We had thought that having Basil fitted with two powerful leisure batteries and a solar panel would enable us to be self sufficient, without the need for mains electricity, always. The mini Beast from the East has tested this hypothesis to breaking point.

As the outside temperatures remained resolutely below zero throughout the evening and into the night, with howling winds to boot, and no light to add juice through the solar panel, the voltage on our system slowly dwindled. Watching the rugby on satellite television; charging computers, iPads, phones etc.; and running the fans on our heating system non stop – something had to give. Between entertainment and heat there was no choice and we managed to keep warm for the night.

Today has been a visiting day. We drove from Canterbury to Croydon to see Sarah’s brother Jon, his wife Cheryl and their children. It was still below freezing as we made the journey. Those of you who read last year’s blog may remember the irritating intermittent fault we had on our airbag alarm, which first appeared in Norway and now shows itself occasionally and then disappears. In this icy weather it came on and off on a regular basis, so temperature outside temperature is clearly somehow related. Basil has been into the motorhome hospital twice over the winter to try to fix the fault, but because of it’s sporadic nature they have been unable to find it, but they ensure us it is not a safety issue. In this weather the problem is all too obvious and irritating.

Having arrived in Croydon we spent a couple of hours drinking tea, scoffing hot cross buns and catching up on family news. Jon and Cheryl live in Jon and Sarah’s Mum’s old house but Jon has completely transformed it and this was the first time I had seen the latest work. He’s done such an amazing job it’s difficult to recognise it as the same building.

After our Croydon visit it was off to St. Leonard’s to see Sarah’s sister tomorrow. As we drove south the snow slowly intensified and so as we reached the Caravan and Motorhome site at Battle there was a fair covering on the ground. I thought we would have the place ourselves, but to my surprise there are quite a few other hardy souls braving the wintry weather.

Basil in typical mid March weather at the Normanhurst Battle caravan site!

For the first time since leaving home we are now connected up to mains electricity so we can happily use our multiple electronic devices, keep warm and replenish the battery, all without worry.