Friday afternoon it was hot and sunny as I met Carlton (mate from Nelson, NZ) and Adrian (my new beach partner) and loaded into the van. We fought our way out of London and then up the M1. 6 hours later we pulled into Bridlington on the east Yorkshire coast. I hadnt managed to find room in a campsite so we drove around for an hour asking and looking before setting up on some grass right by the promenade and the beach! Probably not allowed but it was late!

Friday nite 4th of July Lenore picked me up and we drove down to Poole. Took the A3 instead of the M3 which made for a slightly longer journey and arrived at the campground at about 11:30pm where Mark was sleeping in the van already! Put tents up in the rain and went to bed. Up early and to the beach-Sandbanks is a nice little peninsula of sand just south of Poole. It has some large houses along the strip which apparently now sell for a small fortune. However I wasn't that impressed with them--nothing like the houses we would build along coastal frontage like that in NZ. (compare it to Mt Maunganui beach front!)

Friday took the train to Margate with Melissa and Laurie. The train left from Victoria but I went up to St Pancras first to meet Melissa. She had so many bags it was hilarious as we rushed thru the station and onto the tube to get back to Victoria in time! Got there 5 mins before the train pulled out! 90 min journey to Margate, arriving around 11pm and Mark met us with the van. Stayed at a B and B but got very little sleep as it was soo hot, had the windows open wide and there were a load of noisy kids outside for half the nite and cars driving past and then birds and then the sun came up--was impossible to sleep!

2 awesome days completed on the beach at Ruislip--Londons stop on the Volleyball England Beach Tour. I camped out in a shed with Laurie and Lenore beside the Lido--a large man made lake on the outskirts of London. Being a small beach we were more compact with only 5 courts making for a slightly easier setup. I played with a pick up partner from Portugal who turned out to be below average and we didn't win a game!!