3 months??????

Where does the time go? Washed away by the rain probably. No camping done by me since Shell Island in April though bus did get to Beat Herder a couple of weeks ago in the capable hands of The Eldest Boy. Lots of that dance music where you can't hear the words and low-skanking aplenty no doubt but the net result to me was an empty fuel tank, half a ton of mud that has necessitated the purchase of a power-washer and a minor bump on the rear wheel arch where he slid into a fence post while being dragged out of the shité by a tractor. Oh these young people and their fun-filled ways. Jealous? Me? Absolutely...........

Lots of Tesco trips and picking up The Youngest Boy from Youth Club but precious little else. MOT was passed in the capable hands of Paul from Minichanics (www.minichanics.co.uk for all your classic car needs, but don't just chat when picking up and then try to walk off without paying like I did). Some welding advised for next time so will be back at the end of the season. Weather being what it is, this could have been 6 weeks ago but I've got November in mind.

One more week of work & school then then me & The Youngest Boy will be off for a couple of nights. Ty Hen on Anglesey is favourite at the moment but other places are in line for a visit too. Gorsdale Scar near Skipton must be done soon & Grizedale Forest too. We're off to Malaga for 10 nights in August & everyone I mention this to asks if this is a bus trip. Seeing as it would be £1000 to take the ferry from Plymouth to Santander and approx 1000 miles of driving at 24mpg, it would be cheaper to resurrect Concorde. Sorry Arthur, promise to take you to Cornwall next year. Can't own a VW and not take it to Cornwall - those caravans can't block the A30 on their own, can they?  Carly, get the kettle on & the spare bed ready for Aunty Ann.......................................

1st trip of 2012 & Shell (suit) Island - an apology

Previous entries have not been too complimentary to Shell Island in Gwynedd. Previous experience in a tent in close proximity to Saxo-revving idiots have led to it being re-named Shell (Suit) Island. I hereby retract all previous comments and nominate it as my new personal heaven. 3 days of sun, blue sky, a perfectly functioning bus and no morons nearby have pointed out just how judgmental I can be.........

The forecast wasn't great, 3 days of heavy showers according to the BBC up to the day of leaving. Me & The Boy packed up & set off. Easy drive to Barmouth for a picnic on the beach while we waited for the tide to go out up the road. It's not called Shell Island for no reason after all, so a couple of hours killed watching the waves, wandering & eating ice-cream. Up the road, booked in & found a great spot right on the edge overlooking the sea.

Plenty of wandering about, a bbq, a little cold with quite a biting wind coming off the sea but they do say that alcohol lowers the body's core temperature so that could account for it. Anyway, Stu loved his first bottle of Strongbow, I enjoyed an odd glass of wine (1st, 3rd, 5th, etc, etc......) & we were tucked up by 9:30pm. We woke (from a fresh-air induced coma, not at all hung-over) at 10:30am. More sun, blue sky, no rain, wandering about collecting shells. It's not called Shell Island for no reason after all. Stu went off after lunch on his own for an explore around the dunes - exit stage right  I stayed behind listening to good tunes & making sure my nose got properly burnt, sun cream? North Wales? April?  3 days of rain forecast? Of course I hadn't taken any sun cream & my Nivea Sensitive Moisturiser for Men might as well been olive oil for all the good it did me. Could be worse, I could be a Blue Nose I suppose.

Stu came back with a fantastical tale about lying down in the dunes & being bitten on the finger by a sand lizard. He did indeed have a bite mark but I suspect that the lizard may have been provoked and possibly objected to being picked up. I also suspect that both parties have learnt their lesson.

Second evening was 100%. The wind dropped, stars came out, Stus home-made chilli tasted like the best thing ever & marshmallows were toasted over a perfect fire. Some things are just right & can't be properly described..........

Last morning same as really, another wander, packed up, leisurely drive home through Bala, though bizarrely bearing in mind our weather, they had had a massive dump of snow that sat 18 inches deep at the side of the road where plowed clear. Stopped off for bison burgers at Rhug Estate near Llangollen where I could have spent an absolute fortune on the organic free-range perfectly happy before killed meat on sale (Rhug Estate), and beers, and cake, and pies oh the pies.

Home again, bus needs a v good wash & clean (again) but ran like a dream. Cost of petrol was only quibble for a 240 mile round trip. If anyone has a spare £1k for an LPG conversion please don't feel embarrassed to let me have it. Talking of fuel prices, we passed many garages in Wales where the petrol was more expensive than the diesel - strange seaweed eating people the Welsh.

