Well Buggers,

Its time to grab yourself a glass of Bierre Blonde, sit back, and let me drivel on about another marvelous trip that we have just returned from. I must first apologise to those who read last years report, as many of the names and places are fairly similar, because the UK leg of the tour was pretty much a re-run of last year due to its success, however, some of the stories and mishaps are indeed different this time around.

So what was this all about them? Well, each year, a different country plays host to the International Buggy Weekend, and 2015 was the turn of the Buggy Club Belgie, and the home for this event was to be Dilsen-Stokkem, in Belgium.





Although last year was my first time at one of these events, and it literally blew me away, I didn`t know what to expect, especially as it was being run by a very good friend of ours, Patrick, a.k.a. that Krazy guy from Belgium, and the only picture he posted on his website was this one, with the information that they were having a "Foute Party" - which if translated, meant "Wrong Party".





And I think you will agree that this picture just screams of everything that is indeed wrong - Oh God! What were we letting ourselves into ?


This year, for me, was to be different though, as unlike last year where I cadged a lift, this time, Lisa and I were going to take our own car. I`m pleased to report that as well as having quite a few old hands to this, that we also had a good few IBW Newbies sign up with us as well. Sadly, our GB Buggies Leader, Chad, had to drop out of this one for personal reasons, but not before he had presented us with our Club T-Shirt for the trip.





We had several groups traveling over as before, and although looking at a map favours the channel crossing from Dover to Calais, it does mean that you really need to find an overnight stop somewhere with the cost of a B&B and more problematical, somewhere secure to park the Buggy overnight. Because of this, pretty much most of us chose the overnight ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland again, it worked so well last year, and has the real added bonus that you do not have to drive through nor mingle with the the French - Bonus !

As a rough guide to prices, the Return Ferry with a Cabin was around £240, Breakdown Insurance £40, Food and Camping around £150, petrol came in at around £400, and a bit extra for Beer and snacks - say £850 all in, for Lisa and Myself for a week away, and as someone has already said, its just about the best fun you can have with your clothes on (or not as the case may be)

[Setting Off:]

Setting Off:

The car was packed with as much stuff as we could cram inside, and this was one of the only times I wished that I had built  a long wheelbased version instead. But it was 7am and time to start out on our epic adventure. Thankfully we had blue skies and sunshine, so we could leave the roof off.





Living down the South West, there were a few routes available to us, either along the South Coast to meet up with the Southern Crew, or heading North to meet with the Midlands Crew, and there really isn`t a lot of difference in time and distance. Having lived just outside the M25 for too many years, we opted to travel North and take the scenic route across the middle of the country.

An hour and a half later, we pull in for fuel at Sedgemoor services, and a much needed hot cup of coffee. Does feel a bit "Billy No Mates" here though.





Its now around 11am, and we have arrived in Evesham, on the doorstep of Mr & Mrs Snoopy.





After a nice chat over a coffee and a lovely bit of Vicki`s cake, we wandered around their beautiful garden gazing up at the blue sky and just hoping that the rest of the journey would be as good. It wasn`t - it got far, far better.





The plan was to sit on one of the bridges over the main road, and wait for the Midlands Convoy to pass underneath us, where we would then join them. Sounded like a good plan except that no sooner than we had left, there was a "Major Incident" and the roads had been closed. No worries though, Keith knew where to go.





No sooner than we had parked on the bridge, when one of those traffic cars pulled along side to see if we were ok, and after a quick thumbs up from us, he seemed happy enough to leave us to it.





The Convoy had started properly now, and as you can see, we are a bit happy.





Meanwhile, Further up North, Lawson and Jason were packed,





Lee, Allan, Vanessa, Dave and Gail from the Midlands Buggy Club were also packing their stuff together and heading off to Chorley Services.





The plan was that Allan would ring us when they departed, and we would join the convoy en-route to the next stop for lunch.





Lee appeared to have a new girlfriend with him, called Sandra, and something told me that this was going to be quite a trip for her.

[McDonalds Services A14:]

McDonalds Services A14:

After a few miles in a convoy, we pulled in to the McDonalds Services on the A14 where we would grab some food.





And it was good to be able to say hello to a few old and new friends here in person, rather than waving from the moving cars





And tucked in the corner of the car park, was a lesser spotted Robinson !

Andy knew we would be cruising through his neck of the woods, and whilst he couldn`t make it as far as Belgium, he was certainly able to cruise with us for a few miles, which was pretty good.





