I’ve been using Brittany back and forth to Spain every year for more than 15 years.

Prices have obviously gone up but there is no “cheap” way to take your car to Spain. Driving bores me so sitting on an autoroute through France isn’t for me.

What has changed with Brittany is that you used to get an evening meal and continental breakfast in the ticket price. That stopped 2 or 3 years ago.Now Brittany are trying to sell meal vouchers up front with a paltry discount.

Being a member of the Camping and caravanning club gave a discount on Spanish crossings. Thats been withdrawn.

Leaving in a couple of weeks time i have paid £430 for car,caravan,inside cabin, Portsmouth to Bilbao.

Coming back to Santander to Portsmouth it’s £100 more which doesn’t make sense.

The French route i would choose would be Newhaven/Dieppes nightime sailing. Cheapest price,early morning arrival meaning you can get plenty of miles in on the first day.

We are setting off in just over a months time with our caravan for 85 nights in south east Spain.

I don’t really like the coast as i prefer to be in Spain rather than “Little Britain/Germany/Holland/France”!

The inland area where i stay is great for road and mtb’ing and it’s a place i have been going to for the past 20 years. A Spanish friend i go road  biking with has a bar in the village which is a bit of a bonus.

Travel costs over recent years and  Brexit appear to have reduced the amount of long stay British visitors over the years. The campsite i am staying at used to be around  70% British customers but last year probably around 20%. When i arrive in mid October it will be pretty empty with Europeans arriving after New Year.

Skoda Superb. Twin opening at the rear so you can open it as a boot or a hatch.

Friend of mine has so far spent £21,000 on his 4 year old spaniel following an eye operation and fractured leg.The dog is one of the main things in his life and its not the first time he’s spent £1,000’s when his previous dogs were ill.

EhWhoMe. I am in a small village outside the trackie bottom capital of the UK.Bishop Auckland .

Sharkattack ! You just need to turn up in your unleterred white ford transit pick up,with chrome wheel trims,and you would fit in nicely !

I have been living in the North East,County Durham,for the past 11 years. In the past i have lived in Spain and Yorkshire. We are now seriously looking to move.
Great countryside with Teesdale and Weardale a short distance away and Hamsterley Forest on my doorstep.
But some of the people inhabiting these small ex pit villages drag the areas down.
Its not poverty,and the education is there if you want it.Its attitude. Some are quite happy to live in a rundown area with a new Merc,Ranger Rover,etc parked out front. On finance of course.Scamming the social security system,and bragging about it,makes them proud,its an achievement in life.Racism is ingrained.Unbelievably to me my neighbour agrees with Putins actions and that Hitler had the best ideas of dealing with ” foreigners “.
Drugs,and the easy availability,is another big problem.
Two pubs and a WMC nearby but i would not set foot inside any unless i wanted to hear foul language shouted by men with fat red faces and stained white vests.
There are nice,honest genuine people here,but their life is affected by a ” don’t give a toss ” mentality of what seems to be a growing minority.

I am currently on statins,and other tablets,following a triple heart bypass last year. I was told the main aim of them is to reduce cholesterol which in turn reduces the risk of a stroke. I take a different drug for blood pressure which has actually worked a bit too well giving me low readings at times.
The statin has caused my blood sugar to rise bringing me into being borderline diabetic. Due to family history i believe i will be on statins for the rest of my life but possibly a different type.
A friend in the cycling club had a routine blood test and was found to have slightly high cholesterol. The first thing the doctor advised was statins. My friend said no,test me in 2 months time after i have looked at my diet.
A medical professor who lives nearby stopped his statins as they were giving him bad muscle inflammation which was detected through a blood test.
My cholesterol level was reduced with the statins but it wasn’t ridiculously high before the op.
The drug i am taking which has the worst side effect is a beta blocker.

My DT240 bearings on a front hub were notchy from new. Tapped them out and they were smooth.New ones in and they were notchy.Came to the conclusion that the hub shell was undersized and was crushing the bearings.
Father in law machined a tiny amount off the outer shell of the hub and the new bearings are still turning smoothly two years on.

