It’s our 38th wedding anniversary today. The weather’s not good this afternoon in St Helen’s. We managed to get out this morning to the beach in the sunshine, albeit rather earlier than expected.
While waiting for the kettle to boil after breakfast, I detected a strong whiff of gas. Panicking slightly in case we had a gas leak and the van was about to blow, I turned off the kettle and went outside to find Sam, whose legs were sticking out from under the van (not an unusual sight) due to having to repair a loose post on the decking. He’d noticed a smell too, and went around the back of the van to check out if it was a leak from our van and to turn off the flow of gas from the bottles.
While he was checking if we had a gas leak, I walked to Reception to report the smell. At the counter a queue of holidaymakers were there, all with the same problem – a strong smell of gas near their vans. We were instantly put at our ease by the staff there, who assured us that the smell of gas happens a couple of times a year, as ships out on the English Channel clean out their gas tanks. I phoned Sam and gave him the all clear.
By the time I got back to our van, Sam’s legs were sticking out from underneath it again and I wondered if he’d been overcome by gas. I never seem to see anybody else’s legs sticking out from under their vans – Sam even has under-the-van clothes that he keeps here!
I shouted under to Sam that he could turn our gas back on again, and it was all a false alarm. We were both rather relieved that we didn’t have to pack up all our stuff again and spend the night in a Travelodge!
Why do ships pick somewhere so close to land to clean out gas tanks? Wouldn’t it be better to do this out in the open sea? Us holidaymakers this morning were all in a state of mild panic.
dgkaye said:
Inconvenience yes, but glad you’re safe. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
tracikenworth said:
Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stevie Turner said:
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
tracikenworth said:
You’re welcome, Stevie!
LikeLiked by 1 person
jenanita01 said:
That doesn’t sound right or proper. Strong enough for all of you to smell it? Not right at all!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stevie Turner said:
It went soon afterwards though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
jenanita01 said:
Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
LikeLike
Stevie Turner said:
Thanks for the re-blog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
K.M. Allan said:
Happy anniversary!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Stevie Turner said:
Thank you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
robertawrites235681907 said:
The smell of gas would worry me too, Stevie. Glad everything was okay.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Stevie Turner said:
Me too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Clive said:
Happy anniversary! Life’s a gas, as Mr Bolan said 😉
LikeLiked by 2 people
Stevie Turner said:
Boom boom…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Clive said:
It needed to be said 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
franklparker said:
I don’t ow about doing it at sea – they should do it in port and dispose of the effluent properly, not pollute the ocean.Solent.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stevie Turner said:
Polluting the air, more like. What a pong!
LikeLike
tidalscribe said:
Sounds like an environmental issue, you’ll have to start a petition on 38degrees!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Darlene said:
Happy Anniversary!! Glad to hear it was a false alarm. Hope the rest of the day went better and that Sam eventually came out from under the van!!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Stevie Turner said:
He’s still under there, covered in muck and grime. Our son and his family are coming here next week, and we can’t have loose decking.
LikeLiked by 1 person