The Belgium rally fast approaching, my thoughts were to the van. do I load it or not? Having broken down on the trip to the Welsh rally and then again on the trip to Scotland, I don't trust it any more.

Lorraine started to load the food so thought “what the hell lets go for it”. I finished work on Tuesday the 25th, jumped into the van to move it so that I could load the bike's, put the key into the ignition, turned it and yet again it failed to start. After shorting the terminals on the starter I got it going so I continued to load the bikes.

On Wednesday Lorraine took the van back to the garage to have yet another starter motor fitted. I finished work at 3 that day and Lorraine was waiting for me. We set off on route to Dover, stopping off at Bullford Barracks to pick up my youngest daughter Kerry and Grandson Justin. After a short break set off again as the train left for France at 1 30am. We arrived in Belgium at 8-40am it was 26 degrees and the sun was shinning. What a way to start the rally especially after Scotland.

Thursday was quiet but the troops started to arrive early Friday and throughout the day. Tea time came with Turkish bread filled to the top with meat and veg mmm. After lots of drinking it was time for bed.

Saturday brought us breakfast then the ride out, I think it was around 90 miles in all, stopping off for a beer and then ice cream. The route took us through some beautiful countryside. Saturday night was party night. After steak and chips the fun began, there was Elvis, funny hats, wigs and not forgetting the big pants. After a few beers the wigs and pants started to change hands. What a party, had a great time.

Sunday morning, got up early and loaded the van as we were going on to Germany to see my other daughter Claire. After driving the van off the field, Lorraine turned the engine off so that we could say our goodbyes. When it was time to leave that familiar sound “click”. The engine failed to start. After the French tried to fix it, it was the turn of the English. We managed to bump start it. This time we kept the engine running and set off for Germany. It made it.

On the way back there was a rumbling from under the van this got louder the more miles we did. In the end we couldn't hear the radio but we pressed on and made it home. On further inspection we found that part of the propshaft UJ had broken. I think god was on our side.

Thanks to all those of you who made it to the rally, those that didn’t you missed all the fun. See the pictures and enjoy.

Lorraine Herbert

New Girl On The Block

Well where do I start? Wed 26th August was a fun packed day, making sure I had everything packed while Mum (Lorraine Herbert) was running around getting things sorted at her end and Dad was at work, working hard as normal. They got to my house about 6.30pm. Yes! The start of our holiday.
Dad tried getting some sleep but had no luck with Justin being so excited. We left the house about 9.20pm for our long journey to Folkestone, hoping to get a little sleep on the train but again, had no luck as Justin could not believe our car was on a train. As soon as we were off the train he was asleep ready for the drive to the camp site in north Belgium.
Feeling very tired and wanting my bed, I was glad that we were nearly there. But after driving up and down the same streets for ages I thought we would never get there. Finally we arrived, after what seemed like hours, the weather was really hot for 9.30am but we had to unload the van before anyone could go to sleep. Good old dad stayed up and played with Justin while me and mum got some sleep. Once awake, it was Dad’s turn to go to sleep, not that he slept much, so he said.
Friday we went to a lovely market that Sonia and Sabrina (the two Belgium ladies) took us to. Colin, Richard and Neil also came with us. Mum got some freshly cooked coconut macaroons, which she would not share. We had to have the ones that had been cooked a long time ago.
  The ride out on Saturday was very good. It’s just a pity I was in a car and not riding a bike. It was a shame about the break downs and poor Richard coming off his bike, hope his wife did not get too mad. The food all weekend was amazing, could not fault it. Mum missed out on her normal spag bol, she kept on going on about it, but was not disappointed in the end. I want to thank everyone who played with Justin, even though you might not of wanted to, I know what he is like when he has a ball in his sights.
Also a big thank you to Claude and Roly, and all the other helpers, for giving us a great weekend. We left the rally on Sunday to head for Germany. Thanks to everyone who helped get the van started to help us on our way for the rest of our holidays.

Kerry Herbert