Moody Owners Week End

We met up with Denise in Chichester Marina and boarded her beautiful yacht Denecia II, a 44ft centre cockpit boat. After lunch we motored out of the marina and over the bar. The wind was not being helpful so we motored all the way to Swanwick. We had supper in The Ship where we met Laurence & Annie Gandar. The next morning we set off for Cowes and thought we were going to get a good sail however after one tack it was obvious we would have to motor again.

We arrived in Cowes to a very impressive collection of Moody boats including Tikka crewed by the Dixon family.

A drinks reception followed by the Celebration Dinner was held at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club. We met lots of new friends and lots of old friends, and talked until midnight.

We spent a very enjoyable day on Sunday on a treasure hunt arranged by Peter & Lesley Williams, some of the clues were a little obscure but then that's what it is all about! Sunday evening a Hog Roast was held at the Island Sailing Club followed by a Disco of 60’s, 70’s & 80’s music.

On Monday we watched the yachts leave for their parade of Moody Yachts and waved good bye because we had to head back to Chichester.

And this time we did get a good sail all the way to the entrance to the river. It looked like an armada coming in behind us they all wanted to beat the tide over the bar.

Denise took her back into her berth and we said our good byes, a great week end and a great reunion with all our old friends.

Friends at Vinaros

First to arrive for Christmas were Keith and Lynn, we had Christmas Lunch at the Bar, very nice if not traditional English roast Turkey.

 

Followed by music and the Wii dancing game, luckily nobody took a picture of me making a fool of myself.

Then Ken & Carole arrived and we had our own Christmas Lunch in their awning, if you try you can even find Brussels sprouts in Spain.

 

We all had lunch at the Bar on 29^th December, cooked by a Dutch couple who did us all proud.

Followed by music by Manolo, And a good time was had by all…

When the weather improved in the New Year we all went to out for the day, we had lunch in Alcanar de Cases followed by a walk along the promenade.

Then at the end of January we went for lunch with Dave & Val in their local restaurant in Cervera

Then we walked up to their house in the village, the view from their balcony looks all the way back down to the sea at Vinaros.

The town house is on 4 floors, or is it 5,  with balconies on 2 floors.

And the next day as the weather was still good we went to Peniscola for lunch, followed by a walk through the old town to the castle.

The Carnival was as good as ever if a little cold, how the dancers cope with the cold in those skimpy outfits I don’t know, however I expect the copious amounts of alcohol being handed out probably helps.

Before Ken & Carole left for their return home, another couple of Geezers arrived

Reet & Del have since moved on as well and so we are left Geezerless for a while, roll on the arrival of Mike & Heather and any others that fancy some nice warm sunshine!!!

Vinaros

Settling in to the routine of Camping Vinaros life, Line Dancing on Mondays, Keep Fit Tuesdays & Fridays (although I don’t attend), Craft Monday mornings and Yoga in the afternoon, then there is always the Market to visit on Thursdays.

There is talk of a Halloween Party on Saturday although nothing on the notice board yet. The weather is still gorgeous, 26 degrees yesterday and warm enough to swim in the pool, which isn’t heated.  The forecast is good for the next 10 days so more sitting in the sunshine and BBQ’s are on the agenda.

Christmas decorations and other such stuff has started to appear in the shops so I guess that is just around the corner now. Christmas baubles on the craft agenda this week but where I am going to put them when they are finished is another mystery. Maybe the trees outside could do with some bling!

Spain at last

The new windscreen and MOT went well with no hitches, Dave had to go back to Lancashire to attend the Probate interview, but I stayed in Witney with the RV. We then spent a few days in Warsash. Kirsty & Neil came down for dinner with us at the local Pub and a long chat, its been ages since we saw them both.

Annie & Ian were visiting Mags & Nigel so they all came over for lunch at Swanick. Took the opportunity to view a couple of yachts that are for sale at Moody's.  The next day we walked around to Lawrence’s for a chat and a beer.

The ferry crossing from Portsmouth to Bilbao was very calm and the weather was warm so we spent the day on deck sunbathing. Drove down across county to Vinaros on the Monday and we were pitched up by 5pm.

Back to Banbury

Returned to Banbury for the usual Doctors visits etc. Drove Nicolette’s van down as well, delivered it to their house while they were away at the week end Motocross event, next week end is a two day event so they will be able to take everything in the new van.

The Hanging baskets in Banbury are still nice but the trees are starting to change colour. The sun is out but the wind is cold, people wandering around town in shorts and Tee-shirts and I am in jeans and winter jacket, time to go I think.  Barnstones is very full, a Christian caravan club in the rally field, and the pitches in the main area don’t stay empty very long either. Two couples heading off to Spain in a couple of days and a couple more heading for the west country. We go to Dudley's next to get the windscreen replaced and the van MOT, then the south coast before heading for the ferry, can’t wait.

Geezers Rally

After a few years absence another Geezers Rally was held at Bridge Heyward Caravan Park on the banks of the Calder River in Read Lancashire. The weather was not entirely kind to us, it seemed to rain every other day. So on the good days we had a really good time.

Thursday morning started with coffee and home made scones at Ken & Carole’s, Mike & Heather were attending their very first Geezers Rally.

 

Ken & Carole had recently purchased a beautiful new residential park home and had it sited here at Bridge Heywood, the decking was built by Ken over last winter, amazing job and the view is just glorious.

Then in the afternoon the BBQ at Geezers HQ was a little soggy under foot but the sun stayed out and we managed to stay out of the wind with the help of Ken’s Gazebo (£15 from eBay) and Keith & Ken’s windbreaks. Good food, good company and a few drinks!

Friday’s weather was not ideal, it rained heavily in the morning but after lunch we headed off for a walk around the local countryside, complete with waterproofs, strong boots and umbrellas.

The locals were friendly if a little scary.

We hadn’t intended it to be an obstacle course!

But the obstacles were unusual at least.

In the evening we had a glass of champagne to celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary.

 

On Saturday Ken & Carole hosted a BBQ on their decking, the boys were in charge of the cooking, however I think the girls had done most of the work preparing everything!  The table groaned under the weight of the spread and we had to have a second stab at the leftovers later in the evening to see most of it off. Ken compiled a music quiz based on the 1960’s deliberately designed to stump Dave, however, it didn’t work and Dave & Heather triumphed with an impressive score of 64 out of 100.

Mike & Heather had to leave on Sunday due to a prior commitment, the rest of us stayed indoors due to the weather again, and the fact that there was Motorcycle racing from Donnington followed by the F1 Grand Prix from Hungary on the TV.

On Monday after a rainy start the weather improved and we all walked to the Game Cock for a late lunch. The carvery was excellent and the wine wasn’t bad either. We walked back and the hardy ones continued walking around the “loop” coming back to Ken’s decking along the river bank. After a few drinks there we moved to Geezers HQ for a few more drinks as a farewell to the Lindsay's who were leaving in the morning.

The Geezers Rally was officially over but Rob & Jill are staying for a few more days and of course Ken & Carole live here, well most of the time. A good time was had by all and promises made to meet again next year if not before. Thanks to everyone for making the effort to come and stay safe until we all meet again.

Sad News

Dave’s Dad died last Saturday very suddenly, although he had not been in the best of health his death was very unexpected. We had been making plans for the Geezers Rally but now we are making arrangements for the funeral. We had all enjoyed a lunch out together the previous week and Dave’s brother and sister in law were with him when it happened. We shall all miss him and we will raise our glasses to toast his life on Tuesday.