Thursday June 18th to Tuesday June 30th 

Down time prior to venturing back to the continent. During that time we caught up on some maintenance jobs on Myrtle, leaking hose to grey water tank, fridge compliance, gas and electricity, these are done six monthly, plus tightening of screws etc as we had been over some fairly rough roads. I can understand now how caravans fall apart in the outback in Aus. 

Spent a day in Lincoln and at the Lincoln Show with Frenchie and Fin. Frenchie is an old friend from Sydney of Lyntons. Her six year old, Fin, is a genius. He can tell you the periodic table, numbers and values, draw atomic structures fully labelled for any material, as well as discuss quantum mechanics with you. Lynton and I needed to check google a few times to check what he was talking about. What an amazing experience. Organisers of shows in Australia should come over here and see how it is done. There was no sight of the screaming sideshow rides and entertainment so obvious in Aus.  There were boat swings, castle slides, not plastic ones, and a beautiful steam driven carousel. There were four rings operating for all types farm animals, machinery displays, horse shoeing competitions, dog trials, show jumping, carriage driving ect.  

    
    
    
 Spent a couple of days cleaning out the beck, stream, at the bottom of Lynton and Sarah’s, ready for their big bbq that were having. Unfortunately we would be in Amsterdam by then.   

    
    
  Headed up to Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire for the day. It was like seeing Pillars of the Earth in real life. Very peaceful. For those who are scratching their head, it is a book written by Ken Follett. It would have been a magnificent structure in its day, but due to Henry the Eighth not wanting the church to be so powerful he closed and in places demolished churches abbeys and monestries. 

Leaving the Abbey, we headed back to Nettleton via Wetwang for dinner. They serve the best fish and chips in the UK, or at least that’s what the sign says. Lynton, Sarah and I visited here last June, after I was finished with the hockey in Rotterdam, and they were great then too. When we arrived there there was a Mk 1 Austin Healy Sprite pulled up out the front. It had been taken to South Africa by an RAF pilot during the war and given to his son afterwards. It has sat in a shed until three years ago when the passengers dad acquired it and decided to restore it. What a pretty little car.