Whilst inside the restaurant, the rabble that had gathered seemed to be scaring off everybody else





But it was far too hot to sit inside, so Lisa and I sat outside with IBW Newbies, Gary and Brad who were already wondering what they had let themselves in for.





Lee and Lawson sat in the shade and soaked up the atmosphere - one thing was for certain, this was going to be a good trip.





You certainly get some interesting sights at the Fuel station





With lunch consumed, Snoopy was programming up the Sat-Nav and Vicki was raring to go





Andy had spent the last 10 minutes checking that his cameras were all turned on this time (unlike last year)





And that was it, we were ready to go





The next few miles were spent playing silly Buggers in the traffic, much to the annoyance of a few grumpy lorry drivers, all overtaking each other so Andy could video our best side, and laughing uncontrollably at the rude hand gestures that Sandra was now making whilst driving through the wind.





The fun we were having seemed to be over all too soon as we finally waved goodbye to Andy, and set about attacking the Cambridgeshire traffic.

[Fourwentways Services:]

Fourwentways Services:

After less than an hour in McDonalds, Gail suddenly realised she had another 6 days of Dave Dream to contend with   





You would be forgiven for thinking all we do is stop in service stations and eat food . . . . . 

When actually, we have been known to buy fuel as well   





Hopefully Karl should find this trip a bit easier than last years, as the shape of his roof severely restricted his vision to the rear, making pulling out on the motorways very awkward. This years chopped down version, I think, looks absolutely awesome, especially with that high powered LED light bar at the front.





You can just imagine the conversation can`t you, as it was around this point last year that Dyliss also asked if Dave Dream was actually mad, Hazel is wondering if sharing a car with him was such a clever idea, and all the time Vicki is just giggling inside because she knows how loveable and bonkers he really is!!





Fuelled, fed and watered - time to hit the open road once more





Next planned stop is Colchester, where we will probably try to find something else to eat.

[Essex on a Summers afternoon:]

Essex on a Summers afternoon:

The cruise through Essex on a sunny afternoon was really nice.





The late afternoon sunshine brought out all the colours of the scenery, and the cars simply glowed in the sunshine





The traffic around Colchester at approaching rush hour is starting to get a bit busy, and keeping us together is a bit of a challenge now





But after a quick stop in an empty lay by for a head count





It would seem that we are all present and correct.





Until now, all of the cars had been running very smoothly, and I have to say that my own new engine was purring like a kitten. It was a shame that Vicky then announced that she was struggling to change gear and something was making a noise when she used the clutch pedal - but that said, she was happy to soldier on until our next stop in a few miles time.

[Pizza Hut - Colchester:]

Pizza Hut -  Colchester:


On arrival at Pizza Hut, Keith got out of the Buggy and due to his incredibly painfull bad back, found himself on his hands and knees, but rather than being helped up, he felt that whilst he was down there he would have a look at the adjustment on the clutch cable.





Everyone else was in fine spirits, the sun was shining, it had been a glorious day, and we were about to get fed again





At that point the Southern Crew turned up, Flags, Ollie, Dai and Nigel - it was good to see them.





In fact Dave and Flags seemed very pleased to see each other





And then came the inevitable bombshell. With this many people together, something is bound to go wrong, and this one was literally heartbreaking. Ollie had forgotten his passport. Flags spent a good while on the phone with the Ferry operators, but they were sadly having none of it - as Ollie didn`t have any other forms of identification on him either, his travel plans had been halted. Everyone was absolutely gutted.





Lucky for us that we didn`t arrive here too early, as this was actually the first opening night of this Pizza Hut following a lengthy refit, but if perfectly honest, it didn`t look any different to when we were sitting here a year ago





I noticed that Lisa had the giggles, and she asked if I had spotted "Billy No Mates" sat on his own?





I felt that was a little harsh, but Dave was indeed on top form today, so it was perfectly understandable that no one wanted to join him.





But a few of them did, (albeit under protest and promise of food) - although I`m not sure Jason is entirely happy with this 





After a fine meal, it was evident that the sun just did not want to go in, and blessed us with another few hours





And who should turn up in the car park, but our good old mate, Clem. We were in his stomping ground here, and he said he couldn`t turn down a quick cruise amongst a load of Buggies, especially as it seldom happened here. He asked if he could accompany us down to the port at Harwich.





