rusty old nail to sow's ear

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Pre-Ninove fettling, part III.5

Wiper blades replaced as well, and as I can't fit a beam deflector to the headlights.










I think it's a bit cold for vinyl as it's ripping as I apply it, and the quality of repro parts is shocking.
Poor bus hasn't fared well parked outside over the winter either.
 
Ninove Weekend
With all the media fuss going on I decided to take a chance and go anyway.



200 miles/4.5 hours later, Thursday evening at the Eurotunnel terminal was like a ghost town.



Darius & Lyn arrived, and we boarded an earlier train due to lack of demand.





Then off to Calais for the first night, hotel was right by the beach and ferry port which was a bit of a mistake as you will see.
Friday morning I walked round to the bus and noticed that there were a few Tunnocks Caramel Wafer wrappers blowing around the car park.
"That's a coincidence" I thought "I've got a couple of packs in the bus...."

Walked round to check the oil and the engine lid wasn't shut.





Rear hatch lock punched out with, on further investigation, my dipstick.

Broken into, and all my food and drink stolen.
Then I noticed Darius' bus, exactly the same.



To our amazement, there were 3 illegals still asleep in the back of his bus. The hotel staff didn't seem concerned, and by the time the Police arrived they had legged it.
After clearing the buses out and taking stock of what was left, we headed out of Calais to have a look around Neiuwpoort up the A14.
Well, that was the plan.
My clutch cable snapped at the pedal connection, so after almost 2 hours of scrabbling around under a very low bus we had fixed it with a countersunk M5 bolt and a nyloc nut.
All I then wanted to do was get to the hotel in Gent, get a hot shower and a cold beer.
 












Two days of peace and quiet with wonderful company, watching the world and several hundred cyclists go by the window.
Then back down the E40 and A14 to Calais on Monday.





The 6 hour drive home from Felixstowe due to the M4 being closed was the final straw really. :roll: :lol:
 
I really like Ghent, great place, your AirBnB looks lush too, peaceful, especially compared to having been broken into in Calais! We’ve got a real issue with illegal immigrants landing here in Folkestone, we’ve had thousands already this year, the most caught was just over 100 in one day. They’re a nightmare, and they’re all men in their 20’s and early 30’s, no women and no kids, border force do their best but can’t be everywhere.
Did you get a chance to ask them why they opted to bunk in the Westfailia over your own bus, it’s import to have consumer feedback to drive improvement.....😉
 

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