Welcome to the January edition of the newsletter and a Happy New Year to you all. In this month's edition we will be introducing you to a brand new set of tour leaders. We also have the list of winners for the NEC Motorhome Show tickets in February and details of how to get discounted tickets if you didn't win.
As usual, we have another great cut-out-and-keep recipe and this month's motorhoming tip is about a very modern trick that thieves are using to try and steal your van.
NEC Motorhome Show 18th to 23rd February 2025
Our final sober act of 2024 was to carry out the orange woolly hat draw. The draw took place to a (semi) live audience (whose numbers nearly went into double figures) on 31st December just before tea.
It's a high-tech affair with the names written on pieces of paper and then being drawn from a hat. In the picture you will see the hat and all the winners. For the lucky winners, Wendy will be in touch by email shortly to confirm how to pick up your prizes!
For those of you who were unlucky this time, you can click the link below and get (slightly) discounted tickets for the show:
I have been waiting with baited breath to find out this year's celebrities. So far, I know they are getting Alex Jones off of the One Show so that should be good. I've heard that Greg Wallace has some time on his hands, but not sure whether he would make a good booking! Full details of the show can be found here: https://ccmshow.co.uk/
Obviously we will be there. We will be on Stand 4110 in Hall 4 and we will also be doing our talks at the Inspiration Theatre - this year's topic being the Alps. The timings for our presentations are below. As usual you can expect a few dad jokes (Grandad jokes nowadays) and some genuinely useful information about travelling to the Alps. Don't forget that Tuesday is cupcakes day for Crossings customers. We look forward to seeing you there.
Tues | Weds | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
11:15 – 11:45 | 16:00 - 16:30 | 16:00 - 16:30 | 16:00 - 16:30 | 15:15 – 15:45 | 10:30 – 11:00 |
2025 and 2026 Tour Updates
Did somebody mention 2026 already? As regular readers will know, folks do tend to book up early for our tours. So much so that we start selling our tours up to 18 months before they go. This year is no exception as we have already worked out the schedule for 2026. This will be announced in next month's edition of the newsletter and we will be previewing 2026 at the NEC Motorhome Show too.
For those looking for a tour this year we literally have two spaces left - one on Lake Garda & Venice and one on The Loire & Burgundy. We are operating reserve lists for all the other tours so please get in touch if you want to be informed if any cancellation spots come up.
New Year - New Tour Leaders
We are very pleased to announce that we will have a new couple joining the ranks this year. They are Rob and Chrissie Farrant, who have toured as customers in 2024 and will be starting with us in May this year, co-leading the Swiss & French Alps Tour with Gwyn and Debbie.
Rob and Chrissie started their touring adventures by moving to Cornwall and buying a VW T6 Camper. They quickly discovered that more room and facilities were required and having swapped to a motorhome, started to explore the West of the UK with ambitions of travelling further afield.
Rob is an RAF navigator, and has travelled to all corners of the globe in his time operating the Mighty C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. He also spent some time as an instructor before leaving flying behind and undertaking staff roles. His 34 year career is now approaching its end and thoughts have turned to more motorhome adventures.
Chrissie spent her working life as a nurse, starting in general nursing, then specialising as a midwife before joining the RAF. In the RAF her skills were tested as she spent time as an aeromedical nurse, repatriating injured service personnel and their families. All of this evoked a strong love of travel. Having left the RAF she moved into practice nursing and although officially ‘retired’ she still does some work for a GP Practice.
Like many relative newcomers, Rob and Chrissie wanted the confidence of experiencing European touring in a group with the comfort of tour leaders. A tour to Lake Garda & Venice in 2024 was great exposure to all that Crossings has to offer. As they become the ‘newbies’ in the Crossings Team they look forward to ensuring guests enjoy their European touring experience.
Coq au Van (the amusingly titled recipe feature)
Beef Stew and Dumplings
Ingredients
For the beef stew:
2 tbsp olive oil: 2 tbsp olive oil
25g/1oz butter: 25g/1oz butter
750g/1lb 10oz beef braising steak, chopped into bite-sized pieces: 750g/1lb 10oz beef braising steak, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp plain flour: 2 tbsp plain flour
2 garlic cloves, crushed: 2 garlic cloves, crushed
175g/6oz baby onions, peeled (or large onions, sliced): 175g/6oz baby onions, peeled (or large onions, sliced)
150g/5oz celery, cut into large chunks: 150g/5oz celery, cut into large chunks
150g/5oz carrots, cut into large chunks: 150g/5oz carrots, cut into large chunks
2 leeks, roughly chopped: 2 leeks, roughly chopped
200g/7oz swede, cut into large chunks: 200g/7oz swede, cut into large chunks
150ml/5fl oz red wine: 150ml/5fl oz red wine
500ml/18fl oz beef stock: 500ml/18fl oz beef stock
2 bay leaves: 2 bay leaves
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried thyme): 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tsp dried thyme)
3 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley: 3 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
Worcestershire sauce, to taste: Worcestershire sauce, to taste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, or to taste: 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, or to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper: salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dumplings:
125g/4½oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting: 125g/4½oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking powder: 1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt: pinch salt
60g/2½oz suet: 60g/2½oz suet
To serve:
mashed potato: mashed potato
1 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
For the beef stew, heat the oil and butter in an ovenproof casserole and fry the beef until browned on all sides.
Sprinkle over the flour and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and all the vegetables and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the wine, stock and herbs, then add the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar, to taste. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Cover with a lid, transfer to the oven and cook for about two hours, or until the meat is tender.
For the dumplings, sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the suet and enough water to form a thick dough.
With floured hands, roll spoonfuls of the dough into small balls.
After two hours, remove the lid from the stew and place the balls on top of the stew. Cover, return to the oven and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until the dumplings have puffed up and are tender. (If you prefer your dumplings with a golden top, leave the lid off when returning to the oven.)
To serve, place a spoonful of mashed potato onto each of four serving plates and top with the stew and dumplings. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Motorhoming Tips
We have been made aware by our insurers of a relatively new trick that criminals have been using to try and steal your motorhome (or car). This is the use of "Apple air-tags". These are small tracker devices, which when activated, send out a signal that can be tracked on a phone using bluetooth. Now I realise I have just use a lot of techie-speak that I don't fully understand myself, but in essence it means that the crafty criminals can place one of these little tags somewhere on your vehicle and then keep track of where it is all of the time. This can then help them identify a suitable opportunity to steal it.
If you have a smartphone you can find out if you have any unwanted trackers nearby. On an Apple phone, go to Settings > Notifications > Tracking Notifications, then turn on Allow Notifications. For Android devices, go to Settings > Safety and emergency > Unknown tracker alerts > Allow alerts. You will then get an alert on your phone if it detects any unwanted tracking devices.
Keep in touch
Facebook: crossingsmotorhometours
Instagram: CrossingsMotorhome
Please feel free to contact us at any time. When we are away, calls will bounce to our mobiles at no expense to yourself.
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