Martin Roberts

Our columnist’s musings about touring

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I wonder what’s in store? And my suggested resolution? More spontaneous time away in the caravan. So here’s the thing. Planned holidays are amazing. A week or two, organised to within an inch of its life, knowing things such as: ‘Saturday 9.14am – visit camp shop to collect freshly baked croissants. Sunday 4.36pm – begin process of lighting barbecue’. You get the idea. Joyous in its own way and much to be admired. And yet… when was the last time you truly followed your nose, went with the flow and simply set off into the unknown with no plans at all? I mean, absolutely no plans. Not even sure which way you’re going to turn when you get to the end of your road. Allowing yourself to drift on the breeze of uncertainty and the lapping waters of fate. When was the last time you said, “Let’s just see what happens,” and really meant it? I imagine some will reel at the very thought. What? No carefully planned route? No prebooked campsite? No militaryefficiency itinerary? No idea whatsoever where we’re going? Are you nuts? However, look back over your life. I bet that some of the most significant things happened by chance. A chance meeting. A chance conversation. A chance something that utterly changed the rest of your life. Now listen, you’re talking to Mr Routine here. I take the same walk with the dogs each day, sit in the same place at the cinema, drive the same way to work, eat the same breakfast. I don’t like change. My wife has to drag me kicking and screaming to sit in a different chair when I watch TV. So I do understand if you’re currently breaking out in a cold sweat at the thought of a ‘freestyle’ caravan adventure. Let’s start small. Let’s start with a single night away, staying somewhere that we haven’t booked in advance. Yes, we might end up being turned away from a few fully booked sites. But hey, so what? We’ll find somewhere else to stay. And that might well end up being better. Then, armed with the deeply comforting realisation that we didn’t die, maybe we could move up to two nights, followed by a long weekend – who knows where it could all end? We’ll be freestyling our way through a six-week tour of Europe before long! Should we jointly make this a resolution for the coming 12 months? High five! Meanwhile can I just offer you my favourite New Year wish… May peace break into your house and thieves steal your debts May love stick to your face like Vaseline and laughter assault your lips May the problems you had forget your address… And may 2019 be the best year of your life. Visit Martin’s website www.martinroberts.co.uk for information about him, his books and his property training weekends, and follow his adventures on Twitter @Tvmartinroberts