Ready to Leave. 27th March

Hi there,
Well, we are heading off on the start of the trip today. Going down to Harwich then crossing the ferry to Holland tomorrow morning, spend one night with our friends there then drive quickly across to Istanbul. Sad to leave Neil & Jenni once more with their wonderful hospitality as always. We go back a long way but still enjoy each other's company. Next time it'll be in New Zealand.
The weather the last week has been very cold with snow thick on the ground here at Great Yarmouth. Those who know Joan will realize how she must have froze; warm in the houses and shops but cold in the van once the motor is turned off. We spent one night sleeping in the van after leaving the Cotswolds, I will post a photo of Joan rugged up when I get to a computer that accepts my memory stick. On the way over to East Anglia we visited Kenilworth Castle, the home of Dudley, the Earl of Leicester and the bloke Elizabeth the 1st was enamoured with. Through tragic circumstances they never did marry. It was very interesting and well presented.
We had a good time in the Cotswolds despite the weather. It's not the countryside that attract visitors to the area but the villages that are so picturesque. The last day there, after going to the Easter Service in the local church, we meandered around visiting places like Bibury, The White Horse Hill, Lower Slaughter, and Stow on the Wold. We also discovered one of the 4 remaining duck decoys in the country. My memories of duck decoys were the cork things we used to put out to coax the ducks to come within range during the duck shooting season in NZ. And were what Sandy, our labrador, would fetch in instead of the duck. These ones were a section of woven walls and netting over large hoops diminishing in size to a low hoop where the ducks could be captured. Quite interesting. In use up to 50 years ago the ducks nowadays are banded then released.
The blogs may become a little irregular from now on, depends on the internet accessibility as we go along.
All the best
Gary & Joan