Celebration Time!

so here we are at Thornborough............... (continuing on from my last blog)... and the time of year is September........ the time of the Equinox.... 21st/22nd

as you might remember we were going to celebrate the Equinox and a friend's 50th birthday and then he and his wife were going to fly off to Amsterdam to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.  the celebration is a secret.... well a secret from him..... he thinks he is coming to the Henge just to celebrate the Equinox.  so we decided to decorate a marquee before he arrived on the Saturday morning.

decorated marquee

we put a chair in the marquee and decorated it with pretty fairy lights and balloons.  later we added a little table and placed his birthday cake on it and all of his presents.

the cake

here is the amazing cake made by MG...... in the centre is a little green man face but it doesn't show up on my photo.  hopefully someone else took photos of the cake and they are better than mine.

after all the decorating J and I went to listen to an archeologist give a really interesting talk about the history of the Henge.

we were mesmerised by his words and his lovely voice...... so much so that we both ended up having a mini snooze.  sorry to Jan who did the talk..... it was really interesting.... honest.

moon over camp

we were well blessed with fine weather and a gorgeous big moon hung over us to help light up the darkness of the Henge.  there is absolutely no light polution there so when I say it is dark... it is really dark!









below are some of our evening photos giving you a flavour of our party time

cutting the cake

dancing in the moonlight?

party time

chatting

birthday boy and his lovely wife

drumming

beautiful colours in the fire

our lovely fire was enhanced with some fairy magic brought by a lovely lady in the form of little silver packages which apparently you can buy on ebay lol.

some of our group got out guitars, banjos, and drums and played some amazing music.

toasting giant mallows

someone brought some giant marshmallows and so we toasted them on the BBQ and on the fire.

dawn over our 'village'

I'm very much a night person usually.  I hate mornings and take ages to wake up.  but when I'm away in Kitty I am awake at dawn and rewarded with views like this.............

sunset

Sunday was a lovely day of gently mooching around the lovely stalls.  people were selling so many different crafts.  there was a blessing for all the animals in a ceremony and people brought their dogs to be blessed.

L and B and I went for a walk to forage for fallen wood for our night-time fire and came back to the Henge just as the sun was setting.

monday morning quiet

as most of our group.... and also most of the campers in general had gone home on Sunday night I woke up on Monday morning to an almost empty campsite.  if you look closely you can see L and B's firepit sitting on bricks there on the right of the picture.






those of us who were left had a lazy breakfast and then started to pack up our campervans and tents.  by 11.30am we had done a 'sweep' of our area to check that nothing was left behind to harm the wildlife and the animals that the farmer may be putting in to graze.  and by noon we were all driving out of the Henge with a tear in our eye, as this is the last 'meet' of the year, and it is doubtful that we will meet up camping again before the spring.   all very sad :-((

but I'm sure I will get out and about in Kitty for day trips and I'll tell you about them and post pictures.

'til next time, blessings, Willow x

Kitty, Stephen, & Willow Lose Their Way

so.................. last time...........

"Kitty and I had hardly got home and got our jobs done when we were off again..... this time we were back to Thornborough Henge to celebrate the Autumn Equinox or Mabon".

..... and so we were off again, Kitty and I (and Stephen too) ..... this time heading up the A1 on a Friday lunchtime in September.  but Stephen SatNav didn't seem to know that the A1 has been altered several months ago even though I had uploaded new maps *groan*.

there we were.... driving along.... and I realise we are near junction 50 and thought that we should be coming off at J50.  but Stephen said that we had to go on another 4+ miles before coming off.  so...... being very dependent on the modern technology that is the SatNav to get me around, I listened.

the display on Stephen showed us grass-tracking and nowhere near the A1...... but obviously we were on the motorway (Kitty isn't really built for grass-tracking... and I'm not really brave enough to try it anyway).

'Stephen', I said, 'where are we going?'  ......

'in 100 yards turn right' said Stephen.   'we are on the motorway Stephen..... we can't turn right!!'  I replied.

'in 100 yards turn left' he said.  'there isn't a left turn Stephen we are on the motorway with no slip-road anywhere near never mind 100 yards away!'

