One era finished, a new one begins

 Well, it's done, we've given up the caravan.  I must say I'm relieved, in recent months it had become a bit of a millstone around my neck.  We've transferred ownership back to the site owner, as per site rules - whether or not we get any money back for it remains to be seen.  It depends what he does with it - sells it or scraps it (it's a very old van, 30+ years) - the site owner has recently sold a couple of vans of a similar age to ours, to new owners.  It would be nice to get some money back, but we're not banking on it.  We've had a few years of many, many breaks in it, made some very good friends, had some lovely and happy times there, so we have good memories, and that's more than enough.

We went to empty the van of all our personal possessions, we had to do it over 2 days (separate weeks to fit it in around medical appointments for both of us) as there was just too much stuff for one car load - we didn't take Betty either time as we needed all the space in the car.  On the 2nd day we gave the van a thorough clean and cleared all the pots in the garden of all the annual flowers, so left everything clean and tidy before leaving with a loaded car once more.  It did feel a bit sad leaving it for the last time, but the sense of relief was much stronger.

Yet again I was taken aback at the sheer amount of 'stuff' husband had accumulated in and outside the caravan, quite a bit of which I'd not seen before - he'd done his usual trick of acquiring other people's junk that they no longer wanted.  He's like a magpie - he claims all the bits of junk will come in useful, but rarely - if ever - actually does anything with them.  So again, just like last December when we were moving house, a lot of it went to the tip - 3 trips in all.  Still, it's done now, another job crossed off the list.

Another bonus is that we now have a supply of stuff from the caravan - kitchen equipment, crockery etc, husband's tools, towels and linens, a lovely DAB radio, etc etc - which will come in useful as replacements for our own home stuff, when needed.  It's currently stored in plastic lidded boxes in the car port (that car port is such a boon, we're so glad to have it).

Financially, it means we'll be a lot better off, which is a huge positive, it means I can put so much more into savings, and have money spare for things we want, or days out.  A short break away now and then in a cottage not far from home will likely feature too, depending on health.