After several months of rising excitment, the day had finally arrived and it was time for the big off – the drive down to Portsmouth to catch the ferry. Jo had spent the previous day at a wedding – normally I like weddings as its an opportunity to ogle bridesmaids, but as Jo’s daughter was the Matron of Honour, we thought it best if I stayed at home and prepped the Moho…. Actually, thats totally untrue, but i do like to raise a smile when I can!

Senior Sulk Michael was on House sitting duty…. He is due to head off to Portsmouth at the end of August to start his enginineering apprenticeship at BAE – which is something I am incredibly proud of – the bugger has proven me wrong about his ability, and to me it is obvious that his trouble shooting capability – he is as leftfield as me on occassions, combined with his stubborness makes it easy to see why BAE want him! Any way, now he is 18, i also started to train him up on the delights of supping ale…. in this instance, as a beginner, i thought a few ciders would be a good plan…. he slept well it seems!

Having emptied the water tank at the height of the recent heat wave – I was conscious of the risks around things like legionella – I filled the tank, and added Aqua sol. I am in two minds of carrying full water tanks – part of me – the red sea pedestrian side, thinks on the increased payload and effect of fuel economy, while the other part appreciates being able to pull over anywhere for a brew…. either way, currently I travel with water on Board. Prior to leaving, I checked the tyre pressures and decided to run a little softer than normal due to the heat – so 65/70 rather than 70/75, I did double check the pressure on one wheel as the panel showed that being higher than I had it set to – more on that later. I also topped up screen wash, checked oil level etc – old habits die hard, and took a photo of the starting mileage – and yes, that mileage is right for our 23 year old Ziggy!

Now I am going to be honest, the M25 is a total poultice at the best of times – but today’s journey was a bit of a nightmare. I can deal with the congestion / speed restrictions, lane closures, flash storms, heavy water on the road but – the sheer amount of rude and poor driving is something that I will never accept – its seems that post brexit we have an abundance of twats – especially in audis…. One thing I did notice, with in 30 minutes of heading off was one tyre – offside rear, on the TPMS was showing three lines – that was the one that had given a false reading before so, safe to assume that the battery was flat…. Knowing that it was an unusual cell – CR1632, when we stopped at some services for Madame to powder her nose (why do women keep a nose in their knickers?), I asked one of the chaps selling cheap mobile tat from a kiosk if he had one for sale – he produced one and told me it was £10 – no, I said not for the box, just for one – £10 he said, take it or leave it…. am going to bloody leave it I said…. I reckon it must have been his brother that owned the petrol station that had mugged us on the way to Bath…. Speaking of which, and not wanting to get short of fuel again like that, as we approached Portsmouth, I asked the Avtex Tourer 3 to find local petrol stations – and used that to drop in to a supermarket a bit off the main route. From Waterlooville it was a a few miles onto Port Solent.

I had read about this place – and that they were motorhome friendly – indeed you can use them like an aire if you call them to stay over night – and we had decided that we would pop there for something to eat; the last time i had used portsmouth ferry port terminal, I was not impressed with the options for food etc. I managed to squezze Ziggy into a spot, thogh initially the couple behind us were concerned that we might block them in, though after a brief chat, we realised that we would be on the same ferry so no problem We also met their travelling companion – a beautiful Seal Point Siamese called Blue. We then walked over to the marina and perused the restaurents and chose to eat at Zizi’s which was ok, not good, but ok. Now, call me a traditionalist, but i object to the pay terminals automatically adding a tip to the bill – if I want to leave a tip, I will choose to do so; and being honest, the calamari could double up as a tyre plug, the shredded green salad wasn’t and had stood to long under lights… i may be being waspy due to the cost of the 0% Peroni but…. Either way, we paid the bill and then drove to Portsmouth Ferry Terminal.

I do like chatting with people – and hearing some crazy things that only we would do…. like the couple who turned up with a 125 Vespa – so heavily over loaded that when they stopped, the lady had to hold it up as the side stand wasn’t man enough until her husband went round the back to wrestle it up on a centre stand…. I loved the idea that they were going to ride it to Italy – ? Why?? well – why not! I also loved the fringed luggage that probably would be cherished by the Hardly Moving Son riders….. Our departure time was 2200 and we were finally on board at around 2100 – a quick trip to the cabin to dump the stuff off, then through to the premium lounge – I had decided to pay the extra as I reckon it would be good value and keep us fed and watered. We were greeted by a complimentary glass of wine and a buffet – including a great selection of cold meats. While we tucked in, Jo informed me of her emergency plans in the event of a ship issue….

After a few sherberts in the bar, we headed to our cabin and slept – and we slept well, waking at around 0700. The shower was good and we then headed back to the premium lounge for breakfast – full cooked, continental, pastries and a lot of fruit – yummy. After breakfast it was time for a visit to the shop – I had forgotten a charger cable for our phones, and then a walk around the deck, chatting with a couple who were heading to Spain to go Hill Walking. Its just coming up to 1300 UK time and we are heading towards the Bay of Biscay but Jo can’t talk right now as she is chatting with God on the Great White Telephone…