Lawson also thought this to be an excellent proposal





As did Gary and Brad, who were sat in the car waiting to go





And so Clem set off, leading us on another little cruise down to our next destination





Lee on the other hand, thought that nobody was looking as he was trying to  . . . Ahem . . . get to know Sandra a little better





This was a real bittersweet moment though, as whilst we were off for another cruise with our friends, we were all too aware that one of us was not only missing, but was not going to be joining us - and we sadly waved goodbye to Ollie who was now faced with a really sad journey home.

[Port of Harwich:]

Port of Harwich:


We had the obligatory line up whilst we were waiting for Flags and his crew to arrive, as they were still eating





Clem was a very happy Bunny, now that he had been in a cruise, so bid his farewells and headed back home





Thats our boat in the background - its the Stena Hollandica, and its huge. But despite that size, it only carries a mere 280 cars - the rest is lorries.





Flags, Dai and Nigel have just appeared now, so its time to board the ferry





This queing up seems so much more civilized than the whacky races style free for all that we did last year





Its around 10pm now, and the last of us are going through Check In. I`ve been driving since 7am this morning, and a bed is now in sight.





We are now loaded on the Ferry, most of us are roughly together with the exception of Nigel and Fiona in the monster Doon, as they have been parked elsewhere due to towing the trailer. No worries, we can find them in the morning.





As many of you know, Lisa is having a few "problems" at the moment, and until recently, it was touch and go as to whether we would actually make this trip, but as you can see, she is somewhat pleased to have got this far without fallling over.





With the bags thrown in the cabins, its down to the lounge for a quick beer and a catch up





Our Ferry party is in full swing, with everyone swapping stories of todays events - a glass was raised to our absent friend Ollie, and I retired to bed.





Not sure if it was the comfort of those beds, or 15 hours driving, but I slept like the dead that night.

[Northen Crew:]

Northen Crew:

Meanwhile, somewhere in the depths of Blackpool, Pat Masters was packing his car -
I think he traveled alone this year, probably because he smells and no one wanted to go with him   





Whilst the Northern Crew were assembling at a petrol station. This was to be an epic journey for them, as John and Mags are actually repatriating back to Sweden via IBW - (a slight detour) and Davydoff has kindly offered to drive one of the Buggies and then fly back to the UK when done. They have some extra company for the Belgium leg though as Ryan and his girlfriend are following in the Baja.





This year though, the Northern crew took the Hull to Zebrugge Ferry, which was a bit of a shame, as there was no easy place to meet en route, so we would have to see them in Belgium.





Once they had boarded the ferry, it was of course time for a few beers





And the inevitable happened, as we all know from last year that they cannot hold their drink - one whiff and they are out like a light 

[Holland:]

Holland:

After a breakfast and a coffee on the Ferry, we wandered down to retrieve the cars - Dave Dream was keen to make it known that he had made it, as last year I think he missed the wake up call in the cabin.

As we entered Holland, it was clear that there were precious little places left to pull over and regroup, as most had been occupied by other groups doing the same, so we decided to pull up in the middle of the road, much to the annoyance of the locals, who were trying to make it over the train level crossing at the time.





With Allan and Vanessa leading from the front, it was time to put our foot down and join the Holland Motorway rush hour. There were lorries everywhere, they all travel flat out and tailgate each other with a mere few inches between them, and this does not bode well when you are trying desperately to keep a convoy together. Any attempts to read the road signs was also problematic, as by the time you have seen KnoopleOoflehijdeho and then spotted that you needed KnoopleOoflehijdehum, you were in the wrong lane. There were many frantic late lane changes, and I`m so glad I had the 2 liter engine, as I found out exactly what it can do in an attempt to keep up. I know that the Northern Crew also has a similar problem, and poor old Ryan even had a little chat with the Feds as a result.

However, we soon made it to Barendrect Services, where hopefully our Dutch friend Ruben was waiting with his white T4





Lisa was really happy to be here, and had found some 50c coins for those that needed the loo. Yes, you have to pay to pee here, and when you put your coin in the machine a tiny bit of paper comes out that is not even perforated at the ends. Seemed a bit tight to me, but after going through the barrier into the toilet area, they are exceptionally clean and tidy with as much loo roll as you would need. That bit of paper? Silly me, it was not for wiping, but for presenting to the cashier to get a 50c reduction on further purchases.





Lee was also grinning from ear to ear, as Sandra had survived so far, and was getting quite a reaction from the truckers





We all had a good natter with Ruben here and said our helloos, and appointed him as our guide for the next leg, as after all, this was his country.





Ruben cruises nearly as fast as Allan, and from what we could determine, was also having trouble identifying which lane to be in, but all said and done, we managed to keep up with him for a good few miles.

