Leaving Salisbury

I suppose being the two eldest boys it is not surprising that both Richard and I inherited Dad's unlimited ingenuity in 'do it yourself'. Dad's type of do it yourself required the accumulation of a large horde of 'stuff'. Every time a job is to be done the 'stuff' is looked at carefully to see exactly which part will complete the job in such a way as to be indistinguishable from the expensive and ready made professional looking alternative.

That sort of philosophy was behind the last job to do before I was ready to leave Salisbury. My nephew had kindly donated his old mountain bike to me. Well! His old one it might have been. For me it is probably the most sophisticated bike I've ever owned with front suspension and more gears on it than a heavy haulage Scanny truck.

A cheap piece of wood, a flexible plastic bucket and some of my old sail boat rigging were soon modified, skillfully combined and lashed onto the recently purchased rear wheel pannier carrier.

Tanya, with surprisingly little resistance was deposited in this 'superbly constructed' doggy carrier. A trial run was completed and announced a great success. Sadie now has the 'quick attach' dog carrier safely stored in her rear garage. The bike meanwhile sits securely on the bike carrier hanging off Sadie's rear end.

That was it. The last job. Time for me to leave. I have been coming and going from Richards comfortable and welcoming home since my arrival last December. This time though, leaving was hard. I was setting off on the BIG journey. It was quite an emotional wrench which was not helped by Tanya  attaching herself to Jurate, Richards carer, whom we had all grown fond of. A couple of stern words were needed to persuade her canine ladyship to exit the house and take up position in the passengers seat as Sadies co pilot.

Finally wheels were rolling and overall a good day ensued. I did not travel far and ended up having some quiet and reflective time in and around the Krishnamurti centre at Brockwood park just south of Winchester.

A good meal with Sadie secure, and in motorhome lingo, wild camped on a roadside verge in the middle of woods adjacent to the centre gave a pleasant ending to the day.

An interesting pastime when in such a 'wild camp spot' is to imagine what goes through drivers minds as they come down the road and catch sight of this 'different thing' that has had the temerity to invade their very own and familiar local driving landscape. 

Wild camping on a wide grassy verge on such a road where overnight traffic numbers can be counted on one hand is OK. At the side of a main or busier road? 

No, I don't think so.

GATEWAYS

"Ohhhh Sh**!" I started to sprint back toward the gateway fully alerted by the strident sound of a foghorn atop an empty and very large articulated timber truck.

Sadie was beautifully parked right in front of the locked gate, now being unlocked, by a not too unpleasant or irate looking lorry driver. In fact he turned out to be quite obliging and recommended I park inside the gateway to have my lunch while he loaded his lorry from the stacks of timber neatly piled along the sides of this large curved concrete track on the Stourhead  Estate in Wiltshire. It looked to me like there used to be an Old wartime airfield there.

I was heading up the A303 on my way to Salisbury. It was lunchtime and Tanya wanted a walk. I hate stopping in lay-bys on main roads hence Sadie being parked in a deserted gateway on a tiny road with high hedges and no other distinguishing features. Apart that is, from it being close to the A303 on a quiet Friday afternoon

Gateways and me seem to be developing an 'interesting and eventful' relationship. This was now the second time since owning Sadie that blocking a gateway had caught me out. It was no particular problem this time as the lorry driver enjoyed our chat and as I said earlier, was obliging.

The story probably would have been  different had I not been able to return to move Sadie within a couple of minutes.

The first incident was a bit different.

I was on my way down from Scotland and had been visiting friends and family in and around Gloucester. I knew the area well as I had previously lived and worked nearby.

I had stayed too late with some friends. It was now dark and well past the time where I could have called in a favour with another good farmer friend who had plenty of room to park Sadie.

I headed up Crickley hill and pulled into the large parking area at Birdlip Hill.

A meal was soon cooked and all was snug and warm but it was becoming apparent that this was the chosen meeting place for the local youth and their 'rev me to death' cars. I guess I had also given them a new game to play called, 'Lets see how close we can drive to a motorhome while manically shouting obscenities out of the open car windows'.

Uh oh! Time to exit. The beauty of a motorhome is you can do exactly that easily and quickly.

Ah ha! But it was now late and where was I to go. A gateway to an old and disused timber yard not far away came to mind. Off we go. We straight away miss the turning and are committed to a road far too narrow for a rather large A series motorhome. I was now tired, fed up, and it was late at night. I resorted to playing the loudly voiced obscenities game as I inched through narrow lanes bounded by high Cotswold stone walls.

We eventually found the gateway and deposited one thankfully unscathed Sadie into it. I shut up shop and went to bed noting the peace and silence outside.

"OI! You can't park there, this is a working yard, it's 7am and I want you out of this gateway NOW!"

Well he was right. It was 7am and as I blearily stared outside at the bitterly cold morning I could also see he was right about it not being an old and disused timber yard anymore.

"F*****!" I muttered as dressing gown was hastily flung on, blinds cleared from windscreen, engine started, gateway cleared and Sadie temporarily parked on the verge. I then exited to give my apologies to one irate timber yard owner.

