The trip up through France was much as planned, the only change of nightstop was Biarritz instead of Hendaye Plage. We wanted to have electricity where possible for heating as we had been expecting some very cold temperatures.

Typically unsecured WiFi was as hard to find as usual, hence the lack of blog updates en-route. As things turned out we were quite fortunate with the weather, only getting misty, foggy stuff from the northern half of France upwards.

Pets Passport at the Eurotunnel terminal was straightforward and they actually checked Digger's chip this time, unlike last time when we could have had any old dog with us. They even gave us a free copy of Practical Motorhome Magazine and a couple of Dog magazines too.

We've been in the UK a week now and are getting through our list of jobs while here and still waiting for the new grandchild to arrive......

I discovered 2 consequences of our last minute packing efforts:

1. I forgot a bag that contains all the various electrical chargers that we need for our various gadgets, phone, kindle, camera etc etc

2. Our road tax ran out while we were in Spain at the end of December so I dutifully renewed online and arranged with my mother-in-law to have the disc sent on from our UK address to us in Spain. It arrived and I put it to one side for our trip. I forgot it! Sod's law came into play when a motorcycle policeman spotted our out of date disc and pulled us over for a 'chat'. I explained the situation and asked him if he could check that I had paid up to date via their computer systems these days? Apparently not - so he took my details and has reported me to the DVLA...... Oh well!

One new tyre for the van - £161... Ouch! The fitters kindly greased the Al-Ko chassis rear axle while it was up on jacks though, so that was helpful. AutoGlass came out and re-sealed the top edge of the windscreen that had started to let the rain in, so hopefully that will be the end of that. I've had our local sign-writer make up some Club Motorhome logo graphics which have now been applied to the front, sides and rear of the van

Come and say Hi if you see us about 

If you have read other motorhomers blogs with interest you may have wondered how to go about starting your own. Maybe to keep a record of your travels or maybe just an online diary that your friends and family can read?

In order to start a blog you normally need to acquire your own domain name and a hosting package for that domain, you then need the software to set out the layout and content of your blog. There are free methods of doing this but it can be quite complicated and somewhat confusing if you don't feel to confident with computer technology.

Well, after trying other blog software in the past we have now invested in some dedicated blog software for use within the Club Motorhome website. This makes it very easy for any subscribing member to start their own blog and of course it's free!

There are 2 ways to get to the start point:

1. Subscribing members will notice on their profile page that there is a new tab 'My Blog'. Clicking on this gives the option to 'Write an entry' - that's it! Just write away and submit your copy to build up your own blog.

2. Under the 'Members' section of the main menu there is a link to take you to the 'Members' Own Blogs' software where again you can 'Write' an entry which will take you to an editor page where you can type your entry and 'Publish' it when you are happy with it.

Either option also gives you the option to edit your profile settings. This enable to personalise your blog even more by including a (optional) short biography of yourself etc.

Anyway, please try it out, have fun and play around with it and we look forward to seeing your results!