Free school meals

I’ve been through something of an emotional rollercoaster lately. Our little pub has committed to over 600 free (school) meals next week.

I’m so proud that we’re doing this, but so ashamed that we need to.

Fright

I need to give some context for this post. There’ve been a couple of strange happenings in the pub; separate incidents where unattended glasses have abruptly left tables. I’ll not go into detail here, but even as a non-believer, I found this unsettling.

Then yesterday morning, after a shower and slightly blind without glasses, I opened the bathroom door to be faced with (in the darkness of the landing) a bright light coming towards me.

The light was moving erratically, side to side, in circles, up and down. I’d never seen anything like it and instinctively took a couple of steps back.

And then I heard a snorting noise; the kind of noise an excited dog makes when they have a new toy in their mouth.

In this case, a dog with a torch.

I’ve no idea where she found it, or how she managed to turn it on. The switch is recessed at the end, so she must have been chewing the new discovery to hit the switch.

Whitby

On our fourth attempt this year, we managed to get away in the van for a couple of days. The van didn’t even break down.

We didn’t want to risk too long a distance after the van’s recent major surgery, so decided on Whitby.

We stayed there last year, but that was pre-van. Since we now have a hound, the bikes remained at home, although we took the same route along the cinder path.

To be honest, it was good to get away with the dog; she probably spends too much of her life in a pub, so the break will have been good for her.

We also took her to Whitby Brewery.

Since it was just down the road and, now important to us, is dog friendly, we drove to Robin Hood’s Bay. Where we found a pretty cool Transporter.

The hound was keen to demonstrate her hole digging prowess.

Today, before heading home, we stopped off at Scarborough.

And now we’re home. Work tomorrow. but, since the weather’s nice, there’s time for a beer in the garden.

Peterborough

Well, this probably wasn’t the best time to visit Peterborough.

I pretty much live in a pub, so I don’t understand why people are avoiding/landing/. my post from a few days ago.

The dog had a good time, though.

As usual, I was bitten by insects.

Engine

Oil leaks are pretty much the norm for old VW Transporters. However, one of the van’s leaks was pretty serious, resulting in oil stains wherever we parked and far too regular oil top-ups.

The engine’s current status ….

Oil leak(s)

One would probably expect a 42-year-old vehicle to have some problems. Our old van las a couple of leaky windows, some surface rust, no heating and an oil leak. For the latter, we tend to carry oil, so we can top-up at regular intervals. Because, wherever the van is parked, large oil patches are usually left behind.

During its service last week, we were informed that we actually have multiple oil leaks, one of which is more serious than the usual T2 leaks.

As a result, our van is currently without its engine. The picture below was taken just a couple of days before surgery.