We
have all finally arrived safely in
The
minibus arrived first with Phil, Martin and Rose (me). Our trip has had a few
problems – the weather delayed the boat by half a day, then the battery
collapsed on us and we managed to limp to a French service station just before
it shut to buy a new battery at the high price of 107 euros, but we were desperate
as the lights were like glow-worms! We expected that had solved the problem,
but no! By lunch time on Sunday we realised the new battery was flattening –
that had to mean the alternator was faulty (which was undoubtedly the problem
all along). So now we have a new alternator as well and the minibus has gone
just great since then.
The
lorry too was affected by the weather – they left later than planned also, but
when Ian and Chris (the drivers) arrived at St Malo they found a flat battery
and a cloud of smoke when the tried to start it. The battery connections were
loose. All very concerning and we suspect that while it was waiting in the park
at St Malo someone must have tampered with the new batteries (new in April) –
what gives it away is the loose connections as we know they were checked and
fine on leaving. But after that they had no more problems.
Sadly
Pam has a respiratory infection and to her disappointment she was too unwell to
come. It is such a shame as she could not come last year as illness in the
family made her decide against travelling.
Because
in the minibus, we have the over-flow boxes of shoeboxes from the trailer we
had no space to pick people at
We are
all safely in our rooms at the hotel at Cefa and should be ready for a busy day
tomorrow, unloading the lorry and then distributing shoeboxes.