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K N A U S K O N T A K T October 2014
A Newsletter for the Knaus Owners Club in the UK
CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER
Dear Fellow Members,
Where has the year gone? It only seems a few weeks ago we
all
met up for the first rally of the season at Peterborough. We
were
sorry to miss the meet at Lowdhams in June due to a prior
engagement; I heard it was a great success.
Malvern Western show was a new experience for many
members, sixteen vans met up with several new members. Bill
arranged a barbeque where we met up for a chat and exchange
views and problems, and the
evening entertainment was excellent. Although at times we
wondered if we were at a dog
show, so many stands displaying everything you could imagine for
a dog!
Lincoln once again went really well, the weather was very kind
to us for which we were really
grateful, as once again we had power problems this time far
worse than Malvern! The first night
we only had five LEDs on and the red light came on, thankfully
the solar panels kept us going
for the basic needs, we have booked the motor home in to get the
problem fixed! We had a
good attendance for the Jacobs supper with delicious food and
some amazing cakes! There
was a lot of discussion over the weekend about vehicle weights
and how to solve the problem -
several members have had their motorhomes upgraded.
There is a meet at Lowdhams on the 8th of November for a beer
fest, hog roast, band and fire-
works, sadly we cannot attend, I know several members are going
and I am sure they will have
a good time.
Finally I would like to thank Bill and Jacquie, Andrea and Kevin
and all the other members who
have helped this year to make the club a great success, and of
course a warm welcome to all
the new members.
We know several members are snowbirds and are going south to
warmer climes so Christine
and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very
Happy Christmas and a prosperous
New Year and we look forward to seeing you in 2015.
Best wishes, Mike
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Thank you to all members who have attended the Club rallies this
year. We have been
fortunate with the weather in most circumstances and each rally
has been well attended. It
has been good to hear people's news and to exchange ideas, as
well as enjoying a very
informal and social time together. A special thanks to
Christine, our Chairman's good lady,
who has kindly treated us to yummy home-made scones and jam plus
cream, at each of our
rallies.
We now have dates for all of the Warners Shows next year and we
do need to have some
idea of numbers by early January.
The National Motorhome Show at Peterborough, including the Club
AGM is from 17th to
19th April (Warners celebrate 25 years there)
The Southern Motorhome Show at Newbury from 15th to 17th May
(entertainment
theme is the Sixties)
The Norfolk County Caravan and Motorhome Show from24th to26th
July (entertainment
theme is Comedy and Soul)
The Malvern Show from 14th to 16th August (entertainment theme
Country and
Western)
The Lincoln Show from 25th to 27th September. (entertainment
theme Best of British)
The camping grounds are open from 8am on Thursday until 12noon
on Monday at each of the
shows. We shall definitely rally at Peterborough and Lincoln,
and will also consider Norfolk
and Malvern if there is sufficient interest from our members.
Please contact Andrea via the
Secretary's link on the website if you are interested in
attending any if the shows.
There will an additional rally near York in June (see details
are on page 9 of this newsletter).
We look forward to seeing you next year
Andrea Wolfe-Hamblin
The end of season show took place 26th to 28th September as
usual at the Lincoln Show Ground. It is an onerous task to write a
report on our “Knaus” meets without repeating myself because, to
coin a phrase, “It does what it says on the tin”, in that they are
always wonderful social occasions. The friendly nature of the
gathering is always so strong; we had 18 members
Cont’d on next page
CLUB RALLIES 2015 - EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST REQUIRED
LINCOLN SEASON FINALE 2014
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attending this year. It’s always a pleasure to be part of the
constant chit chat, banter, exchange of views and advice around our
area. Arriving on site to the view of the flags, motorhomes,
marquees and general buzz of excitement gets the adrenalin flowing
for a great weekend. The weather was very kind to us, as we had
sunshine all the weekend which of course was very welcome. We held
our usual get together on the first afternoon: Mrs Chairman’s Scone
Cream Tea, first class as usual. The Saturday saw our traditional
end of season “Jacobs Join” or “Faith Supper”, call it what you
will, with all the drinks supplied by the Club. What a spread was
before us, a wonderful effort by everyone and as usual plenty left
over! Everyone sat round consuming the food and generally
exchanging views on an array of subjects till dusk. The
Entertainment was the usual high standard with acts at three venues
each night, something for everyone. The traders were of much the
same type, but still had plenty of interest in that most of us are
always looking for that new or unusual “thing” for our outfits!
