Days out in my campervan in August 2026

In August there haven't been any overnight stays despite it being the longest of my school holidays. 

We priced up 2 weeks in England in the van, sharing toilets and a shower block near the beach and it came in just over a whopping £1000.

For £400 more the two of us flew to Crete for two weeks. That's flights, hotel and transfer, our own bathroom, and a nearby beach. No sharing a bathroom and a quieter resort. it was a no brainer.

Of course we could find quieter locations in the UK, but the whole point of a holiday to switch off and relax, not queue for a shower, or walk by torch light to the loo or carry your washing up and pack up the van every day to drive and fight for a parking spot and pay £20 plus for a deckchair, let alone the UK prices for eating out and again having to drive everywhere.

There has been a lot of sleeping in the van as there has been a lot of driving and a lot of long journeys for me visiting the grandchildren and having to break the journey up along the way, needing to get my head down for a couple of hours.

The van is due a service in September and a habitation check. Which is good timing as the gas bottle has finally run out and I'm currently making tea and coffee using the portable stove I usually use for when we go hiking just with a bigger gas bottle than usual.

I've brought the welly/boot tray from round the back into the van ready for the winter/wet weather so we have somewhere to put our boots and coats to dry before putting them back in the cupboards, rather than putting them in plastic bags like we've done previously then forgotten to take out and dry and return to the van, at least we'll have dry socks the next time we go for a walk, even if they have been previously worn.

The yellow basket was a gift from my DIL and it moves between the house and the van carrying everything back and forth.

There is no camping planned yet for September. I'll need to get something organised. With the football season being back on it's getting harder to actually go away overnight, there's also a birthday and my ultra marathon down in London for which we're taking the car and staying in a hotel. 

Word of the week - Dad

It was my father's birthday on Monday.

He would've been 87.

I can't comprehend my father being 87 as he died aged 77, 2 months short of his birthday.

This is the 10th birthday I haven't been able to buy him a card or a gift or visit him.

Not a day goes past where he's not talked about or thought about.

At the football. When I talk to or see the grandchildren. When I sit at his desk in our home. When I go up into the loft room and see the piles of stuff I still have to sort through or when I use one of the stamps from his collection on an envelope. 

Our home and travels and lives are full of memories of my father.

Of course I miss him and there are so many things I still want to tell him and still want to ask him.

But I'm at peace with that now. I was at peace with that when he died. We'd had a good few days. We'd had a good afternoon the day he'd died. 

I was with him when he died. He's still with me now.

Word of the week - Equanimity

I had to search for a word to sum up this week and I found Equanimity. Between calm and chaotic.

It was back to school this week. An inset day on Tuesday, sitting in the hall, lots of breaks and slideshows and online training to be done (all at home this weekend) straight off to the football in Birmingham with train disruptions and I didn't get home till 1am. Then new year 7's arrived on Wednesday with the rest of the school and on Friday the year 11 mocks were released and we went straight to see our grandchildren for the evening.

I've organised a cupboard for the school uniform collected over the holidays and washed it all. Sorted out timetables, planned unexpected lessons, gained an extra student for English and Maths two lessons a week and this list will grow and basically just not stopped at work or home all week, including Friday morning dusting the bedroom before work as it was getting on my nerves.

I've been gardening, shopping, organise birthday gifts, writing letters, I dusted the bedroom Friday morning at 6.30am. I've stayed up till 1am and I've been in bed and fast asleep by 9pm. I've been crafting, reading, to the gym and running. There's been TV and reading, coffees out and endless scrolling.

Today, Sunday, started early on the train with my book to Birmingham to watch the football, there will be some shopping afterwards and the train home for a BBQ and an early night before the new week starts and we start all over again.

Picture of cat who remains equanimous despite the chaotic environment around her as long as she gets fed

Week 35 2026 One Daily Positive and Project 365

The negatives

We can't control how other people understand our grief and so obviously feel we should just be getting on with our lives now. We are getting on with our lives. If I could explain how Stephanie's death has affected us physically and mentally then I would write it down and share it with you.

The positives

Back running and feeling good, it really helps when I'm struggling and September is a hard month for us as we count down to the anniversary of Stephanie's death in October.

Saturday 29 August A long tiring and emotional day and a situation I chose to walk away from realising nothing I could say or do would make any difference. Had a good couple of hours first thing with the grandchildren saying our goodbyes, with grandson now in school and there only being the school holidays of which mine don't line up and him going away, I won't be seeing them again until probably the Whitsun week. They all left for a party at 9.30am and I spent the morning after packing up the van catching up with some work, after lunch I headed out for a coffee, then into town for a couple of hours and to do some shopping, followed by a stop at the retail park for some dinner, another coffee and to kill the last hour before filling up with fuel and a 7.30pm check in. Followed by some more work and phone calls with hubby and my friend. I didn't get much sleep and I've had a long and emotional day.

Sunday 30 A long drive home after minimal sleep, getting home at 10.30am after a quick stop for a drive through Starbucks.Peter helped me to unpack the van, washing machine on and I went to bed for a couple of hours. We popped out for a bit of shopping and a coffee. I put together a couple of parcels and some cards and reactivated my Vinted account and sold a couple of things within minutes. I need the money after my recent fines from the car tax and parking ticket that due to the wrong address escalated. Popped out several times late afternoon between rain storms to get parcels sent and uploaded more items. Had an early night after a long soak in the bath.

