Roads to Joy

Actually, I have another couple of blogs, online spaces where I write about other things. Our travel adventures in Harry Hymer are usually recorded at HarryCarrieAndMe.wordpress.com (the pun is deliberate, but nobody is about to commit HariKari anytime soon!). And I’ve documented my wrestlings with my science fiction novels at BiomeNE47.com. Neither blog is very active just now.

Indeed, we’ve decided that our life is more of a constant holiday than ever it was before, as we move our attention back and forth between Spring Cottage and Elpha Green. So there hasn’t felt like any need to embark on yet another holiday, and Harry Hymer is languishing quietly as insurance, MOT, and now his road tax, have all expired. We had to apply online to the DVLA for a SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notification) without the renewal notice, but that was convenient enough. A kind of sad sweet experience.

Because, sooner or later we hope to be back in Harry and on the road again. How or whether we’ll be able to afford that joy is another matter. For now it’s the distant dream that keeps us smiling. And the memories of previous adventures. We smile as fleets of motorhomes pass us going north to tour around Scotland. Even though we’re in our tiny Fiat Panda, we have to restrain ourselves from waving when Hymers go by! We’ve been there, in that very situation. Just not now, and especially not during these times of fuel and cost-of-living crisis.

Better to keep Harry in mothballs for the time being, while we continue to sort out our lives. But I know that Harry is ready to rock and roll at the turn of the ignition key. Thanks to kind advice from the Classic Hymers facebook group, which boasts some 10k members who are still twirling around in 25+ year old Hymermobiles, Harry’s starter motor battery is in a constant state of readiness. I’ve rigged up a simple reverse 12v charging cable from the leisure batteries (whose charge status is regulated by the solar panel charge controller) back through the cigarette lighter socket to the starter motor battery. This stratagem ensures both that the starter battery is fully charged, but never over-charged. So my naturally worried mind can rest as the sunshine keeps Harry’s battery banks topped up.

For now, that’s the state of play. When and if we do embark again in Harry for an adventure, we’re confident that we’ll spend our time on the road within the lovely boundaries of Scotland. Brexit seems to have put paid to convenient EU border crossings, and it feels safer to stay closer to home, anyway. So we’ll just keep our travel dreams in our minds, enjoying the thoughts of future delights while life in the present carries on.

As I’ve noted, a sad sweetness, but no less fetching for that.