the catch up installment

So I am on my way , the roads are very narrow so I guess there are some startled Scots driving around. After my achievement of changing my 4 belts i decided that i needed a reward ,well it was on my list and I had thought I wouldn't make it . So I decided to head for Tain ,the home of Glen Morangie one of my favorite Whiskys. So off I go the drive is okay and the weather is improving actually its sunny...my tan is washing off and I am starting to look like a Geko ...I get to the house of Glen Morangie and you guessed it ,its closed for renovations i must admit I did have a moment and kicked Fritz's tyre that wasn't clever they weigh 200kg so I lost that one. Now its past 16h00 and i need a place to stay, so i take the back road to a small village called Embo of all names and here is a closed Caravan park but the kind people at the pub let me pick a site and stay the night ... Pity i only understood every 3rd word!!

The site is right next to the sea and was very scenic .

Monday as you can see from the pic i was up fairly early as I had planned to carry on driving to John O Groats and then follow the coast line back down but after my coffee and breakfast and packing everything away Fritz decide it was alternator belt tension time ...don't mention tension when i was finished tensioning that belt you could play Smoke on the water Aish that belt !! so the truth of the matter is i wasn't going to the top of Scotland all because of a ruddy rubber belt F$%& so i will take my chances at the Morangie Distillery may seeing its Monday I will be lucky as you have read luck hasn't been my best friend I had his other half bad luck for company. Hay there are open i even got a free tot of a exclusive 15 year old very nice Pieter!!

So that was a very nice experience,and I decide that I should get on with driving back to Bentham this will take a full day and a half. I have discovered an electrical fault and my shower is just a trickle so I am off South, My destination is more or less the siding I stayed at on the way up well that's what I thought. Here in the Northern hemisphere the light can be very miss leading so I drove on !!

some pic of the scenery in Scotland .
I have learnt a lesson which I will defiantly do again ,that is plan my stop ...I drove until 21h00 and wound up in Yorkshire somewhere at a pub who very kindly let me park in there car park but only after i had drunk 3 pints, I can do that .

Tuesday and I am back to the sparky ,i am there for an hour or two and he tells me all good and I can go...
so its back to Atkinson Vos and to sort out my intermittent starting problem and to replace a intercooler hose I am here for two days ,and finally say my goodbys to the good people and am on my wayto Manchester and the final planes to get the Ferry to Amsterdam and see Ally and Daniella .

25 March 2011

Yes I know this is a cop out but to try and catch up on the last week and some change is going to be a mission, and the last time I tried I managed to mess it up as I has to many days...so here is a brief out line of what I have been up to.
I left Manchester to Bentham with all my luggage on Monday the 14th I managed to miss the connecting train so had to go via Preston (little did I know I would be back in Preston) I had to take a Taxi from Lancaster to Bentham or sit at the station for an hour and a half ,to much to do!! it was after 14h00  by the time I reached Atkinson Vos. So it was time to give Fritz a good clean and to start checking the systems,also my long awaited crate will be here tomorrow ((Tuesday) So the first problem to sort out is the heating which works off diesel from the tank i need this to work as i nearly froze mt butt of as i elected to sleep in Fritz in the work shop on Monday night... I am up at 05h30 to drive the 35miles to Preston and at mile 12 the Alternator belt comes off great!! i have no tools and no spare.

 So its a 45point turn around (the roads are very narrow) and back to Atkinson luckily for me Nathan one of the technicians is an early bird so we were up and gone with 4 new belts. The drive in was okay i have realised that this truck isn't very fast I mean 85kmh is tops, we (i say we as i very nice chap by the name of Sean agreed to join me to Preston) things were going okay i was only grating 5 of the 8 gears now and the GPS was telling one way and Sean the other then it happened ...the power steering belt (new one) snapped and suddenly i had a 7.5 ton 4x4 truck with a mind of its own and i was lost and heading for the town center @#$% to say the least i turned the heater off cos i was sweating and Sean was quiet!! finally we find the auto electrical shop and they start the servicing of the heater we call Atkinson and Mike the on road Tech is on his way. We are sorted out and on the road and back at the work shop by 16h00 my crate is here. I spend until 21h00 unpacking and putting away ...Did i really pack all this ...

Wednesday Morning and its cold , but the heater is working! I still cant have a shower in Fritz , I ve been using the work shop one for now ,I have discovered that i have an electrical fault my worst cos you cant see electricity and its very dangerous!! any way its a call to the sparky to ask what might be the problem, at first he's not so keen to come out but agrees to come out on Friday...Dam there goes my trip to Scotland , I had planned to leave on the Friday early...I spend the day cleaning and still trying to find places to put all my stuff .

