London bound

We had a very random out-of-the blue phone call on Friday afternoon, asking if Bertie would be free to come to London on Monday to appear on the 'Alan Titchmarsh Show'! George Clarke was a guest on the show, promoting the Amazing Spaces series, and they wanted to be able to show one of the builds from the series to add some interest to the piece. Since most of the projects are either too big (double decker buses), or fixed in one place (houses/beach huts/tree houses etc), Bertie seemed the logical choice...

I must admit to never having seen the programme... or actually knowing that there was such a show ... but it was very flattering to be asked, so we tried hard to find a way to be able to say Yes.

Jonathan was working, and knew he couldn't take a day off to galivant around the country in Bertie, and there was no way I was happy to drive by myself all the way into and through central London - so we placed a quick call to Jonathan's lovely parents, and managed to organise child care and an extra driver with the one call...

And so Richard and I set off for London at half eight yesterday morning. It was cold, and a bit rainy, and we were pretty apprehensive. To be honest, I didn't sleep too well Sunday night. Having only driven Bertie myself for about 5 miles ever, and with Richard never having been behind his wheel, the prospect of a 200 mile drive was a bit daunting. Not to mention the fact that we've never taken him more than 75 miles away from here!

I took the first stint behind the wheel, and quickly remembered how heavy the steering is, how tricky it is to keep him going straight (he has a tendency to drift to the left, and a distinct disinclination to be corrected smoothly), and how interesting changing gear can be. We had an issue with him cutting out

at low revs a few times, but sometimes he idled just fine - which kept me on my toes at roundabouts
and junctions!

Richard took over the driving before we reached London, and I am very grateful that he did all of the central London section, not something I really enjoy even in a normal car. It was a lot of fun pootling past the Olympic park, the Shard, looking across the Thames at Tower Bridge etc, and seeing Bertie reflected in all the plate glass windows :)

We caused a bit of a stir when we arrived at the studios - it seems the health and safety people weren't terribly happy at the prospect of allowing him into the building. The first question was how much fuel we had in the tank - but since his fuel gauge doesn't work, I wasn't really able to give a very scientific answer to that! I also couldn't be too scientific on the answer to the question of how much he weighs - no idea at all!

However, once we had jettisoned our petrol can and gas bottle, we were grudgingly allowed to proceed.

Getting Bertie up the ramp, and around some tight corners, into the scene dock behind the studio was pretty hard work - I was literally hanging on the steering wheel with all of my weight to try to turn him, with the tech guys laughing at my inability to drive... slightly humiliating :)

Still, he made it in, and then was pushed from there into position in the studio, for us to wipe him down and pretty him up... We got a great reaction from most of the crew, some of whom had seen him on Amazing Spaces, and some who hadn't.

The filming was fine - it's a number of years since I've been in a TV studio, but I loved the buzz and seeing how the live shows came together.

George and Alan did a great piece about the series, and a good section inside Bertie, talking about his great design (smug me) and beautiful interior (thanks Awesome!).

It was good to see George again, and he and the crew were genuinely thrilled that we had made the effort to come down.

The journey home was fairly uneventful, though long, and we made it home about half 10 - I am still exhausted!


Well done Bertie - 205 miles in one day, and still looking stylish ;)

MOT time...

I can't quite believe that it's been a year already, but the MOT is due on Bertie. We decided to take him back to the same garage as last year, Wooleys. They remembered him from last time, but hadn't been aware of the TV programme. They were impressed by the difference in him though!

Jonathan did the honours of driving him carefully on to the ramp so they could do the test, and stayed in to show off the lights etc. Apparently it was a bit disconcerting being raised and lowered on the ramps...

Anyway, in contrast to last year's big bill, this year he passed straight through with flying colours (or at least, no advisories!)... And so we're set for another year.

Jingle bells, jingle bells ...