 'turn around when possible' was his reply!   'TURN AROUND???   we are on a MOTORWAY!!!'  was my yell..... as if my shouting at a SatNav was going to make any difference whatsoever.

so...... what do you do when your SatNav gets all confused?  you have to make a decision.  but maybe I made the wrong one as I decided to come off at junction 51 and work my way back along the minor roads.  with hindsight I probably should have got myself back on the A1 going south and come off at junction 50.... but we make these decisions hoping that our intuition doesn't let us down like the SatNav just did.

so here we are with the A1 now on our left and trying to pick our way along the little country roads that are North Yorkshire at its best.  and now what does Stephen say?  'turn around when possible'.... 'turn right.... turn left'.  and what do I say?  'oh shut up Stephen!!!'  I was tempted to throw him out of the window .... but I thought he just might pick up a route to our destination.  "did he?"  I hear you ask.  NO...... he didn't...... so for miles I carried on along country roads trying to find a signpost for Thornborough Henge....(English Heritage seem to have abandoned the beautiful site in favour of more 'money-making' site such as Stonehenge.... *sigh*)..... so no signs will point you to Thornborough Henge.

after what seems like an eternity but was probably only 30 minutes Stephen finally picked up a route for me.  by now I am really panicking as I was meant to meet friends at 2pm so that we could save spaces for those who had to work Friday and couldn't come until late Friday night or Saturday morning.  not only were we celebrating the Equinox but we were celebrating someone's 50th birthday.... so it was a big occasion.  by now it was 2.30pm.  I began to recognise the scenery as I had been for the Beltane celebrations in May... so I started to relax and before I knew it I was greeted at the entrance to the Henge by a man with a long grey beard in a high-vis jacket (no.... not Father Time.... but Cat.... a lovely man who volunteers to greet people and show them where to park).

none of my friends had arrived so I waited by the gate talking to Cat and a lovely fae-like lady for around half an hour before I decided to park up and get the kettle on.  one by one friends started to arrive..... each one telling the story of being sent down to junction 51 by their SatNav instead of coming off at junction 50!!!

next time I'll make sure I write down travelling instructions and use a MAP.   in the words of Sir Alan............. Stephen!...... you're fired!!!!

more adventures soon :-)

blessings, Willow x

Kitty & I Meet Up With Friends

oh dear!  it has been so long since I last blogged that you have all probably forgotten me.

well.... just in case I've still got followers I'll try to update you on what has been happening in my world.

Kitty Campa and I have been travelling about quite a bit this year.  At the beginning of May we headed off for Thornborough Henge in North Yorkshire to celebrate Beltane.

We ended up meeting loads of wonderful new people with similar interests and have since become great friends and have met up several times during the year.  here is the English piper on the Henge piping down the sun.  we also had a Scottish piper who piped down the sun on the Saturday and the Sunday.

here are the drummers calling us to the ceremony.







After getting home and doing the washing Kitty and I headed off for our annual meet with our Stonewylde friends at Avebury in Wiltshire.




here they are getting dreads in their hair :-)

I've added a few new stickers to Kitty......

.... at the back and on her bonnet.  but I've loads more to add over the months.







Kitty and I spent a week at Moongazy Camp with our Stonewylde friends before heading home.


our next big outing was to Derbyshire to meet up with friends and celebrate Lammas at the beginning of August.





here is one of our group, exhausted after putting up her tent.  this is the reason I bought Kitty :-)   I just drive up to my pitch and park...... and switch on the gas and make a cuppa..... simple!










as you can see, our area of the campsite became very crowded!

the first night we were blessed with the most amazing sunset........

......  but the following night we got this!!!  (yes that is a colour photo!  the sky was black and we ended up with the most incredible storm with fork lightning giving us a spectacular show).  unfortunately many people got soaked wet through in their little tents :-((  although the bigger and better waterproofed tents stayed dry.




our next camping weekend was near Conisborough Castle in August.  we meet up for a picnic every year with our Stonewylde friends but this year some of us decided to camp the night before.

many of us were fascinated to watch two of our men put up a folding caravan.... before we all piled inside for afternoon tea and cakes.

the campsite was lovely and had plenty of space and electric hook-up (a luxury) and showers!!!  :-)













we held our picnic on the Sunday in sight of the castle.

the picnic table was huge.....
and filled with foods that everyone attending had brought to share.

some of us sat under the shade of the beautiful trees.... and some enjoyed the full sunshine.

Kitty and I had hardly got home and got our jobs done when we were off again..... this time we were back to Thornborough Henge to celebrate the Autumn Equinox or Mabon.   but I'll blog about that later.


hope you enjoyed catching up with travels with Kitty

with blessings, Willow x

Willow and Kitty go Adventuring

sorry it has taken me so long to tell you about my adventures in Kitty Campa(van).  I have no excuses.  I just didn't get round to it.  shame on me!

as you know from other posts I bought Kitty on the Wednesday and washed out her cupboards and fridge and packed her up and set off for a campsite near Avebury over 200 miles away... the very next day... the Thursday lol.   I was meeting up with dozens of lovely Stonewylder friends.  we've all read the series of books by Kit Berry and we meet up at least once a year to camp and several times have local meet-ups for a picnic or a meal in a pub. (Kit's latest book about Stonewylde is about to be launched on 18th October.... and is number five in the series.... and the last one)