What next?  SoManc meet on the 29th April, possibly a T25 meeting in Chorley the Sunday after that & then the All Types shows at Bodelwydden Castle in North Wales the weekend after (All Types). It's all go, isn't it?  We'll see.........................

Nearly 6 months???

Time flies, doesn't it? Whats been going on? Not much really - major drama before Christmas though. Engine had sounded increasingly "tappy" for a while & in my usual laid-back (indifferent? reckless?) style, I did little about it. Mentioned it in passing to Anns niece who is friends with Paul at Minichanics who services/fixes/indulges my bus. She told him & his considered opinion was it was probably due to the drivers in the queue of traffic behind me tapping on the rear window asking me to hurry up. Mass hilarity ensued apparantly........Thanks Paul.........mind you, these are people who believes that Minis are a form of transport so obviously are in need of major overhauls themselves :-)  I really want a Mini too........

Anyway, one day the tapping became a major banging & then failure to start at all. I instantly went into panic mode convinced that a new engine was needed (see prev entries about the panic need for a new gearbox which was eventually fixed with a roll of gaffer tape), I cancelled the road tax, declared bus as SORN and did nothing for 6 weeks until Christmas/New Year was out of the way.

Mid Jan, decided to bite the bullet & get bus trailered to Paul for fixing. Decided to be devious & called CSMA breakdown prepared to lie that "it just wouldn't start today, was fine yesterday, etc ,etc....". Little man turned up, T4 owner as it turned out & we chatted about VWs in general. He was after a new bed for his so gave him details of where I got mine and showed him how it worked. Eventually got round to the tale, he asked me to try starting up & it fired up first time, a bit lumpy but ran ok. His opinion was that the banging was due to dirt in the fuel lines & pointed out that the fuel filter was rather clogged up. Red face for me, but good news. Drove bus to Pauls who replaced filter & fuel lines in engine bay, cleaned fingerprints off rear window and did a general service, plugs, leads, coil etc.......Runs so much better now, who da thunk it.........

Since then, just general pottering about. So Manc meet in Didsbury at end of Feb (a collection of various VW owners in a pub carpark, last Sunday of every month), Demon Dubs meet in Southport mid March (all kinds of VWs that made me realise that 1 is not enough, Project Fastback is underway) , Tatton Park day campout with Ann (my beautiful wife), Stu, Phil and 2 grandkids, red hot day, perfect cruising weather.

Looking forward to time away soon - me & Stu at Shell (suit) Island for a couple of days 2nd week after Easter (his choice, not mine) so get those Saxos & Burberry beanie hats ready - don't want your shaven heads getting cold when you're revving up at 3am. Will definitely be going to a VW show weekend but not sure which one yet. Fancy BugJam at Santa Pod with drag racing too but that might be a bit expensive so close to the proper holiday in August. All Types in North Wales looks favourite mid May. Only a 1 nighter & close to home too.

That's it for now, loads of little jobs to do, leather steering wheel glove needs sewing on, headlining to be stuck back, carpets fitting in cab, a bloody good deep-clean inside too. See you in another 6 months?

5 weeks since last blog entry????

God, how boring am I?  Not much to report really bus-wise unless you're interested in trips to Tesco and a drive round the block every couple of nights. I don't react well to this time of year and this year is worse than most. The long 6 weeks off seems to be centuries ago & the black dog has been humping my leg good style. Not been sleeping well & worrying about not sleeping, not enough money, feeling guilty about feeling down when I've so much to be grateful for and other things all resulted in a trip to the GP. A prescription for little blue pills (no, not those little blue pills, stop sniggering at the back) has resulted in better sleep but a weird numb mental state for the past week. Don't suppose that any of my perceived worries are any less but I can't even muster the angst to worry about them - pathetic really.

Yesterday was a glorious day. Tatton Park with Ann (my beautiful wife), 2 out of 3 sons and 2 out of 3 grandkids was enough to chase even the blackest dog away. Playarea & picnic by the lake was heaven on earth. The memory of it now makes my heart ache to do it again & again & again and I know that we will. I need it.

Today was a bbq in Crewe with friends and family. Andy, Gemma et al, the world is a better place for knowing you. I'm rich indeed in things that you cannot put a price on. Guilt come from knowing that sometimes I can confuse priceless with worthless - my problem, no-one elses

6 night tour - high wind stopped play

Ann (my lovely wife) conceded that she was willing to go away int' bus for a week. Wore her down again, didn't I?   Cornwall was favourite but once we realised that it would cost us an arm & a couple of legs in petrol alone, a closer alternative was needed. A little research later and the Llyn Peninsula in north Wales seemed to fit the bill. Cliffs, coves and decent waves for Ann, Stu and the bodyboards. 130 miles away instead of 330. All we had to do was to substitute laver bread eating Welshies for bearded pasty munchers (that sounds a bit rude) and all would be well. Ann also expressed a desire to see the wonders of Shell (suit) Island and while I just refuse to stay there overnight ever again, we decided to find somewhere nearby & visit the Island for the day. Maybe Saxo engines sound quieter during the day & Burberry stripes simply fade into the dunes.................

