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The trip to Clives House

Shayne said:
Ultimately it was just one of life's trial's and you came away from it having earned respect from all involved and perhaps sharpened the pride and trust already given from wife and daughter , no tragedy in that me thinks .

Great pics , enjoy the trip and keep them coming :thumbup:
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The wife has been just incredible, she obviously found it very traumatic as well but as well as the translating has been a rock getting me to overcome the difficulties I had today driving again, and Lizzie was lovely too, stroking my arm and patting me on the back saying everything is OK.
 
moggy1968 said:
Today was tough, a girl stepped out in front of me on a zebra crossing and I had a bit of a panic attack, found driving back from town to the hotel very stressful and can't face driving at night at the moment:pensive:
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Then you need to get out driving Andy. I totally get it but you’ve got to get straight back on that horse. Maybe during the day for a bit and then Into the night. The sooner you get your confidence back the better. Your eyes will be out on stalks for sure but it needs to be done. Hope this doesn’t sound unsympathetic, it’s quite the opposite.
 
StarCruiser said:
Then you need to get out driving Andy. I totally get it but you’ve got to get straight back on that horse. Maybe during the day for a bit and then Into the night. The sooner you get your confidence back the better. Your eyes will be out on stalks for sure but it needs to be done. Hope this doesn’t sound unsympathetic, it’s quite the opposite.
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Yeh, I know it makes sense. Been out in the daytime so far. I have to drive so it's not something I have a choice about, just needed to get on with it:thumbup:
 
moggy1968 said:
Yeh, I know it makes sense. Been out in the daytime so far. I have to drive so it's not something I have a choice about, just needed to get on with it:thumbup:
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This is exactly what I was thinking Andy. It’s great that your wife and daughter are so supportive (of course, they would be). Just wrong place, wrong time, unfamiliar territory.

Take your time. Keep driving. You’ll know when to drive into the night and it won’t be half the battle you think. I’ve had panic attacks. I wouldn’t wish them on my worst enemy. From what you have described, you could have done nothing to avoid this. You did nothing wrong.

I posted earlier about not showing up on YouTube as dashcam footage. I must have known! So often those vids show exactly what you’ve described, or close shaves that have missed the people but caused traffic carnage.

You did nothing wrong. What’s more you were kind to her and did what you could to make her comfortable. Of all the people to be hit by, she was probably quite fortunate to be hit by you. Could have been one of those 6 wheel trucks and a far worse outcome.

Remember, A problem shared is a problem halved. You’ve now shared it, it should get easier from now on.
 
What a nightmare Andy, a very traumatic event which could have been much worse. Credit to you and your family how you reactedto it. Thankfully she was ok and you were all treated fairly. I hope the memory starts to fade as time passes and you gain confidence again.
Looking forward to future updates of normal touring activities
 
FAAACK wow negative event positive outcome so happy all turned out good in the end you and the family savour and enjoy the rest of your journey trouble free
 
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Something horrible like this could happen to any of us but, as already said, it was not your fault, you did everything right and the outcome could have been a lot worse. The (perfectly natural under the circumstances) fight or flight adrenaline rush of the panic feelings will lessen as you do more driving and your subconscious realises that a repeat of the trauma of the accident is not just about to happen again. Best of luck with the rest of what looks like a great trip, a fine experience for your daughter and wife....... rough and smooth included.
 
Glad everything worked out OK for all concerned. I think you were very level headed and your family worked as a great team. As said above, you must get back in the saddle but dont pressure yourself, take you time mate and good luck with the rest of your trip.
 
Well, we went back to see the police investigator monday. It was a booked appointment, and a bit of a setup as the girl and her parents were there. There is some debate about liability still as she insists she crossed on a green light, however our witness said she was off the crossing. I know the light changed as I went through it so I think what happened is because I was slow accelerating, and she moved diagonally across, we ended up hitting her. Had she been on the crossing the truck would have, at worst, been directly in front of her and she would have seen it.

