Category: Uncategorised

My winter sheltering is almost over. I know that originally I was going to stay in the Canary Islands until the end of March, but changed that to 1st March to give me plenty of time to prepare for the tour in June. Well, British Airways, who undertook to fly me to the islands and fly me back again, has changed that plan! I received an e-mail informing me that the return flight was cancelled; no alternative was offered or reason given. I contacted them and after listening to a recorded announcement assuring me amongst other things that I could " book with confidence", spoke to an operative who, after some prompting, transferred me to a flight scheduled to leave eight days early on the 20th February. One week later British Airways cancelled that flight too. This time they offered me no other flight in the e-mail and when I spoke to them was informed that they have "suspended the route for...

Much as I am looking forward to travelling again in June 2021, it is with a guilty conscience. Bridgets’ Swansong tour has a budget of almost £38,000 for the first leg to Australia. Some £8,000 of that would otherwise have been spent living at home for the eight months, but £30,000 could have been a cash donation to Save the Children! I have gambled that those of you that like to follow, and live my adventure vicariously through these blog posts, would help me make up those lost funds by making donations whenever you can. Any sponsors I manage to persuade to join this final adventure of Bridget’s Swansong will be making donations in support of Save the Children. You will have noticed in the sidebar of this webpage, or near the bottom of the page if you are browsing with your mobile, that there is a link to my Save the Children fund-raising page. I have tried to explain on...

My last post suggested I was considering another long range adventure and that has now evolved into a definite plan. Leaving in June 2021 I will take Bridget across Europe, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. I shall continue to develop the journey over the winter months taking into account the developments of Covid-19 insofar as lockdowns effect where I can go, and keep you informed of developments as things firm up. The main constraint I have had in deciding to embark on what will probably be my final adventure has been financial which brings me onto the reason for this post. I'm afraid Bertie (above) must contribute to the coffers! I bought “Bertie The B” three years ago and those of you that follow this blog will know, soon decided that he would require a total rebuild on a new body. As it transpired the Oselli balanced fast road engine was the one thing that didn’t need major work and with only...

After ten weeks of lockdown, unsurprisingly the cars are ready to roll. I think I have completed every job there was to be done, with Bertie now sporting hazard warning lights and Bridget showing off a new tonneau cover. I have no problems with 'social isolation' but being confined to one location does challenge me. Being physically restricted tends to send my brain off on hypothesized journeys and so I find myself, once again, considering another 'tour' once lockdown is lifted. It has been seven years since the last tour that took me into the Arctic Circle and then St. Petersburg. Since then I have only done some 'local' tours taking both cars to my Winter Quarters on Gran Canaria, obviously on separate occasions, and Bertie took me to Northern Italy and Switzerland last year (all reported on here). So now, where to, when and which car? There is one location that I remember learning about at school that has always been...