Two sites were found, Ty Newyyd near Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula and Parc Isef about 8 miles south of Harlech so handy for the Island. £14 and £16 a night respectively with electric hook-up, so cheap enough. Bus was packed & all ready to go so off we went.

Found the first place easily enough. Some of the roads/lanes/tracks were a little tight but plenty of passing places.  It was a little disconcerting to get a text from Tesco Mobile welcoming us to Ireland once we got past Caernarfon but the signal died entirely later so no danger of paying international roaming charges.

Set up easy enough - see above. Ann admitted to enjoying herself - see above. Stu had taken Scrat the Rat with him so was instantly the coolest kid on site and made friends easily. The woman in the café was less impressed & wouldn't let him in with rat in pocket.

Weather was brilliant, blue skies etc with sunsets worth climbing the headland to watch. Beaches were sandy & warm, kites were flown and food & drink was abundant. Stu was enjoying himself and as most of his mates were leaving on the Sat am, we arranged to stay an extra night. Tues, Wed, Thurs & Friday am passed happily enough.

The wind started to blow Friday afternoon. It got stronger as the afternoon went on. Re-checked all pegs and all were holding fine but the wind got stronger and louder. It soon became clear that Ann (my lovely wife) was no longer enjoying herself and that it was possibly my fault we were there..............Some "discussions" took place and it became clear that:

1 - ideally we leave now

2 - it's too late to leave now isn't it

3 - leave me alone

4 - no, I said just leave me alone while I sit on the floor crying.

I'll leave it to you to decide who said what..................In the end, I disconnected the awning and pulled the bus round in front to act as a windbreak. Me & Stu got to sleep ok but poor Ann (my lovely wife) found it very difficult & only managed a couple of hours.

I woke at 8am to find a sunny dry still morning & Ann sweeping out the awning with a handbrush having packed a lot of stuff. We were due to move on that morning anyway so no problems with that. The awning had survived the night, no damage, We packed up easily and went for breakfast in the site cafe. As we were moving on to Harlech, I checked the weather forecast  for later that day. It was showing heavy rain & high wind so no prizes for guessing what we did. Better to cut our losses & run for home than risk another night like the night before after setting up in the rain.

Stopped off in Conway on the way home. There was a river festival going on, lots of stalls & fundraising, including jetski rides for £3 - proceeds to RNLI. Stu went on twice while we watched. Glad to say that the only customer we saw fall in was the adult knobhead who declined to remove his glasses as recommended and turned out to have an iPhone in his pocket. Not me, before you all jump to a reasonable conclusion.

Me & Stu might have a night away next week to end our 6 weeks off - will keep you posted.

Tatton VWNW 2011

Great day at the Tatton show as always. Took 1 wife (the lovely Ann), 2 sons & 2 grandkids and met 1 son & 1 grandkid when there.  An ex-husband & new partner turned up too and Ann (my lovely wife) met an old friend who pulled up to park next to us. How diverse.................

Forgot the camera but too many buses & cars to choose from, so I couldn't have taken them all anyway. A good day was had by all. Heard some people complaining about high cost of getting in (£7.50 for adults, free for kids) but as most of these were wearing wanky designer gear & too much hair gel and the rest were grumpy old fcuks,  we can safely ignore them.

Edale & a faint red light

Strange how I seem to have had less time to do stuff this last week than when I'm at work. Good prep for being retired, I suppose. I've been pottering around the house, keeping busy, nipping to Tesco for a few bits, etc, etc. I've stopped short of wearing beige, distrusting foreigners and demanding the return of National Service/Capital Punishment but I suppose it's only a matter of time....................

Anyway, Edale, Edale, Edale, EDALE. What a place. Shameful to say that I'd forgotten how beautiful the Edale Valley was. The number of times we've driven to Keswick etc when Edale is 30 miles away....... Don't suppose I'm really comparing like with like but so be it. The constant sunshine was a major factor (isn't it always?) & we quickly got into "being away" mode, didn't we Stu?  Coopers Campsite was only £24 for 2 nights, 2 nice pubs within 400 yards, a cafe on-site, shower/toilet block a little primitive & unclean but we managed.

