Bokkie needed a new exhaust system and, after some research, we settled on a stainless steel system which should last for life.  I had read good reviews of an installer in Leeds so decided the 180 mile trip would be worth the effort and we could stay somewhere local to explore the area at the same time.



We drove up on Monday to settle in before an early start on Tuesday, quietly sneaking out of the campsite at 06:30 to make our appointment in Leeds.  We dropped off Bokkie (it's terrifying leaving her in someone else's care) and headed off into Leeds on our bikes.  We had a lovely morning; Leeds centre is quite pretty but reasonably empty, almost like London without the tourists.

Northern-speak

Before we knew it, we got the call that Bokkie was finished, so we hopped on our bikes and headed out to the workshop.  We're very pleased with the result; Bokkie looks happier, sounds great and drives very smoothly.  Money well-spent!

We spent the rest of the week enjoying the area, our first time staying in Yorkshire.  Hebden Bridge village was a three mile walk away along the canal and we also did some lovely walks in the countryside.





Hebden Bridge





All in all, a lovely trip!

Beatrix welcoming us to Baldock

Bonus pic: Beatrix in defensive mode