Oh my God!

The rain has just poured in through the top of the back door! About a pint came in during a massive downpour, soaked two tea towels and most of a kitchen roll which I used to try and block the flow. The only way I could stop it coming down off the roof and through the seal was to open the door and let it fall past the van like a waterfall.

This answers the question about the damp carpet...

The ultimate solution was to turn the van so the cab was lower than the back door, so the water ran over the windscreen.

And as I type, here comes the rain again...

And we're off!

Set off to Killinghall on my maiden voyage, despite a dodgy alternator. Eventually I will be unable to start the engine if it isn't fixed so am discussing with the dealer, hopefully I can get it done locally under guarantee.

Terrible weather, and a good job I had a practise as a few lessons learned.

Karen and Ian came up to see me, bearing Toblerone and a sleeping bag (yes, I had left my bedding at home, I have the brains of a nematode).

Home at last

Picked up the van and got safely home. All the manuals and handbooks were there, so spent much of the evening trying to digest those. Showed her off to several friends and Karen rang up to see how I was getting on. The van seems OK (just lousy brakes) but I have a few niggles:

• Battery light is permanently on - is this normal?
• Air bag light shows that this is switched off - need to switch back on
• A scratch on the rear near-side, which I don't recall seeing at the garage
• The table seems to have gone AWOL
• Can't remember what position the switches should be when I am not using it!

At the moment it's on the drive as I am too nervous to attempt getting it in the garage without someone checking I am not going to scrape the roof.

A bit of retail therepy

I only popped in for a water carrier....

Spent a happy hour or so in Go Outdoors in Pudsey, a bit of a trek out there so might stick to on-line in future. I bought lots of dinky things, plus a CO alarm and this great LED rechargable lamp - you can wind it up to charge it, and the LEDs shine on to a curved reflector to increase the spread of light.

Annoyingly all the decent crockery seemed to be in 4-person box sets so I have a dispiriting plastic plate and bowl at the moment.

No reply from my campsite lady, maybe she is waiting to see if she gets a better booking as it is near the Bank Holiday.

Back on track

The van is now ready, and so I will pick it up next week. I have joined the Caravan Club, and got my insurance sorted.

I am going to book a night at a local site in Killinghall as a practise. Then I can nip home for things I have inevitably forgotten.

Boo hiss!

What a week, bad news everywhere. My van delivery is delayed, due to illness at the dealer's garage, so not their fault but annoying none the less. In the mean time, after getting insurance quotes using a 5-year incident free record, I get side-swiped by someone on the way to work! Car hauled off, and now my premiums will rocket no doubt, even though not my fault. But on the bright side, no-one was hurt, so I suppose that is the main thing (said through gritted teeth).

Joined Small Motorhome Forum, started coveting Duvalays and wondering if I need chemicals for a porta potti. Sue says she has melanine crockery I might find useful, and I have a plastic tumbler which I am sure will hold wine. So all essentials covered!