Dorset 2023

Day 1

We were supposed to go away in Ethel last weekend but then we saw the weather forecast – it was dire.  And as much as we are happy to chill in the van, there seemed little point if it was going to rain the entire time.  So in the end, we cancelled our trip and opted for a Netflix few days instead.

Then, during team meeting at work, someone mentioned Easter and I asked when it was.  When they told me when it was, I was shocked as I honestly had no idea.  This meant 4 days away from work and 4 days Mel and I could head off somewhere.  Better still, the weather forecast was fantastic.  Wall to wall sun until the day we travelled home.

I immediately jumped on Pitch Up and booked a pitch on a small ‘pop up’ site near Dorchester.  As I had lived there for many years, Mel and I hadn’t visited in Ethel much but as trying to find a site with vacancies at short notice is difficult, we weren’t fussy.

Setting off goes really well without the normal stresses and we leave home at the allotted time of 9am and after stopping off for some diesel, plan to arrive on site within a couple of hours.  We hadn’t worried too much about the media reports about travel issues but soon realised that we weren’t the only people heading towards the coast.  It was slow going and, on several occasions, I felt sure we were going backwards as google maps kept increasing the time left before we arrive.  Mel was helpful as normal, feeding me with cheddars and singing happily, even when the connection from her phone to the Bluetooth speaker broke and we were plunged into silence. 

3 hours later an after ignoring satnav lady, opting to scoot up the high street in Dorchester instead of using the ring road, we turned into the farm and whilst waiting for the person in front of us to get sorted, I turned off the engine.  And then I made the fatal mistake of saying to Mel ‘she probably wont start again’.  Low and behold she didn’t.  I didn’t know why as Ethel has aways been so reliable and we had just driven 100 miles without a problem.  But here we were, in the middle of a farm yard, not going anywhere fast.  We had lights and a reversing camera working and so with all my mechanical expertise, I loudly stated that it couldn’t be the battery.  This was squashed quickly when a ‘man’ announced that it could be the battery as its only purpose was to start the van and nothing else.

He kindly tried to jump start her and when that didn’t help, he again stated it must be the battery.  The site owner ended up towing us on to the field – oh the humiliation, the shame.  Being towed in front of everyone else.  Once parked, I got on the green flag app and pressed the ‘rescue me’ button.  After filling in a few boxes, it told me that our local, friendly recovery man would be with us in an hour or so.

In the meantime, we go through the normal set up procedure of getting the kettle on – or we tried to.  No power.  Power cable plugged in, switches in the right place but no power.  We needed a up of tea.  Life is rubbish.  Sat in a broken van without power.

The site manager fiddled with the connection his end and eventually it worked and he left.  Then Mel fiddled with something and tripped the plug on the post.  No power.  I fiddled, Mel fiddled, we got stroppy with each other but still no power.  Eventually, Mel went to hunt the man down again and finally after yet more fiddling, power was restored and kettle switched on again.

Mel had just made the tea and the lovely mechanic arrived (well before the promised time I might add) and after playing with the ignition a bit, suggested it was the starter motor.  Whilst I thought that sounded expensive, I was secretly smug that it wasn’t the battery.  Bonnet up and the man tried to squeeze himself into a small space.  Whilst watching him, I decided that engines aren’t designed to be repaired as there are so many bits but not enough space for anyone to look at them, let alone get to them.  I watched with admiration as he got both his arms into a small gap with his cheek against some part at the top of the engine.  He announced that he had learned to work entirely by touch.  And his touch was magical as he discovered that the wires going to the solenoid (whatever that is) had come loose.  After a couple of minutes, he had them reconnected and Ethel burst into life.  We could relax as we had a working van and a cup of tea.  Life is good.

Tomorrow, we plan to walk across the fields (about 7 miles) for a cup of tea and mooch around Dorchester before heading back to the site.  Not sure what we are doing on Sunday but the weather looks good so we will be happy.  It is just brilliant to be away with Mel.