Monday 31st August woke around 7am and made myself a cup of tea and laid in bed for an hour before deciding I needed to get on with the day and went out early to get some cards and photos printed and pick up a gift. home and collected Peter and we had a coffee in town and I picked up the final things I need for posting to Australia for child 3 and his girlfriend for her birthday and a few other treats. Peter drove home and I set off over the hills, running and walking a 10k route home. Tided up the dining room while Peter did the ironing and I put the boxes together as well as a couple more Vinted orders and got y work bag ready for the morning. Had a bath, dinner and bed by 10pm.

Tuesday 1st September Back to school. Nice to be back in a routine, even though it was a full day of training and lovely to catch up with people again. Didn't feel like it had been 6 weeks. Straight home, swopped bags and Peter dropped me at the station for the train to Birmingham for the game against Southampton. I video called my former student from the match to help her with a question for Uni and she watched a bit of the game with me. It ended 1 all, we should've won. The train was delayed and I got back home via Peter collecting me in Worcester, around midnight. A quick bath and straight to bed.

Wednesday 2nd Struggled to get out of bed. Peter took the van for a service and I went to work, on my feet all day and hardly got to it down, but a productive day. Home, changed and off for annual check up at the dentist. Went for a run, then to the gym for legs, bums and tums. Peter collected me and we got accommodation booked for 2 upcoming trips to London.

Thursday 3rd Work was hectic but the first week back usually is. Drove home via the post office and the doctors for my B12 jab. I had a lie down for an hour, cooked dinner, did some dusting and sorted out some work files whilst watching the TV and got granddaughters early birthday presents sorted. video call with grandson to hear all about carpet time this week in school. I obnvoulsy knew what it was but he was excited to find out all about it. In bed by 9pm.

Friday 4th Peter dropped me at work and the day went quickly, as I spent most of it hidden in the library. I had a one to one student for 2 lessons, followed by 1 lesson on paperwork, a final sort of the school uniform cupboard so we now have one that is clean and tidy and accessible and then a check in with year 11's after they collected their mock GCSE results. Peter collected me and we spent the evening with our grandchildren. We had dinner and got home at 10pm and straight to bed.

On the blog this week:

Post Comment Love - Link up with any post written this week 

London Marathon Training August 2026

Word of the week - Equanimity 

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Post comment Love 4th-6th September 2026

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Bosworth.Life and I.

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Please leave a comment with the host you link up with and we'd also appreciate your help spreading the #PoCoLo word on Twitter/X tag us and we'll RT. You can find us here: Stephanie - @BosworthLife and Suzanne - @ChickenRuby Please also add our badge to your post.

I'll be catching up with reading your posts, sharing and commenting over the next few days. 

Back to school this week. Only 2 days and I haven't stopped. I'm shattered. Good to be back though.

I've also been up to the football mid week and didn't get home till gone midnight due to issues with the train and we're off to visit our grandchildren this evening afterwork.

I'm looking forward to a lie in tomorrow and more football on Sunday.

How's your week been?

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London Marathon Training August 2026

Distance run: 28km and a 6 mile hike.

Work outs: 3 gym sessions due to holiday.

Things I'm learning:

Nutrition - Hairbos are good to eat whilst running.

Fluids - I really need to work on this as I'm spending too much time focusing on my need to wee.

Carbs - Eaten before a run but at least 2-3 hours prior.

Proteins - Eaten after a run.

Clothing - too hot, too cold. When I ran Brighton I had warmer clothes to get to the start that I discarded before the race, then half way through I was able to hand a top and a jacket over to Peter. At the moment the weather is not quite warm enough for my shorts and vest but I'm over heating with leggings. I'm able to run with a jacket tied round my waist, but I struggle with a bumbag, camel pack or hydration vest. My feet are too hot at the moment.

Footwear - I've put in an offer on Vinted for an identical pair of shoes I ran Brighton in so I can alternate between the two pairs for training and the marathon.

Running apps - couch to 5k is my go to app. I love running with it, listening to Steve Cram my chosen coach, just for the motivation, the timings and the reminders.

Things to avoid:

Social Media. Oh my word I've had to leave all the groups I'd joined. I can't be doing with all the questions that a really simple and quick google will answer. I have, however connected with a few people on TikTok and am picking up a few tips and techniques that should help me improve my time from Brighton.

Gels - yuk and why? 

Clothing, shoes and equipment. Buy the most expensive shoes you can afford, buy a half size up. Designer only and £150 for a hydration vest. Not me. My trainers cost around £35, they're the size I normally wear in shoes and were bought based on the comfort. I bought a £75 pair of Nike that I was talked into buying when I asked for advice in a store and they're sitting in the doorstairs loo, unworn for running as the soles of my feet hurt within 30 seconds of running. My running leggings were $15 from Big W in Australia, shorts were £4 off Vinted, running tops are from primark around £5 plus my vest from Bowel research UK and my jackets and caps are left over from working on the European Golf Tour.

Things to do:

Plan a menu as I'm getting bored of eating the same foods.

Book hotel.

Sort out the running apps.

Start stacking (longer runs back to back)

If you've any tips you would like to share, then please do, I'll take any help I can get.