YouTube Channel

By roychinnorNo Comments
Weekend break on the banks of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. Even with the usual throng of tourists from all over Europe and the States, it has been both reflective and relaxing. The route here from Esch sur Sure is below:   I was somewhat disappointed that having paid the Swiss toll for using their roads of £45, I was then held up at one of the tunnels under the alps for well over an hour. However, it is difficult to complain too forcefully when you see the views along much of the route. I have videoed quite a bit of it and am launching a new YouTube Channel with a ten minute clip for those interested. The link to watch is https://youtu.be/qSKzz41Jmdw  and if you like it and wish to see more as the trip unfolds then please when you are in YouTube select Subscribe. It doesn't cost anything, although whilst on the subject, I shall once again plead for a donation...
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STOP PRESS – Please read this

By roychinnorNo Comments
Just wanted to say a BIG thank you to the family who having just seen me on the road today, were generous enough to donate to the Save the Children charity on my Just Giving page (there it is look, just to the right of this). If this support could just go viral, at five pounds a piece, it could make such a difference to the 2.5 million children displaced in Ukraine as well as all the others that the charity continuously works to help. Remember, we were due to travel through the Ukraine on this road trip, but can't because of the invasion. A minor inconvenience compared to what the children there are being forced to endure. Please support us before logging off. Roy Locock...
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Back On The Road

Back On The Road

By roychinnorNo Comments
I have just spent three days in Esch sur Sure in Luxembourg's Ardenne. It is a very picturesque commune with a castle ruin. It only became a tourist town since the second World War and it's main claim to fame was that it was the second smallest commune in Luxembourg. Otherwise it just relies on its' charm. Just five minutes up the A12 from here is a monument to the fallen during the Battle of the Bulge. This was the Nazi's last serious attempt to break through the Allies lines and had it been successful could have created a stalemate and possible opportunity for a negotiated settlement. Unfortunately for them they chose an area under the control of a very determined American force rapidly joined by General Pattons' armoured divisions and they weren't for turning. There are a number of trails through the forest with all weather displays, including foxholes, command posts and many lifesize figures of soldiers from both armies. The...
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C’est la Vie

C’est la Vie

By roychinnorNo Comments
    When I left you last I was looking forward to a day watching a re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo, on it's 207th anniversary and what's more on the original battleground. I passed a couple of pleasent days leading up to this momentous occasion watching some golf at the Royal Waterloo Golf Club, and wishing I had loaded my clubs in the car before I left, and taking in some of the local scenery and community activities. Anyway, Saturday morning arrived and I set-off to the location, stopping at a local supermarket to load-up with some refreshment. The sky was cloudless and the heat by mid-day was too much for some of the tourists. I started off by making my way to one of two bivouac areas which was far larger that I had expected and extremely busily habitated. There was row-upon-row of tents grouped into different companies, battalions and regiments. I found one platoon of Scots Guards consisting of three...
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They’re Off!

They’re Off!

By roychinnorNo Comments
I was beginning to wonder if we would ever get away but, having cancelled the world tour, I managed to get away this morning for a 90 day  tour of the Balkans. We left at 07:30 and by 09:30 we had travelled just 9 miles! Having joined the M40 in Oxfordshire, there was an accident causing the complete closure of the Southbound carriageway. We missed the mid-day ferry we had booked to Dunkirk and had to catch the following one some two hours later. The drive across Belgium was good, but we were unable to make up the time and so were late arriving in the Waterloo area, where a hotel I had booked was located. I got us hopelessly lost (which is why I rarely book hotels in advance), but managed to purlion two passing police officers and got an official escort to the hotel. That's style. I have been told, that this weekend, there is going to be a re-enactment...
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