We ate & drank like kings, walked a fair bit (for us) and felt slightly guilty that Ann (my beautiful wife) wasn't with us. Assuaged that guilt by taking her there on the following Saturday for a day out/good pub lunch. She confirmed the bogs etc to be a little too primitive/unclean for her delicate constitution (Princess & the Pea springs to mind, should that be Princess & the Pee?) so we'll need to find another site if/when she comes with us.

We'd taken the laptop to use as a DVD player & had a couple of late nights watching League of Gentlemen - no slur intended on the good people of Edale - and by the end we'd have been happy to never leave even if we did start calling each other "Dave".

Arthur ran like a dream coping with the drive out over Mam Tor with ease. Minor panic yesterday though when the temperature light came on but only very faint. Hot air was still coming through heater so I carried on driving (engine didn't overheat or seize up in a cloud of steam so I made the right call!). Having consulted the Club 80-90 Wiki about this, it suggests that it's almost certainly an electrical short or mucky temp sender unit so will be sorting that this afternoon.

No days away this week due to funds/crap weather/jobs to do so will look for a 1 nighter next week. VWNW show at Tatton Park on Sunday so will toddle over there & camp for the day while wandering around looking at/lusting over all manner of things VW.

Wales on 16th for 6 nights anyway - I've decided that IT WILL BE DRY.

Start your engines................

So work is on hold for 6 weeks while I devote (?) myself to being the main carer to the Son & Heir. The fact that my unpaid leave started the day before the First Test against India is purely intentional. The vague petrol smell around Arthur has disappeared, and although the warmer weather insists on melting the glue holding the headlining up, all is ready for out first trip of the summer. He's running well & looking good.

Just me & Stu off to a place called Coopers Farm in Edale. Was recommended by Richie, a fellow T25er who blogs here under the name "Travellin'Van". Worth a read and some great photos. Apparently, it's very near a good real ale pub, a good cafe & it turns out that it's only 27 miles from my door. Was thinking of a trek to Shell (suit) Island near Harlech but that's a couple of hundred miles round trip & if I really wanted to watch/listen/despair of chavs revving up their Saxos and Corsas at night, there's plenty of that round Manchester. Probably being really unfair to Shell Island (it was fantastic during the day) but I've only been once & that was 100% my experience at night. Combine that with Liverpool being on the telly in the bar (Europa 5th place losers cup or something) and me being unable to refrain from making ill-judged comments within the earshot of dull-witted mickeys. They wouldn't even Calm Down, Calm Down when I suggested it to them. Peasants..................no hurry to go back.

Anyway, we're off first thing in the morning for a couple of nights - as much a recce for later visits with Ann (my beautiful wife) if I'm honest but I've got a stack of books, San Miguel & wine to get through so that's that. Will pack Arthur in the morning, call on my mum in Glossop on the way out & will report back later in the week.

Speaking of my mother, a question to my legions of non-existent readers. I seem to be starting lots of sentences recently with "Is it just me or....." so here we go:

Is it just me or do you have conversations with elderly relatives that go:

Relative: Do you remember so & so?

Me:  No

Relative:  Oh yes, you do. You were at primary school with them/their sister/brother, they lived 3 doors up the road, they worked with your dad on the cables...................(delete as applicable)

Me: That was over 35 years ago

Relative:  Anyway, they died, had a grandchild, got 12 years for kiddy fiddling.................(as above)

...............& then when I either express my total disinterest or do a pisspoor job of pretending to be interested, it's MY fault.

Answers on a postcard please

Cool Runnings

All been a bit quiet really. Powerflex bushes & new shocks fitted - cheers Paul - & while not silky smooth, the difference made by a functioning suspension is noticeable, if only for the lack of oohs, aahs & various other moans from the passenger seat. Can now drive over leaves & small twigs without triggering full Princess & the Pea mode.

Got our wristbands for Blackpool Breeze 16-18th September and looking forward to VWNW at Tatton Park on 7th August. Might even get on the South Manc VW Club stand so major clean needed. Oh, I am a lazy bastard.

Just remembered, the hot weather last weekend (remember that, summer, eh, what, garlic bread, can you remember, Peter Kay, oh never mind) - it melted the glue holding the lining carpet onto the roof panel so I had to re-stick/re-fit all that. Instructions say to use in a well ventilated area but wheres the fun in that?  Didn't need wine that night....................

Result............

I like to think that I try to live my life right. I recycle, I do my bit for the less fortunate in society by coming to work every (nearly every) day & no matter what, I never ever covet my neighbours oxen (& he's got a fcuking nice one too). As a believer in karma & fate, I was waiting for my turn.