I suppose it must have been about twenty minutes later when timber yard owner, who was comfortably seated in his nicely heated Toyota pick up, decided he really was a busy man and must now end this amiable chat, unlock the gate and start his days work.

I by this time, having been standing out in the cold with only thin dressing gown, slippers and not much else, was frozen to the core.

I was extremely relieved to finally climb back into Sadie, move her to a lay-by further down the road, turn up the heating and thaw out with a hot cup of tea.

Tanya of course found all this most amusing. Especially the part where I had unceremoniously picked both her and her bed off of her usual night time roost of drivers seat and hastily flung her onto my bed. As I, uncontrollably shivering by this time after the 'amiable' chat, clambered back aboard Sadie. Tanya remained fast asleep curled up on MY pillow. She did not even raise her head to see who was invading her domain!!

These things usually come in three's.  Methinks I will be very wary of gateways for a while!!

Avalon

I guess it wasn't the ideal spot for viewing but Josh was right, it was a wild place right on the edge and full of wildlife.

Anne, my friend Pete the poet's wife, had given me the tourist leaflets for Cheddar Gorge and the Avalon marshes.

Yesterday I enjoyed a good circular walk round the Cheddar Gorge starting at Jacobs Ladder.

This is a 274 step stairway leading to the top of the gorge. The information boards relating the step positions to the history of the gorge give a real sense of how we human beings most certainly are the new guys on the block.

Got lost too. That is par for the course for me. I could hear Kate chuckling away. She used to say, when explaining our walks to others. "we went on one of Steve's expoditions!"

This was a pleasant 2 mile 'expodition' along the Mendip way until that is, I realised that Cheddar Gorge and Tanya and I were going in opposite directions! Ho hum!

All ended well with tea & cakes back in the touristy bit of Cheddar village. Oh! and a wedge of Cheddar cheese with Chillies as a souvenir for Richard back in Salisbury.

Now to the 2nd leaflet. The Avalon marshes and in particular the well documented spectacle of clouds of squillions of Starlings or more returning to the marshes to roost at sunset.

I duly rang the helpline and negotiated Sadie through the peat bogs, or wetlands, which is the environmentally correct term. The roads are narrow and very dippy up and down. It is no joke in a motorhome let me tell you, going over these  subsidence affected roads. The various crashes from the 'garage' (boot in car terms!) right at the rear of Sadie amply attested to the fact that gravity was being tested and found to be functional by all my carefully stored goods.

We arrived at Shapwick Heath to be faced with a prominent sign; 'No dogs allowed beyond this point'. Hmmmph!

Spoke to a lovely local couple and took their recommendation of more rough roads and why not try 'Ham Wall'. I did, and guess what? The same sign was there too.

"Ah well." I thought. We, that is Tanya and I would walk round the road to what looked to be good view point according to the leaflet and the information on the 'starling hotline' which, I presume the Starlings also use so as to know where to congregate.

Now this is where Josh comes in. Josh was clearing brush and tending the fire in his family home as we walked past. To me this initially looked like a community with all sorts of stuff including little Kuney Kuney pigs snorting around as pigs do. He again informed me this was his family home but that the little Kuney Kuney pigs make great sausages.

"Go down the old drove road at the end of this wood," he said, "you can take your dog down there and no one will mind".

He was right apart from the fact it was more of a 'boggy marsh and no footpath in sight' trek over and between water filled ditches which none the less was enjoyable and free of people.

It did eventually lead to a place I decided would be as good a view point as we were going to get seeing as I was silly enough not to bring my jungle bashing machete with me.

The lovely thing is we were rewarded with a Starling Spectacular albeit at binocular distance. Apart that is from smaller flocks that kept swooping in over our hideaway at the edge of the woods as they headed for the main 'Starling action' of the evening.

Not sure Tanya appreciated it fully but I was glad we had made the effort to see this spectacle live on such a lovely February evening. I would certainly recommend it but maybe for others the conventional and well marked routes should be followed. No jungle bashing machete needed I can assure you.

Avebury & Ashton Keynes

Could not resist one more local trip before setting off for France. I guess the photo's of wonderful Avebury stones says why. Beautiful weather. Very cold but invigorating all the same.

The snow added a different dimension and depth to the thought process stimulated by walking within this ancient history.

Touching with your hands the large stones of Kennett Long Barrow while with your mind imagining the hands that originally positioned them 5500 years ago. Well; it humbled me as it placed me firmly in this cycle of eternal life and letting go of life.

Sadie, as always, was my snug and warm haven waiting in the car park. The kettle was soon boiling for a welcome cup of tea and my favourite choccy Oaty Morrissons own biscuit. What will I do in foreign climes without them. Onto the shopping list .... x 3!

Ashton Keynes, and a quiet stroll around the pretty back streets with Tanya.

A village warm in my heart with lots of accompanying walks into the adjacent Cotswold Water Park.