One trader that stood out for me was “Daisy’s Vintage Tea
Rooms”, serving traditional afternoon teas all set out on “Kath
Kidson-esque” tables, crockery, uniforms, teapots etc. It was very
innovative and had a wonderful atmosphere to it. If you have never
attended one of the Warners Shows they are fully recommended.
Excellent value for money, you get four days’ camping, free
entertainment each
night, free all day access to the show as well as all the usual
camp site facilities. For any motorhomer, something not to be
missed. May I give a special thank you to all at Lincoln for
allowing our eldest son Mark to attend the show with us as a guest?
He thoroughly enjoyed himself and could not believe the welcome he
received from everyone, thank you. Finally a big thank you to our
marshals Kevin and Andrea, who did a superb job and looked after us
in their usual excellent and professional manner. Thank you to you
both.
Tony Poole
LINCOLN SEASON FINALE 2014 (CONT’D)
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This was the first visit to this venue for Olive and me. Our
first impression upon arriving on site was what a beautiful
setting, with the Malvern Hills around with the show ground
nestling at their foot. Stunning. We had camped a few miles down
the road, arriving the previous Saturday, so we were first to
arrive (doing a Harry Dog in his absence ). I’m not sure Bill and
Jackie were ready for us but we were soon sited and greeted with a
cup of coffee.
During the day all the rest gradually turned up and we were
pitched in two straight rows. There were 13 outfits altogether,
though two other members chose to camp with other groups, so I
suppose we had a total of 15 members in attendance. I noticed one
of those who had strayed was parked between two huge R V s, with an
RV Club sticker in its window. I can’t mention any names but it did
have two rather large satellite dishes on its roof. We had 4 units
camping with us for the first time and all were greeted with a
big welcome as is normal in the Knaus Owners Club. The first
afternoon we were all treated to Mrs Chairman’s (Christine’s) cream
teas - very scrummy! We all crammed into the events tent and
created an intimate atmosphere. But before we could use the event
tent it had to be erected, which all the guys set about and
completed with the added help of the ladies (only watching and
giving instruction of course). The afternoon ended with Chairman
Mike’s version of 50 Shades of Grey. Sorry but we can’t possibly
print it here so if you missed it you will have to ask him
yourselves! Friday came and all off to the show we went, there was
the usual array of good-ies for sale with the added interest of all
the Western Traders where you could buy anything from leather
cowboy boots to Indian headdresses, country music Cd’s, DVD’s Books
etc. The free entertainment was superb, set over three locations,
with country music bands at every one of these each night. They
were great to watch: live music of any sort always sounds so much
better. Many of the Gentlemen and Ladies dressed for the evening.
There was every one from Davy Crocket to Chief Sitting Bull via Doc
Holiday, and the Ladies really went to town with their crinoline
dresses and fascinators, all fabulous to see.
Cont’d on next page
THE WESTERN MOTORHOME SHOW 15-17TH AUGUST 2014
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The daytime entertainment was also a first for Olive and me.
There were Native American Dance shows and Western Shootouts, all
set in a full Western Encampment which included wigwams, a
graveyard, trading post and wolves etc, all manned by cowboys and
Indians dressed in authentic costumes. They put on a brilliant and
very interesting show.
Every teatime there were line dancing lessons, so after some
purgation from Marilyn, Chris, myself, Olive and Marilyn attended a
lesson one evening! It was great fun. Marilyn really got into it,
Olive gave up because she could not concentrate for laughing at
Chris and I as we really got stuck in. Not all the steps were right
but we enjoyed it, as did many of the spectators.