We were asked to do a final day of filming for the 'Amazing Spaces' show, for a small section in the Christmas special episode. So - today we have been pretending it's Christmas!
Tinsel, stockings, warm spiced apple juice, gingerbread, carols and lots and lots of fairy lights... It's been a lovely day :)

Holidays are here again!

It's only been one night, but we feel like we've been on a proper holiday...

This crazy half term week looked like it didn't hold any opportunities (or decent weather) to get away in Bertie, so we had consoled ourselves with putting a couple of day trips on the calendar. However, our schedule for the next couple of days changed suddenly, and with the St Jude storm blowing itself out pretty quickly in our neck of the woods, we found a tiny window in which we could hit the road.

I booked a campsite at the third time of trying - the first was closed for the winter, and the second sounded a little unsure about 6 people staying in one small van and suggested we try elsewhere! We checked the directions on the net, found the relevant page on the Norfolk map, chucked some clothes in a bag, duvets in the seat boxes, dog food in the rear storage and clean water in the tank, and we were off...

The site we chose was the wonderful 'Whitehall Farm' in Burnham Thorpe: http://www.whitehallfarm-accommodation.com
A complete stab in the dark, but it turned out to be absolutely perfect for our needs. A lovely quiet field with countryside views, short grass and very few bumps, almost no other campers, clean and adequate facilities, and only £14 for us all for the night. Can't ask for more than that!

We pitched up (after a short quibble about the prevailing wind, direction of the slope, distance from the one other tent etc) and then walked the couple of miles along country lanes to Burnham Market, the nearest small town (large village?). Sandwiches and cakes from the bakery, eaten outside on the village green in the late autumn sunshine, were just perfect. The smaller children found the walk back a little too much and needed to be carried, and it was almost totally dark by the time we made it back to Bertie, but it was a lovely excursion.

Once back, Bertie came into his own as we quickly warmed up with the stove on and hot drinks and then dinner cooking. Games of  cards around the table together passed the rest of the afternoon, then a meal of lemon chicken (well, quorn!) and rice... The electric coolbox is perfectly adequate for our needs at the moment, and I'm very glad we didn't invest the time and money into installing a real fridge.

After tea we read some stories and played another game, and then J took the children off to the toilet block while I rearranged the furniture ready for bed. We decided to change the sleeping arrangements this time, after some issues last time. The two little girls were in their hammocks again, but the older two took the places on top of the kitchen, and Jonathan and I made up the whole double bed below the hammocks for us. This was a much better option, espcially for Jonathan, as it meant that he could stretch out fully in bed, and sleep much better.

We were really toasty warm, and left one of the roof vents open for ventilation through the night. It did rain overnight, but we stayed dry and warm, and all slept well.

After replacing the tables for breakfast the following morning, it was time to make our way home again. It is just so fantastic to be able to pack up in 10 minutes, turn a key and be back on the road... Campervanning is just the best!

Great feedback, and another trip out

We've had so many lovely comments from friends, family and strangers too... Bertie is getting lots of new twitter followers too :)

Here's just a few of the comments:

@MpbEunos: After showing the family @bluemooncamper on George Clarke's Amazing Spaces, it has been decided that it is the best thing ever! I need one!
@DomesticMrsH: Wow did you see @GCAmazingSpaces last night? You really should check out this stunning project @Bluemooncamper #creativespace
@bethtow: @MrGeorgeClarke @Bluemooncamper such a clever use of space - love it!
@melly_mel101: @Bluemooncamper what a fantastic holiday camper van! well done, he's beautiful!

@MrGeorgeClarke: Bertie the Ambulance is one of the cutest and inventive projects I've ever seen...what a lovely project for a lovely family #amazingspaces



On Saturday we went into the city to do some shopping, and I had five separate people come up to me during the afternoon to say how much they enjoyed the programme, and to compliment us on Bertie. Crazy, being recognised as 'someone from the TV'! One guy even shouted down a crowded street, "Love your ambulance!"!


Bertie took us to the woods on Sunday, doing what he does best. We had a lovely walk in the forest with good friends, finding a rare couple of hours of sunshine. And then we all piled into the back of Bertie for hot chocolate and biscuits... Perfect Sunday afternoon.

