Closing out 2021
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We traveled back to the UK at the start of October, taking the ferry from Holland to the UK in an attempt to simplify our return passage – bit of a long crossing, especially for Casper who had to stay in the car for five hours – and arrived at Amy’s house to be greeted by our latest addition to the family, little Pip.
Stuart and Sara married on 16th October, and we all had a lovely day – the wedding went off without a hitch and it was an excellent opportunity to meet up with family and friends after all the CoviD lockdowns of the previous month’s and years.
After the excitement of the wedding, we settled down to ‘normality’ living with Amy in Southampton once again, and as before she had prepared a list of jobs she wanted/needed doing, one of which was to create an en-suite in her bedroom along with a string of other challenges.
I have been waiting quite a long while to get the Porsche serviced, and happily this was done successfully (at a cost) and we were then able to use it on a trip to visit family and friends and give it a good workout.
Meal out 
Mike & Andrew 
Caves in Nottingham 
Nottingham Xmas fair 
Back on the road 
Visiting Fran & Dave 
Tim & Glynis making progress with their build
Soon after our fifteen day road trip, Christmas was upon us and Alec, Lucy, Stuart and Sara were all able to get down to Amy’s so that we could celebrate together as a family once again.
Xmas morning 
Stuart Sara & Max 
Pip & Casper
Then on 31st December Nicki and I headed back to Europe – our original plan had been to head off to La Foux for a few months, but unfortunately new restrictions on travel meant that traveling to La Foux directly was not really an option and so we decided to head directly back to Harderwijk. Even so, it was not straightforward (or cheap) to get back to SHENSI.
Firstly, we needed to arrange an Animal Health Certificate for Pip – a snip at £250 and only valid for entry into France for ten days from issue – and then we booked our crossing for the channel tunnel. COVID restrictions by the French authorities meant that we had to arrange expensive PCR tests to ensure we got the results within 24hrs. We also completed all the forms that the French needed so that we could transit through France.
We spent a couple of days preparing and packing the car – it was so difficult to get all our stuff in and every little nook and cranny was filled whilst still leaving enough space for ourselves and the dogs – and finally we were ready for our departure the next morning, Thursday. However, Wednesday evening we received a notification from Eurotunnel that the French were refusing entry for transit to another country and were would not be able to travel through the tunnel!
To avoid losing the cost of the crossing, we decided we would reschedule our Eurotunnel booking till the following year, and instead we would book a ferry crossing from Harwich on the Friday direct to the Netherlands. So far, so good.
However, the PCR’s would no longer be acceptable on their own because their 24hr period would have expired by the time of the ferry sailing, but we found that they could be supported with new Antigen tests at yet more expense. Still, needs must and we organised the tests and once again were ready for the off.
Now, Thursday evening, we were prepared (physically and mentally) to get to Harwich for a 9am sailing on the Friday, although we were a bit concerned that the AHC for Pip was specific for France and that it might not be accepted by the Dutch. Still, we could do no more at that point as the vet was not accessible until the new year. Then at about 9.30 pm came a new update from Eurotunnel saying that the French would now permit transit journeys. Aaaargh!!!
So, we quickly reset the channel tunnel booking to a 1 am crossing, leaving Southampton at 10pm to drive through the night. Surprisingly nobody else seemed to be traveling so there was no problem getting all our documents and the dogs’ documents checked in time for the crossing, and we were on our way at last. Arriving in Calais, we then traveled through the night arriving in Harderwijk at about 8am, thoroughly exhausted but still with mountains of luggage to unpack and sort out, and dogs who needed a walk and feeding. Casper was, as ever, an excellent traveler and happy to be back at the boat; Pip was also brilliant in the car, but quite anxious about getting on and off the boat although once in the boat she was fine.
It was now New Years Eve, so no chance of an early night as the celebrations engulfed the harbour area where we are moored. Still it was a fantastic show which went on for almost two hours, with lots of fireworks and the howling horns from the tugboats moored in the harbour. What a lovely place to end our year.
