The Great Bridget Brake Off!

The Great Bridget Brake Off!

It's almost time that Bridget and I weren't here. After almost 18 months in the UK it's time to take the brakes off and get rolling. We leave on the 25th Oct, destination Gran Canaria again. We will be taking the ferry from Huevla to Las Palmas on the 30th October, arriving on the 1st November and staying for the winter. To get to Huevla we are taking a ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao, then driving through Salamanca and Bandajoz. Need our sea legs! The plan, or as near as I ever get to having one, is to return in the spring via the Balkans. We have never visited Croatia, Bosnia, Kosova, or Serbia before so it will be a bit of adventure. The intention is to go as far as Albania and possibly Moldova or, if the fighting has ceased, Ukraine. I don't know why, but for some reason Moldova never seems like a real country to me (no disrespect meant). The name conjours...
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Travel Preparations!

Travel Preparations!

"The following are the thoughts of the author, but not necessarily the practices" Without doubt the most enjoyable adventures that I have experienced are those where preparations were almost non-existent. This way of travelling means that you may miss many events, views, sites and even people, of interest, but the other side of the coin is that you discover just as many unexpected delights as well as people in their natural, cultural surroundings. I prefer not to know where I will be next week, or what I will eat, or what I will be doing. This type of adventure does require a total removal of time constraints however, no scheduled events, ferries, or flights to catch, and definitely no planned date by which you must be back at home. Very few people are able to unshackle themselves from these obligations and so I have assembled the following thoughts on what preparations are necessary for those that are time constrained, but would still like to be more adventurous....
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Cars That Rock

Cars That Rock

Although I can rarely think of a good reason to stay in the UK during the dark ages (winter), seeing my grand-daughters make it worthwhile. It was fortunate that I did stay here this year as a little before Christmas I was contacted by Back2Back Productions, the company that makes the series 'Cars That Rock', presented by Brian Johnson. Brian, of course, was the front-man for rock band AC/DC and is also well known as a petrol-head with a fine collection of cars. MG was selected as a marque that should be included in the second series of the program 'Cars That Rock' and I was asked if Bridget would take part. Of course she did, and the result can be seen on the Quest TV Channel on the 21st May 2015 at 9:00pm (BST). It was a fun afternoon filming the episode. I have no idea what Brian thought of Bridget, which of course he drove, but perhaps we will find...
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Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo

STILL in the UK! Eight months served and just four to go then Bridget and I will be free to wander again. However we have no firm plans for a specific run of the type we have done in the past, but will be partaking in a number of MG Car Club events. The club have just announced that we will be running up to four holiday tours in Europe next year with Bridget acting as Tour Leader. The first will be around France, Provence in particular, during May. This will be followed by two tours in Italy and the final one visiting the Bavarian Castles of Germany. This will give us something to do for the summer, but we want to do something for the more adventurous enthusiast during the winter of 2015. So, if you have followed Bridget's adventures on here in the past and thought to yourselves, "I would like to try that", then this could be your chance. We are seeking...
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Finale

Finale

Firstly my apologies for the delay in posting this 'end of run' blog. After nine months away from home there are so many things that demand attention that I quite forgot that, according to this page, I was still in deepest France. I spent three very pleasent days in Blaymont with my cousin and her husband and did absolutely nothing to the car other than a cursory check of the oil and water levels. The steering still felt secure so I assumed the kingpin was holding up. There are several different routes from Blaymont back to the UK and I surveyed the different ferries available before deciding that I would drive all the way up to Calais and use either EuroTunnel or a ferry. Bridget and I set off for Le Mans using minor roads rather than the main highways. The weather was dry and for the most part sunny, but I didn't drop the hood. Bridget was rather laden down with too many...
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