Thursday morning and its dam cold again, there is frost every where and the toilet in the workshop is frozen i have never seen that before.I take a walk to the local hardware shop to buy so bits so i can continue my packing in the outside storage area ,had my 4 jerry cans fitted and a Aluminium storage box fitted on the roof that to keep the tyre changing crane in. i am meeting the ex owner of Fritz who has kindly agreed to come up and run through the workings. This meeting was interesting to say the least, Richard(ex owner) who build Frits is an accountant and i take my hat off to him although there are thing i am going to change" read that how you want"the heater has stopped working *%$# and the person who repaired it is away today ...stresssss

Friday morning is clear sky and cold but its quite nice,i must be getting used to it or numb .The sparky is coming out today to try and find out what is going on with my plugs i have no power only lights I phoned the heater guy hes there but cannot (will not) come out what service took my 175 pounds...i am not happy and the thought of driving into Preston again...I can do it F%$# to my horror the sparky finds out that the inverter/charger is the problem ,the inverter part of the unit has gone for a ball ,What am i going to do now F%$# again why was this not found out when he did the work before and had is hand out for 1250pounds...
Okay so he can fix it by putting in a separate inverter 200GBP later and my budget takes another blow...take it from me don't convert back to Rand its very depressing.
So its now crunch time as i only have the heating to sort out and i am done...Scotland should i ??




Saturday i decide that if the heater guy can fix the heater then I'll chance it to Scotland ,this snot nosed pratt of an auto electrician sh#T if he worked for me boy would he be looking for a new job quick. Tosser!
anyway i am off to the high country i have decide to drive as far as i can and see where i get Now 7.5 ton Fritz at 85kmh and using 4lt a km this is going to be interesting so here goes.
i have driven for 6 hrs and got to Loch Lamond its dark and fuel is low and i forgot to draw money so i am down to my last 50 pounds but its all good ,i find a parking area next to the loch and i stay for the night its cool and rains all night .

Sunday morning the mist is over the Loch and there is a light rain ,i have breakfast and start Fritz...that F*&^%$g alternator belt is loose Bollocks so its switch off truck and open storage are get ladder out and find tools to do the job 19mm spanner,19mm socket and a lever of sorts to tension the belt,open bonnet and i am done in 20 min...so i am on my way the roads are narrow and there is a deep lock on my right but all good 10 miles later whats that smell?? oh F&^k there's smoke and its raining WTF did i do wrong . I drive to the nearest garage and open the bonnet eish where is the alternator belt now?BIG huff well at least they got a cash machine and diesel so i fill up with both and drive to the back to carry out running repairs...Picture the scene its raining lightly and there is snow all around but i have a spare belt so its now time to get dirty (its diesel it happens), just so you know there are 4 belts and the alternator belt is the last one so its off with the air compressor belt, then the power steering belt and then the water pump belt, this is not a quick job especially with cold hand and no gloves i did have a beanie so my ears were warm . I am done in an hour and a half

next installment later

11 March day 10

I know there are two 10th in March but like i said i lost a day...woke this morning to the awful news of the Tsunami in Japan not good ! today i have a meeting with the ex owner of Fritz,Mr Richard Winter what a nice guy and if he can change a 200kg tyre then so can I he is a retired Accountant no offence to accountants. Went through all the systems that are in place this is a one and a half bedroom flat on wheels so it has a full electric system including geyser flushing toilet so that means plumbing its very complicated and i can only remember half of it but i will be able to figure it out . So far i have discovered that the heating element isn't working and the water pressure pump is sucking air, the toilet continues to fill up all the time so i have some work cut out to do. Got to catch the train back to Manchester and its raining with Little hail stones and its a half mile to the station nut i am gonna get wet.

10 March day9

Caught the train to Bentham today it took me 2hrs to get here. Should have caught the earlier one as its an hours wait at Lancaster...so i caught a taxi for the last bit very interesting driver he spoke i listened he had a lot to get off his chest three sons 2,5,and 7 over to you Dude. Arrived at Atkinson Vos and there is Frits he gets bigger every time is go there, today is my crash course in maintenance and driving . Now I have driven my work trucks and they are fairly straight forward but this is ...8 gears high ratio and after nearly sending Nathan the mechanic who was giving driving instruction through the window hey the brakes are a bit sharp.. sorry. I am booked into the coachman pud/B&B very nice 45 pounds hey i can do it, went downstairs to the bar met the locals nice bunch of lads had a good laugh somtimes i just cant understand what they are saying.