So with the above in mind, I'm happy to announce, to my band of 3 subscribed followers and various curious Facebook "friends" who clearly have little else to occupy their time, that:

THE GEARCHANGE IS FIXED. I CAN GET 1ST GEAR. I DO NOT HAVE TO MENTALLY PLAN EVERY JOURNEY AVOIDING TRAFFIC LIGHTS OR JUNCTIONS ON UPHILL SLOPES.

Enough of the hysterical reportage - after all, this was done last Thursday & I've only just got round to typing it up. Hardly Hold The Front Page.

Story is that Arthur went off for his MOT with some new little neoprene blocks that attach to the bottom of the gearlever. Some more research on Club 80-90 suggested this could be the thing to do so Paul at Minichanics (http://www.minichanics.co.uk/ for all your classic car repairs/maintainance) was tasked to fit them. MOT went well, probably better than expected, failing only on a non-working fog-light and a gay sounding horn that has been getting on my wick since I bought Arty last November. The old Arrugah sounding horn has been replaced by a straight-forward normal sounding horn that releases me into the world of road-rage once more. You can't really beep someone in traffic if you're embarrassed by the sound you make. Maybe that's the solution to road rage, camp sounding horns..........(mental note:  patent this along with replacing airbags with metal spikes to make people more careful drivers and foam rubber cars in dedicated lanes for drunk drivers only).

Anyway, Paul fitted the blocks but said they didn't make much difference. Whilst underneath, he noticed that part of the linkage at the back looked a little worn so stripped it & wrapped the shaft (oooh missus) with tape. The gearshift is now a thing of beauty, slipping like silk between gears (don't go overboard....). I can get 1st easily & everything else is better too. Paul said it might need re-taping every 6 months & to be honest I should probably get a replacement part but at the moment, I'm too giddy at NOT having to lash out £1k on having a gearbox fitted to do anything remotely practical. Besides, you can buy lots of gaffer tape for £1k.

What else?  I've been a little concerned with the harshness of the ride since lowering and the state of some of the bushes on the front suspension. They all passed the MOT but look tatty & near the end of their useful life so decided to invest in a set of Powerflex bushes. Will have the rollbar done first & stash the rest of another time. Will throw on a pair of uprated shocks too.

Have booked a North Wales break in August. 6 nights split between Aberdaron on the Llynn Peninsula and a place just north of Barmouth. £84 for 6 nights including hook-up can't be beaten if the sites are as good as the reviews. We'll see.........................

Not a lot to say really........

.........bus-wise. No trips other than an odd jaunt to Tesco just to stretch Arthurs legs. Looking forward to the MOT & summer hols. Trips to Grizedale, North Wales & the Dales in prospect but nothing is getting booked until I've got the new MOT in hand!

Might be some hope on the gearbox - a couple of other cheap things to try before the cheque book comes out big-stylee

See you soon

Dog Weekend without a dog

Where have the last 2 weeks gone?  The first week disappeared doing real-life stuff, broken washing machine & general domestic bullshité but last week was a build-up to our second family weekend away. Months ago, Cal (my VW Bay owning sister-in-law) invited us to a dog agility weekend in Bakewell - free camping in return for helping out with various jobs. We went last year for the day & enjoyed watching the well trained & not so well trained hounds jumping & weaving round various courses so it seemed like a good idea. We don't actually have a dog - I really want one, Stu really wants one, Ann my lovely wife doesn't want one - end of...............

Naturally, 3 or 4 weeks of good dry weather came to an end a few days before we were due to go & wet windy weather was on the forecast. Would we cry off with tales of bad knees or dodgy gearboxes? Absolutely not - we packed up (remembering everything this time), set off (avoiding the A6 during Friday night rush-hour) and rolled into Bakewell with no dramas whatsoever at 6.30pm. Found our pitch, parked up & then noticed the biggest blackest cloud bearing down on us. 30 minutes of mad panic getting the awning up ended with the cloud passing over us without a drop of rain. Ann (my lovely wife) had invested in a new sleeping bag & liner that hopefully would prevent a repeat of the tears of Hope Valley 4 weeks ago. I'd taken extra San Miguel, wine & chocolate.

All went well. Stu decided to sleep with us in the van but the full-width bed was plenty big enough for all of us. Ann was, & I quote "nice & toasty" & I chilled out with chilli, beer, wine & chocolate. Saturday dawned with an 8.30am start booking in competitors & the day followed with showers & bright sun. Stu got a go at running one of Cals Springer Spaniels over a course & Ann got to listen to citeh winning the FA Cup. We had been to a pub to watch it but walked out at half-time as the game was shité. I had San Miguel, wine, chocolate & Tramadol.

