We drove from Sheringham to Leavenheath near Sudbury for our second « staying at a friends » house, visiting Anthea and Kevin. We had been to their house lots of time before, however never with Beatrix. We double checked that Beatrix would fit on their driveway and even sent measurements as we did not want to get any shocks and check that we could fit without inconveniencing them too much. When we arrived they had not realised how big we were and yes we did fit which was a relief.

The drive from Norfolk to Leavenheath was on easy roads, however, our friend the weather impacted us again. It was very windy and there were a few moments where Toby had to slow down as the wind was blowing us across the roads.

Whilst we were with Anthea and Kevin we got to catch up with other friends by celebrating the engagement of Sarah and Richard. I managed to get my Covid booster at Colchester United football ground. We scooted to the ground then went to see my mum and dad and borrowed their car so we could spend the evening with them and get Merlin who had been looked after by Kevin. What I can tell you is that it is quite cold using Sons of Anarchy in December!

Whilst we were at my parents I got a phone call from someone I used to work with offering me a full time role. Although it was fantastic to be thought of I told the individual that I was now not looking for a full time role. This company also offers associate coaching work and I did mention that I would be interested in being an associate coach if that was available when I returned from skiing in France in April. He said I should get in touch when I got back from France. One thing I have learnt is it is always good to not fully close doors when you leave work that you enjoy doing and also ask for what you want as you may just get it! Watch this space for more about the progress of this opportunity.

We headed back to Leavenheath to pick up Beatrix and take Anthea and Kevin out for dinner not realising that Kevin was already out that night – best laid plans! We ended up having a great meal with Anthea in Nayland to say thanks for letting us: use your driveway, washing machine and shower and clocked the fact that we owed Kevin a great dinner.

Not wanting to outstay our welcome with these friends on our first Beatrix home visit with them, we had arranged to stay at a campsite on the outskirts of Colchester to be able to see other friends. Strangely from a timing perspective, Eddy and Alex, friends who moved to Germany a few years ago and have a motorhome, were over visiting friends in Colchester at the same time. We managed to catch up with them and Watson their dog. We had a wonderful evening, enjoying storytelling, catching up and trying a new vegan restaurant Hanks in Colchester. We got takeaway and the food was interesting and tasted great. We popped in to see mum and dad and drove mum to Marks Tey to pick up their favourite pensioners fish and chips from their favourite chippy. It was great to spend multiple part days with my family and just be with them without having to rush off and help out when needed.

The list of friends we were able to see was not finished yet. Toby and I met whilst we were both working at a company called Betts in Colchester. We have some great memories of nights out with some of our co-workers who are now very good friends as we have been on a few motorcycling trips with them. We took the bus from the campsite into town for an evening of reminiscing in Colchester and drinking at some old haunts. It was raining and I may have had a few too many wines that night and felt very rough the next day. We could not lay in though as we had a surprise 50th birthday party to go to in Braintree. Toby, my hero, scooted to Greggs to get bacon sandwiches and we then scooted to my sister in laws brother’s for her surprise 50th. We did not stay long and went to bed early as it was a moving day to start heading to Exeter for Christmas. The trip to Exeter was not all done in one day, we staged it so we could enjoy some time in places we wanted to visit and get some tasks done.

Our first stop was Ashridge Caravan Club Site, to get Sons of Anarchy serviced. It was a really easy drive to get to Ashwell – which is a really cute small club site. We had thought we had the wrong address however we had not and we managed to squeeze Beatrix into the site. Toby scooted Sons of Anarchy to Letchworth for it’s service. We also realised Emma, who Toby used to work with, lived in Ashwell and we managed to spend an evening with her and her partner and some fantastic barbecue food. Ashwell is a very beautiful village and whilst we were walking around admiring the Christmas lights we saw Brian and Claire who we had met in September 2021 as this is where their home is. We went for a cup of tea and catch up with them and then bought some amazing Ashwell pies from the butcher which had been recommended by Ben.

From Ashwell we travelled to Salisbury Camping and Caravanning club site. It was where we had been on day one of our travels this year. We arrived and enjoyed doing some Christmas shopping in Salisbury and thankfully no wasp stings this time. Whilst we were there though we both got pinged to say we needed to do a PCR test as we may have Covid as we had been around people that had Covid in Colchester. It put everything into perspective. We scooted to get our PCR test done and then had to wait to see if we would have to isolate for Christmas. Luckily the results came within 24 hours and we were both clear. We decided, seeing as we were so close, that we would do an early morning expedition on Sons of Anarchy to see the sunrise at Stonehenge. It was a chilly start and we made coffee so we could enjoy it when we stopped to watch the sunrise. It would have been perfect had it not been so darned foggy and cold. We were not able to see the sunrise and Stonehenge doesn’t open early in the morning. At 07:50am we sat outside the gate to the visitors centre of Stonehenge drinking coffee before heading back to the campsite. First attempt at Stonehenge failed – we will try again – although next time with Beatrix!

Our last drive before Christmas was getting from Salisbury to Exeter. It was a long drive and we needed a stop. Just to make things interesting we ended up stopping for a breather at a petrol station. Somehow we ended up going the wrong way into the petrol station and caused mayhem with the cars who were trying to go the right way. It must have been quite intimidating being a small car and seeing an Beatrix driving towards young matter how slowly we were driving. I can only imagine what the people working at the petrol station were thinking. We didn’t stop at this petrol station we just got out as quickly as we could and ended up stopping 5 minutes up the road where the entry and exit to the petrol station was easy for a Beatrix sized vehicle.

The rest of the drive to Exeter went swimmingly and we arrived at our Christmas camping location Grindlebrook Farm. We would be staying with Toby’s mum and Laurie for a lot of the time however Beatrix was safely stowed there. Christmas was as wonderful as you can imagine as we spent over two weeks with Toby’s mum and Laurie and his brother and his wife. We enjoyed walks around Exeter and watching the rain a fair bit as the weather was pretty awful. So the end of 2021 – the year we started on the road less travelled. We have a lot more to share so hope you continue reading.

Thanks for reading

Sally, Toby and Merlin