As we approached the signs for the next set of services, I could spot Flags flashing his lights and pointing at the side of the road, so whilst trying to attract the attention of the cars in front, I pulled over into the services to see what had happened. It appeared that Dai had broken his throttle cable and was on the side of the road a short way back. He had some people with him, and the plans were to limp him to the services a mere 1500 meters down the road where we could assess it. Flags pointed out that they had a full set of just about every spare imaginable, but that were all in Ollies car. I phoned Ruben, who was going to pull over at the next convenient point down the road and wait there for us. We also contacted Nigel and Fiona, who were completely lost, but were happy to make there own way.

Shortly afterwards, we got the thumbs up that Dai was moving, and we trundled down the road to the lay by where the others were waiting for us.





Nigel and Fiona also met up with us here, and we were just having a little natter, as we are wanton to do, when someone noticed a Germans Buggy convoy going past us on the main road.





That was it - the race was on !!

[Lost:]

Lost:

After we had left the motorway, we began to see a little more of Holland and the road transferred seamlessly across the border into Belgium





Ok, Holland and Belgium may be as flat as a witches tit, but it makes up for it in so many other ways - the land is beautifully kept, and the small towns and villages were stunningly attractive to drive through





Which was just as well, because after a wrong turn, we seemed to be driving through it a lot. In fact, we were driving through it an awful lot. It was very obvious that we were all lost, and there were a group of workmen by the side of the road that were almost hysterical with laughter as we passed them for the umpteenth time.





There just didn`t seem to be any way out of this village. Every turn just took us back to where we started, and you can even see Lawson approaching us from the other side of the road whilst in an effort to make his escape. All roads led to this central point - whichever one you took.





After a brief chat with a local, who I`m not sure gave us directions, or the Belgian equivalent of "Get Orf Moi land" we managed to find ourselves back at the main road where we had taken the wrong turn.





All said and done, it was really nice to see that part of Belgium, and I can certainly think of worse places t be lost.

[Dressing Up:]

Dressing Up:


One of the traditions of IBW is that of dressing up the cars to make an entrance. It is customary to find a lay by near to the site and then attach Union Jack flags wherever you can. I am certainly not known generally as a patriotic person, but I think this bit is brilliant and colourful.















With all cars dressed and ready, we crossed the road to where this sign was indicating the entrance

[Pitching Of Camp GB:]

Pitching Of Camp GB:


The entrance to the campsite was down a long track between a few houses, and consisted of tarmac, then loose gravel, then an off road track, then grass, and much fun could be had spinning the wheels, providing of course no one was behind you - this track though, was to be my downfall later.

We drove in the gate, and waved madly at Sabrina, who I think was expecting us to stop, register our arrival - and of course - Pay her !





But we all drove in, hung a right, and grabbed a big empty plot that was to become our little corner of England for the next few days.





The tents were promptly pitched





The flags were raised - along with Sandra, who after a while looked as though she had been hung and not flown





And the Northern Crew arrived soon after, and demonstrated their ability to get organised far quicker than any other group





Now camp had been established a few of the guys set about Dai`s car, to see if they could make good the botched repairs from earlier. From the sounds of it, there was a bit of crap (probably a weld spatter) that was causing a restriction in the throttle cable tube, but once a new cable had been threaded through - all was now well.





I took a wander down to give Sabrina a big hug, pay her some money for the camping and food, and had a quick nosey about the site.





Right in the center of the site was a mahoosive marquee, and this would lend itself to food, party and of course shelter if needed. There was also what appeared to be a chip van parked in front - so far, so good.





There were two toilet cubicle blocks, each containing a his and hers, and despite the crowd that were here, I don`t recall ever having to que to use them. Like any campsite though, the taking of your own toilet roll is a must, and I`m glad I did, as these ones ran out quite often. One bizarre fact about Belgium people is their fascination for poo, and if that is your thing, then these loos are right up your alley - but for me, they were just bizarre. You see, when we go to the loo, its a fairly straightforward affair - there is a splash, a flush and thats it. End of. Not in here though. Rather than just dropping your business down a watery hole, it all lands on a flat ledge, so that it can be examined, scrutinised and gone through before it is flushed away. If your stomach is turning at this point, then welcome to the club - and remember we had four days of this.





The shower block was also quite strange, but generally had hot water whenever you wanted it - and there was a washing area for shaving your teeth and brushing your hair with a big mirror on the end. Doing this in the open seems to be a fairly common thing across Europe, and its only the British that seem to want any privacy when washing.