I had a new boiler fitted and within a short time started to lose pressure rapidly.
The Baxi engineer found the feed pipe to the expansion vessel was blocked causing the pressure to increase enough for the relief valve to be activated and hence lowering the pressure and shutting the boiler down .

We were quoted between £125 and £250.
Contacting the vets who gave the lowest quotes they would not do the AHC unless we were registered with them. So the rip off £250 was what we had to pay at our regular vets.
Out in Spain we got an EU pet passport. The vet had to give a rabies jab which was entered in the new passport,plus the worm tablet and filling in the AHC for the return. 53 euros in total.Supposedly the rabies details cannot be transferred over into an EU passport and a UK vet cannot enter any details into the EU passport.
So rabies boosters have to be done in the EU which is no problem for us as we go to Spain yearly.
French vets have supposedly been told not to issue an EU pet passport unless the owner has French residence.

A little bit off topic but just over 6 months ago i had a heart attack while out on the road bike. Felt like indigestion so carried on riding for another 3 hours.
The result was a triple bypass a couple of weeks later.
Speaking to the surgeon he said don’t be a heart attack victim and just sit in a chair for the rest of your life.
Two months after the op i got back on a bike but wore a heart rate monitor and had my blood pressure tested regularly.I slowly built up my distance on the road bike until i was able to join back in with the club group rides.
Due to the tablets i am on my heart rate cannot get over 135,and at this i am gasping.
This is only really a problem up hills where i have to ease off to manage the rate.It is frustrating but one year after the op the tablets which cap my heart rate and cause the breathing problem could be stopped.
The back up from the NHS has been fantastic with specialist nurses coming to my house every 2 weeks.
Looking at forums it seems that there is a wide range of different effects after heart surgery,and opinions on recovery.I think each individual is different.I started recovery believing my fitness would have disappeared but it hadn’t so it gave me a lot of encouragement for the future.

I am out in Spain and was speaking to a Spanish friend yesterday. He used to be in politics here,PSOE party,so a bit like Labour.
We touched on Brexit,and he asked if English people thought themselves superior to everyone else. They always say England,never Reino Unido. Only the older people here have sympathies with Brexit,and thats the immigration point again. Everyone else believes it was madness.
Anyway,onto Boris.My friend said he must have Spanish blood as he behaves just like Spanish politicians. Mired in corruption and lies you just carry on as normal. Boris is seen as a comical inept cartoon character who manages to escape from every tricky situation he puts himself in.
Back to the future,or present. Most of the problems people talk about on here my Spanish neighbour talks about everyday.
We haven’t quite reached the brain dulling social media tsunami just yet,and i have so far only seen one McD’s wrapper at the side of the road,but its coming.
Now in my 60’s,i have seen plenty of governments come and go,and probably apart from Thatchers and Blairs early years,no real change that made a difference. Whether those changes were for the better is another discussion.

I am technically correct. Myti stated the facts. After 90 days you have to register for some form of residencia.Because of the open borders and no passport controls its not checked up on.
Even before Brexit it was assumed that UK passport holders could stay in Spain for 6 months with no form of residencia/visa. It was actually 3 months then you had to go to a Police station or immigration centre with proof of means of support,medical insurance,etc. This was also ignored.

I could be wrong,but even with an EU passport the maximum time you can spend in any EU country in one go is 90 days.It may be possible to leave for a day and then re enter.
I am out in Spain at the moment maxing out my 90 days until March.
We used to have residencia as we worked here some years ago but i wouldn’t have it now.
Brexit has made it more problematic,such as having to take the Spanish driving test rather than the straight swap it used to be.
Also looking at the complex tax system and our circumstances it would be a big financial hit.
But i love it here. Tiny Spanish village located in the mountains with all the outdoor activity you could want.I have known the “locals” for over 20 years but unfortunately over the years the population has reduced meaning that a feeling of isolation is creeping in.
Ideally i would like it to return to pre Brexit,where 180 days here was possible.

