Mrs Dean Gives Me a Mean Spring Clean

Wednesday July 14th
Wow am I clean and tidy now. Today Mary and Alan took everything out of me and cleaned my interior. They just had to know what was hiding in all my secret compartments. They were quite surprised to find how well equipped I was. There were two small tents, self inflating airbeds, plates, mugs, cutlery etc. All the plates and cutlery had a trip to the dishwasher and Mary wiped out all my cupboards. She scrubbed my floor and now I am bright and shiny on the inside. Alan made a list of things they didn’t find so he could buy them when out later in the day. There is going to plenty of room to store things now I am all sorted out.

Kathy had made a picnic lunch and they all set off to the seaside at Felixstowe. They parked down on the promenade and met up with the children and staff of the Maidstone Infant School where Kathy used to teach and Mary taught in 2001. Mary was pleased to catch up with the few staff who are still teaching there. Most of the staff that were there at the time when she was, are now also retired. It was a grey overcast day and when it started to spit they headed for the car. Mary and Alan went shopping for some nice things for me. They bought new covers for my front seats and some nice padded covers to go over the top as well. Mary had been complaining that she could feel the springs coming through the seat. They have bought a lovely red throw to go over my back seat and two smart navy cushions so my tired upholstery is all covered up and I look great inside.
Mike had a great gadget for checking all my tyre pressures and a pump that ran off my motor so he got all my tyres pumped up.

During the day Mo sent Mary a text to tell them they are going to need to follow a strict dress code for the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace on July 31st. Alan might have to visit a charity store as he did not bring a shirt and tie and suit or jacket. Mary will be fine as she has a tidy skirt and blouse. Mo is able to get his family tickets to be inside the fence rather than pressed against the railings on the outside, so they cannot be casual tourists with rucksacks on that day. In the evening Michael is going to be the bugler for the ceremony of the keys at the Tower of London. You need to have tickets in advance for this and Michael has offered to get them some as numbers are limited.

In the evening Mary and Alan were picked up by some friends in Ipswich that they met when they went on a Christmas in Austria trip in 2001. Margaret and Richard have kept in touch and even been out to NZ to see them. They are talking about coming again. They had a lovely evening catching up at the Victoria Pub in Felixstowe overlooking Bawdsey. The sea was quite rough and the weather is not as good as it was.