10 March day9

I am back in Manchester with Mike and Rita . Reets took me to the Trafford center to buy more jeans , I foolishly left my 3rd pair in Durban and brought 7 pairs of shorts what was i thinking ?? it winter! sh&t happens i am allowed to forget ask Chris VB. not to much happening to day ..

9 March Day8

I woke up at cousin Andrews house on his couch it was very warm inside and -2 outside, I am due to catch the train at 15h00 but first it`s breakfast with Zorgs in Putney and the a walk up the Thames for about an hour then off to a pub his flight is at 18h00 and i am still waiting for news on my visa, Dill phoned to say that if its going to happen it will be next week ...so its off to Hammersmith to meet Lawrence and more beers
missed the train to Pedro and was locked out ...but all is good as one of the young ladies who rents a room in his digs comes to my rescue...what a long day damit I`ve lost a day that was yesterday i think

8 March day 7

Went to the Saudi Embassy the security is very tight there, was advised to go to the SA embassy 1hr walk to Trafalgar square... to ask for a letter from our consulate requesting permission for me to be granted entry to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia needless to say i didn't get one. So its a walk back to the Saudi Embassy sure am getting fit!! But all is not lost my good Mate Dill to the rescue,and his very well connected brother larin who has a business associate in Jeddeh were i want to to get to . Then I meet up with Zorgs and didn't get home that night I`ll leave it at that...

7 March day 6

its been a while since updated my blog as to dat is the 12th March so apologies to my friends who are following me.the 7th March is my 47th birthday boy i am getting old...for my efforts in life i have a beautiful wife and a beautiful daughter who have allowed me to do what i really want to do .I am very lucky!! i have spent the day in London staying with my yougest brother-in-law Pedro who has put me up for the night all good. But tomorrow is going to be a challange. Caught the Virgin train from Manchester to London very fast but quite expensive 70 pounds return cheeper than driving Fritz...

6 March 2011 day 5

Its the day before my 47th birthday and this morning (very late) I fell like I am 67!! what a night had a great meal and went to a cocktail bar or two. I think thats where the wheels came off atleast I managed to keep my supper down!! Just. What was I saying about that train journey, Ooh boy whose sorry now.

5 March 2011 Day 4

Had a bit of a late start to the day must beer something I ate!! Have arranged my ticket to London (theres a song in there some where)  so I will be leaving on Sunday at 15h00 where i will meet up with Zorgs and stay with Pedro my Youngest brother-in-law I am lucky that Ally has 3 siblings in the UK at different cities.Went to Derbyshire to the Blue John Cavern's very interesting !! My Mog insurance arrived to day cool so I am covered. Mike and Rita are taking me out for supper tonight in town and a bit of clubbing afterwards,that train jorney going to be interesting...

4 March 2011 day 3

Went into the city of Mancherter with Rita my sister-in-law, to buy maps for Europe and to find a Garmap disc to put on my lap top but no luck...but I did get some of the paper maps I wanted. Its strange how time flys here but then work only starts at around 09h00 thats the shops anyway, so just as I think I am doing well then its time to catch the bus home, wheres my car when I need it. But then again there are a lot of cars on the road here !!!watch out when Frits is about.

3 March 2011 day 2

Hi what a morning,phoned the Saudi embassy in London ...not so friendly.Was told no visa from them and I should phone the embassy in Amman Jordan as that is where the nearest Saudi border post is,that I would like to enter so.One ,two and three calls later I get told that because Fritz is right hand drive I will not be allowed in.So now it's off to London and ask very nicely the unfriendly first crowd I called.Watch this spot.
Rest of the morning was spent driving to High Bentham to see that all work has been carried out by the ever efficient Atkinson Vos Unimog specialists.I am very happy to say that all is well with Fritz he just is way bigger than I remember. I am looking forward to getting going...
Cheers for now Kevin

2 March 2011 day 1

I have finally made it to the UK ...4 Deg on landing boy am I glad Fritz has a heater. I will be going up to West Bentham to Atkinson Vos where my Mog is parked a the moment just to see that all the thing I requested to be done, are done. Then I will be off the London to try and organise a Saudi visa!! Hold thumbs as this very important, as Egypt is still out of the question as an entry point to Africa. Will keep you up to date with the out come.