A council in the North East is now starting to evict council tenants whose kids had been involved in anti social behaviour at a railway station.The parents get warnings and so far 2 or 3 families have had eviction notices.
Of course,when the reporter asked people in the area what they thought about it some said the parents should not be responsible for their kids actions.

In July i set off on a road ride from my house and within a minute i have a steepish hill to climb up.Part way up i had an indigestion feeling. Anyway carried on for another 4 hours and the feeling didn’t go way. Also all my teeth ached.I later learned this could be a sign of a heart attack.
Back home i started to feel worse so off down to A&E. ECG clear but blood test showed heart attack. I was shocked.
Long story short the angiogram showed 3 blocked arteries that stents couldn’t fix so a few days later it was a triple bypass.
Up to this i had been doing loads of tough road miles with absolutely no signs that something was amiss.
My heart showed signs of wall damage from the attack but thankfully a cardiogram after the op didn’t find any so it looks like its repaired itself.
Speaking to the surgeon he said people typically think the sign of a heart attack is the person clutching their chest and keeling over. It could be something like a feeling of indigestion or jaw ache.
I am back on the road gradually building up the miles,and managed a 50 miler last weekend.
Does change your outlook on life as well !

My brother in law took his car in to a main dealers for its MOT and service. They immediately pointed out it was an MOT fail because of GB on the number plates. ” We’ll have to replace the number plates for it to pass,£20 for the pair “. He paid it !

On a road bike holiday in the Alps i was castigated by an old British guy about my qr’s being on the wrong side. “They should be on the pavement side so that when you have a puncture the team mechanic from the support car can change the wheel more easily.” What an idiot !

If i did trim some off his trees there is no way he would pay for disposal of the branches.
I am not a tree expert but they are not conifers. The trees have grown into each other and now look a solid mass.

I would need to go up in a cherry picker they are that high.

Talking to an engineer from Cummins who is in my cycle club , he said they are working on a new generation of diesel engines for commercial use . They are also developing the electric side.

I have a Fulcrum 3’s,Campag Zondas and Scribe Race rim brake wheelsets. On performance it’s the Scribes that I would pick without hesitation. The others have been reliable but the Scribe rear hub was easy to take apart and grease the ratchet. The Scribes are fairly noisy but the sound gets addictive.
Have a look if Scribe have them in your spec but you may have to wait on the order. The backup was excellent too.

I called in to Tesco’s this week to renew my contract and I asked if there were any changes to using the phone in the EU. They told me no changes at all.

Blocked pipe to expansion vessel ?

Pubs.Avoid any in Cockfield,Butterknowle and Evenwood. I wouldn’t take children in them. The Fir Tree Inn up at ……Fir Tree is really nice and did good food. Last time I had a meal at the pub in Hamsterley it was very poor. Also the pub in Ingleton,over from Evenwood Gate,gets very good reviews and always seems busy.

Plenty of play equipment in Hamsterley forest and they did have a themed walk with goody bags for the kids.
Not been,but the cheese farm cafe is highly rated by my cycling club.
I believe there is live music going to be on outside the Withens cafe in Barnard Castle every weekend up to the end of August. It’s free.
Bishop Auckland Castle may have something on but that’s all I would go into Bishop for.
As far as I know the Lead Mining museum at Killhope is now free including the underground tours.

Just got rid of shingles. Thought the red spots on my chest were insect bites but I also had bad shoulder pain.
After about a week my doctor surprised me by saying it was shingles.No treatment as it wasn’t severe but I did have to take painkillers as the pain was fairly severe and made my right arm and hand feel numb.
Four weeks on and it’s more or less disappeared apart from an occasional burning sensation under my arm.

Nobeer is pointing you in the right direction.There’s been a boom in people converting old vans then expecting to ” camp ” for free.Problems are occuring around the country with some of these people leaving a right mess.
Last weekend I went to the Motorhome show at Harrogate. We have always had a caravan but I am a bit tired of towing.
Firstly,secondhand prices are ridiculous. That Merc on eBay is 2007 and £22k.I saw new stuff at the show £7k above RRP and a van we liked from a dealer in Wales was £16k above RRP.
My neighbours have a motorhome and their weekend trips away are spent on council car parks because it’s cheap. Not my sort of break.
We will probably go back to a caravan and campsites as I can see more restrictions coming in this country.
A good place for info is MotorhomeFun as there’s loads of forum topics.