I set off from home and headed for the big Tescos 15 miles away (it is en-route... sort of).  I had a money-off voucher for fuel at Tescos so I thought I should fill Kitty up with cut-priced fuel for our journey down south.  I also bought a sandwich and put it in my fridge as I thought it would save time when I had 'comfort' stops.

so ..... I was ready to go.  nervous, because I'd just bought Kitty and was hoping all was well with her.  (I did buy her from a reputable garage so there shouldn't have been any problems but you just don't know with mechanical things).

anyway...... I set off from Tescos and got myself on the motorway and turned on the radio.  but all I could hear was static..... no radio..... and I hadn't brought any cds.  humph!  no music or chat then :-(     oh well.... I thought.... I'll just have to sing sing sing ..... and so I did.  and talked to Kitty... encouraging her.  and I also talked to Stephen.  I haven't introduced you to Stephen yet.  he is my SatNav which has the voice of Stephen Fry.  he is a great travelling companion and makes sure I stay on the right road and get to my destination.

I hadn't realised that old campervans go slowly coz they can't go fast!  that had not occured to me when driving my little car behind one especially on a hill.  but they do go slowly.  I thought that there was something wrong with Kitty when we were on the motorway but came to a slight incline and the speed slowed from 55mph to 45mph then to 40mph and then to 35mph.  "oh Kitty don't give out on me" I cried.  but sure enough as soon as we came back onto the flat my speed zoomed up to an exhillarating 50mph!!!

but then it is all about the journey..... not the destination isn't it?

after a couple of hours I would normally have stopped if I'd been in the car.... but I was enjoying tootling along in Kitty and having other campervans flash lights at me and wave (friendly lot).  so I carried on.  thinking I would stop at the next services and then the next and the next..... but never actually stopping.  but eventually after 4 hours of driving my bladder decided that I should stop.  by this time I'd left the motorway and was driving on A roads.  when suddenly it hit me like a cricket bat!  I didn't NEED a service station.... I had a toilet onboard..... and a sandwich in the fridge...... and a kettle and stove to make a cuppa.   so I stopped at the next layby ... closed all the back curtains and got the toilet out of it's little cupboard :-)  .... hands washed, I got my sandwich and put water in the kettle and put it on to boil.  wow!  this is the life!

suitably refreshed I carried on at speeds of up to 45mph...... just cruising :-)

I'd been travelling most of the day and the light was begining to fade.... but I was still 20 miles from the campsite.  I'd been using my indicators all day and assumed the headlights were on the same switch.... but .... panic.... no they weren't.  "how the heck do you turn the lights on?"  I wondered.  

no time to worry about that as I encountered a closed road.  "but I want to go down there" I almost wailed.  but obvously I couldn't so tried an alternative .... "turn around when possible" said Stephen.  "I can't" was my reply.  he'll pick it up I thought.  "turn around when possible" repeated Stephen.  I tried various roads only to be met with "turn around when possible"  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr shut up Stephen!!

eventually Stephen picked up a route for me and took me down a single-tracked road which looked like it led to a farm.  it was hardly wide enough for the campervan let alone anything I might meet coming the other way!!!  even a dog-walker would have had to scramble up the banking!

the track eventually led to a reasonable road and we were 'out of danger' .... but still no lights.  everyone coming towards me had their lights on.  just me with no illumination.  scarey.  but now I was less than 10 miles from the campsite.  I had visions of having to stop and camp beside the road only a few short miles from my destination.  but there was hope ... as it wasn't dark yet.... just getting dusk.

on and on I drove down leafy lanes and through tiny villages.... I was begining to think that Stephen was lost..... "in 300 yards turn left...... turn right...... turn left...... straight on!"   then............. I saw the campsite sign........... I was here!!!!  just a few yards more and I was safe from Mr Policeman stopping me for not having my lights on!  or worse still safe from having to stop by the roadside and camp all night because it was too dark to drive without lights!!!  I drove up to the barrier and it lifted.... thankfully and in I went.  we have camped here before so I knew where we would be... what field we were in.  but just before I parked up I just had to................................. stop for a tinkle at the 'facilities'. 

then on I drove to the camping field No.9.  "You've no lights on Willow"  I heard them cry.  Swampy plugged in my hookup...... Andy jumped into Kitty and found the light switch and everything was working fine... just me that couldn't see the switch .... the lovely SolsticeDreamer asked for my cup and made me a hot cuppa while Kit asked if I had a glass to put some wine into.  I was home! 

  

.... and here I am safely camped up for the night.  I wasn't on a slope, I think I had tilted the camera or had too much wine :-)

I slept like a log that night and didn't even realise I'd put the bed cushions together wrong, and was sleeping in the gap between them on the bare board lol.  everyone was already up having breakfast before I managed to even open my eyes.