Amazing spaces, amazing day :)

It's been a crazy, bizarre, tiring and very wonderful day!

Jonathan was up at first light again, off to the paper shop in the local village, to get a copy of the Eastern Daily Press - and here is the article:


Short and to the point (!) but a lovely photo.

Twitter and facebook have both been buzzing all day with friends and strangers alike excited about seeing Bertie on the first episode of the new series of 'Amazing Spaces' tonight. The day also involved lots of normal stuff - toddler group, shopping, housework etc - alongside the craziness.

We took Bertie on the school run for the first time this afternoon, so our children could show him off to their classmates and teachers, which was a lot of fun. Then, at the prime drive-time slot of 5.50, I did the first radio interview of my life, on BBC Radio Norfolk. It felt like a blur, and I probably should listen again to find out exactly what I said, but friends and family said I came across well :) It was an added bonus to be the 'and finally' story on the news bulletins at 6pm and 7pm too!

It was pretty cosy on the sofa this evening as 9 additional friends and family members arrived around half 7 to join us to watch the programme.... And at 8pm we were on!

The show is just soooo fab anyway, and we were really happy with the way that Bertie came across. Very, very pleased. I expect we'll be watching it a few times over the next week :)

Paparazzi!

The EDP photographer came this afternoon to take our picture for tomorrow's paper. The highlight for me was having to move Bertie into position (Jonathan was still at work at this point), as I haven't driven him myself for months.

Once again the children were very patient and great at being in the right place at the right time - hopefully there will be some good shots for the paper to choose from.

I had a telephone interview with the journalist as well, so we're looking forward to seeing what's in print tomorrow.

Read all about it!

Jonathan was up super early this morning to go to the paper shop in the next village and snap up some copies of the Sunday Times. He also came back with a Radio Times and a couple of other TV guides...

Lovely photos, and a great article!

Not so fast

So he does live, but all is not right with the world...

We charged up the battery as instructed, and then Jonathan decided to take him out for a drive to get him filled up with fuel in advance of our trip on Saturday. He returned after about 10 minutes, which meant there had to be something wrong - the garage is easily 15 minutes each way from here.

There is just no power in the engine. It starts fine, and revs OK, but when you try to use it to move Bertie, there's almost no response. Jonathan said with his foot to the floor he struggled to get above about 10mph, and as soon as he got to any kind of hill, he thought he was going to stop altogether. So, in that 10 minutes he had only been about half a mile, turned, and inched his way back.

How quickly we return from celebration to despair.

Looks like I'll be back on the phone to Mr Kitchen tomorrow...

HE LIVES!!!!

Rob came at 10, and took less than an hour to get Bertie going... The sweetest sound to my ears :)

He had to replace a few bits and pieces, and some wiring, and apparently there is still an issue with the carburettor filling with fuel, but he goes!

We need to charge the battery up, but we should be good to go to Awesome (at last!) on Saturday...

Thank you so much Rob Kitchen from Norfolk Classics.
http://www.norfolkclassiccars.co.uk

And a very shiny rear end...

Well, the day is getting slightly better, in that Bertie is home.

At last, the welding is finished. We went back to CWD today, and towed him home... I'm still not happy with the look of the boxes, and they seem very low to the ground, but I am just so relieved that it's all finished and we can move on to the next stage (assuming he ever runs again!)

So here's his shiny rear end:

And here is the crew pushing him into the parking space outside our house:

A knight in shining armour?!

I think we have a mechanic!

Dan sent me an email with details of all the work he's done so far, and then also some suggestions for people to contact. Since the engine is not dissimilar to an early Land Rover, and since those engines go on for ever and are pretty fixable, it seemed a good idea to maybe try a Land Rover garage or specialist (though not really a main-dealer type!)

