It's all so sad!
If it can be of any consolation, France is vaccinating us to pieces! Mr Macron insists that everyone who wants one will get it before the summer. We stayed boringly at home last summer, but now Betty's been fitted with the mover and is hot to be off the chocks, we'll be going away from end of June when our second jab will have kicked in. Come on over, enjoy the baguettes, wine and cheese! The best time to be here is the last week of August onwards IMHO - weather still lovely, squids back at school, everything's still open but without all the crowds.....
We have been feeling more like MikeT. Betty is really important to us and we want to make the best of our time. Colin......don't despair! Brian, France is still here - weakened but standing!

We had a trip out to see No 1 child and her husband yesterday, had a lovely time in the garden and en route we passed the CMC & CCC sites around Blackshaw Moor they were both packed as were the two CL/CS sites near to our home. We only managed one week away last September in North Norfolk at that time all facilities were open but we didn't use them. We managed with our portashower in the awning annexe and the onboard toilet. We are considering getting a replacement toilet tent (we gave our old one away when we bought the van) so that we do not have to rely on any onsite facilities except for water and waste disposal, this we feel will give us every confidence in getting out and about.
Van going for a water ingress test at Travelworld in a fortnight then hopefully we can be away.

Denise & Phil

After only just getting into an Eriba from a WWB, we have no intention of going back. I can't believe all this defeatist chatter and from our forum Stalwarts.
You know, that as soon as the beeches open up abroad, the stampede will be immense and watch the price of WWB's fall as they sell them in their thousands.
It's a blip that will pass and our sites will be left to people who actually enjoy camping and caravaning.
Just imagine the hoards roaming the sites at the moment, it could be a blessing in disguise, that we can't find pitches at just now.

Please don’t read this as any kind of criticism of anyone posting above, but I’ve just been reading through whilst the 10 o-clock news is describing the nightmare in India, and it made me think of all those who will never be caravanning again.
For some of our friends a MH fits their needs and most others have WWBs as we had until October, when we decided that the Eriba way was for us again.
-All of us have been stretched to some extent during this horrible time, but we went and caught up with a group of them yesterday on a rally. (We couldn’t attend the rally as COVID has meant that our Troll can’t be delivered).
The simple act of sitting outside someone’s awning and catching up was so, well -ordinary- but brought back past fun times.

I don’t want to sound like Pollyanna, but we have much to look forward to; restrictions won’t last forever, much of the surge in caravan/ camping use will fade when package holidays reboot. (But you’ll never be able to confidently travel in the UK without pre-booking😂🤣😂)

We’ve been LSSB-less (little silver shoebox) for over 6 months and now we’d spend a weekend on the local traffic island if we got the chance!.
We visited a services this morning and could hardly remember how to order breakfast🤪🤪

I’m sure the baguettes, cheese and wine will be there for us eventually, and it will feel really special to regain that.

Don’t give up; wait for the better times and do whatever is possible in the meantime.

Not wishing to be a Job's Comforter but I suppose we have to face the fact that if anyone is thinking of leaving the Eriba community, then the present time represents an ideal opportunity, that probably won't last and hopefully won't be repeated. Demand and prices are at extraordinarily high levels and it's probable that they will reduce later this or early next year. So if you're after selling, then this is the time to maximise the finances. Or as somebody should have said, 'jump out and fill yer boots!

Of course, to many, hopefully most, Eribaistas, such thoughts are far from their minds and they're looking to the future with hope and expectation that the pleasant times of the past return in spades. Let us hope that their sunlit uplands are more realistic than some others we could mention.

I am one of those sounding defeatist but we do need to put things in perspective. We are safe and well, we are getting our jabs.plagues of all descriptions pass, anyone had the Black Death or Spanish Flu recently?
The problem for many of this Forum is that we are of a certain age, the number of active years is reducing. I tried to explain to my 35 year old daughter that the loss of a couple of years of her life was not such as big a deal as it is once you are twice that age. She felt I was being morbid, I saw it as realistic. Having said all that we will be out there again, this year fighting all the newbies who can’t have their package holidays ( they are as entitled as us to a pitch in the UK) for space on a campsite and next year we will be back to holidaying abroad albeit I may still be using my camp shower but enjoying the “joie de vive”, the cheap wine and ease of touring in particular.

Hi julie

I think there is a reality of feeling that hands of time thing for many of us of a certain age. It is a truism for many of us that bits of our bodies don't respond like they used to and this is irreversible. It doesn't mean give in to it but there is a reality.

You want to be positive and I did meet a 90 year old Eriba owner in 2019 - but I guess it is true that the years ahead of us to plan our continental trips is finite.

On top of that we do have the mental capacity bit to consider....................

The sooner we can get back on site the better may be where most of us are...............

MikeT

Much sympathy for everyone having a bad time, a lot of people feel dragged down at the moment, we have booked a site in June, l can't wait!! We went last July amid all the restrictions, people were mostly compliant and good humoured, we had to come home early after an accident but were enjoying it before that, get on site, put down the steadies and open the wine --- you will fall in love with the Eriba again at that point