Photo locations and something really exciting

On this lovely sunny May morning I decided to take Dave out to scout around for some photo locations, had two in mind fairly close to where I live.

Location one was a disused quarry site that I had tried to photograph previously a few years ago with it's derelict buildings and great backdrops, however the site owners had a strict no photo policy due to health and safety issues and the fact the location had appeared on a well known derelict buildings photography website.

I was surprised to see a lot of heavy vehicle traffic on and off the site and went to investigate, I found the site office and was told the site is once again operational, however I have been given permission to go back and photograph Dave on the site.

On the way out I stopped just to grab this quick shot on the way out.

One out of one, good result so far.

My second location was an airfield that had a track, rally and off road course on site, was enquiring about photo locations, however what I have ended up with is something more exciting for all the Dacia Duster and Stepway owners out there.

I had a full tour of the site and they have a number of great 'Off Road' courses for the 4x4s and also a couple of 'Soff Road' course (Soft Off Road) for the Stepways. The company was already considering offering 'Club Days' where a group can hire the facilities, with an instructor, marshal and medic staff and I am waiting for them to come back to me with some prices.

With the 1st UK Dacia Day at Beaulieu coming on the 26th July having an off road day may appeal to quite a few owners too.

So all in all a great morning out.

A wet and windy weekend

What a horrible weekend for weather, cold, wet and windy, not much chance of any adventures for Dave. However did manage to get a few more accessories that I had been looking at.

I've been using a Thule hang-on towbar mounted bike carrier for a number of years, it's starting to show it's age a bit and is a bit of a pain strapping the bikes on securely, not to mention having to fit a trailer board each time for the lights. I was thinking about treating myself to another Thule but this time a 'sit on' type carrier.

While checking out that well known auction site I came across a Mont Blanc 2 bike carrier, it looked nice and sturdy, tilt mechanism and lights built in. Managed to win the auction for less than £60, when I collected it I managed to find the model number and it is an Explorer 2, it's an obsolete model now but originally retailed at over £320, bit of a result as it's in as new condition.

Looks good too.

When Dave was ordered Dacia offered the option of a Touring Pack which included a central arm rest, boot luggage net, floor mats and roof bars, cost £245. I knew I wasn't going to use the arm rest (very small and flimsy and got in the way), the luggage net was very small and the floor mats could be bought at a fraction of the cost.

Once again I turned to the DaciaForumUK and there was a discussion about the Lidl roof bars and how many of the members had bought them for their Dusters and Stepways. However as with many deals in Lidl they weren't always in stock and you have to wait for them to reappear as a special offer, well they appeared again last week, so I popped along and pick up a set....£26.99 and they are locking too, now that's a bargain.

Mud plug

Went to take the dog for a walk, the only space left was on the grass bank behind a huge swampy puddle, oh well Dave has the ground clearance, can't be too deep as I can see other tyre tracks going through it, well it wasn't deep but was very very deep mud underneath, Dave coped brilliantly considering no 4 wheel drive....think he's gonna need another wash!

Summer weekend retreat

Welcome to Dave's summer weekend retreat, a lovely cottage by the beautiful River Thames........

Well not really a summer retreat, however most Saturdays during the summer months I work here as an assistant lock keeper so Dave will be seeing a lot of the River in the coming months.

Also being so close to Henley-on-Thames you never know who will pop along, either on a boat or just strolling through the lockside path. Today we had Janet Street Porter with celebrity chef Brian Turner.