Thursday 19th December
Moving day. Moving as in moving sites, not emotionally challenging. Destination Cambridge and the Caravan & Motorhome Club site at Cherry Hinton, by some margin our – now my – most visited site.
With arrivals not permitted until after 1pm and a circa two-hour journey – traffic permitting, packing up was leisurely. In truth I’m better when I want to get away early as a later departure means putting it off – another quick look at Twitter, Facebook et al, rather than getting on with it. It was only a little after eleven though when I pulled away, retracing my steps as far as the M25 before heading North & East to the M11.
Traffic did permit and I arrived around 1:15pm, the diversion past the closed Queen Edith's Way making little difference. My ageing tug Rosie, clearly didn’t find it too hard going, returning a shade over 30mpg over the 105-mile journey. A considerable improvement on the first leg of the trip. I keep an eye on such things as it’s a fair indicator of her overall health, taking speed, weight and prevailing conditions into consideration. I’m in no rush to replace her. Pitch 15 was to be Patsy’s resting place for the next few days, one I’d not been on before. Down a slope to the left it was quiet and near a service point too.
Set up was rather hurried as I wanted to squeeze in a kip and a shower before my next port of call; the blood donation centre at the nearby Addenbrooke's hospital. Knowing time was limited the kip did not prove notably restorative but the long hot shower did. Blood donors are a privileged bunch on the Addenbrooke’s site as we get free parking and I was checking in just on time despite the increasing later afternoon traffic.
The initial blood drop test was not promising – apparently my iron levels were a little low – but a further test confirmed that it was just high enough to donate and I was soon dispensing my 400ml of A+. The usual advice was given after which included suggesting I try to avoid alcohol for 24 hours. I refrained from asking how hard I should try, knowing the evenings’ activities consisted of a curry and a pub quiz.
The curry, with a friend from a neighbouring village was superb – for the record it was the Tamarind in Teversham. I, opting for my usual these days went for Chicken Madras. There was a time when Vindaloo was the only choice but I prefer something a little more mellow these days. Particularly when the following morning comes...
The pub quiz was at the Six Bells in Fulbourn. I’d joined my friends’ team in the summer on my previous visit and enjoyed it immensely, without contributing significantly to the score. This time however with new management and a revamped quiz it seemed easier, with more questions we felt we could answer. Results wise, in sporting parlance we managed mid-table, just missing out on the play-offs.
The Adams Southwold bitter went down very well indeed, probably a little too well. However, considering said consumption of both grog and grub I returned to Patsy with waistcoat still comfortably buttoned. Some gentle weight loss since the summer seems to have paid off, although whether it will still fit as well in the new year is in some doubt!