This has become my weekly saying lately I just seem to get one disappointment after another, people have let me down – professionals not family and friends. Companies have let me down, My kitchen has problems and customer service sucks, my Caravan……….

My Caravan………

This is why I am here. Partly to have a moan and get it off my chest and partly to just try to keep myself a little sane, genuinely. I used to Blog a lot and it helped me to put things in perspective weather I was happy or not so happy but I always tried to keep it mostly about my Crafting. So the mix of the two was great, I could get things off my chest and be creative at the same time. So I need to go back to that. I don’t know if anyone will join me after all this time but I will do it anyway.

I have just had a Congratulations Message off WordPress because I started my Blog with them 10 years ago. I did have a google blog before that so I am not New to this at all.

So, the Caravan! This may seem petty to some people but to me it’s almost the Straw that Broke the Camels Back.

Since I Lost Paul the Caravan has been a bit of a bone of contention. I have very fond memories of the weekend we went to the NEC to pick this Caravan, to replace the one we had had for 10 years. Which had replaced our Folding Camper that we had before we had our Tent! So you can gather from that information that we have been going on Camping Holidays for most of our time together. The Kids grew up thinking of Keswick as a second home almost, along with Beadnel Bay and Scarborough.

So when we lost Paul there were two choices, learn to tow the Caravan myself or Sell it. I couldn’t bear to sell it, we hadn’t had it very long and it was our dream caravan, we were supposed to spend half our retirement in it. Not that Paul was ready to retire, he thought he had at least 12 years before that would happen. The Kids wanted to keep it too because they had such fond memories of our holidays in Keswick with Paul and times in the Caravan in general.

I thought long and hard about going on a Caravan Towing course but I was struggling with my health at the time and there was no way I could do that. Not the driving bit I think I could do that, (unless I ended up in a very mall village with lots of parked cars!!) itseverything else that goes into towing and setting up a caravan. Even just putting the feet down on it, I can’t kneel down at all and I didn’t have any strength in my arms at the time on top of all my others illnesses!!! I’m fine now by the way.

My Brother in Law the lovely Ron and my Brother Leslie took us on a few trips by towing it for me. But that became too much to ask them to do. Especially our Ron who usually booked the same holidays as us, we had all always gone to Keswick together, family and friends. So one time he came from Newcastle to Teesside, towed my Caravan to Keswick, then went home and brought his own the next day!! Now that is above and beyond. I knew at that point I could never ask him to do that again.

So I did some asking around. I knew I didn’t want to sell it, and it costs a lot of money to stay in Hotels as a single person because you pay the price of two people for those rooms, Loan travellers do get a raw deal. If I took my Kids then I am literally paying for two rooms at £800 to £1,00 just for 4 or 5 days. In the Caravan it’s only about £3 – 400 for 9 days! But it wasn’t really the cost that was driving me. You can’t beat going somewhere like Keswick when he campsite is on the Lake – Literally – but you are sat in your own space and can just step out the door with the dog and sit in you recliner camping chair and soak up the sun. Skye Loves camping, all that time outdoors! Honestly she is like a different Dog when she is staying in the Caravan.

So, I found a Guy! Who will tow my Caravan wherever I want it to be for a really reasonable price, still keeps the cost below staying in a Hotel. So I booked him to tow my caravan. I book up Keswick and arranged for my Caravan to be stored in Scarborough for the rest of the season. So I can call them up, say I am booked in and the people on the campsite will tow my Caravan out of storage and set it up on my Pitch for the measly sum of £7.50. So all I have to do is rack up there and put the Kettle on.

The problem……. during the Storms last year My Caravan which stood in a row of numerous other caravans, opposite a row of more Caravans etc etc, in storage, got damaged. THE ONLY CARAVAN INTHE WHOLE PLACE THAT GOT DAMAGED BY THE WIND – this is where my saying comes in “sometimes it sucks to be me”. Everything I touch ends up being a problem.

For example, how many other people do you know who have lost the stone out of their engagement ring because it suddenly decided to fall out? I only know of me?

How many other people do you know whose roof window in the Caravan got forced open by the wind and had their Caravan Mattress soaked in the Storm. Not one other caravan got damaged on that site! Mine was in the middle of the row, protected by a wall at the back of it and a Caravan either side! Feeling a little persecuted here.

But hey thats why we pay Insurance isn’t it? So I contact the insurance who give the go ahead for the company I bought the caravan off to fix the problem. I called them in Nov/Dec and in Jan the Insurance gave the go ahead (that in itself took much longer than it needed to) I think the Caravan actually got damaged Sept??? Anyway at the beginning of January I was told the parts have been ordered and it will take three weeks. Then my sister asked me if I had heard anything. Because I had been dealing with something much bigger and more important I had kind of forgotten about it. Just thinking it was getting sorted out. I called the Caravan place because I really hadn’t heard from them in a while? I think they had forgotten about me because suddenly they are giving me delayed delivery dates of the products. When I called last week they didn’t seem to know who I was? Now it is at a point where the parts might arrive 3 days before my pre-booked Holiday at the end of March, but they can’t guarantee.

So the consequence of their lack of service could be me having to cancel my Easter Holidays in Keswick, loosing the money I have paid for it to be towed there, and not being able to get it stored at Scarborough for a while meaning I will be paying for half a season I don’t get.

After I said I will try another Company they said Oh well if you are not bothered about sticking with Bailey parts we could try another company!!!!! OH YOU THINK OF THAT NOW I HAVE MENTIONED IT!!!!!

This type of thing has become almost a common occurrence in my life and today I feel completely deflated. It’s not just my holiday that is ruined, Hannah has booked time off work to join me too! All our usual family and friends Campers will be there so we will miss them. And even if it does come round about that time I won’t be able to get it in to have it fixed because Our Ron, who always does the Service trips with the Caravan for me will be on holiday in Keswick. I mean really how much shit can you throw at one person before they just loose it?? I can’t even begin to tell you what my other more important problem is.

Well thats what spoilt my day today…….

So, what spoilt or made YOUR DAY today?

The next one will be a Craft Demo – I promise.

Crafting for your Mental Health is REAL!

Bye for now

Sam Crowe x