Monthly Archives: April 2015

China to crack down on exotic dancers at village funerals……

30 Thursday Apr 2015

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(Reuters) – China will crack down on strippers who perform at rural funerals, the Ministry of Culture said on Thursday, taking aim at performances it described as illegal and which corrupt “social morals”. State media have said burlesque shows at some funerals aim to draw more mourners and show off the family’s wealth, in a practice that is infrequent, although gaining in popularity.In a notice on its website, the ministry called for a “black list” of people and workplaces that engage in such shows. It singled out a group of burlesque dancers, the Red Rose Song and Dance Troupe, who did a strip-tease after the small-town funeral of an elderly person in the northern province of Hebei in February. The group took off their clothes after performing a traditional song-and-dance routine, the ministry said. One leader of Red Rose, surnamed Li, was punished with 15 days in detention and a fine of 70,000 yuan ($11,300) after law enforcement officials intervened. 

(Reporting by Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

http://www.reuters.com

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews


Team Wiggings ready to Escape.

29 Wednesday Apr 2015

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Source: http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk

Ready to race

Swift Group’s partnership with Team WIGGINS has reached fruition with the delivery of the fully liveried Swift Escape 696, complete with sponsor logos. At 3500kg the lightweight Escape 696 is ideal for the team enabling its younger drivers to drive it to the race venues.  The layout is ideal for providing a relaxing environment pre-race, has a seating arrangement to allow for private team meetings and the bunks at the rear can be used for recovery/physio before and after competition.

The team started rolling at the Tour of Normandy 23rd to 29th March and their next race will bring them to Yorkshire for the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire 1st to 3rd May.

The Tour de Yorkshire is a reward from the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling’s international governing body, for the great work Yorkshire did in hosting the first two stages of the Tour de France last year. Some of the world’s best riders are expected to line-up on Bridlington’s seafront for the start of the first stage on 1st May, which runs from Bridlington to Scarborough and Sir Bradley Wiggins will be amongst them.  Stage 2 on 2nd may goes from Selby to York taking in the Wolds and Beverley and the final stage, Stage 3 on 3rd May, goes from Wakefield to Leeds taking in 6 classified and brutal climbs.  You can find out more at Le Tour.

The four-time Olympic champion, will ride for the first time with the team that takes his name and the Team WIGGINS line up for the Tour de Yorkshire will be:

Steven Burke
Mark Christian
Jonathan Dibben
Owain Doull
Christopher Lawless
Daniel Patten
Andrew Tennant
Bradley Wiggins

Following the Tour de Yorkshire, Bradley’s next goal will be to attempt the One Hour Record, scheduled to take place in London in June.

Team WIGGINS will also focus on developing British talent and inspiring cycling’s existing and potential fans of the sport, whilst its riders will be preparing for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews


Carthago

27 Monday Apr 2015

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Carthago Reisemobilbau was founded in 1979 by Karl-Heinz Schuler and is still managed by the owner, while employing around 850 staff. In 2013, the company moved into Carthago-City, its new headquarters in the Upper Swabian Aulendorf with a state-of-the-art motorhome production facility. Last year the owner founded the Karl Heinz Schuler Familienstiftung, or family foundation, and transferred the first shares of the Carthago Group to it. This step ensured an independent future for the company, as a foundation cannot be sold or taken over completely nor partially. The assets of a foundation may also only be used for certain purposes.

The reason for doing this was the desire of Karl-Heinz Schuler to keep the company as an entity in the long term and to secure the employment of its 850 employees. In taking this step, he has put the interests of the company and the employees before his personal interests. With the family foundation setup, Karl-Heinz Schuler is basically protecting his commercial life’s work. It means the structures of the Carthago Group will stay as they are. The family foundation comprises two members of the board and a foundation board with Karl-Heinz Schuler is the foundation chairman.

In 2011, Karl-Heinz had already given the management of the company a broad basis by introducing a multi-head management board. This contributed to the growth of the Carthago Group –  the turnover in last business year was 182 million Euros. Since April this year, the management board comprised of the founder and owner Karl-Heinz Schuler, Bernd Wuschack as managing director for Sales, Marketing and Customer Services, Johannes Stumpp as managing director for Finance, Accounting and IT as well as Anton Fetscher, managing director for Engineering.

SOURCE: http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

 

Colin the Campervan

24 Friday Apr 2015

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Illustrated children’s book tells the story of an abandoned campervan

Timothy Bentinck, the actor best known as the voice of David Archer of the Radio 4 serial, The Archers, has turned his hand to children’s fiction with the release of Colin the Campervan, published by Fabulous Books. The book tells the story of Colin, a star-turn campervan as he goes from hero to zero and wants nothing more than to be out on the road. If he can be reunited with his original owner, Andy, then all the better. The books is illustrated by Owen Claxton.

