Didn't keep my promise to myself to put an hour in each night this week but decided not to make myself pay a forfeit as I would only be robbing Peter which would then make me unable to pay Paul (Paul being my tame brilliant mechanic, do keep up at the back)

Lots of planning done though which came to the fore today. Back to yesterday first - having promised the Grandkids that we'd have a picnic day out in the bus, we finally did it. This pic sums it up. All the dreaming, all the planning, all the looking at the magazines, all worth it. Grandkids are on the outside - the big daft one in the middle is my fault...............

Today then. Up bright & early despite the clocks changing. Insulation then new laminate then kickboard & speakers. Stu was a great help fetching, carrying, brewing up and sitting on wood to stop it moving when being sawed. Finally found a use for his butt (that sounds creepy but it's staying in). A good days work even if the back/knees/hands are now muttering their disapproval. Ann (my lovely wife) came back from shopping with her Dad with new scatter cushions that I suppose will double-up as pillows - present from Albert to Arthur, thanks Albert.

He came round later to drop off this book - do you think he's trying to tell us something? The anatomically correct graphically illustrated section on emergency childbirth is especially informative if a little shocking to the boy - he'll learn....................

Revelation.............Solution................Intention

Back to last week & the revelation that the storage unit won't fit when the bed is down.

Easy solution: unit will be fitted with clips that hold it in place when driving & allow it to be lifted out into the awning when all 3 of us are away or turned sideways behind the seats when it's just me & the boy. The things you think of at work when only 5% of brain is needed to deal with the Great Unwashed.

Not much else to report really - knees haven't been great so not been able to do as much as liked. I bought the stuff for the 240v hook-up & I stripped the storage unit down today to give it a proper sanding & a coat of varnish. Found a sheet of plywood in the garage that I can use for the kickboard and measured up for that & for the new flooring.

Intention: 1 hour each night this week on bus related matters. If I fail to reach this target, I will have to pay a forfeit to myself. Not sure what this will entail yet - open to suggestions

Highs & Lows, High & Lows

As it says in the title really if slightly over-dramatic........

Highs: took Arthur to Pauls to get the bed fitted and the socket cut for the table leg & he got it sorted for very little cash. Found a gem there (www.minichanics.co.uk) - mind you, this is the bloke who finished work in Stockport on Friday night & then drove to Perranporth in Cornwall because a mate was having trouble with her Mini. After arriving there at 12:30am, he slept until 9am ish & then stripped the top of the engine down & re-built it fortified with bacon butties & pasties (him, not the engine). He then drove home covering 300+ miles in 4 & a half hours. Impressive bladder control on the M5/M6 if nothing else.

Now the proper back seat is in & the seatbelts are in play, I could take the grandkids for a drive. All those months of just reading Camper & Bus fell away as they climbed in, we buckled up & away we went. Who smiled widest? The 2 year old, the 4 year old or the 46 year old? Can't say & don't care - the bus is OURS now, not just mine & I don't have the words to describe how that makes me feel.

Lows: well, low (singular), my nice new storage unit doesn't fit. £160 & 150 miles at 23 miles a gallon counts for nothing if you've mis-measured how far your rock n roll bed swings out when flat. So back to eBay you go, Mr Storage Unit, & we'll think again about what fits there. IKEA might have to be visited this week & not just for the Daim cake & meatballs....................

Minor low (& only because she's just mentioned it), Ann - my lovely wife - insists on making Clampett references whenever she's out in the bus. "Should we put a rocking chair on the roof?" & "It'll be ok if we're on proper holiday" - whatever that means. I'm thinking of getting a CD of Deliverance style banjo music to play whenever she is parked in the passenger seat. Mind you, it wasn't me who banged my head on the sliding door when closing the sliding door, was it, My Sweet? Love and decorum prevents me from pointing out who Ma Clampett really is in this scenario so long as I'm the young one holding the steering wheel

Run out today- over to Doncaster to pick up a cupboard unit. Saw it on eBay. Dead simple, 1 big cupboard on the left for water carrier (or whatever), 2 smaller cupboards on the right for whatever & a lift up top that a stove could sit on or under which a flat-screen could hide (practical v bling - we all know which will win - I'm a boring old fart). Hinges are a little flamboyant & might yet get replaced but basically it will do. Bloke who made it had an old yellow Bay parked on the drive that might just have had 50% of the worlds supply of filler in its wheel-arches but enough of that........

Drive over was great - Arthur coped well with the Woodhead Pass & there was no queue of frustrated car drivers behind us. Ate my first McDonalds in about 6 years on way over - called in for a McPiss & felt obliged to have a coffee to avoid making it a McPiss with lies. Paid with a £20 & the minimum wager serving gave me a tenner, a fiver & about £3 in 10p pieces so bought Sausage & Egg McMuffin with all the change. Counter-Boy then tried to give me £7 in change from the £3 I'd handed over for the £2ish grease-fest. My protestations met with "but the till says we owe you £7 change". Bless him. Told him to put it all in the charity box - cost me less than a quid to do this but he looked at me like I was a major high-roller. McShité tasted great but the immediate feeling of shame & the later feeling of greasy crap in the gut doesn't change.

Wasn't able to fit the bed myself. The 2 bolts through the floor would have been easy enough to do but the other 4 need to go through the bulkhead quite close to the mountings for the rear suspension arms & I'm not keen to drill those out so we're back to Paul for him to get his welding kit out. He can fit the table socket in the back too as this needs a hole cutting in the floor & I'm just not equipped or inclined to do this. Looking forward to meeting fellow T25 drivers so I can pretend I did all the work myself.................

Got back to find out that we'd lost to the Bin-Dippers 3-1. Who gives a fcuk? Tragedy? Put some flowers on it