Early retirement…

… let’s hope it’s all it’s cracked up to be. 😜 Today we are setting off on our first long-awaited post-retirement adventure… no more fighting the school holiday crowds, and sweating in the August heat… I hope. I’m excited and looking forward to meandering down through France, then exploring the south east of the country. We have lots of plans but, for once, nothing fixed… except for a rugby match in Nice which, for John, may be the highlight of the trip.

It’s been odd being at home in August, but enjoyable, most of the time. We’ve had lazy starts… cups of tea in bed with the neighbour’s cat, Tom, who insists on joining us at 7 o’clock in the morning… sometimes even earlier. However, in some ways, it’s also been a stressful few weeks… hospital investigations for me (thankfully nothing serious), helping John’s mum who is bed bound, and a seemingly endless list of jobs that we’d postponed until we had more time… what happened to that time?!

Anyway… the house is safely locked up, covered by the alarm and a multitude of new cameras, and in the care of helpful friends and family… Jean is popping in regularly to spruce the place up, Heather and Gavin have offered to put the bins out and mow the lawn, and my mum has offered to water the plants. We’re extremely grateful to them all.

Bertie, our camper van, is full of everything we think we’ll need… packraft and paddling equipment, camping gear, hiking and cycling kit, clothes, food and so on. It’s amazing how our life can be squeezed into a box 6.36 metres long by 2 metres wide. There’s even room for us!

We’re excited for the adventures ahead, starting with a night in the Chilterns before getting the ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe on Monday evening. I’ve starred so many places on Google maps… I wonder if we’ll manage to visit them all. Watch this space!