| California Dreaming (On a British Summer's Day!) | | | | Regrettably our problems did not end here and over a |
| As I sit here in my dingy subterranean office (well | | | | number of years a pattern emerged of family holidays |
| almost, there's certainly no window to speak of!) I | | | | starting out all smiles and I-spy games, only to end |
| couldn't prevent my mind from wandering. Initially my | | | | prematurely on the back of an AA recovery truck. I |
| thoughts turned towards the weather which has been | | | | seem to recall we were on first name terms with |
| frankly awful for a number of summers now. I can | | | | some of the AA patrol men. |
| remember a time when me and my little collection of | | | | I remember one year in particular I was somehow |
| pals would pack a few items (mainly beer and instant | | | | deemed to be responsible enough to be left at home |
| noodles!) and head off on a Friday after work for a | | | | whilst my parents went away virtually dragging my |
| spot of camping. | | | | long suffering sister with them along with some French |
| The summers seemed never ending with sunburn for | | | | student by the name of Gaston or Christophe. Yes! I |
| everyone, due to lack of protection, which nearly led to | | | | thought a week of partay-ing for me. Imagine my |
| another story but I won't go there! Copious amounts of | | | | horror when only a few hours later the all too familiar |
| warm cider (West Country Lads) were consumed. | | | | flashing orange lights of an AA truck appeared through |
| This usually resulted in some pretty degenerate | | | | the curtains with the smouldering remains of the |
| behaviour and got us thrown out of numerous | | | | camper on the back. It was quite serious this time as it |
| campsites! A record I'm not proud of as you can | | | | had caught fire in the car park of the Swansea |
| imagine. | | | | Leisure Centre. Luckily the plucky French lad had |
| I recently tried to recapture these halcyon days with | | | | managed to extinguish the flames by using a shaken |
| my wife but women just don't seem to enjoy the | | | | bottle of lemonade as an improvised fire extinguisher, |
| same experiences. You know freezing to death at | | | | (a handy tip to remember) thus preventing an inferno. |
| night, unbearably hot by 6am the next morning. Warm | | | | The poor old camper looked rather forlorn though |
| lager for breakfast, uneasy silence for the entire 3 | | | | complete with blackened air intakes and a melted |
| hour journey home, that sort of thing! It started me | | | | distributor amongst other things and another holiday |
| thinking that there must be a more desirable outdoor | | | | had been cruelly cut short. |
| experience that doesn't start with attempting to erect | | | | I'm happy to say though that the latest generation VW |
| a hideously complicated tent and ends in divorce | | | | camper is about as far away from the |
| proceedings. I suddenly had a moment of clarity and | | | | aforementioned nightmares of yesteryear as you can |
| remembered the legend of the Volkswagen Camper! | | | | get. The California is the latest incarnation and having |
| Of course, I should have thought of it before especially | | | | recently checked one out they are the business. With |
| as I only had to recall my teenage years when after | | | | car-like performance and luxury interiors you could |
| enduring soggy tents and cold showers my parents | | | | happily spend the rest of your days languishing away |
| finally decided to invest in a VW Camper. I remember | | | | in one of these. |
| it was a 1974 type 2 1.6L , a Devon conversion I think | | | | Some say they don't have the soul of the good old |
| although no doubt some VW fanatic will correct me on | | | | air-cooled VW's. True there are a few die-hards who |
| this statement. What I do know is that my Stepdad | | | | spend hours removing rust from their beloved vans |
| bought it from a lorry driver and the next day several | | | | you may encounter many in North Devon during the |
| generations of my family embarked on a journey of | | | | summer months holding all the traffic up! |
| discovery that ended about ten miles away when a | | | | However after recounting the above tales I know |
| few valves in the engine decided that they had had | | | | which one I'd go for. Don't take my word for it though |
| enough of life. | | | | there are plenty of specialist VW Van centres who will |
| Luckily my Stepfather was quite mechanically minded | | | | point you in the right direction. |
| and we were able to fit a reconditioned engine. | | | | |