Put it down to experience

Well, that was interesting! At least we learned something from it and I'll eventually figure out what that is, I guess.

On Friday, as planned, we left The Sidings before dawn, travelling to Taunton in order to receive our beautiful camper. It was parked up ready for us, paid for and insured. We climbed in and waited for someone to come and take us through everything and to hand over. Meanwhile we checked it over, and made sure the things that had been promised had been done; and that's when things started to go downhill.

My first disappointment was with the shower floor repair. The tiny nick that simply needed a touch of filler had certainly been filled, but with a dirty finger that left an unsightly smudge of resin. It was worse than the original problem! Gareth had found that a door catch hadn't been replaced as promised and it was clear that the van hadn't been fully valeted, as evidenced by the dead flies falling out of the skylights. When our displeasure was communicated a number of grease monkeys appeared with spray bottles and rags to put things right. As I showed one of them the dead flies in a skylight, water dripped and alarm bells rang! No amount of reassurance from the salesman that it was a fixable problem would convince Gareth that the seals hadn't been compromised, either by weathering or the pressure wash we were told was probably the culprit (who pressure washes rubber seals and skylights anyway? It's bound to create problems!). Our confidence in the vehicle was shattered, Gareth said we'd have our money back and we drove away again with me in tears. 

Being neither of us in any state to think what we should do next other than find somewhere to stay, we booked a room at a quirky little BnB called the Fitzhead Inn and drove around in circles trying to find it. It proved to be cosy, with friendly company in the bar and a nice meal. As I snuggled into bed, determined not to think about the “what next” Gareth busied himself on the laptop. Gently he mentioned that the night before, he had come across another camper - same model, a bit younger but with a higher mileage. It was for sale privately in the Peak District. Did we have anything to lose by going up to see it? The seller’s emailed response was positive, so off we went again in our little Berlingo van full of dogs and the worldly goods we were carrying with us. 

The M5 in pouring rain is no fun, and made worse by lane closures and crawling traffic. Rain became snow by the time we got onto the M6 and we began to wonder about the road conditions on the way to Buxton where we had booked into the Palace Hotel for the night. A cuppa for us at Richard and Libby’s and a run in Fenton Park for the dogs was a nice break, giving me the opportunity of some cuddles with Margot and a rare calling-by chat with my eldest and his lady. We missed Seb though, who’d been delivered to his other grannie for a sleep over. 

We arrived in a Christmas-card Buxton in the dark. The Peaks were white and the camper van seller was questioning the possibility of our being able to see the vehicle, parked as it was in a barn in a remote high-up farm. We picnicked that night in our dog-friendly room, bathed and watched a film, hoping that the weather would be ok in the morning. It wasn't, but the seller was happy to oblige us with a viewing if we could get there and so we did.

The van was no match for one we'd left behind in Taunton, at least in terms of its interior. This one has been used but it has been loved, and being a Hymer, has withstood being lived in and everything works. We've been back at The Sidings for a few days until the camper is ready for us on Thursday. Wish us luck that we are luckier this time.

Reflecting on the experience of dealing with a dealer, particularly after hearing other tales of dodgy dealerships I am dismayed that quality control and apprenticeship training is not up to scratch. Obviously it's a risk buying secondhand, but we are finding that a good honest private seller inspires more confidence than a dealership where guarantees mean nothing at all.

Living lightly?

It's just four and a half days until we get our motorhome! We've been idling here at “The Sidings”, enjoying the time with my sister and her Wayne and doing the research needed to make our new lifestyle plan a do-able one. Also…… we've had an offer accepted on the little house we viewed before we came up north. So, that's another piece of the jigsaw falling into place.  

My youngest, Owen, seems especially happy with the prospect of us buying the place in question, possibly because it isn't far from him and he sees the advantage of having child-minding facilities on his doorstep, or he's glad that his strange mother is now putting money back into bricks and mortar. As far as being a convenient grandchildren drop off is concerned, that is at least a couple of years off, as we intend putting a tenant in as soon as possible. 

A niggle in the back of my mind is that my attraction to the property is in fact, because of its proximity to Owen, Jess and the children. I can't deny that an alternative retirement dream of mine was of a future with grandkids coming to tea, helping me plant flowers, make cakes and having a stay-over room just for them. I’ve wrestled with these conflicting desires and know that when travelling I will miss the regular and close contact I have had with the little ones, Reuben and Ivy. However, now that we are relieved of the chores of running a BnB and have a home to carry on our backs, I might also get to spend a bit more time with Richard, Libby, Seb and Margot. 