I'm going to love this campervan life!

with blessings til next time, Willow xXx

Rippling Kitty

As you already know ... I bought an old campervan in May and called her Kitty.  She was 19 years old last month..... so she is an old lady.  But she still has plenty of life left in her, which was demonstrated by the fact that the day after I bought her we went on a 500 mile round trip!

Since I purchased her we have done 1000 miles together.  Not bad for two old girls LOL.

Kitty has an elevating roof which makes it the best of both as when driving the roof is down so less drag (so less fuel used) and just push the roof up when parked so that I can stand up inside throughout her length (except the cab area).

Kitty has a 4-burner gas hob, a sink and drainer, a large fridge, and room for 4 people with seat belts while travelling. 

But I prefer to have the seats set out so that I have a small sofa to sit on and this leaves the single seat and the passenger seat (which swivels round) for inside seating in the camper.

Even with my crocheted blooming flower cushions on, this seat looks drab, especially with the crazy curtains that were in Kitty when I bought her.

I decided she needed brightening up before very much longer.  I've done a bit to the outside as you saw in my last campervan post, but the inside definately needed something on the upholstery.  I don't possess a sewing machine so I decided to crochet some loveliness.

..... and here she is!  My very first ripple blanket finished in May this year in readiness for buying a camper. Thanks to Lucy at Attic 24 and her amazing blog containing really interesting stuff and brilliant patterns.  You might notice my blooming flower cushions are from Lucy's blog too :-)

The blanket has been made from leftover acrylic yarn from other projects plus some specially bought yarns in lovely bright colours.  It took a long time to crochet as I was a bit foolish and didn't do a smaller project while I learned the pattern.... so I ended up pulling it out a few times when I realised that the pattern had gone wrong (after sometimes crocheting for over an hour).  Lucy did warn anyone crocheting the ripple to try it out on a smaller swatch..... but I thought I was clever lol.

I'm over half-way through a cover for the single seat in bright ripply loveliness to 'match' the sofa.  I'll be sure to blog with pictures when I'm finished it.

More campervan adventures soon.

with blessings, Willow xXx



Lovely Kitty Campervan

I thought you might be interested in my campervan, Kitty.  She's an old girl.... nearly 20 years old.... but lovely.  She is a transit van with a factory conversion and elevating roof.

I bought her in May and the very next day I drove her down over 200 miles to Avebury for a week camping in her (will blog about that soon) doing a round-trip of 500 miles!  All I had time to do was to wash out her cupboards and fridge.  Being desperate to decorate her on the outside I had to wait for some rain-free time.

Here is what she looked like when I first bought her...

she already had the blue and gold stripes down the side and said Campa on both sides and on the front



I ordered lots of lovely stickers from Hippy Motors and waited for an ideal day.  the weather was terrible on each day that I could spare the time to decorate her.
 
I really wanted to get her done before I went on a meet-up with friends in Oxfordshire at the Rollright Stones (blog coming soon)

the 20th August was the day!  sunny but not too hot..... no rain..... no wind..... so I could start. 

I first decorated the side panel....

with a golden hare gazing at the moon.

the next thing I did was start decoration on the bonnet and I decided on Kokopelli

but the day was so lovely I had to make the most of it and headed off to some local lakes... which is where the above bonnet photo was taken.

so the next part of the decorations had to wait until the 28th August.... just in time for going away and meeting friends on the 31st.

I added a little guardian angel to the bonnet under Kokopelli.

if you have ever driven an old campervan, or been stuck behind them on a hill, you will know how slow they are. 
so the next sticker to go on Kitty was.....

"If you think this is slow wait until we hit a hill"

..... and then...... "Home is where you park it" which had been bought for me by M several years ago when I first voiced that I wanted to 'Live the Dream' and buy a campervan.

I managed to take off the word Campa from the bonnet as it was tatty .....

...and decorated with squiggles to cover where it used to be.

I'd had an idea for the side panel with the hare so that was next to be finished....

..... with stars, fairies on mushrooms, and fairies flying through the sky.

close-ups of fairies on mushrooms........

....... and fairies reaching for the stars

But the passenger side still had nothing on it..... I loved the fairies so much that I decided to repeat them on the other side.... but much bigger and bolder....

..... with a cute little Hippy Motor's car and driver.

I finished off her bonnet with some lovely silver stars.

So this is Kitty Campa's decorations............. so far :-)

Now.....dare I go onto Hippy Motor's website and order more stickers???  LOL.

Hope you enjoyed meeting my lovely Kitty.  I'll blog about her interior next time.

with blessings, Willow xXx