Palm Sunday and the lifting of lock down
Palm Sunday is a significant day this year from many reasons , for people with Christian faith it represents the hope of the risen King , for others the start of a new season , longer days and hopefully sunshine. This year it represents the end of a 12 month period that I’m sure most would describe as an ‘annus horribilis’. Some have suffered much , some not so but all have endured some form of restriction or loss.
When we look at our own circumstances it seems to mirror the Biblical Palm Sunday Story , a mixture of hope , dashed hope and a rising sense that things will return better than ever before.
All around us Spring is breaking through , the birds are nesting the daffodils and snow drops are emerging and a cacophony of sound breaks the dawn from the returning inhabitants of the sky. The world is preparing for a new season , but how will we the humans of the earth respond. All on the face of it seems very peaceful , but then again we have a 16 week old Cockapoo called Poppy who puts stop to that . We love her though and can’t wait to introduce her to the van.
Daffodils in Thetford Forest
Lock down has brought new social norms , less dependance on mainstream TV and more informal community forums , Youtube has exploded during the last year with more than a billion hours of watched content every day world wide. Trust for politicians and experts sadly has not improved and on the dark side of social media we have seen the exploitation of this. In truth we are learning to trust each other in smaller groups using the new media , Zoom , Whats app etc. There is a drive for media output to be ever shorter - literally #shorts for Tube , Tic Tok and Instagram stories specifically but the most established of YouTubers report that people don’t stay for the whole video and that 50% viewed is a success in many ways.
Some will point at the dark side of social media and its true more could be done to remove inappropriate content but others suggest that this just fuelling the woke generation. The truth of course will as aways be in the middle but we have really enjoyed watching those in our circles through our Caravan and Motorhome Community responding to the crisis that they faced. It pains us to hear of people who are being abused for what is such a benign subject.
There are the stand out moments of course , watching John and Mandy charging back through France to beat the European lockdowns , Camper Vibe and the complexity of the van breakdown, but neither couples have given up , but regrouped and plan to go again. That is the human spirit !. I put the links to these two YouTube Channels in the footnotes .
There is a degree of positivity emerging from the lock down that is inspiring , people are finding their source of strength whether it faith led or just that British spirit that we hear talked about. The internet is awash with Caravan , Motorhome and Campers planning ahead. Some are buying units for the first time , others changing units , some swapping from Caravans to Motorhomes and vice versa. It’s an exciting time , of course this feeling will be tempered in those that have lost relatives or income or have been ill or are still ill , but this is not a binary stance. We feel the excitement of the next chapter while feeling compassion for those in a more difficult place, whom we remember in our prayers. As Martin Luther King Jr said ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy’ .
Tomorrow we get to visit our motorhome , which has been locked down in storage since December. I can see it through the fence but couldn’t touch it , it felt like it was being kept prisoner , but tomorrow is the day.
Naming our Motorhome
We bought this our second motorhome last August , our previous motorhome was a Bailey Autograph 79-4T and prior to that we have owned several caravans. The Bailey was a decent van , we lived in it for 6 months travelling Spain after we sold our house and delayed buying a new one, we had some of the best of times. It also took us to 13 European Countries where we met some great friends from across the UK and Europe with whom we are still in contact with.
But back to naming , to name or not to name was a question something we debated but in truth we decided that in a social media setting it makes it easier to refer to the van both in shortened form and in the familiar - so Klaus the Knaus it is.
Klaus is a A Class motorhome , 7.5 meters long with a decent payload and a garage to store our e-bikes. We have used it on South Coast of England tour for 6 weeks and also visited the Broads and Suffolk parking it up last on the 18th December.
Planning Trips ahead
It’s seems clear that European Travel will not be permissible and that staycations are on the cards so we have planned these trips with the caveat that we don’t have dates for the second injections but as military strategists would say ‘no good plan stands first contact with the enemy’ , so we might need to be flexible and trim where needed. We also don’t know when or whether the Scots Government will grant access over the border . However we the following bookings.
Suffolk - a two week puppy acclimatisation
North - through Yorkshire , the lakes and into Dumfries and Galloway
Morn Hill - Longleat - Exmoor - Plymouth and return to Norfolk
Suffolk return leg ( we love Suffolk)
Outer Hebrides Tour - Ferries and campsites are booked for later in the year.
Shropshire
What ever your plans are for the year ahead we hope they’re blessed !.
Kindest regards & God bless you on your travels
Martin and Helen
Reference links
John and Mandy - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFcfBrwRNNkvyYKXxZ4HH1g
Camper Vibe - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_7ZmNi09nP5UciW62-8BUw