The campsite was starting to fill up in all directions





As each of the clubs started to arrive and pitch up





Even Pat had now found himself some comrades to camp with, in the form of Nigel, Fiona and the rest of Team-X





Meanwhile, back at Camp GB, they were still messing about with Dai`s car, and in their rush to put it all back together, had inadvertently installed the gear shift plate the wrong way round, meaning that gear selection was near on impossible. - Soon diagnosed and easily fixed.





It was at this point that Dave Dream also announced an oil leak, or I think better described as a high velocity oil jet, as one of the connectors on his oil cooler system had become loose - at least tightening up that one should be a relatively easy fix.





With everyone near sorted, a cruise out to the local Lidl was called for, so we could stock up on snacks and beers. The off road track and gravel proved to be far too tempting, and I confess that I gave it a fair amount of beans as I drove down it - not over fast, but the car certainly bounced about a bit, and I think this may have proved to be my next problem. You see, after a good few hundred miles at relatively high speeds, my brand new exhaust system was still expanding and contracting, and generally finding its own place to settle. This is not uncommon, and we had to realign the exhaust the other week where it had moved a bit.

However, the cruise back from Lidl, when laden with beer, was giving a very unusual and quite concerning rattle coming from the rear of my car and no sooner had I pulled up, than Dave Doon, who was following me, said he knew exactly what it was, and pointed to the thick exhaust bracket that had now cracked straight through the weld. All that heat, exhaust under tension, and me playing silly buggers - well something had to give.

Back at the campsite, I mentioned this to Patrick, our Belgium host, that I may need some assistance in the morning, but was realistic enough to know that at 6pm on a bank holiday Friday evening, there was no way I was getting my car fixed today. So it was left to cool down, and I went off in search of a beer or three.

And I think it may have been at this point that Dave Doon had noticed the amount of oil on his own exhaust, and realised that his too, was dumping oil at an alarming rate. In fact, his was dripping like running water and he did well to spot it now, else his engine would have emptied in a matter of minutes. It took a bit of messing about over the weekend to get it tightened up sufficiently, but safe to say, he fixed it.





That was quite a few breakdowns today, but bearing in mind that each of these cars is approaching 50 years old, I don`t think we did too bad. No one was left abandoned waiting for a recovery truck, and we all made it here safely, and more importantly, we are all still smiling.





Well, most of us are - tomorrow, I desperately need to find a welder

[Sandra's little friends:]

Sandra's little friends:


Parked just a short way across from us was another familiar face. You will see standing in the bus on the right, another plastic person, but this one appears to be Sandra`s brother. Fair enough, the lady that brought it is obviously as mad as Lee is.





And every now and then it would disappear into their tent for a while and emerge again. The lady even came over on several occasions to "borrow" Sandra, so that she could take some family photo`s - sounded mad, but plausible, and we went along with it.





I should really be telling you that this was the beer of choice for the weekend, it was served chilled out of the fridge for one euro a bottle, which is around 70 pence in our money - it was cold, it was good.





But I digress, from talking about this sexual maniac that was offering it to me in exchange for a few minutes left alone with Sandra. Now as you can imagine, a plastic dolly is going to have a rare old time at any festival, being constantly groped, molested, grabbed, kissed, whatever you can think of, the poor old girl was subjected to it, and just occasionally, in fact very occasionally, this guy let someone else have a go. I kid you not, this was beyond funny, it was obsessive - whenever she was about, this guy had his hands rammed firmly up her all weekend.

I guess the phrase "Though shalt not covet thy neighbours plastic doll" doesn`t translate very well in German

[Friday Night:]

Friday Night:


One of the great things about IBW is opting for the all inclusive meal ticket. It is an amazing bargain, and at around £50 per head to cover camping, breakfasts and evening meals for the duration, it is very good value for money. Good choice of foods too.





And after a good meal, we were just settling down for a few beers when we could hear a noise at the other end of the tent.





They were setting up the Bingo - which meant only one thing - time to leave. I`m sure that the rest of Europe can do Bingo too, but I`ve never seen or heard anything so funny as a British person doing it - to us its a sacred institution - that, and it takes forever going through the languages.





So we headed back to the campsite for a general natter and wandering about.