Friday night was Communal BBQ night: Bill set up his BBQ and we
all joined in with our food, all very well cooked by our resident
Chef Bill. The weather was kind and we all sat round enjoying our
food, washing it down with a wonderful bowl of Pimms (once again
supplied by Mr Chairman’s Wife Christine). Altogether another great
social occasion. Saturday and Sunday were spent visiting the show,
listening to the music or attending the enactments. If you have
never been to the Western Show I can fully recommend it. It has, in
my opinion, the best show ground: plenty of toilets and showers,
plenty of space, the best located showground with spectacular
views, and a very entertaining and different theme. Put it in your
diary for next year - I am sure we will be there. Our thanks must
go to Bill and Jacquie, our marshals for the weekend, who as usual
did a superb job, and to Chairman Mike and Christine for their
excellent hospitality. Another truly great Knaus Club weekend
together.
Tony Poole.
THE WESTERN MOTORHOME SHOW 15-17TH AUGUST 2014
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COMBINING MOTORHOMING WITH ALLOTMENTEERING
We (that’s Terry and I) have been caravanners pretty much
forever, and motorhomers for just
2 years; we started off with a Burstner motorhome, and we’ve had
our Knaus motorhome for
just a few months. In fact we are still finding cupboards we
didn’t know about – we seem to
have so many!!
For the last 10 years, I have had an allotment – the first one I
shared with a friend for 3 years,
then, having ‘cut my teeth’ so to speak, I took one on my own. I
do love it, and grow all sorts
– the usual stuff like potatoes, carrots, broad and French beans
and the like, also lots of fruit –
raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, Japanese Wineberries
(my favourites) apples etc etc.
I also employ the ‘no-dig’ method of cultivation, having been on
a day course run by Charles
Dowding down in Somerset. It works extremely well for me, and –
well I don’t have to dig!
The main difficulty we find is that motorhoming and gardening
have the same seasons and as
we aren’t the intrepid sort who like to go abroad for the winter
to sunnier climes, we do like to
get the motorhome out as soon as the weather starts to warm up a
tad, and that of course is
also when the growing season starts. So after a routine, and I
have to admit fairly lazy winter,
we are both raring to go with both, so I have to gear myself up
to being not so lazy – no easy
feat when you’re born lazy like me!
So by about March time, it becomes juggle juggle – trying to
work out when to sow seeds that
won’t die for lack of attention while we’re away in the spring,
then likewise later when things
are in the ground or potted up in the greenhouse; trying to time
it so that when we go away
the broad beans don’t become so big they’re inedible, or all the
gorgeous strawberries over
ripen and just become fodder for the already well fed slugs.
Terry has set up an automatic
watering system in the greenhouse to water the tomatoes and
cucumbers which I grow in
there, which is a huge boon. Then when we get back it’s all
hands to the pump again to
harvest what’s ready, and to blanch/freeze/cook etc what’s been
picked. Also weeds have
usually gone mad (it’s amazing how big weeds can get when you’ve
only been away for a
week!) so the hoe comes into its own too. All this alongside the
inevitable mound of washing
(and ironing) there always seems to be when one has been away,
(and we all know about
don’t we!) plus when one is still working, as I am, I have to
fit that in too. (I am self employed
as a reflexologist and I work mainly from home so in theory I’m
in control of how much I do,
but it’s not always that simple!).
One of the main reasons for the change to a motorhome from a
caravan was that, during the
main growing months our time could be divided, ie I am able to
stay at home to tend my
allotment and Terry can much more easily use the motorhome to
pursue his interests.
This year, Terry attended the Lowdhams rally and very much
enjoyed the break, then a steam
weekend at Elvaston Castle (also a rally). Further excursions to
the Great War & Peace
event at Folkestone which of course this year is very special
being the 100th anniversary of
the First World War, and on the way there he’s having a day at
Duxford. The end of the
season will see him going to the Great Dorset Steam Fair.