Tim described where the idea came from, “When my two boys, Will and Jasper, were small, we had an old campervan that was cold, rusty, slow and unreliable. I loved it, the boys loved it – my wife, Judy, didn’t. We used to dream of having enough money to turn it into a supercar. In Colin, that wish comes true.”
You can get signed copies directly from the Fabulous Books website and it costs just £5.99.
Less well known are the facts he was born in Tasmania and is 12th Earl of Portland and the 8th Count Bentinck. He is what you might call “multi-faceted” doing all sorts of things – and his wife Judith is a couture milliner based in London and,through marriage, holds the title The Right Hon. Countess of Portland. 

It is by following this blog you pick up on all sorts of entirely irrelevant rubbish that you’ve always wanted to know! For instance, when radio actors kiss, mostly they are kissing the back of their hands. Kind of spoils it?

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

The beauty of caravanning – and motorhoming.

18 Saturday Apr 2015

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Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Go anywhere, whenever you want to with a caravan, trailer tent, campervan or motorhome. The world is, almost literally, your oyster.

By Mike Pattenden

Many of my childhood holidays were spent in caravans. My grandparents were diehard Caravan Club members and my parents made use of their antiquated vehicle whenever it was free. 

It was quite posh, with a two-tone blue and cream paint job. Inside it appeared to have been carved from mahogany. Gas uplighters added an air of Victorian charm. 

Were it to have survived, our castle on wheels would no doubt have listed status. In practical terms, the old relic’s passing was not to be lamented because the modern options were far more appealing – even then. 

Today, the choices for staying in the great outdoors have expanded to cover every kind of travelling home you can think of, from lightweight tents that virtually erect themselves to trendy pods and mobile palaces. 

Something more exotic? Try a yurt and imagine that you’re a nomad on the Mongolian Steppes. 

If you own a trailer tent, caravan, campervan or motorhome then the world is, almost literally, your oyster. 

The freedom and flexibility to roam as you please cannot be underestimated. For hipsters, some vehicles are much more than mere holiday trailers or campervans. 

A cool, chrome slice of Americana or the nostalgic noise of an air-cooled engine can say more about you than anything, especially at the beach or a festival. 

Welcoming sites for today’s homes on wheels are now scattered across the UK and the Continent. Modern caravans are streamlined, lightweight, well-fitted, ingenious and easy to tow. 

With prices starting at about £20,000 for a two/three-berth van (£10,000 for secondhand) it could pay for itself in just a few years on the savings made over hotel or package holidays – plus you get that freedom to go when and where you please. 

Campervans and motorhomes have also become increasingly popular in the past few years. There’s a blurring of the two terms, but in general a campervan is a smaller, simpler vehicle while a motorhome comes with toilet, shower, built-in kitchen and plush furnishings. 

Modern caravans and motorhomes retain their value remarkably well, so the value for money adds up on both sides of the equation. You could get a great deal of your money back if you decide to sell or upgrade in the future. There’s no need to buy outright, however – you can hire one for as long as you like from certain retailers. 

As someone who spent a wet Glastonbury in a nice, dry Winnebago, I can testify to their attraction at festivals. But if you do want to sleep in a simple tent under the stars out in the wilds, then by all means go for it – that’s the beauty of camping. It’s as upmarket or simple as you want it to be. The point is to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. 

As Erin Baker, managing director of Telegraph Cars, says: “The essential freedom inherent in a motorhome or caravan piques my interest – as does paying a quarter of the money spent on a hotel room for a simple berth in a field surrounded by trees and birdsong.” 

• Freedomtogo.co.uk has some great ideas on places to go and sites to stay on in the UK


Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews


Am in a seasonal muddle..

12 Sunday Apr 2015

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Having just returned from a New Zealand summer with temperatures in the high twenties I am struggling to get my head round the idea that after summer comes spring. But if these daffodils at home are anything to go by, it clearly is spring.  I need to lie down in a darkened room.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Warwick Racecourse – full house over Easter!

10 Friday Apr 2015

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I stayed at Warwick Racecourse Caravan Club site this week. 

The site obviously had a very successful Easter. It was full for most of the holiday and you can see why. It is a most attractive setting in the middle of the racecourse and within a ten minutes walk of the the town centre and Warwick Castle – which is a must-visit castle if you haven’t been! I lived very close to Warwick for twenty years so I am probably a bit biased but the Royal Leamington Spa – Warwick – Stratford-upon-Avon triangle is a very nice spot to live in with lots going on. So it’s also going to be an excellent area for a holiday or a weekend break.

