And There's Damme Cold...

Cold but tasteless....Coors Light.

I can't understand this idea. Coors Lager has based it's entire advertising campaign not on the taste of it's lager, but the fact that you can drink it really, really cold. I can drink really, really cold squash if I wanted, at a fraction of the price. Surely, the coldness of the lager is not really due to the lager producers, more to do with the fridge producers. Now that my beer fridge is functioning, I can have whatever type of lager (or squash, or even some other drink) at temperatures approaching absolute zero if I so wish (well, at least closer to absolute zero than previously). Some things are important to have. A beer fridge in summer is one of them. I won't be drinking Coors though, it tastes like gnats pee.
Yes, the fridge, after being sat in the van for about 12 months (well, I say sat, more free to roam around the van as it saw fit), is now fully functioning.

Spaghetti Anyone ?

The wires coming out of the back of the fridge are the wrong colours, hence the confusion and the irritating cutting out after 1/2 a second when I tried it before. A bit too late to save the milk that we left in there by mistake from the previous camping trip, but it shall be functioning for the fast approaching weekend in Oxford.
I have a triple cigarette lighter and USB port working too. So, I can charge a lap top and simultaneously light cigarettes for 3 different people if I saw fit. I have no smokers in my team though. Next step is to connect the water pump so I have running water in Jezebel. To be fair, I have had running water in Jezebel already when it rains, but this should be drinkable running water from a tap, rather than rusty running water that I would have to lick off the walls.
I had to make a trip to Southampton on Sunday morning. A bit of a nerve wracking trip as I was pondering the idea of my first live interview on BBC Radio Solent. I still have no real idea of how many people listen to Radio Solent on a Sunday morning. Their website quotes a figure of 285,000 viewers in a week. Now, is that 285,000 who occasionally will have Radio Solent on at some point in the week, or that they average 285,000 at any point in the week ?

Anyway, at 11 am I found myself in a studio opposite a chap called Nick Girdler, trying to be vague as he tried to guess why I was there. It's all part of the show, a bit like the mystery guest slot on Russell Howard.

Nick Girdler.

He guessed it in the end by asking me the killer question "Go on then, what is it you are doing?" Hard to be vague with that one.
Having checked the website, the interview did garner some extra publicity. 15 hits on the website. 5 of those were via the Julia's House website. I'm guessing that there weren't quite 285,000 people listening in.
Team Nightmare are still awaiting their paperwork from the DVLA. At this rate they won't have time to get Ladiva on the road and install any sort of fridge in her. 3 weeks of tepid beer doesn't bear thinking about.
Team L.O.T.U.S. now have the engine working. They just need to put it inside the car. And find a steering wheel and other minor parts. Drivers seat. Passenger seat. That sort of idea. Probably no fridge space at all in a Lotus.

And so, the big event of this weekend. Team 'Soon-to-be-wed' will be taking up their married name of 'Team Newlywed'. Yes, Team 27 are getting spliced (well, two of them anyway). Swapping their current wild, carefree single existences for the dull monotony and tedium of married life. And what better way to test a new marriage to breaking point than 3 weeks in a large white sardine can, travelling the highways and by-ways of Europe, learning to bicker in a dozen new languages. Looking forward to a good night up in the Midlands to celebrate on Saturday. Milly and Jezebel will be in attendance.  
 

The Bleeding Van...

Oh for God's sake.... This van, does it ever stop leaking ? Our drive is now covered in a puddle of oil about 10 feet long. It's a sloping drive, so it has run down from where it has been leaking under the engine. I'm pretty certain it's oil, but it might have some petrol mixed in with it. Judging by the fuel consumption, which again isn't great (it was fine for a few days last week in Somerset), it could be both an oil and petrol problem.  Let's hope Chris can do something with it next week.

Hairyman is looking at the roof next week too. There is a big gap between roof and van, which I'm guessing won't help with fuel economy or mosquitoes  A few more rivets in the right places and some sealant should keep the nasty little critters out. Hopefully he can also look at the other leak, this time an inward one, where rain water permeates through the rust at the back around the tail gate.

The back tyre was leaking too. It's odd. When I move the valve from side to side, it expels air. It's fine if I leave it alone. I'll leave it alone I think. Had enough of leaks this week.