Many of the above events would not interest me, so the motorhome
works well to fill both our
pastimes. Cont’d on next page
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In between all these events we will have had holidays together
in Dartmouth, Totnes, Bath,
Rutland and the MMM at Peterborough. We are both looking forward
to the MMM show at
Lincoln where we can meet up with all our new friends at the
Knaus group!
Finally we’d like to say thank you to all of you for being so
welcoming when we first came to
Peterborough and met many of you at the AGM. We look forward to
seeing as many of you as
possible at future events, and getting to know you all
better!
Adrienne and Terry Robinson
Bolton to Beverley
Jacquie and I have recently spent two weekends away in five-van
sites in Bolton and Beverley.
In Bolton we stayed at Park Fold Farm Caravan site. Situated
just north of Bolton, next to the Jumbles Country Park it is
positioned with super views to the north. The pitches are all
hard-standing with EHU. The farm also does bed and breakfast and
has an area for a rally. There is a toilet on site as well as the
usual CL facilities. In addition there is a gym!!!
The site is a short downhill walk to Jumbles reservoir where
there is a car park and café. There are various walks from here up
and down the valley. A short walk up the hill and there is a bus
stop that will take you down into Bolton. From here you are able to
get the train into Manchester.
On the Sunday morning Jacquie and I got a 9.30am train from
Bromley Cross to Manchester and spent the day at Salford Quays,
using the tram from the centre of Manchester. We spent time in the
Lowry museum and walked around the Quays area before eating at one
of the many diners.
We have friends livening in Bolton and they took us to Turton
Towers. This is within walking distance of the site. They also took
us to the Toby Inn (not the chain!) on the moors for a good meal
and also Breda Murphy’s in Whalley.
The following weekend we set off east from Doncaster to
Beverley, only 45 minutes away. Here we pitched up in Willow Lane
Caravan site. It is a basic site but tidy and the owner (if seen)
is pleasant. All pitches are hard standing with EHU. A very quiet
and secluded site, it is less than 10 minutes walk to the beautiful
Beverley Minster. The town centre is only another 5 minutes further
on.
Cont’d on next page
COMBINING MOTORHOMING WITH ALLOTMENTEERING
TWO RECOMMENDED 5 VAN SITES,
(BOTH £12 A NIGHT INCLUDING EHU)
Park Fold Farm
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There is a good range of shops, pubs and places to eat as well
as a very convenient M&S food-hall. There is another grand
church and the Buttercross at the north end of town. The tourist
information office will provide you with a town plan, on which you
can find four “trade” trails taking you to all the areas of Beverly
where tradesmen were centred. Trades included coopers, cobblers,
cordwainers and creelers, up to a total in excess of 36. There are
also things to look out for related to these trades attached to
lampposts, seats etc. Having lived so close to Beverley for 45
years we hadn’t realized just how interesting a town it is. We will
indeed return.
Beverley also has good transport links to the East Coast, York
and Hull, both bus and rail.
The next field along from the site is a rally field, though not
owned by the same person. I believe Spen Valley DA were using it
that weekend so the owner could be traced if we wanted to organize
a rally there sometime.
Two lovely weekends - highly recommended!
Bill and Jacquie Lowes
Jim & Alison Gilmour and Jim & Jan Whitehouse are
pleased to announce that a rally will be held close to York from
12-22 June 2015. Members will be welcome to join us for as long as
they wish, for the whole event or for a night or two, perhaps on
the way to/from another destination.
We hope that by spanning two weekends as many as possible will
be able to join us at what should be a great event. The rally field
is within the beautiful Vale of York and is located quietly a
little way off the A166 York-Bridlington road (see map). Bus stops
serving York and onto Leeds or to the coast are around a mile and a
quarter away, but we plan to offer an occasional shuttle service to
and from the conveniently located park and ride bus services into
York (with all its many attractions – see www.visityork.org) as
well. These also offer free motorhome parking for those who want to
do their own thing, and a choice of two are within four
miles of the site. One of these is also near main supermarkets
and other out of town eating and shopping facilities including a
new John Lewis store.
