Way back in the day, I decided to change jobs. This was accompanied by soul-wrenching and hand-wringing. The kabbess also needed to change jobs to move with me. We would buy a house together. A major life change was in the offing.
To mark the change, the good lady kabbess and I decided that we would take a month off after our September exam session - some of it paid and some of it unpaid leave. We would go on a big-ass holiday. But what holiday should it be?
The kabbess has always been a bit of a closet hippy. Her fondest dream was to travel in a VW Camper Van. Well, maybe not the fondest exactly, but you get the idea. It took me a few days of consideration, but I too came round to the idea.
A plan was concocted. We would buy a Camper Van, preferably lilac. We would start driving. We would not stop until we got to Morocco. (Well actually we’d stop frequently to enjoy the journey but we wouldn’t, like, STOP. Ya ken well what I’m saying.)
This dream having been hatched, we returned to our workly slumber. Time off was arranged but no further plans laid. We had the moving of jobs and the revising of exams to worry about. These were more urgent tasks.
Exams finished last Friday. At this point I realised that I had one week to buy a Camper Van. Magazines were bought in an urgent attempt to learn the subject matter.
Fate smiled upon us. The magazines revealed that it just so happened that the weekend just passed was the weekend of VanFest 2001 - the UK VW Camper Van festival. So we went. It was… mad. Never have I seen so many vans in one place. And many for sale!
One in particular caught our eye. It was a lilac van. It’s name was Bertie. It was owned by a guy called “Doc”. It was in wonderful mechanical condition.
We bought Bertie.
Doc needed to get home with his kids somehow, so we agreed that he’d use Bertie and deliver him to us on Monday. Tonight.
When you’re finished with Bertie, would you think of driving it to dublin and selling it to me? My Band have been looking into the possibility of buying one, preferrably if it has a sun roof, for much Back to the future-esque jokes.
Doc had one condition on selling me the van. I had to swear a serious promise that I would NOT thrash the engine. These things are meant to be driven slowly, apparently. Such things you need to know if you too are enter into the shadowy other-world of Dub-owners, Twisty.
Actually, the original plan was to only own Bertie for the duration of the trip. But the kabbess has fallen in love with the soppy lilac thing and keeps saying, “can we keep it? Huh? Can we??” The signs are ominous. I may have to tell her that she can do so, so long as she promises to feed him and take him for drives.
Yes, but you could also have the claim to fame that when “I am Spartacus” are flying around in their Jet, you can say that you sold them their first van.
Hehe. I think you forget - we don’t get the keys to the new house until completion… and that isn’t until the day we come back from holiday! So no wild parties at my expense for you (not that you would have done that anyway of course).
Be good whilst I’m gone. Remember, I know lime chutney kung fu.
but, but, but - what if some one starts another damned prostitution thread? what then?? have you seriously thought about the consequences of you’re taking a vacation.
More importantly, have you cleared it with ME???
This all sound VERY cool. You’ll have to tell us all about it. Mr Fran and I will be at the housewarming to view the photos when you get back. Be nice to Bertie, and have a really great time. And tell the Kabbess that I think her taste is impeccable. Mmmmm… lilac camper van.
Awww, that’s cool. Reminds me of something I just saw on Travel Channel. A couple from New Zealand (I think) took their honeymoon in 1971 and drove in a brand new VW Beetle from the UK to Bombay, and then shipped it home to NZ. Then, in 1996, they shipped the VW back to the UK and drove the same trip again for their anniversary. 'Twas a really neat story. Very sweet, the way they talked about each other and the trip. Said beetle now has 180000 miles on it and is still going strong! They had one flat tire in '71 and one flat tire in '96 and that was all that went wrong with the car.