I remember the wonderful feeling that came with the arrival of Sebastian, my first grandchild. I'd had to make all sorts of care arrangements for my (now dear departed) mother in order to get to see him and hold him. We are four grandchildren in now, and lives being so busy, regular visits to and between my sons’ families have become more difficult. Now that Gareth and I have un-busied ourselves though and put our home on wheels we can ‘live local’ wherever we want! ….. but only if we have a tenanted property providing us with some income. 

I'm hoping, of course, that things work out in such a way that I'll also be able to visit my far-away-in-Canada son, William and Izzy, his lady. They have cats instead of children, and while Skype is a great facility, it isn't the same as a proper visit. We can't, unfortunately, stretch to getting an amphibious motorhome in order to get out to family across the Pond and beyond so flying out is the only option and then we’d have to kennel the dogs.

Dogs. Last night we compiled an order from Amazon (yes, I know! convenience and price wins over ethics…..again!). It's for stuff to equip the motorhome and includes a rather expensive rechargeable vacuum cleaner. Why an expensive one? Well, our two springer spaniels shed like mad and with blown air heating I don't fancy having dog hair drifting in our air like dandelion fluff. The next issue is how to restrain them while travelling and how to keep them from getting underfoot. Then, how do we de-muddy them after soggy walks without having to redecorate each time? This will be fun 🙄. As I say, the success of this venture depends very much on how it works out with the dogs.

As I sit here writing this at past 9.00 am, Gareth languishes in bed still, and the dogs wait patiently for him to take them out. I could take them out myself, as I often do, but I prefer to write when the mood takes me and in any case they are HIS dogs! Ok, I love them too, but I do get irritated by the intrusion of their needs into ours. Nevertheless, I believe that having a pet is to have it for life, and one way or another, they will be accommodated.

And speaking of ethics (was I?), I have been pondering how this plan of ours fits with my wish to live more lightly on this earth. I do all of the usual things, like recycling and up-cycling where I can. However, I am painfully aware of the need we all have to do more; to question the provenance of the things we buy, to reduce our waste and our use of plastics, but, Gareth and I are about to spend lots of time travelling about in an aluminium box spewing diesel fumes into the countryside and consuming fossil fuel to keep us warm. I console myself that it is at least a second-hand vehicle (is it therefore recycled?) with a solar panel and that the little house we are buying is also old (it could be about 150 years old), so also recycled…..in a way.

Anyway, there’s the question: How do we find a way to reduce our carbon footprint while living this little dream of ours? All sensible suggestions welcome.

Pastures new

Ok, then, here it is and here is Gareth, imagining himself off in some remote place, with all that he needs packed into the tin can that will soon be ours:

That’s the first piece of our ‘living differently’ picture. Believe it or not, it's a 17 year old vehicle in mint condition - less than 900 miles on the clock. The story is that it was bought with loads of extras but the guy’s wife wasn't keen on motorhoming so it sat on the driveway for years. 

There is a little snag - it's left hand drive. Mind you, that will be an advantage when we finally get to travel abroad. We pick it up in a couple of weeks and then who knows where we might show up!

You'd think that having finally found this key to freedom we'd be excitedly planning our adventures and rubbing our arthritic fingers together with glee. Instead we are fretting over whether we've made the right decision! It's another item of stuff requiring practical and financial upkeep. I'm tempted to paint birds and daisies on the outside but Gareth is conscious of the need to keep it in good resale condition. Sigh! He's right, of course. After a bit of travelling in it with two dogs under foot we might decide it's not for us after all, and it would be nice to get some of our money back.

Anyway, that's one decision made. The next is to find a house and we are very likely to repeat the process of buying something that didn't fit the criteria we shortlisted (we never intended buying an old van, or one that is LH drive…..or one that isn't automatic……) House hunting today turned up an interesting little property that we are very tempted to put an offer in on. Again, you'll have to wait and see what comes of it.

Our time in Mumbles is coming to an end as we head up to Lincolnshire on Saturday. My sister Jen and her partner Wayne live in a converted railway carriage on what is now a hobby railway sidings. They run a little motorhome park business and also have a cabin that will be our home for a couple of weeks. They have a small motorhome too so you can guess what the topic of most conversations will be when we're with them. “The Sidings”, Ludborough is a fab little place just below the Wolds. Jen and Wayne have done a lovely job of converting their railway carriage and the site is gorgeous. We are looking forward to our annual visit and so are the dogs, Bess and Pwdin. There are lots of rabbits there while there aren't many in Mumbles. They are certainly not the sedate sort of dogs that happily abide in apartments!