Further afield but still with an easy day trip are the North
York Moors and coastal towns such as Whitby, Filey and Scarborough,
and in the other direction are the delights of Harrogate and the
Yorkshire Dales. A choice of pubs are within a couple of miles of
the rally field, as are cafes at garden centres and farm shops. The
rally field itself will only offer the basic facilities of fresh
water, and disposal of both grey and black water. Prices per night
will accordingly be kept as low as possible. Early expressions of
interest to [email protected] would be helpful for
planning purposes.
Jim Whitehouse
TWO RECOMMENDED 5 VAN SITES (CONT’D)
PLANNED YORK RALLY 12-22 JUNE 2015
mailto:[email protected]
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Towards the end of 2013 I applied through a social web site to
be a volunteer on the 2014 Le Grand Depart for the TDF. Little did
I realise what a totally all encompassing experience it would turn
out to be, here is my story. Somehow one day late last year I came
across an appeal for volunteers to act as Tour Makers for the Le
Gand Depart Yorkshire the 2014 TDF. Being a lifelong supporter of
the TDF, the biggest annual sporting event in the world, I felt I
must apply. I considered the possibility I could be too old etc,
but inspired by the Games Makers at the 2012 Olympics decided to
make an application: I felt I had nothing to lose. Over the next
few months I had several online question and answer sessions as
well as an online interview as to my suitability to fill this role.
Much to my delight I was eventually offered a post as Tour Maker
and/or Supervisor. There followed online training and practical
role play training, underlining just how big an event this was
going to be. Our Tour Makers uniforms were supplied and sponsored
by Asda, to which we were all indebted. We received everything from
polo shirt and trousers and jacket to sun cream, umbrella, water,
food voucher etc. It was the first time in the TDF history that
volunteers had been used and the organisers had recruited 10,000 of
us. I was allocated on Sunday the 6th July to the route between
Huddersfield and Sheffield near Penistone on the A628. There was to
be a 100 days Arts Festival featuring brass band concerts, touring
groups of musicians, bike displays and shows etc, and a Le Grand
Depart Anthem “The Road”. This was recorded by Alistair Griffin and
Kimberly Walsh with a Tour Makers Choir to join in. Many of the
towns and villages of all parts of Yorkshire put on their own
events leading up to the Tour. As the time grew near volunteer
opportunities were coming fast: first the Choir, then for cyclists
to take part in the Opening Ceremony rehearsals, Way Finders and
Information Guides, and so on. I did not get an invite to the Choir
for the studio recording but was able to sing with the Choir and
Alistair at the Welcome to Yorkshire offices, the Trinity Shopping
Centre in Leeds and St Helens Square in York, during which Calender
News ITV recorded us singing for the Evening News! Altogether a
truly awesome and uplifting experience. I was however successful in
being one of the team rehearsing for the opening ceremony the week
prior to the event. This turned out to be a very very special once
in a lifetime experience on many fronts, as this enabled me to:
stand in for Chris Froome and Team Sky in rehearsals; meet
Christian Prudhomme (the TDF CEO) and Gary Verity (Welcome To
Yorkshire CEO); be interviewed by both Jill Douglas from ITV 4 and
Sebastien Piquet, the voice of the TDF. It also allowed me to meet
other members of the media, many of the cast of the Opening
Ceremony including Embrace, the Yorkshire Band, Opera North and
Band of Hope and Glory etc. The experience of TV cameras coming at
you from all angles and directions was really thrilling. To cap
everything I was given two free tickets for the Opening Ceremony as
a thank you for all my efforts – big grin! The Opening Ceremony was
truly amazing, all 22 teams of 198 riders were there, plus all the
headline acts to get Le Grand Depart off to a flying start in front
of an audience of 6,000.