If you can get the bearings out see if there is a number stamped on the side. It may be a bearing that you can get from a bearing supplier.Bike shop charged me £80 for new headset bearings fitting.Taking it apart they just drop in and I bought a pair on eBay for £12.

I saw him on crutches stood beside the crumpled front end of his car. I think the residents would have been happy with a bit more ” forceful ” police action.

We contacted our local PCSO and had a word with him at a community meeting.
He said we could have access to a camera but 2 residents would need to be trained to use it and put the registration details and speed into the police computer. This would then issue warning letters.
The first problem was that one of the residents names would appear on the letter. We do have a number of violent criminal people living in this area but 2 residents did go through the process.Other residents can assist to take the registration numbers.
The camera was duly delivered but unfortunately one of the trained volunteers died from Covid so has had little use.
If residents can get,I believe,25% of vehicles breaking the limit then the police would come along with an enforcement camera that could issue fines.The local council were not interested as there had been no serious accidents or deaths.
We did have a motorcyclist who lived down the road doing horrendous speeds,90mph plus in a 40. We couldn’t even read the reg number it was that fast.He would turn round and ride back shouting abuse at neighbours who were trying to get him to slow down.We identified his address and the Police had a word.
Last time I saw him he was on crutches.

I rent out commercial property and the last time a business changed hands the cost of transferring the lease was roughly £1500.
Just as an aside,read the lease very carefully.
I have a tenant,hairdresser,who sold a business in a different property. The buyer lasted 3 months then fled. The lease conditions fell back on my tenant,basically he was responsible for the rent and overheads on the empty property.There were 5 years left on the lease and the property owner wanted £12,000 to allow him out of the lease. He could not re let it himself without the owners consent.The owners continually turned away prospective tenants.
Also,look at who is responsible for building repairs. This,together with buildings insurance can be put on to the tenant.

Second vaccination today in Barnard Castle. My wife’s appointment was 1 hour in front of mine but we went in together with no waiting. It seemed quieter than for the first jab.

If you look at it economically then signs,even up here in the North East,are positive.House sales in my ” poor ” area are strong and I have never seen as many new Mercedes,BMW’s,Audi’s,Range Rovers,etc on the road.
We know it’s false as it is all borrowed money because of low interest rates, but the 20 year old queueing at McDonalds drive thru in his/her new A Class Merc isn’t bothered about that.They aren’t the great unwashed typical Labour voter anymore.Debt and greed are good.
Because of a perceived higher standard of living then plenty of people are prepared to overlook how bad this government is.I’m saying this as an ex Tory voter.
Brexit and the subsequent appalling deal seems to have been accepted by Labour with a shrug of the shoulders.But Boris delivered Brexit so it’s job done.
With all the cronyism within this and previous governments it has worn me down over the years into thinking does voting actually alter anything.

The hub was on a pair of expensive DT road wheels.

I just slowly filed the hub housing until I could press a bearing in without it feeling rough.
It’s imprecise but so far seems ok. The bearings are thin walled so I suppose they are more prone to deformation.
I regularly take end caps/freehubs off to check for roughness but maybe a lot of people run them until there is play or noise.

I had a binding front 240 hub from new. Took the bearings out and they were smooth.Put in decent replacements and binding again.
I came to the conclusion the hub machining was out and squeezing the bearings when they were pressed in.
Maybe the posters bearings had been binding from new and never realised it.

5.4m or 6m van conversion.Why no toilet ? Wild camping will gradually be clamped down on because of people using the area around their parking spot as a toilet or rubbish dump.
Plenty of info for you on Motorhomefun in the different forum sections.

I am a sceptic when it comes to bike fits. Go to 5 different fitters and I bet you’ll get 5 different fittings.A good honest bike shop should be able to advise.
I think hardly any road cyclist hasn’t experimented with stem length,bar width,seat position,etc.