Sunday - more of the same minus FA Cup, San Miguel & wine & home again at about 4pm. Bus ran like a dream and Ann is talking about "next time" - can't be bad. Had talked about a week in Cornwall but at 23mpg, 330 miles each way gets a bit pricey so a tour of North Wales Llyn Peninsula looks favourite. We'll see......................

Lets do it again, and again, and again.............

So, after the first time away, what to do next? Go again of course. Ann was in work but I was off with Stu so we decided on a single night to check out a place we all liked the look of for later in the year. A Boys Own trip wouldn't hurt either - it's why we bought Arthur in the first place, Ann saying I was too old & knackered to sleep in a tent anymore.

Red Bank Farm is a working farm in Bolton le Sands right on the shore of Morecambe Bay (www.redbankfarm.co.uk). Licensed cafe, good reviews on UK Campsites, and would only cost us £9 for the night (£6 for adults, £3 for kids all year round).

Weather was brilliant all week so we packed light (no long trousers!), took plenty of "refreshment" (just for me although a glass of cider had been promised to the Boy), bbq coals & the laptop for a bus-based cinema night (So I Married an Axe Murderer - Channel 5s Royal Wedding night film apparently. Has Kate got a mad sister & did Wills last girlfriend smell like Beef Vegetable soup?).

Run to the coast went well. A few struggles with 1st gear during a brief encounter with Carnforth & we were there. No awning as just the two of us so setting up was simply leveling up on chocks & putting the handbrake on and then off for a wander. "Don't wear your flip-flops, Stu. We're walking a long way". "I'll be ok, Dad. Leave me alone, I'm not a baby........"

Half an hour later, Stu's feet were on fire as I walked him all the way to the village to find a nice pub for an afternoon drinkie - he'll learn. Feeling a little guilty, I suggested he sat with his feet in the canal for a while to cool off. Not for too long though - the pub was just over the bridge.

We should have stayed at the canal - I've never been in a pub before that didn't have any bottled drinks or crisps because "we're still waiting for a delivery". Deliverance would be nearer the mark in there and would be viewed by the regulars as a documentary, not fiction. A collection of creatures lurked near the pool table, possibly because they worshiped it as some kind of God, possibly because they were waiting for a non-local to bend over it. As I didn't want to find out exactly what they did with the chalk, 2 quick beers & 2 quick Cokes later we were out of there "before our IQs dropped too far" to quote the increasingly cynical son of mine. Note that it was 2 beers, I wasn't going to let the fear of bum-rape stop me having a second pint.

Walk back to the site was good for a laugh too. We got stopped at a level-crossing for about 30 minutes while various trains went past. Realising that Stu had never been up close to a train track before, I suggested that he stood close to the barrier looking straight ahead while I watched the Virgin Express approach at high-speed. Ah, bless, he fell for it and the sheer terror on his face after the train thundered past 6 feet away seemed to have made him forget all about his aching feet. All this fun & child benefit too......................BBQ followed by campfire with toasted marshmallows on sticks ended a wonderful day so we climbed into the bus & watched the DVD. Great nights sleep too.

Up early next day & another wander before breakfast in the cafe, pack up & home. Massive queue heading north into Blackpool as we pottered down the M6 towards home - who are these people?

Rest of the week? Not much really, gave Arthur a wash on Sunday morning & went to a VW meet at a pub in Didsbury with Cal in the afternoon. Steve, Ann, Stu & Albert all came along but we mostly ignored them & chatted to other owners like the nerds that we are. Not many others there to be honest but it was Easter Sunday so maybe other families aren't as accommodating.

Have re-fitted the cupboard in the back & sorted out the hook-up. Amazing how well electricity works if you actually connect it all up right - it could have been worse, we could have been electrocuted..............

2 weeks til Ann (my lovely wife) tries again, free camping weekend in return for helping Cal's dog training club at an event in Bakewell. New sleeping bags have been bought for Ann & Stu after Ann tried one out on the floor of Millets in Altrincham - so wish I'd been there but the mental image will keep me warm for a while yet. Hope the sleeping bag does the same for Ann.

Long long week & even longer weekend nights

Where to start? Last Monday is as good a place as any. Paul texted to say he'd sorted the wheelbearing for £60 & that I could pick up that night. He also mentioned that "the whining noise had gone". To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what he meant because if there was any noise as Arthur goes along, it's more of a roar that I always felt was coming from the dodgy gearbox. Anyway, got up there to pick up, pushed cash under door, found keys on top of sun visor (nice Hollywood touch there I thought) & off we go......

