On y va

Hooray. We are off. The ferry was booked a few weeks ago and the pressure was then on to get all sorts of jobs finished on the house and Landy.

Major cosmetic work was to cover the grey front doors with paint that matches the rest of the vehicle.

On the engine a coolant leak had developed behind the water pump and so the P gasket and adjacent core plug were renewed. Also a cheapy head unit from those Chinese people replaced the old Sony fm radio. Now we have opened up the wonders of Car Play and all that comes with it.

Finally the 9th gen iPad with WiFi became a 9th gen iPad with WiFi and ‘cellular’. This means we can use OsmAnd Maps which need no data and get their gps position off the ‘cellular’ chip in the iPad. More on this useful map in subsequent posts.

We headed towards Portsmouth for a mid morning ferry via our old neighbours in S-I-V. There we had a great few hours updating each about our families and then proceeded to save the NHS, the country and the world too. I mean why not? We’ve now been around longer than most; have seen and experienced more than most and are older and wiser (than most). We deserve it and have the time.

Portsmouth is an interesting port even though there weren’t as many naval vessels around as I might have expected. Highlight was the aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth which is already eleven years old (since commissioning). 

I’m sure that it spends a lot of time at the dock. Maybe it is getting upgraded. The work appears to be major and I doubt it will leave anytime soon. I’d feel happier about our defensive capability if it was at sea.

The ferry is small and not at all busy. There’s a few cars, caravans and motor homes. An old chap was in a Smart car. Didn’t seem very laden. I wonder where he’s going? The guy with the Harley had one small piece of luggage and we decided that he’s only travelling with essentials.

So we are happy to surf the waves and the internet (with free and fast Wi-Fi) as we cruise in the sunshine across to La France. Tomorrow it’s going to rain. 😩