Actually it was nice to meet them, she looked well, very sore and a big bruise on her head, younger than I thought, just a teenager but a lovely girl. Natallia had a long conversation with the girls dad, which revolved around money as them not pinging me for liability means they have a fine to pay and some costs, not much, just £30-40 or so, but interestingly the girl, whose name is Viktoria and who speaks good English, said, in English (which her parents don't understand) she wasn't interested in the money but she would really like some help learning English. Now that was handy, as Natallia is an English Teacher for English as a foreign language and does skype lessons, so thats something we could help her with so we exchanged details and agreed we would sort something out. Since then she has sent a couple of really nice messages.

We set off for the border after that. This time it was a reasonably good road, but the border crossing itself took a good 3 1/2 hours
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LVIV is a really nice city and I would deffo recommend it as a place to visit. It's very cheap for food and accomodation, it was heaving with tourists and best at night time. It has a fantastic range of speciality shops, one that just sells just gingerbread, where you can make your own.

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whilst in another everything is candy


There are chocolatiers and coffee museums grinding fresh coffee on the premises, and everything is cheapie cheapie

The churches are of course amazing (you may notice we gate crashed a wedding in this one!!)


lviv church interior.jpg



Trams are a good way to get about, but only for the brave or those with good language skills as it's not straightforward!!

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On weds, I dropped Natallia and Lizzie off in Terespol to catch the train to Belarus, while I headed off on the long drive back to the UK, needing to make Hook of Holland to Harwich Ferry by 12:15 thursday afternoon.
I stopped off in Warsaw on the way to view some Russian Heavy Metal.

Natallia doesn't really like the tent thing, but a regular motorhome aint gonna cut the mustard so I am thinking about the possibility of a Russian Truck.
Something like this would be awesome,

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but at 5mpg untenable.

but I am thinking of one of these as a possibility, the GAZ 66

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At £3.5k for one with 10k on the clock it looks attractive, an LPG conversion would give the equivalent of 16mpg. They did come with a box that would be the best solution

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but thats a pic from the internet because these weren't used in the Polish Army, so I would need to source a box, or I could get one made in Belarus cheaply:think:
 
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After that bit of dreaming, it was time to hit the road again, with a marathon 37 hour trip to the ferry with just a couple of hours sleep in the truck and the occasional stop for a brew.

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And that is this trip done. Time to get the truck over to Overland Cruisers to be fixed, ready for Morocco in feb:thumbup:
 
Saw a nice Swedish army Volvo medical truck turned into a camper at the AO show. Not much to buy and really rather nicely done.
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Glad the girl is recovering well. I had a feeling you would stay in touch somehow.
 
I’ve really enjoyed reading these instalments, Andy. Glad the dust settled and that everyone’s all right. Can’t bear thinking what that evening must have been like.

There’s one thing I’d really like to know and I hope you don’t mind me asking. What was it like taking your daughter out of school for a year? Are you home schooling her?

Get home safe.
 
Jacob100 said:
I’ve really enjoyed reading these instalments, Andy. Glad the dust settled and that everyone’s all right. Can’t bear thinking what that evening must have been like.

There’s one thing I’d really like to know and I hope you don’t mind me asking. What was it like taking your daughter out of school for a year? Are you home schooling her?

Get home safe.
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We are both very excited about the home schooling thing, we see it as a great opportunity for us all, the biggest hurdle was overcoming everyone elses resistance, but I don't know anyone who has done it that it hasn't worked well for.

I have been following a family who go under the name A2A who have been travelling with their 2 kids for 6 years, Graham Bell is the guys name and he has written a few books, very inspirational.

There is a lot of help for homeschooling on line
 
Great to know the incident is all sorted out now, Victoria is a lucky girl, it could have been such a different story.

You’ll be back in the UK by now I guess Andy, good luck with :eusa-shhh: work:eusa-shhh: and the truck fixes :thumbup:
 
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