A 1984 Transporter with god knows how many miles on the clock is never going to be silent running but we are certainly now in the quiet category - good result for £60 & a little grief last Saturday. Actually, the result is that I can hear a few other squeaks & rattles that the old roar had been blotting out but nothing to compare to before. The radio can now be used for the spoken word & music other than the mad bad loud stuff that I had to (had to?) listen to before.

Tuesday - long night working on Arthur after work. Got the 240v hook-up finished (so I thought, see later), cupboard mountings fitted, curtains fitted with wires to tuck the bottom of them behind when in use, tiebacks fitted. Came in feeling like a bit of an Alpha Male (after fitting curtains? yes I know, it's all relative) & slept the sleep of the righteous.

Wednesday - went round to the eldests to meet his girlfriends mum but ended up dragging all out of the house to show off my handywork. Bore? Me? Never.................

Thursday - did a preliminary pack-up of all the bits n bobs. We had been thinking that space would be tight but in the end it turned out that there's more room than we thought. Didn't sleep well, really worried that Ann wouldn't like it & that things would go wrong.

Friday, before work - packed a few more bits & went off to the Workhouse with a head full of campsites, sunshine & promise of real ale. Can't remember much about the day but suppose it was a day like any other full of appreciative articulate customers.

Friday , after work - the descent into Hell began. For some reason, we'd agreed to food-shop for the weekend after work on Friday - YES I KNOW, WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

Dropped Ann at Tesco, took the middle one home & came back to Tesco. Met the youngest there & in we go to find Ann. Methodical sweeps of the aisles found nothing, I'd left my mobile in the car so I sent the boy in to look while I continued to prowl up & down looking along aisles. Lost 15 minutes I didn't want to lose doing this before finding them both. Got home, finished packing, gathered us all together in a kind of pre-match huddle & gave the pep talk, "Lets all try to be calm, we've waited a long time for this, things will go wrong & we will have forgotten things but lets not stress each other out"

Off we go.

1 mile down the road, I realise I've forgotten my wallet. Ah, the joys of telephone banking, I can call First Direct & get them to transfer cash to Ann & we'll find a cash-point somewhere.

2 miles down the road, I realise I've forgotten my painkillers. Bigger problem here, I can cease to function as a polite human being without Tramadol if I take too much exercise & the intention is to drive, pitch camp, sleep out, walk all day Sat & then break camp again Sunday. Traffic back to home is horrendous due to roadworks so I decide to say nothing for a bit so I don't get pressurised into turning back. Can't spare the time, putting up a new awning for the first time with the light fading is no basis for a stress-free weekend, so decide to go up the A6 to get cash and armfuls of Paracetamol/Ibuprofen at the Sainsburys in Hazel Grove.

Did I mention that it was Friday rush-hour? The A6 in Friday rush-hour? A fully laden bus with a decidedly iffy 1st gear on the A6 in Friday rush-hour........great. A nose to tail 45 minutes later, we broke free & raced off through Disley, Chapel & over the top down towards Castleton. Winnets Pass is a 1 in 5 descent but nothing was stopping us now as we charged downhill. The brakes worked as intended & we proceeded calmly through Castleton, into Hope, out the other side & arrived at Laneside Caravan Park (www.lanesidecaravanpark.co.uk).

Friendly owners showed us to our pitch & left us to it. My biggest worry was that we would provide some kind of floorshow for others as we demonstrated our brand-new status by cocking everything up, by me using my very best polite sarcasm "Actually, you'll find if you do it this way, it is perfectly simple" etc, etc.......Didn't turn out like that. Awning went up easy enough though pegging out was a struggle. I'd booked a hard-standing pitch thinking this meant a strip of concrete for the bus to sit on while the awning was on grass. It didn't, it meant hard-packed limestone all over that you have to pound pegs into with the back of an axe because you've lost your mallet. Never mind, live & learn.

Sent Ann & Stu off to the village to find the Chinese take-away while I finished off setting up. It was at this point that I discovered that the hook-up didn't work so mobiles would be flat & coolbox would be battery only. No matter, you live & learn. They came back with a great big box, we ate like kings (should be Emperors I suppose) & we settled down for the night. No toothpaste, ah well, you live & learn.

Off to bed, Stu in the awning, me & Ann in the bus. Ann couldn't sleep, draughty, cold & what I thought was the best sleeping bag & had given to my lovely wife clearly was not up to the job of keeping her warm. Tears followed, not mine, but felt dreadful. Ann was only doing all this to humour me & to not feel excluded when me & Stu nip off camping somewhere. It was a long, long, night...........Still, a nice bacon & sausage barm in the morning will help to, ah, no, wait, forgot the fry pan. You live & learn...................