Whilst I've been doing dull administration type stuff, sorting out vehicle insurance and similar, other teams have been making great strides. Team Trauma in particular have had an exciting week with the arrival of something large, yellow and French. After months of promises, finally they have their vehicle. Cost them £1. Quite possibly the cheapest but most valuable vehicle in the fleet. Hopefully we shall get to see some photos of the ambulance once they have found a company brave enough to insure them. From what I have gathered, it should be smothered in advertising panels very soon as they have already pre-sold around £2000 worth of advertising. By all accounts, they are still working on this side of things.

Team Red 5 have been quietly slaving away in the background. Harvey and Martin have now dragged Doris the Morris out of retirement and have her road legal once more. By the sound of it much work has gone in to replace or repair many, many parts on her, but she has been out and about. By the sound of it though, they won't be troubling the speed cameras too much.

Today I also saw the hot hatch, the silver Proton Satria that will be the chariot of Richard and Mark of Team Chameleon. Whilst other teams have been adding garnish or foul coloured paintwork, they have actually been 'de-boy racering' their car. Taking off the big, fat, noisy exhaust and replacing it with a standard one, even un-garnishing some of the bodywork. The car is going well by all accounts and they are fairly well set to go already.

Olly has some serious bling too. I'll leave you to read the Team Newlywed blog for that news. Looks good though, the silver statue on the bonnet, Rolls Royce style. It should also be useful to tie one end of a clothes line to when we are washing our smalls half way round.

Team Nightmare are still awaiting some DVLA paperwork before they can take 'Ladiva' out on the road. Knowing Team Nightmare, they'll be getting this through on June 13th. Nothing is ever simple with the Nightmares. They still need to take seats out of the back of the van and install a full kitchen and larder for Phil before she is ready to go.

The leaving event on June 14th is taking shape. Three live music acts have agreed to play for us, down at the home of English non-league football, the Bob Lucas Stadium. Speedway Snails, who so wanted to come with us on the trip, are going to be playing last, as we depart the hallowed ground. Before them we have Hairyman (who also wanted to come with us) and his new band 'A Bit of Ruff' and also a local legend, Neil Coad, a relative newcomer to the music scene, if you don't include running a nightclub for many years. Neil covers everything from the 40's to the Naughties. Should be a cracking night, just pray for decent weather. It is on between 6pm and 9pm and is open to all.

The Changing of the Seasons

So, here we are at the changing of the seasons. There is generally some overlap between camping season and football season and this weekend was one of those occasions. Sometimes it is possible to combine both. Camping in the New Forest and an away trip to Totton for example. However, when Bedford are visiting the Bob Lucas Stadium, unless you are intending to camp around the Weymouth area (which I can recommend for most) then one has to give. In this case, we sacrificed a match for the sake of a trip to deepest Somerset. And deep it was too, 200 feet to be precise, at the lower reaches of Wookey Hole. In the end, this seemed like an excellent choice as Weymouth collapsed to another hugely embarrassing home defeat. I think the team are also mentally on holiday already.
We knew it was going to be a cold one before we set off, so we had on board just about the entire contents of the airing cupboard. Just about every sleeping bag and duvet that we possessed. It still wasn't enough. Add in the extra bedding that others couldn't fit in their car and Jezebel was indeed packed to the rafters. It was a good job I neglected to put the barbeque in or we would never have had enough space.
The camp site was a little basic. No, actually, I'd go beyond that, it was a lot basic. Verging on squalid. An unheated toilet block with two toilets and one shower. Luckily we were the only group camping in the Baltic conditions. The herd of rampant children that we had brought with us were able to charge around, bicker and shout as much as they liked, with the added bonus of no dangerous barbeque to run in to.

Drab. No stickers. Some garnish.

Milly, of Team 6 fame, had arrived first and they already had the hanging basket out and were desperate to show me the alloy wheels, the previously mentioned spice rack, the basil plant and other 'bling' that they had adorned their drab red van with. I'm told that the drabness is being addressed soon. I'm also aware that using terms like 'drab' is going to provoke some irate response within minutes of this going live. I'm still being reminded of calling Milly 'basic' last year before they installed the fridge, spice rack, under counter lighting, etc.

Infestation in the roof space.

We were forced to socialise each night in Milly. The cold weather, lack of barbeque and the fact that Jezebel was infested with a pack of wild children meant that this was the safest option. I was relegated to sleeping in a tent. Probably more peaceful than the van.

Not drab. Has stickers.