Scotland to Salisbury.

Scotland to Salisbury. Yes, a good title for this blog. A more apt one could have been; How on earth did I get here! 

Mmmmmm! There's a life story there.

I guess the start was the spreadsheet that slowly but surely revealed the unusual fact of not only was the purchase of a half decent Motorhome possible, but it looked like travelling and living in it was financially viable too.

Believe me this was truly 'startling'. Financial viability and my good self are rarely seen together.

"Hang it all Tanya! We only have one life and I reckon one more adventure is definitely on the cards, what do you reckon?"

 The answer was of course affirmative. So, here we are, on the adventure.

We've got as far as Salisbury. My brother Richard lives here and a long stay with him was always on the cards.

He suffered an unfortunate accident in 2009 and is now finally in his converted, and adapted to his needs, bungalow. Very plush it is too.

He has a full time carer whose duties also include looking after guests. I am going to have to be careful this stay does not get too comfortable! But with lots of 'things to do' for him and for myself which are now nearing completion I am pleased to say I am getting itchy feet and want to be on my way.

I have still to master the true motorhomers art of setting off on a journey without having to stop almost immediately as a crash from somewhere behind indicates once again a drawer or cupboard left open or not securely latched by yours truly.

I thought I'd mastered it once and indeed no cupboard or drawer came flying open. It was Tanya that went crashing to the floor as I had forgotten to tie her bed securely to the passenger seat where she travels as mistress of all she surveys.

The look I got from her said it all!

"I'll get there one day Tanya. I promise." Fingers are well and truly crossed at this point.

Samye Ling

Samye Ling. October 2011   (http://www.samyeling.org/)

Yesterday I just had to get away. 

A busy week at work plus the added frustrations of a computer training course of all things. Yes; a get away was needed. I had a rough plan but nothing was set in stone.

I arrived at Samye Ling after a fruitful morning spent pleasantly and slowly meandering through the traffic free B roads, hills, and forests of the Scottish Borders. Sadie' was soon parked up in the large flat visitor parking area.

I decided to carry out a meditative ceremony of placing a small amount of my beloved Kate's ashes in the circular lake with Buddha in the centre of it. A walking meditation of 3 times round one way and then 3 times the other way was completed and the ashes deposited in the lake. I was left in no doubt at that point why I had arrived here. Strong emotions were tenderly touched. Tanya walked with me throughout the meditation.

We then visited the temple to see the daily shrine programme. On to reception to ask if there would be the possibility of a blessing or whatever for my motorhome. I was informed yes, is possible but it was a busy weekend with a course going on. However; the Abbot was in residence. I was to see his secretary Ani Lhammo the next morning after prayers.

I duly paid a £15.00 site fee for my place in the spacious car park and informed it entitled me to an evening meal and breakfast. Neither of which I took advantage of. I had already bought my food and was looking forward to catering for myself. I wonder how that will change as my voyage progresses?

Food was prepared, eaten and enjoyed. I then left Tanya in Sadie and walked to the temple for a quiet and silent meditation. All official shrine programs had finished as it was by this time half past eight in the evening. There was a couple in the temple who, after politely asking my permission to 'make noise' for one and a half hours carried out the most beautiful Puja, prayers or whatever you like to call it.

I was transfixed and remained throughout. I experienced the power of two voices completely in harmony, in love if you like, chanting the many verses and expertly interfacing them with bells, Tibetan horn, ,drum and various woops. I knew as I walked back to Sadie I had received the requested blessing of my journey and my motorhome. I knew once again why I was at Samye Ling. I knew once again if I just follow the unknown, the 'don't know', then the path is there, laid out for me, unmistaken, clear and totally rewarding.

I am about to leave now, it is nearly one pm and I have enjoyed a good walk with Tanya where a flow of words, Mantra or prayers if you like, cascaded through my head. I have an overall sense of peace, Joy and tranquillity.

Earlier I walked back to reception and asked if the couple were known and what Mantra or prayer they were chanting. It may have been available in the shop as a CD. The monk on reception, the same one who had booked me in the night before, had no idea. He did not know. 

“That is just fine.” I informed him. “That is how it is meant to be. Don't know is the journey I am on”.

I guess that is it. 'I don't know'. This weekend had been all about clarifying this new part of my life. This new direction in what I call 'the unknown path of awakening mind.' 'Don't know'. Take what is. It will be OK. Just go with it and enjoy.

First night away. Aug 2011

It's OK seeing a large white Motorhome sitting on your driveway but much better leaving an empty driveway behind and feeling the wheels rolling beneath you. So, here we are, Tanya and I, parked on a forest track just off the Rest and Be Thankful on the A82 Arrochar to Inverrary road in Scotland. We've parked up, been for a small walk, cooked a good meal and washed up. My aim is to spend a fair bit of my time doing similar when finally I rent out the house, finish work and set off on my new life early 2012. Camping wild without having to reguarly pay for campsites and when on sites not having to pay for electrical hook up is going to be important in balancing my income against expenses..