To Boldly Go....

These are the voyages of the Star Ship Jezebel...

It's Life Jim, but not as we know it...

It was always a source of amazement to me, Star Trek. All that technology to propel their star ship across the Galaxy at amazing speeds, tractor beams and di-lithium crystals and yet, despite all of these amazing advances in technology, nobody thought of putting in seat belts. What really used to grab my attention (apart from the short skirts and Captain Kirk's unfailing ability to find English speaking, buxom and attractive women across the Universe) were the amazing screens and panels on the Bridge. So this week my aim has been to go one better than the designers of the USS Enterprise. I already have a number of seat belts fitted in the van and now I have a leisure battery, several lengths of LED lights (thanks Marc), a triple cigarette lighter socket to power up all of my gadgets. I intend to create a van interior to rival the Enterprise.
Saying that though, when planning the double decker bus, I had dreams of a cocktail bar, mood lighting, some aspidistra and maybe a piano in the corner. It ended up as a beer terrace, outside toilet and a malfunctioning fridge that spewed warm beer cans across the floor whenever we went around corners.
So, back to the real world. The tail pipe on Jezebel, that Chris the mechanic warned me was loose, well, it's no longer loose. Or attached to the van. The new one sits on the arm of my settee as we speak. Next to the leisure battery which I know I'm going to stumble over with bare feet before I can be bothered to move it.
I took the stereo out a few days ago and found the inevitable spaghetti explosion behind it. Having refused to work for months, I think the stereo took the hint and feared it was going to end up in the bin. It now works, as long as it is placed precariously on top of the dashboard and not stuffed in to it's slot above the heater. Great. A stereo with a sense of humour. Just what I need.

The venue for the leaving do has had to be changed. After much discussion by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, the Weymouth Pavilion is to shut at the end of May. The Krankies and Brotherhood of Man will just have to find another town to torment this summer. More upsettingly though, the opportunity to make use of the perfectly sized car park and photo opportunities of a convoy of bizarre vehicles setting off from the Pavilion and proceeding along the sea front of Weymouth will have to be modified. Fear not though, we have an alternative location for the leaving event. None other than the home of English non-league football. The Bob Lucas Stadium. Formerly known as The Wessex Stadium. It's a place that holds many fond memories for me (and many frustrating, wet, cold and depressing memories too, now I think about it.) Meeting Steve Claridge the day after we got married for example. I guess that would be in the fond memories bracket. Weymouth managed a draw after all.

    It does have a very large car park though, which is just what we need. It has a bar and catering facilities and hopefully by the time we need it, an outside stage of some sort. We have the Speedway Snails ready to play for us and who knows, maybe another band or two. We are getting there....
Another major event this week was further progress for Team Nightmare. As regular readers will know, Team 14 have caused me a few issues since entries began. Big Phil originally had plans to take a team of Old Gits, retired or close to retiring blokes on the trip. Alas, people dropped out and were replaced. The average age of the team plummeted and worst of all, women found their way on board. 7 blokes became 3 of each sex. They had (no, they are still having...) problems getting their paperwork sorted out. But, just yesterday I had the exciting news that Team Nightmare are mobile ! They have a minibus. It's plain white at the moment and lacks cooking facilities, but Holly has some exciting plans. I overheard them earlier. " I must learn to make curtains...". Obviously too young to remember Star Trek....