Anyway, I had a very useful chat with a guy called Rob Kitchen today who works over in Swaffham, and I think he may be the man we need - and he (after some gentle persuasion) has agreed to come over tomorrow to check Bertie over.

Hoorah.

OK, this isn't funny now...

So, we still don't have Bertie back - apparently he'll be done by Tuesday, but I've heard that before - and now we don't have a mechanic either - and he's still not running.

This is not funny anymore.

I spoke to Dan on the phone this morning, and he wants out. I totally, totally understand - he has a very busy life building his own cars (check out the Trident Iceni, Dan's baby: http://tridentsportscars.com) as well as trying to find time for his lovely family... And Bertie is turning out to be more than just a quick fix for a friend. So, I totally get it - but now we're in a bit of a hole!

I need to find (and find the money to pay) someone who can come to us, can fix Bertie, and can do it within the week so we can keep on schedule...

Happy Bank Holiday weekend everyone!

Not a happy bunny

OOH, I'm so cross!

We went to pick up Bertie from the welders as we had arranged, and he's STILL not finished. And they didn't even call to let us know.... So we turned up, and Pete was working away, surprised to see us - as though we'd never agreed to collect him today. But he's not done, so what can you do?! We agreed to come back tomorrow to get him; I'm not pleased at all.

But also - I'm really unhappy with the aesthetics of the back boxes. Pete had said he was going to put a couple of side lockers on, as well as the central box, to add to the storage space, but it doesn't look anything like I expected. There are big gaps between the three sections, and it's all so shiny and so angular - I guess these guys are industrial welders, so I maybe shouldn't have expected anything more, but it's just so ugly.

Poor Bertie - What have I done to him?!

Happy details

I got loads of samples of fabric in the post today to choose one for the bunks - and I think I've made a choice :)

Who cares if he doesn't go - he will have pretty things!

Here are a few of the samples

This is the one I have chosen. It's a heavy weight canvas, blue and stripy, and comes from these lovely people:
http://www.kidscurtaincompany.co.uk

I have made it into a little Barbie-sized bunk with some straws to help explain to the children how their beds will work in Bertie!

Delays

We had hoped to pick Bertie up today, as arranged, but we hadn't heard anything from them so Jonathan called - and he's not finished. Apparently we can get him on Friday after 4. I'm a bit narked, especially as Jonathan came home from work early today to make sure he was available to help with the towing. Also, Dan can't work on him easily over there, and I was hoping to get him to do some more bits during this week.

Welding progress

I popped in to CWD over lunch to drop the seatbelts off, and to check on progress. The back step has now been cut away, exposing the extent of the space, and also the extent of the rust (!), under Bertie. Pete has been making a big box from aluminium to go beneath this space - it is really big and heavy, and will give loads of storage room - but I'm a bit concerned how low to the ground it appears to be. Pete says it will be fine, and probably once it's in place it will sit higher, so I expect I'm worrying over nothing.

Forgot to take the camera with me, which I'm really annoyed at myself for, as it would have been great to have a record of him with no back end!!

Happy birthday Jonathan!

Welding take 2

We towed Bertie back to CWD today for the next stage of his work. We have talked through lots of options to do with replacing the back step area, and building in some storage, but until the current floor is cut out, it's tricky to see exactly what spaces we're dealing with.

Dan suggested the idea of having a pull-out drawer beneath the back, on some super-strong runners like they use on race trailers for pull-out sections. I LOVE that idea, and it could make a back deck area between the doors to increase (albeit slightly) the living area. The horse-box conversion that was on the last series of Amazing Spaces, and which inspired George's fold-down caravan wall, used that idea of having a patio/deck off the ground...
I drew up how it would be, and showed it to the welders, but they rather poured cold water on the idea :(

Pete the welder said he didn't think the undercarriage has the strength to support something like that, and would be worried what it would do to the integrity of the vehicle... Very practical, and probably true, but I'm still sulking! He was also worried about being able to keep such a drawer water-tight, because of where the joints would need to be. We agreed that it will probably be better to build a storage bin into the floor forward of the step, with a lift-up access in the floor, and a second storage box under the tailgate with a step fixed to it. He's going to start removing the old step tomorrow, and then I guess he'll know more about dimensions etc.

