Tag Archives: macgowan

The Leisure Seeker

22 Sunday Apr 2018

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Think Spring is giving way to Summer this weekend. Either way, I decided the climatic conditions were not right for me to run the London Marathon.

Am also preparing for a couple of trips at the moment so have been at home. One evening Faye and I decided to pop out to the cinema and see “The Leisure Seeker” starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.

An ageing couple decide to jump into their very old and much loved Winnebago and travel down the Florida Quays and get to Ernest Hemingway’s house.

We loved it but it is not a film for the faint hearted and it is far from an easy watching light entertainment night out.

YouTube Link is HERE.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

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Travel, travel, travel……

08 Sunday Apr 2018

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It’s been quite a week.

Left behind Hawaii after what can only be described as an idyllic holiday.

Had a lay over in Atlanta Georgia.

Finally back home to the motorhome and a visit to a favourite spot on the River Orwell.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

A delightful weekend in Liverpool.

10 Sunday Sep 2017

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Faye and I have spent a delightful weekend in Liverpool.

Getting there was a nightmare because of the unexpected closure of the M6 at junctions 18 and 19 but being there was great. The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a must. We were there with Faye’s sister and brother in law; John spent a chunk of his career in the shipping industry and was based in Liverpool for a while so this was a major trip down memory lane for him. 

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

I need little encouragement….

18 Sunday Jun 2017

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I am at home this weekend. 

Amazon’s Alexa – the all important woman in my life – has just told me via her afternoon update which I increasingly rely on to keep me up to speed – that it is 30 degrees C right now. At the same time I have received a regular email from The Lake District (an excellent service by the way) giving me loads of reasons why I should be hot footing it to Cumbria.

With photographs like that I require little encouragement.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

#motorhome #lakedistrict #omgitishot

British industry proving irresistible to German and French giants.

14 Tuesday Feb 2017

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Written by John Rawlings of Rawlings Communications Ltd.

Rawlings Communications

The strong market for caravans and motorhomes in the UK is obviously on the radar of the big French and German manufacturing groups, with news of two interesting acquisitions already announced this year. Will there be more?

The big news last week was that Europe’s largest manufacturer of caravans and motorhomes, the mighty Erwin Hymer Group, which last year had a turnover of more than 1.9 billion Euros, bought the UK’s Explorer Group Ltd, which owns and manufactures the well known Buccaneer, Elddis and Compass brands here.

This follows last month’s news that the French Trigano Group (another multiple European caravan and motorhome brand owner, and has already invested in a new factory for its UK subsidiary, Auto-Trail) bought a majority shareholding in the British motorhome brand Auto-Sleepers and its retail network, Marquis Leisure.

Interesting times.

I am sure that becoming part of the Erwin Hymer Group has to be good news for the The Explorer Group and its 400 employees up in the North East, but will we see more British caravan and motorhome brands being snapped up by overseas or global brands?

Although it has well established UK brands, the Explorer Group is far from being a market leader in the UK, having trailed behind the UK’s two biggest caravan and motorhome manufacturers, The Swift Group and Bailey of Bristol (both still privately owned), for many years. The new investment and purchasing power of The Explorer Group’s new parent company will surely work in its favour and give it valuable extra security for the years ahead.

We will have to wait (with much interest) to see if its new German owners implement any changes to product quality, specifications and production. The purchase price has not been disclosed, but the Erwin Hymer Group must have expectations for a reasonable return on investment, and it shows the significance of the UK caravan and motorhome market on a European and global stage. Surely that’s something we should be proud of?

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Montreuil-sur-Mer

26 Friday Aug 2016

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Montreuil sur Mer is about an hour south west of Calais and is one of my favourite stopping places – either on the aire which is a hundred metres from the town or on the excellent site which is at the bottom of the very steep hill. On numerous occasions at the end of a long evening I have been grateful for the down hill ramble to the site knowing only too well an uphill yomp by then would have been impossible. But of course for me the aire is best. 

Sur Mer is a bit of a misnomer because the sea is nowhere near having receded several kilometres several hundred years ago. It’s a lovely town, very much unspoilt and this time I wandered in for breakfast the next morning and before I knew it a couple of hours had slid by and it was time to head for Calais. It’s just that sort of place.

Christopher Macgowan

@motorhomenews

Calais – an ongoing problem.

31 Thursday Mar 2016

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The past 24 hours have seen a further serious breakdown in law and order at Calais as approximately 150 migrants, some armed with iron bars, attempted to board UK-bound trucks heading towards the Eurotunnel and resulted in the tragic death of a migrant as a result of being hit by an heavy goods vehicle.

It appears that this latest incident was caused by the impact of what was happening locally as part of a national strike which caused HGVs to back up in an unprotected area and made them more vulnerable to attack.

Commenting, Road Haulage Association chief executive Richard Burnett said: “We are saddened by the news that a migrant was killed but we have two questions to ask of the authorities in France.

“First, given that the queues of lorries in an unprotected area was a predictable consequence of the strike, why were measures not put in place to provide adequate security for drivers in the Calais area?

“Second, can we have firm assurance that drivers will not go unprotected when there is such a clear risk in future?

“Calais Region President Xavier Bertrand has worked hard to start to restore security and confidence in the Calais route, including the clearance of the unregulated part of the migrant camp. The events of the past 24 hours are a serious setback to those efforts and must not be allowed to be repeated.”

Road Haulage Association @RHANews

Christopher Macgowan
@motorhomenews