The site has a mix of roughly 50/50 grass and hardstanding pitches and you get to it by actually driving across the racecourse. It is for this reason actual arrivals on race days cannot happen but the race days are well publicised before so are easy to work around.  Needless to say, the site is well supported and full on race days as it’s a great atmosphere whether or not horse racing is your scene. Some of the hard standing pitches are actually up against the rails of the course.

Just outside the entrance to the course is The Old Fourpenny Shop Hotel which is famous. As a pub it sells good beer and good food – and most importantly offers a warm Irish welcome. I wouldn’t want you to think I spent too many hours in it; just long enough to check it out……

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

The Caravan Club sees a 21% increase in Easter bookings.

02 Thursday Apr 2015

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The Caravan Club says it is going to be busy, as happy tourers spring to life


The Caravan Club is egg-cited to see that its UK sites network has seen an increase of 21% in bookings for this Easter period compared to last year, with the month of March seeing an increase in new joiners too – 12.8% more new members than March 2014.

Following on from The Club’s announcement in January that the first month of the New Year saw an increase of over 7% in occupancy across its UK sites network, and then the industry’s governing body (The National Caravan Council) announcing a 10% increase in caravan and motorhome sales in early February, 2015 certainly looks set to be a buoyant year for touring, with the great British get-away springing into full life this week.

The Club also believes that caravanners and motorhomers are happier than other types of holiday makers, after a recent member survey asked them about how they feel. The results showed that they were nearly 10% more likely to give a rating of 9 or more out of 10 for happiness than the national average, and said that the main appeal of a touring holiday is the freedom and flexibility – giving them opportunity to explore the great outdoors in their own way.

Brian Savage, Director of Membership Services at The Caravan Club says, “Recently the media has been reporting that the country is seeing a general economic recovery, and our figures show that even since this time last year, tourers are more willing to get out earlier and more often.”

Savage continues, “We know that holidays are important to people and statistics showed that even during the recession people continued to holiday, albeit less often than before. In The Club’s survey mentioned above, 86% of respondents said that touring provides great value for money and that every weekend can be a holiday, and The Club agrees. Why put all your eggs in one basket with just one annual holiday, when if you have a caravan or motorhome, you can go as often as you like.”

Because it can be a bit daunting when considering trying a caravan or motorhome holiday for the first time, The Caravan Club has launched a new website called experiencefreedom.co.uk

It offers free practical advice in an easy-to-understand manner. It can answer simple questions like; caravan or motorhome? What size caravan can my car tow? And, where can I hire from or find affordable, yet good, second-hand vehicles? The Caravan Club welcomes everybody and can help get you started.


Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews


Thetford Forest filling up for Easter.

02 Thursday Apr 2015

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I am staying at one of my favourite sites: Thetford Forest. And it is rapidly filling up for Easter.

Set in Forestry Commission woodland, with forest walks straight from the site, this is a quiet, secluded site with a wonderful variety of pitches on offer. The Second World War is very much to the fore here and indeed until The Caravan Club undertook a major programme of improvements a couple of years go, the site roadway was the original WW2 concrete runway. At the entrance to the site there is the world famous memorial area dedicated to the Desert Rats.

So, it’s sunny here, warming up, filling up and Good Friday tomorrow. 

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Vauxhall launches new taxi.

01 Wednesday Apr 2015

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For many years now, after a good night out, it’s almost been mandatory to get your taxi driver to stop off at the local kebab house for a quick doner. Now, thanks to Vauxhall’s ingenious new Taxi Kebabi, having your kebab and getting home are no longer a problem.

Based upon the 9-seat Combi model, this class-defining Vivaro features two gas-fired spit rotisserie grills, salad bowls integrated into the arm rests, chilli dispensers and of course a tasty selection of sauces.

Taxi driver Justin Trafik said: “The vinyl seats and floor covering will prove a real boon for the occasional spillage.”

Trafik’s colleague Jason Donervan was in perfect harmony: “With Vivaro’s class-leading whole life costs, this incredible vehicle offers us hard-pushed drivers another valuable revenue stream that could ultimately see taxi fares being slashed.”

On a more sombre note, Pieter Bred, the UK spokesman for Britain’s High Street Kebab Association, said: “Without making a meal of this, the Vauxhall Taxi Kebabi could spell the end for high street kebab houses.”

Vauxhall spokesperson April Fulls had the final word: “With the launch of the Vivaro Taxi Kebabi, we really believe we’ve given our customers something to sink their teeth into.”

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews