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Friday, October 5, 1979
This trip went from my parents home in Voorburg to the farm of
my aunt and uncle in High Hurstwood in England and to London.
To get to England, I took the Olau Line ferry from Vlissingen to
Sheerness
I left home at half past seven in the morning and took the
Benelux toll-tunnel instead of goinmg through the Maastunnel
in the center of Rotterdam. From Vlaardingen I went through
the tunnel to Pernis and then I went to the ferry port in
Vlissingen to get on the Olau line ferry to England.
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Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day and it was so wet that
my Bellstaf suit was not enough to keep me dry. I should have
waxed it before I left.
At the ferry terminal, I bought a ticket for seventy Dutch guilders
for the trip to Sheerness in England for me and my Yamaha and went
through customs.
My ticket to England
While I was waiting to get on the ferry, another biker parked
his bike, a Suzuki GS1000, behind mine. It was an Englishman,
Simon, who lived in Amsterdam and was visiting England for a
few days.
A Suzuki GS1000
It was nice to meet another biker to chat with, while we were
waiting for the ferry and a good opportunity to practice my
English. 
Simon and his bike
Just two motorcycles and a lot of cars
After a while, we could finally board the ferry, the Olau Kent.
We secured the bikes on the car deck of the ship and went to
the passengers area.
It looked a little shabby with some broken chairs and so but
that is no problem as long as it is safe.
The Olau Kent in the ferry port of Vlissingen
First Simon and I went to the restaurant to get something to
eat and then we strolled around on the ship.
While we were walking on the deck, we passed a group of
schoolgirls from Rotterdam who asked us if we were English.
Simon answered "Yes" and I did not answer so they assumed I was
English too.
We had some fun with this group on the trip over the Northsea
but the most funny part was when we were almost in England
and left them and I wished them a nice journey.... in Dutch !
A lifeboat on deck of the Olau kent
At eight o'clock in the evening, the Olau Kent arrived in the
ferry port of Sheerness and I had to go through customs again.
The customs officer wanted to look through all my luggage and
even smelled the pipe tobacco that I bought for my uncle to
check if I did not smuggle drugs.
Finally, I was allowed into England and had to get used to
riding on the wrong (left) side of the road.
It was already getting dark and my headlight did not work very
well because I had the wrong fuse. It was to short so it did
not fit well. I stopped at the first gas station I saw and
bought another fuse. It was only 15 Amp instead of 20 Amp but
it did the job and I had a working headlight again.
At half past nine I arrived at my aunt and uncle's farm,
Stonehouse Farm in High Hurstwood, near Uckfield in East
Sussex.
Saturday, October 6, 1979
I had a good night sleep on my aunt and uncle's farm and after
breakfast, I went to Uckfield to buy some English motorcycle
magazines. The rest of the day I spend on the farm, chatting
with my aunt and uncle, reading motorcycle magazines and doing
some work on the farm.
On Stonehouse Farm
Sunday, October 7, 1979
I made a short trip to the Little Chef restaurant on the
road to Eastbourne.
At the Little Chef, I ordered a hamburgher and a cola. The cola
was 55 pence and I could take the glass with me. Nice souvenir.
The Little Chef restaurant
Monday, October 8 and Tuesday, October 9, 1979
A lot of people in this area have the flu in this period and
unfortunately so did I.
On monday, I went to the bank in Uckfield to change some money
for British pounds but for the rest of those two days I spend most
of the time in bed, feeling sick.
Wednesday, October 10, 1979
This morning I went to Uckfield to fill the tank of my Yamaha.
When I came back at the farm, I noticed a loose bolt on the
frontfork so I got some tools from my uncles workshed and
tightened the bolt.
Albert, a friend of my aunt and uncle, was starting rabbit breeding
on the farm and today, a trailer with new rabbits arrived.
A trailer with rabbits for breeding
In the afternoon, I went to a shop in Uckfiled, with my uncle
and after that I got on my bike again to ride to a motorcycle
shop in Heathfiled to get some motorcycle brochures.
The rest of the day I stayed on the farm.
On the farm
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