The Travels of Tel's Tin Tent.

Bummer Terry. Sorry to hear this. Hope you get up and running in short order.

Thanks, Hugh and Jim.
Flooding in the area is continuing, so I don't hold out much hope of being able to salvage anything worthwhile - but of course, I won't know for sure until such time as I can get down there, whenever that may be !
Once I have a better idea of "what's what", I'll review my options - A) Get another 'van, sited elsewhere. B) Consider a small camper van, or C) Forget it, and just use hotels / B&B.
Either way, I probably won't look to replace the 'van, or get a camper, if I choose that route, until next year, after seeing how things go.

That sucks Terry, sorry for you man.....

Thanks Wayne.

Oh for fiddlesticks....I'm sorry to hear that old chap, that's just !

I'm very sorry ,Terry.

Thanks chaps.
One could say that I'm slightly miffed at the moment ............................

I've just has a two day binge read of your adventures Terry! When I lived in Cambridgeshire, I used to volunteer at Duxford, first helping with restoration/conservation, then in the Information Centre and tour guiding in Land Warfare! I must admit that I do miss the aviation history around East Anglia, especially as I used to work at RAF Molesworth before I retired (303rd BG).
The only excitement here are the Airbus Belugas that take off and land over us when the wind's in the right direction, and the odd Hawks from Valley when they drift over this way! Oh, I nearly forgot, the A400 Atlases do pass over now and then!
I can't wait for this bloody pandemic to die off, then I might stand a chance of getting to the Mach Loop!
I'll keep an eye open for further writings, as I've really enjoyed what you've written so far!

Thanks very much Chris, glad you've enjoyed the "Travels" so far.
Given that the Covid restrictions are lifted, and the RA treatment allows some relief from this constant pain and stiffness, I hope to get out an about as much as possible this year, even if it means using hotels, as the caravan is probably "dead".
I used to watch the Hawks and Sea Kings ( and Wessex before those ) from Valley, as my now ex-wife's family have a cottage across the bay on Anglesey, and often saw visiting NATO stuff when there was an exercise under way.
I'd planned to get down to the Mach Loop last summer at some point, and stay with a friend who has a large place near Harlech, but the various "lockdowns" and restrictions kept getting in the way - one of these days I'll make it, but I won't be climbing any mountains in my condition, and will have to be content with watching, and photographing, from one of the road-side car parks.

As posted elsewhere ( "What cheered you up" threads ), I was informed that the 'van might not be too bad, and yesterday, Karl and I managed to get to Norfolk to check it out.
Damage is very minor, virtually non-existent, with just a thin layer of mud dust on the floor from the muddy water. The laminate flooring is intact, with no lifting or other damage, and there's no signs of rising damp in the walls or wooden doors and cabinets etc. All seating and soft furnishings are fine, with just a very light dusting of dry mould here and there, from the damp air / condensation, which should very easily clean off.
The interior is dry and no odours of damp or rot, and will easily clean, and the outside just needs washing down with a jet wash, to remove the green patina left mainly on the roof, from the overhanging trees.
We didn't test the electrics, but as the supply consumer unit, and most, if not all wiring is above the level of where the water invaded, which we reckon was only just over the floor, coming in under the entrance door, it should be fine, and all appears to be dry and undamaged.
Hoping to get down there again in the near future, and get it all sorted and up and running, and I'll "report back" then.
Pic below, from Karl's 'phone, shows the rear end of the 'van interior, with the blue hose being the "Whale" pump for the external water supply, left inside when the van is not in use, and the camping chair and table under the rear seating area.
The dirty floor can be clearly seen and, when the dust is moved, the floor beneath is actually clean and still shiny.

That's a great news Terry. Glad it was saved in the very good condition.

Thanks my friend, I'm very pleased that the damage is so light.

Great to hear Terry. Fingers crossed that it fires up without a problem.

Great news Terry!!
If you do find any mold I found a good trick when I was dealing with mold after a flooded basement. Mix Borax with water and put it in a spray bottle and spray the affected area. Put as much Borax in the water as the water is able to dissolve. When it dries it will leave a white film that can be wiped off. I usually leave it there for a few days, It does wonders killing mold spores.

Thanks, Andy and Glenn, and thanks for the info Glenn. I've found that ordinary household bleach works well too.

Great news Terry!

Good stuff Terry. Looking forward to further adventures

Thanks chaps.

Max's "Buchon" flight.

Last Tuesday afternoon, I drove down to Sywell aerodrome, near Northampton, UK, to meet up with my friend Max and his family and friends, when we stayed in the art-deco "Aviator" hotel, actually on the airfield.
Max was due to fly in, and actually fly, the two-seat Hispano "Buchon" the next day, which is operated by Ultimate Warbirds, an event that had been postponed from last year, due to the Covid pandemic, and then postponed twice more, due to engine problems early this year, and then very bad weather back in late May.
We were also planning to present one of Max's friends, John Fennings, with the model of the Mosquito B.XVI that his father flew in April 1945, which Max had commissioned me to build. John did not know about this, and it was a total surprise to him when Max unboxed the model on its display base, after the Buchon flight, on Wednesday afternoon.
Foe once, the weather was superb, and I managed to get some reasonable photos of Max and the Buchon, including a number of detail shots, although the ground to air shots are not up to my standards, due to the distance from the flight axis ( average 1,500 meters ) and some heat haze.
I had decided against taking my mobility scooter, which proved to be a huge mistake on my part, as I ended up being extremely stiff and sore, after lots of standing, and walking to and fro on the airfield. Consequently, I stayed another night at the hotel, and spent a very pleasant couple of hours chatting to the pilots and other crew from Ultimate Warbirds, and Steve, the Buchon pilot, arranged for me to have a look around the Buchon and Spitfire Mk.IX the following day, to see if I could physically get in to the cockpit, especially that of the Buchon.
Regrettably, the next morning, I was in too much pain, and very stiff, and wouldn't even have been able to walk out to the aircraft, so I had to tender my apologies - but I'll ensure I'm fit enough the next time I visit Sywell !!!
The pics below show some of the "action", and the presentation of the Mosquito model can be found in the build thread in the Group Builds, Modelling threads.

The next outing will be on 12th July, when I'm due to meet up with Karl, at my caravan in Norfolk, when we'll be sorting out after the flood damage in December. All being well, we may be able t get to a couple of local air museums, and I'll post pics then.