We also talked with Pete about our new ideas for the bunks, and asked him if it would work to use the seat backs to support the hammocks. We talked over a few options, and agreed that they will fix some u-shaped brackets to the tops of the frames to hold poles to make pipe cots.

In further news, I have today ordered some seatbelts, so that Pete can weld the fixing points onto the frames before he finishes. I have no idea if we've got the right ones - who knew there were so many options?!- but let's hope they're OK.

No progress

Nothing much to report today, except that I had an email from Awesome saying that they would like Bertie to be converted to a negative earth, as they are going to be fitting various bits of electrics in the rear and have no experience of positve earth vehicles. Better work out what that means then!

We've been talking about the possibility of taking Bertie to them on a trailer or low-loader if we still can't get him going. Every day that goes by I am more and more worried about our timescales, and worrying that we will miss our opportunity to get him finished by the summer, and miss the filming schedules. On the other hand, the idea of spending the next few thousand pounds on fitting an amazing interior to a vehicle that doesn't go... now that really is a gamble that I'm not sure it would be sensible to take.

Issues

Dan has been brilliant, giving up another Saturday to come and work on Bertie. He was here for over 5 hours today - he brought Quin with him which made Nathanael happy, and we were all out in the garden digging in the trampoline (another story...) while Dan was working away.

He's pretty sure the problem lies with the ignition timing and he's been doing some research into how to try to sort it out, but he couldn't make any headway today. He also thinks we need to look into the earth of the vehicle - he says it is currently positive earth, which is not uncommon for vehicles of this age, but that we might want to look into what's involved in turning it into negative earth. He would like to replace the distributor, but needs to know which one to get first, and that would be affected by our decision on the earth.

I wish I knew what this all means!! Google is my friend, but I find myself combing through forum after forum and getting more confused rather than clearer...

More mechanical issues

So Dan came today with the rebuilt carburettor, but Bertie is still refusing to play ball. Dan seems to be reaching the extent of his knowledge and experience, and isn't really sure where to go with it - and we don't really know either. I just don't have the first idea who I would call or where we would find a mechanic who is going to know what they're doing with this type of vehicle, and who won't charge us the earth for whatever needs doing.

On a more positive note - the black and silver number plates arrived today! Can't wait to put them on, and ditch the horrid yellow plastic, but we've decided we won't swap them until he's all done - so they can be our icing on the cake!

Frustration, and back to the drawing board

So, as planned, we were up early and ready to head off to see the guys at Awesome. Dan came over about half nine with the parts he thought he needed to fix the distributor, and the film crew arrived not long after to document our trip to Cambridgshire.

The children and I set off in our car, with the intention that Jonathan would follow in Bertie soon after, but I could begin the meeting without him. However, by the time we got to Mildenhall - just under an hour from home - Jonathan had called to say that there was no chance of Bertie starting, and to ask me to turn around.

Soooooo frustrated again, and also feeling embarassed and awful because we have tried so many times to get down to St Ives, and it feels really unprofessional to keep cancelling. Jonathan called them and said they were fine with it, but I still don't like being unreliable like this.

Apparently Dan tried to repair the wiring to the distributor and managed to get a spark to the plugs, but the engine was so flooded that they couldn't get a start. Kirsten from the film company leant her hairdrier to help in the effort to dry things out - and all of it was captured on film. What was missed though was the most scary part - when Dan discovered the carburettor was full of fuel, and he found this out as fire broke out in the engine!!! Scary stuff... he says it could have caught fire any time we were driving. Eek!

Anyway, he has now taken the carburettor off, so that he can take it home and rebuild it over the next few days to try to fix the problem. I'm feeling the pressure of having spent a lot of time and money and not getting much to show for it... and just so helpless. I hate being so ignorant about these things.




