Ferry from Caen and Littlehampton - 29th Oct ‘19

Up early again and another familiar activity- packing up Brunnehilda in the drizzle /rain. By 7 we had left the campsite by 5 past we were in a rather chaotic series of queues. When we eventually got in it was a smashing vessel - but only seemed about half full.

It had 2 cinemas and a couple of restaurants. A bit of a misunderstanding and we missed the start of Downton Abbey so we settled down to an English breakfast, a bit of reading, a bit of napping and then a bit of lunch. A very easy and pleasant 6 hour sailing - arriving at Portsmouth at 1.15pm (local time!).

UK Customs seemed to be in overdrive - checking every van, motor home and caravan. The girl poked her head in Brunnehilda and got me to open the XC60 boot. We were confronted by a large body shaped bag with Isabella written on it in big letters - gulp, I braced  myself! Now I’m no customs officer but I would have thought given the circumstances a body shaped bag in the boot with Isabella written on it would have at least been worth a prod? It wasn’t! She glanced around the boot, thanked me and we went on our way - onto the M27 and Littlehampton. Only about 40 mins away.

The Littlehampton Caravan Club Site is exceptional nice. It’s clean, immaculately kept and laid out in straight lines with ample regularly placed facilities. A pleasant and extremely efficient lady told us exactly (and I mean exactly!) how to set up our van on the pitch. Nothing to complain about but I have to say I miss the French / Italian smile and casual instructions to park where and how we liked!

Set up is getting bloody quick now - like a Formula 1 team changing a set of tyres. We’ve only been caravanning for 4 months but we’ve probably done more set ups and pack ups than most would have done in 3 or 4 years!?

We found a huge Sainos - the current supermarket of choice- in nearby Bognor. And what a whopper, happiness definitely is a fully stocked Sainos. Walking round buying bread, milk, eggs and all the normal stuff we both noticed how much cheaper most stuff is in the UK!

We had a drive around Littlehampton as the Autumnal evening closed in. And blimey it’s bloody cold! We may be used to the rain but we’ve not had to face cold on the recent trip. So much so that we’ve had to read Brunnehilda’s heating system instructions again and get the fire / fan kicked off.

We found an Indian restaurant in the centre of town - the Little Magna. We literally walked in as they opened the door at 5.30. The waiter told us the chef was held up in traffic but he would only be 15 mins. 45 mins later he rushed in and we finally got our food at 6.45. It was worth the wait though. I had an excellent King Prawn curry dish and Kim’s Vegetable Malay was rather good too.

I’m currently reading Eric Idle’s autobiography. It’s a real giggle and full of very impressive celebrity stories. Not normally the stuff I like but I have to say he’s very funny - wish I guess you might expect

Back to Brunnehilda to warm up. A cup of tea, Spots on the sound system and a game of canasta.
Eat your heart out Mr Idle. Who needs drinking and partying stories with Mike Jagger, Robin Williams, Billy Connolly,  George Harrison and David Bowie when you’ve got that!?!

To bed dreaming of our Sanremo view out the kitchen window ....