Cont’d on next page
MY TOUR DE FRANCE EXPERIENCE AS A TOUR MAKER 2014
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The weekend arrived. Because I had camped at Penistone to be
near my section and was not required till the Sunday( we were only
allowed to be on duty one day), I went to the first stage start in
Leeds and could not believe the crowds. We had all been told it was
to be big, but this was unbelievable. I am informed that 243,000
people passed through Leeds Railway Station that day, an all time
record, and there were over a quarter of a million people in the
centre of Leeds as well that day. The start was awesome, I was
right on the line, first the pre start entertainment, then the
Police and Gendarmes outriders, then the caravan (all the
advertisers and sponsors throwing out their freebies etc.) the
riders, the support teams with all their vehicles and bikes, and
last the team buses. In all, taking around three hours to pass
through: truly memorable. However, the one memory that will stay
with me was Mark Cavendish getting off his bike to give his cap to
a disabled teenage spectator sat in his wheel chair, a very
emotional moment, little did we know that was sadly all he would do
this year.
The big day arrived on Sunday and I got to my check in point at
Penis-tone Grammar School very early in order to be bused out to
our respective duty points. We clapped and waved all the way, with
the public joining in at every opportunity. My team were on the
section that had a crossing from the Bank View Cafe (the one
painted white with red spots shown on the TV) and The Pedlars Inn,
as renamed for the TDF! Huge crowds gathered. The weather being
perfect, dry and sunny, everyone was in wonderful spirits. Picnics
of every type of food were eaten, champagne was flowing, ice cream
was consumed. Flags were waving and a very special carnival
atmosphere built up. We even had our own motorbike patrol
policeman, Malcom, who got special cheers every time he went by. We
kept the crowds entertained with facts and figures about the TDF as
well as; songs, funny stories, our Tour Makers experiences,
high-fives,
Mexican Waves, cheering and waving at any opportunity. We
answered queries and questions from the public and generally
maintained the Carnival atmosphere. Then the first of the
procession arrived, the Route Checking Car, he then closed the
road, no one could even cross. This was followed by the same
caravan of support vehicles as seen the day before, then the Race
Director’s red car, followed by what everyone had been waiting for,
THE PELETON. By then the crescendo of noise was unbelievable.
Everyone went crazy, waving, shouting and clapping. What a
reaction, it was incredible. All too quickly they were gone. We
duly opened up the road and everyone went home with a smile on
their faces, wonderful, job done. What an experience! I’ve never
known anything quite like it. The people of Yorkshire were
absolutely indescribable, fantastic. By the end one of one of the
most memorable days of my life, I had my own fan club, had sung,
waved and cheered along with them all, done a live interview with
Radio Sheffield and met some incredible people. I’ll finish as I
started. Never did I realise what an experience this would be,
never in my wildest dreams did I imagine what I would be involved
in. I fulfilled many of my “Bucket List” at one go: this was my TDF
experience.
Tony Poole.
MY TOUR DE FRANCE EXPERIENCE AS A TOUR MAKER 2014
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The Club website
www.knausowners.com
Is where Kevin Hamblin would be happy if you could e-mail your
experiences to him for others to share. There is also a Discussion
Forum where you can post questions or put up subjects for
discussion. Why not log on and see? Thank you.
A news sheet for the Knaus
Owners Club in the UK
Membership Secretary
Bill Lowes
4 Birch Tree Close
Barnby Dun
Doncaster
DN3 1QW
Phone: 01302 885826
E-mail:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Club Website:
www.knausowners.com
Your newsletter compiler, Jim, needs your support
by sending in your items for the Newsletter!! Don’t
be shy – please tell others about your experiences. You
can send your articles for inclusion to:
[email protected]
Thanks to everyone for their items in this edition.
Thanks to all who
had a go and
congratulations to
Bob & Pat and
Chris & Marilyn
for getting 20 out
of 20. This was
despite some
spelling errors by
the compiler and
two exhibitors
whose names did
not appear in the
show booklet!
The winners
enjoyed a bar of
Greens Organic
Chocolate.
Bill & Jacquie
Malvern Exhibitors Anagram
Competition