On a more positive note, since we haven't been able to get anywhere with Bertie today, I have spent the extra time having another look at the layout.

We have found a cheap second hand caravan stove and sink on ebay, but the sink and burners are the opposite way around to the way I had planned, so we are going to switch the sides in the rear, having the cooking space to the right as you open the doors. A minor change, but it all needs thinking through. This will allow us to have the burners near the doors, and the sink towards the middle of the van - hopefully this will be safer and will allow us to use the back of the seats for hanging space without setting things on fire!

The most major breakthrough though, has been a rethink of the sleeping arrangements. I have always considered that we need to use the kids' travelling seats to make the double bed, and therefore need another space to fit the other four beds. When George Clarke was here he suggested making the
kitchen area work harder by including bed spaces here, and I was hoping to do something with hammocks above the units, but the fibreglass construction of the walls means we can't hang anything from them - there just isn't the strength. Today's 'lightbulb' moment though was considering the possibility of using the travelling seats to make beds for the children, rather than making a bed for us. Suddenly the space seemed to open up - we can make the lower level into two single beds, and have two bunks of some sort above them, making two sets of bunk beds in that area, and therefore sleeping four in the central section rather than just two. This means that there is only a need to make a bed for two elsewhere, and I think the area above the kitchen should just about accommodate that.

I've wanted fold-out tables in the middle since the first design, probably using a flip-over section of table to make two small tables into the large dining table - and now I'm thinking we could do a similar thing in the rear section - having a flip-over worktop to bridge the gap between the two sides, and making a raised sleeping platform for Jonathan and I. We would be blocking the rear doors when this is made up, which isn't ideal, but it does mean that we would still have access to the kitchen once the children are in bed, and we don't have to block the doors til we go to bed. It also means there will still be access through to the front when the bunk beds are made up.

So, tonight I'm frustrated and disappointed and stressed about the fact that Bertie doesn't go - but I'm a bit re-energised about the fact that I might just have come up with a cunning plan to make the inside work...

On tow...again

Well, we were planning to collect Bertie from the welder this afternoon, so that we can drive him down to Awesome tomorrow morning to meet with Fred and firm up plans for the interior work. Since we couldn't get him started yesterday, Dan really kindly offered to take some time out from his work this afternoon and go over to the welder to get him running. We met him there, but there was no way Bertie was going to play ball today.

While we were working on him, I had a phone call from Kirsten from the tv crew to check all was OK for the drive tomorrow. As soon as she heard that it looked like we were going to have to tow him home from the welder, she got very excited and asked us to wait for them to arrive with the cameras to film it! I can sort of see the humour in it, and I know it will make for good TV, but it's not brilliant when we are tearing our hair out with a problem and they are getting excited cos they can get some good shots!

Anyway, they did come and film us towing, which was very amusing, with Angie having to keep running ahead, filming a bit until we had gone past her, and then running past us again. Then she filmed from inside her car, hanging out of the window as Kirsten drove... Much to the consternation of the tractor drivers and other traffic on our country roads!

Dan spent a couple of hours working away, and thinks he has done enough to be able to fix things tomorrow, if he can get the parts he needs first thing in the morning.

So - I have prepped the children and packed the big car, in the expectation that we will be travelling together down to Awesome in the morning.

Come on Bertie, you can do it!

Filming day 2

We went over to the welders this morning, to check on progress, and also to meet the small crew from the tv show.

Good news - the seat frames are all made, including the sliding sections.
Bad news - they restrict the windows to the side, cut straight across the communication windows between the front and rear, and also restrict that doorway. I knew when I sent in the dimensions of the seat backs that they would be high, but I didn't have the correct measurements for where those little windows were, and I also hadn't adequately allowed for the curvature of the side of the ambulance... Still, we live and learn.
Seeing them made, it was tempting to leave them be, but I was not happy with the compromise it was going to leave us with aesthetically, so we had a good chat with Pete the welder and came up with a solution. Sadly, the solution means he has to change all four of them, but he did one while we were there and it didn't take more than about 25 minutes for him to alter it, so it's worth it!