When someone reminded us that we had all brought chairs, and we huddled around a very sorry looking campfire





Whilst trying desperately to ignore the fact that Brad did not appear to be wearing any trousers





Sandra also made a return appearance after having been abducted yet again by her little friend, and Lee was . . . Ahem . .  Checking her over





Dave Dream then broke out the Sugar Puffs. If you are new to camping with Dave, then be careful not to choke on your food or beer, because I promise you will be rolling around the floor with laughter and your sides ready to burst. Today was no exception. We were a little concerned however that along with Dave C`s insect attract candle, and Dave Dream slowly turning himself into a giant Sugar Puff, that a few creepy crawlies may soon appear - more on that one later.





Dave C however, was dressed up ready to go out on the pull, and a sheepish looking Brad was now wearing some clothes 





And any excuse for dressing up, meant Flags was in his element, along with Karen, Dai and Donna





The Party tent was starting to make some noise, and it was time to go and investigate





Dave Doon had found something in his mayonnaise - possibly a chip





I was about to ask Flags why he was not dressed properly, and was not wearing his pants on the outside, but then I thought that this former squaddie was probably Commando (doh!), and the look on Karens face said she was probably the same.





Dyliss was giving Gary the third degree, as to why Brad had not packed enough underwear





Suddenly, SpiderDai saw someone in trouble





And Flags was ready for the rescue





But it was actually just the emergence of the man in the green morph suit - don`t know where he came from, but we could see where he had been





And with that, we retired back to the campsite for a few more beers





Whilst Hazel merrily tucked into her umpteenth tray of chips





It had been a very eventful day, and we were all absolutely knackered - Boinngg said Zebedee - Time for bed.

[A new word I have learnt - INOX:]

A new word I have learnt - INOX:


The 8:30 breakfast was a fairly civilised affair, and consisted of a traditional continental range of bread rolls, meats, cheeses, eggs, yoghurts, all washed down with your choice of coffee, coke or beer. I got a message from Patrick that he had a couple of phone numbers for me, and to go and find him once breakfast was out of the way.





Back at Camp GB, Dave Doon`s rear end appeared to be leak free, although he did seem hesitant to trust it yet.





So what happened to my exhausts then? Well as you can see, the flat bracket holding up the cannon has fractured across the weld and is literally hanging there. The weight of these cannons however cannot be underestimated as they are at least double the weight if not more of the end cans everyone else is using, and if they were not supported, then they would indeed drop off causing considerable damage.





Over the years on here, I have often been ridiculed for my colour co-ordinated cable ties, and as you can see, I have tried not to disappoint anyone here. These, my friends, are Stainless Steel Cable Ties, and they are incredibly strong. Until my recent trip down the seafront amongst those tacky shops selling crap for the tourists, I had never seen nor heard of these either - but after having used them, I would suggest that they are an absolute must have for the Buggy Emergency Toolbox, (loads on ebay) but just make sure you have a good pair of pointy nosed pliers to bend them into shape as they are quite tough.





After locating Patrick and Arno, they were frantically trying to find a solution for me. You see, the word I have learned today is INOX, better known to us as Stainless Steel, and it is something that the guys over here simply do not have any access to. This also makes sense as to why they love the UK cars so much, as we are dripping with the bits that they just do not have access to. This does present another problem though, and it means that because it is not widely used over here, there are no welders who can handle it either.

That was not going to defeat Arno though, who I later found out was the guy who managed to arrange for Ollie`s breakdown last year to be fixed at a Museum. One number he had was for a man 45Km away, and the other number was for someone who was nearby, but recovering from an operation - he was unable to weld this for me, but I was more than happy to go and do it myself if needed using his equipment.

But Arno kept going on the phone, with a long list of a friend recommending a friend, who knew someone, who recommended someone, who knew someone, and eventually found a guy who would have a go when he finished work. He was apparently local, and said to give him a ring around 3pm and we could arrange something. Not knowing if the Guy even spoke English or not, Arno said to find him at three and he would arrange this for me. It must be said, that like every person I have met out here, they all claim that they are not very good at speaking our language, and Arno was no exception - but their command of communications is fantastic, and most of them speak it far better than we do. Anyway, that was brilliant news, so the exhaust was cable tied in place in such a fashion I think I could have driven home on it if all had failed.





Of course, whilst our backs were turned, you know who was doing you know what, and we went over to recover Sandra





Time for a much needed cup of tea then - it had been a busy morning already.





And after Sandra went missing again, we decided to strap her firmly into Dave`s 4 point harness, and in return we overheard and learnt a new phrase





Oohh !  Madamme Isch Schtoocke     

Which translates as:   English = 1 - Germans = 0