Saturday dawned bright & noisy. So many birds tweeting, sheep bleating, etc. Sounds I love but not after probably 4 hours sleep between us. Stu, of course, slept like the dead & awoke bright and so happy we could have strangled him. Previous nights Chinese made the missing fry pan a moot point as the thought of food was far from our minds. Bought toothpaste on site, got clean & we wandered off. Site has a river running past with stepping stones so a morning went just passed by wandering about & watching Stu getting his feet wet. Into Hope, found a cafe & had breakfast for lunch then wandered off to Castleton - 2 miles across fields full of lambs. Possibly the best walk ever.

Back to Hope by bus & into a pub for the FA Semi - least said about that the better. My one comment would be that if you truly wish to appreciate "citeh" & their 6 woolly-toed following, do it in a small Derbyshire village pub.

Return to site & Ann decided to sleep in the awning rather than the van, swapping places with Stu. The price you pay for a crystal clear April day is a bitterly cold April night so she was back in the van in the small hours - good job it's a full width bed.

Morning came & armed with a fry pan bought in the site shop, bacon & sausage barms were made & tasted as good as anything I've ever had on a campsite. Packing up after this was a breeze & back home via the Snake Pass - Arthur performed brilliantly & although the road was clear ahead, I was only holding up 5 cars at the most.

Today was spent washing & putting stuff away and thinking of next time & what can be done better. Whether Ann will be with us is up for debate - will depend on whether the brilliant days can offset the horrible nights - will get a 3-season sleeping bag if nothing else & I suppose better planning/execution on my part will help. Lets see - days are long enough when Ann isn't by my side & nights are even longer x

So I lost my virginity at last.........

.....bet that got your attention but it's sadly true.

Got Arthur back from Pauls early yesterday am. Leisure battery fitted & various other bits done including gearbox oil change - more of that later. Set off home, all good. As we got close, we noticed a squeaking from the front nearside. Thought nothing of it - he's an old boy & if I've learned nothing else, it's that when one job is done, you notice something else that needs doing.

So finally after 5 months of tootling around, first time starting & a general smug-ness about my perfectly functioning T25, I have a breakdown to report. A wheel bearing gave up when taking Ann (my lovely wife) and Stu to Lyme Park to meet grandkids for A Big Day Out. Ann wasn't happy, I thought it was funny, Ann really didn't think it was funny, I thought this was even funnier. I sat in the back, Ann sat in the front, arms so tightly crossed that it made me feel breathless. Luckily, the eldest was available to pick her & Stu up & deliver them to Lyme Park for a beautiful day in the sun rolling down hills & eating picnic. I got a trip to the garage on the back of a breakdown truck driven by that bloke who knows exactly how to sort this country out. You know him, he's the salt of the earth, that uncomplicated bloke who is fashioned from the common clay, the bedrock on which this fine land of ours solidly stands, or to put it more simply, a moron......................

It's a tick off the list though, been meaning to call Britannia Rescue just to check if campers are covered. Thankfully, they are and we're now proper camper owners. Should be back on the road Wed pm once Paul weaves his magic.

Gearbox? Gearbox, gearbox, gearbox................ It appears that a rebuild/replace will be necessary unless it was part of Mr VWs design for little bits of metal & ball-bearings to come out when you change the oil. Getting into 1st gear has always been a bit of an issue but other than that, it's fine. No crunching/grinding at all but definitely noisier than it should be. Perfectly drivable at the moment but will be sorted as soon as we're back from Hope Valley on Sunday.

I hereby appeal now to all Gods of Motoring, past & present, to grant us an uneventful drive there & back. Oh, & if you could throw in some nice weather & the thick end of £1k for a gearbox, that would be nice

Quiet week really - fitted the 240v hook-up socket to the back of the rear numberplate flap, widened the bit on the rear platform where the bed frame rests (don't really want the bed to collapse every time one of us rolls over in the night) and covered the kickboard in lining carpet to match the bus walls.

Booked into Pauls for next week for leisure battery fitting & for another look at the gears. Having problems getting 1st gear again once we've been running for a while - 80-

90 forum suggests bleeding the clutch slave cylinder - hopefully that'll sort it out..

After grandkids day out last week, took Ann, Stu & Ann's dad Albert round to Jays new place in Chorlton - pic below. Ran sweet enough but as above, 1st gear a little problematical. Still arrived with a silly grin on my face though.

Two weeks until 1st camp-out in Hope Valley - I've got a snaglist a mile long & running out of days to do them in. Will all be worth it though if all goes as well as hoped.........

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