Our plan, as far as I was concerned anyway, was to get the welding done the first two weeks of April, and then deliver Bertie to Glenn and Greg at Awesome for them to start. They have said it will take them 6 to 8 weeks, so we would have him back by the middle of June to do our finishing touches and be all finished before July. However, since it's already the 11th and no sight of the work here being finished (or in the case of the flooring/step/storage, even started) it looks like that timescale is going to slip and slip.

Anyway, we had more filming time today. We spent time talking to the guys at the welders on camera, and Angie got lots of footage of sparks flying etc. I found the whole experience of being in the workshop really fascinating - not anywhere i would ever normally have a reason to be. Bertie is educating me in many ways it seems!

We need to get Bertie down to St Ives to meet up with the carpenter (who, incidentally, has changed from 'Thomas' to 'Fred' - having never met either of them, it means little to me!) to discuss his portion of the work as soon as possible. Aside from needing to make plans, we also have no quote for that section of the project, which would be kind of useful! We have made and cancelled several appointments to do that, during this whole period of him not starting or running reliably, but we have arranged again to go this Saturday, and I'm determined we will.

Work underway - well, nearly!

Having spoken to Greg at Awesome on Friday to clarify some details with measurements, I realised that I needed to amend the plans for the welders slightly. I sent over the changed dimensions, and had a phone call to Carl to check they'd got them. Apparently they've moved Bertie Blue into their workshop, and are intending to begin tomorrow... And the film crew is coming up on Thursday to see some action. Exciting!

Missed photo opportunity

I wish I'd been there today to take photos, but sadly I wasn't...

Jonathan and his Dad had to tow Bertie Blue to Carl the welder (CWD welders) today. Jonathan couldn't find a point on the front of him to attach the solid towing bar, so they ended up using a long length of blue rope tied to part of the chassis underneath... I think it was quite hard work. Thank goodness we found a welder that's only 3 miles away!

Squared paper day

I've spent a fair part of my evening drawing on squared paper again!

Months ago I found a welding firm somewhere near Sheffield who had pictures of some seat frames which looked like the sort of thing we needed - and first gave me the idea for having sliding seat sections. Their picture looks like this

and so my job today has been to draw this out on squared paper to our spec and measurements for our welders to try to recreate for us.

My drawings look like this

Aarghh!

He's not starting AGAIN! Dan's had him running each time he's been here, but we haven't tried starting him this week until today - and now he's not working again. We tried jump starting him, and he is turning over, but not firing up. I am so frustrated, and also really feeling the pressure - this was all my idea and is therefore all my fault...

And I haven't had great luck with the welders today either. When we agreed to the welders doing the work, we said we would book it in for the first two weeks of April. Anyway, I called Carl today and he sounded very vague indeed about when or whether he would get to it. We agreed that we would bring it in on the 4th, with the hope that they can get some work done before the weekend, but probably not til next week.

We are also going to have to tow him there, if it stays like this...

As if I wasn't stressed anough, Kirsten called today to check our timescales, hoping to be able to get to the welders soon to film some work taking place. Let's hope something good happens soon.

Bits and bobs

Dan found some time in his crazy schedule to come round again today. He replaced the coil (including the wiring), replaced the points, distributor cap and rotor arm. He also identified a problem with the exhaust, where there is a gap at the manifold, and he is still to replace the fuel line.

Wish I knew what half of that meant!

Dan the man

Dan was here again - he took some wiring off the distibutor to replace it. Apparently there is now no spark from the distributor which is why he isn't firing up when we turn the key - but why there is no spark, I don't know... Grr.

Focus on the inside

Still haven't managed to get him started, so we are waiting for Dan to have some time to pop over and see what he can do.

In the meantime, I am trying to focus on the work which needs to be done inside. With that in mind, I took the family to a big caravan shop in Dereham today to try to get some good space-saving ideas.

