The Sumpners Afloat

July 10th to July 20th – Electrika and Family time

Well since I last wrote, a lot of water has passed under the bridge and I’ve genuinely had no time to do any writing at all, but here I am now. Hoping to be a bit more regular for the next few months.

Electrika 2026 has been and gone – a bit of a blur and very tiring. Once again, the heat was intense for the event, which we think deterred some who had booked tickets from turning up. I had a last minute panic over the ice cream van but it all turned out OK. Once again, we were grateful for the support of the amazing team at the Marina of Dreams. A great bunch and we really could not have done it without them.

As usual, Rob & Caroline stayed on board with us and they were accompanied by our friend Karen Warren – over from Australia and ex-owner of Watt Knot. The boys were thrilled to see her. I’m convinced they recognised her even though it had been a couple of years since they’d seen her. Obviously, we were pleased to see her too! And thanks for the lovely pic Karen!

This was our last time of organising Electrika for a while. After three years we feel we need a break. It’s a lot of work and although we really enjoy it, we want to cruise the year without having to return for Electrika mid summer. We have handed the reins back to Ortomarine – and don’t listen to rumours. There will definitely be an Electrika 2027.

Once the show was over, we had just a few days to ensure that everything we’d need for nearly 3 months abroad was in the van. Lists were ticked off, stuff was safely stowed and eventually we were ready. I was stressing about weight and Paul used the weighing feature on our van’s self-levelling system (SHR) to allay my fears. Even allowing for us (neither of us lightweights!) and the dogs, and a few more bits, the van weighed well under the 4T allowed (after the up-plating exercise) and we still had 280 kilos left to play with – plenty of elbow room.

We also had to prep Old Nick for the long period of abandonment, which meant emptying the fridge and freezer and defrosting and cleaning and so on. Thus we set off later than we had hoped for and arrived in Wickham (Rookesbury Park C&MH site) at around 8pm. I had not had breakfast or even lunch – a combination of lack of time, heat and the fact that I had run food supplies right down. I was so glad that I had bought ready meals for dinner that night. I fell upon it at around 10pm and then fell straight into bed.

Paul was up early to take George to work and I had breakfast waiting for him on his return. I had a hair appointment in Wickham at 11 and Paul walked the boys and grabbed a coffee and some pasties for lunch, while he was waiting for me. The next appointment was to pick up Uncle D’s ashes. I can’t believe 4 months have passed since he died. I think about him and miss him every single day.

Next was Sainsbury’s to pick up the Euros I had ordered. After that, it was to the vet for jabs for the boys (annual) plus a quick health check up, ready for our sojourn abroad. The vet pronounced them healthy specimens and we were good to go.

George was picking Chester up from nursery and bringing him home on the bus – a treat for Chester – and we were lying in wait to surprise him when he got home. It was great to see him in the flesh. Even though we speak to him daily on video, there’s nothing like a proper cuddle. George cooked dinner for us and as we arrived “home” at Rookesbury, a deer trotted across the track in front of us. A lovely sight.

On Saturday, George and Beth had party prep to do, so they dropped Chester over to us. Paul had brought back a couple of souvenirs back from his trip to Le Mans for him, including a set of cars from his beloved Cars movie and these kept him happy for a while and then we went our for lunch at The KIng’s Head in Wickham. Chester fell asleep in the car on the way back so we left him in peace until he woke up. Shortly after, George came over to pick him up. And we had a lovely Nana nap!

We popped over to the flat for dinner – a delicious Chinese and a spot of telly. And of course, more Chester time.

Sunday was party day and we went over the flat to help with prep and also to transport Chester to his party. Our friends Sue & Paul had offered to have the boys for us, as they were not allowed at the party venue. Whilst dropping the boys off, we got a call from George to say could we pop back to the flat to pick up the bubble solution, and by the time we had driven there and back to the party venue, despite our best efforts, Chester had fallen asleep! He actually slept through the first 20 or more minutes of his own party! Probably a good thing though as there was much excitement and a whole party to get through. It was very hot again. Too hot for me! And after all that, George once again cooked dinner for us – he’s a star!

Monday morning seemed to arrive very early, when the alarm went off at 06:30., but we had to be over at the flat by 7 to take George to work, one last time. Chester’s 3rd Birthday! I took the opportunity to wash the last few bits of dirty washing we had, so that we’d set off with everything (apart from the clothes on our backs) clean. It was a hot breezy day and I knew it would dry easily.

And we had a very important appointment to attend in Havant. The boys had been vaccinated for Rabies back in March in preparation for the trip. We now needed to pick up an Animal Health Certificate so that they could travel with us. Nothing like cutting it fine, but we had checked and rechecked everything and it should have been just a simple paper exercise.

We rocked up at PassPets in Havant at the allotted time (booked months back) and it was indeed a simple matter. They had everything ready for us and within 15 minutes were on our way home – with a pair of certified hounds.

The Animal Health Certificate (AHC) is a document that is required to take a dog, cat or (oddly) a ferret from the UK to the EU. The AHC must be issued by an Official Veterinarian (OV) within 10 days of your departure, and it is valid for one trip to the EU only.

​​To be eligible for an AHC, your pet must be microchipped and have a valid rabies vaccination, given at least 21 days before the AHC is issued. It must be used between one and ten days and the day of issue counts as day one. The AHC has replaced the Pet Passport – thanks to Brexit, although there is talk of re-introducing it.

We returned to the flat and awaited the return of the family and a special event. Beth had organised for a replica of Chester’s favourite car – “Lightning McQueen” – to arrive as a birthday surprise for him. His little face when LMcQ turned up was worth every penny. He even got a chance to sit in it. Lucky boy!

We had a grand present opening session and George once again cooked us dinner and then he very kindly took us back to Rookesbury for the last time. We were sad to say goodbye, knowing it would be quite a few weeks until we saw him and his little family in the flesh again. A few tears from me.

And that’s my quick round up – the next edition will come from “somewhere in Europe”. We really do hope you’ll keep up with our travels – even though we are “The Sumpners Ashore” for a while! It’s going to be a bit of a learning curve as it’s our first long trip in Vera. Do drop us a comment if you like our land based adventures. Or not?