Visits to Diggerland, Wookey Hole and then South Devon put just over 300 miles on Jezebel's clock and barely an issue. Well, I say barely....the fuel gauge can be a little misleading at times. We knew there wasn't much fuel left, but depending on if you were going up hill or down hill, accelerating or braking or even going around a corner, the fuel gauge could register anything from completely empty to half full. The alternator is still not right, it's not charging either battery. The fridge spews forth it's contents at the slightest opportunity, we need to remember to put a peg in the door to stop this. The whole electrical thing needs sorting out in fact as I will need a power point to charge my phone and more importantly chilled beer.

Uncle Lucas, nephew & mountain of bedding.

So, a few learning points. We shall have to pack carefully before the Windy, we had far too much gear this time. I'd better remember the barbeque too. Time is getting tight, there are 67 days to go to get everything organised. Need to get the alternator fixed, electrical system working, a lock for the fridge, bumpers attached, VW badges attached, cupboard doors made and fixed, canopy roof attached properly, near side mirror glued in place, interior painted or carpeted. Got to somehow fit 41 days of work in too. Roll on June....




 

A Bit of a Drip

I was awoken on Wednesday at 10am by my phone. 10am would be a bit of a lie in for many, especially those with children. If you had finished work at 7am, got to bed at 8am and fallen asleep at 9am, it would seem less of a lie in. I was a little groggy to say the least. It was Jo reporting that there was a serious issue with the car. She wanted the number for Green Flag. I drove out towards Portesham (yeah, funny that eh, the Portesham road....) and surprised Mike. He was fully expecting to be collecting Jezebel.
So, the Golf is off the road for a week. The part for the Golf should cost more than our entire van is worth and will take a week to fix. So, Jezebel is the only vehicle available in the household. Jo isn't impressed, she isn't a great fan of driving Jezebel. Her fault though, she broke the Golf.
At least Jezebel is running well at present. Well, I say she is running well. She is, as always, having some issues. The battery just doesn't seem to have much life in it. Even when it's been charging for a while, it doesn't seem to retain much charge and she frequently struggles to start. The new leisure battery is proving quite useful for jump starting, which I really shouldn't be doing. The latest suggestion is that the alternator is knackered. The stereo jumps a lot. Luckily I have a new one to slot in and wire up sometime soon. The fridge (which has an unnerving habit of leaving it's slot in the back of the van and travelling around the slippery tiled floor like a white dalek) really needs to be attached properly and more importantly, the trip switch needs a firm talking to. I will need cold beer in Europe. That is not negotiable, it's the law! The exhaust pipe is still 9 inches short of what it should be, however the missing piece is on the back seat and if I'm lucky, Chris will be attaching it tomorrow, when he also looks at why the van is leaking fluids once more. Judging by the strong smell of petrol and the appalling fuel economy, I'm guessing that the puddle marks on our driveway could well be petrol. The drips from under the engine area seem to confirm it. They are only at one end of the driveway, suggesting it is only an issue when she is parked up a slope. Fuel tank at the front, engine at the back, sort of makes sense.
Last Monday was supposed to be the first camping trip of the season. Weymouth playing at Bashley in the New Forest. Vying for a space in the play offs and a Bank Holiday local derby. A few beers, scenic location and a night in the van was on the cards. A few minor issues put a spanner in the works though. The chilly weather for a start. Jo found a gymkhana on that day, the powers that be offered me some overtime and Weymouth had been playing abysmally lately. The play offs were rapidly dropping off the radar. So, with all that in mind, the camping trip to the New Forest went down the pan. A bit like Weymouth's play off chances. They lost.
And so, news from other teams. Team 6 have an illuminated spice rack. What the hell is all that about ? I can only assume it is in case one of them urgently needs some cumin or some saffron in the middle of the night and doesn't want to wake the other up. Jeez....
Team 27 and Olly are gearing up for the big day. Team 'Soon-to-be-Wed' have been cleaning Olly up, hopefully ready for stickers, graphics, a renovated interior and of course to take them to and from the church at the end of the month.
Team 23, the Mowlam Mob have ventured on to the continent for a trip to France and to test the wagon out.
Team 38 (that's us!) despite the numerous issues to resolve, have been busy with Lucas varnishing units installed by Jim, sorting out electrics, carpetting the roof interior and generally making the inside of the van more habitable. Road test tomorrow as we are off camping in Somerset with Team 6 and the spice rack.
Team 12 has possibly gained a new member, a part of the old (but sadly now defunct) Team 17. Sarah has given up the idea of a motorbike, in exchange for the luminous pink mobile brothel or Westmancott's funeral parlour, depending on whether you are seeing it from the inside or outside. I still can't decide if that van is a head turner or stomach turner.