We had loads of fun opening and closing cupboards, folding out bunks, playing with switches and dials and pretending we were on holiday (while avoiding the salesmen!)  I'm not sure it really helped in terms of finding things we could use in Bertie, but it did help me to be clearer than ever on what. I don't want - ie carpets, mdf and brown fabric seats. No, no and no!

Rubbish

And now he won't start again.

It seems that the journey yeasterday was more foolhardy than we thought.

He hasn't started since.

V unhappy.

Foolhardy journey?!

Now Bertie is running again we thought it would be a good idea to take him out regularly to try to keep him happy. Tamar was singing with the choir in Thuxton this morning, so Jonathan decided to take Bertie to drop her off. Tamar had to hold the passenger door closed on the way - we still haven't fixed it - which was OK, until the air intake pipe for the carburettor popped out, and she had to use the other hand to keep it in! One bonus of having the engine in the front cab I guess...
Anyway, what we hadn't thought of was that on the way home, Jonathan would be by himself - he secured the door with the seatbelt as well as he could, but had to drive and hold the air pipe in place at the same time!!

More random jobs

Dan came back again today to do a few more jobs. He replaced the vacuum hose, cleaned to spark plugs and removed a spacer plate that was underneath the carburettor. He said that ideally he would replace or rebuild the carburettor to get a more realiable start, so hopefully that will be done soon.

Jonathan and I are watching as much as we can as he works, to get some idea of how it all works - but we do feel rather ignorant.

I've been making a bit of a list of jobs for us to do too - although I sort of wish I hadn't, as it starts to feel a bit overwhelming when I write it all down!

Running

Dan came back today and replaced the solenoid, and Bertie now starts on the key! He also identified several further jobs that he would like to do - or he thinks needs doing, which I guess isn't necesarily the same thing - to bring him up to scratch.

So good to be able to turn a key and hear that engine roar into life.

Crazy day

What a busy day! Today was our first day of filming for 'Amazing Spaces'. The crew arrived at 9 and stayed until about 6, with George Clarke here from 11-3. Lots of filming - in Bertie, out of Bertie, in the house, on the track - and lots and lots of waiting around too. Having grown up with Dad working in TV, I was at least a bit familiar with the processes and procedures involved in filming, but it feels very different when you are the one on the camera! George was really lovely, very down to earth, and we had some good conversations which helped to put me at ease. He seemed to like our crisps too - he ate three bags in one sitting!! The children were amazing, doing all that was asked of them, and being so patient with all the waiting around. It has been exhausting though. And really, really cold and grey outside - not really showing our beautiful country location off to the best.

We still weren't able to get Bertie started for the filming, which was a real shame, but Dan came over about 4 o'clock and was able to hot wire the ignition and get hime turning over, so that was really positive. He thinks that it is the starter solenoid which is causing the problem (I pretend to know what that is...) so he reckons he can fit another one and get us back on the road.

All in all, a very bizarre but very cool day.

Welder?

Dan has recommended a welding company which he uses for work and is only a couple of miles from us, so I gave them a call and the main guy, Carl, came down this afternoon to have a look at Bertie and a chat about what we want doing.
Having never knowingly even spoken to a welder before in my life, let alone commissioned one to work for me,  I was rather nervous and felt rather out of my depth. I talked about some of my ideas and the sorts of things we are wanting, including the seat frames and some remedial work to the back steps. Carl seemed to grasp what we are wanting, but said a few things which threw me a little - such as, "Well, you don't want to be paying us to do the straightforward jobs like cutting out the old floor and step do you. Surely you can do that yourselves?"! I didn't like to mention that the sharpest tool I have in the house is a pair of scissors...

Anyway, he seems like a good guy, good Norfolk boy, and hopefully it'll work out well!

Still no good

We had the battery inside all night and have tried using some kind of spray in the engine which is supposed to help starting in cold and damp conditions, but still no good.

The TV people said they wanted to film him working, and they are coming the day after tomorrow... Stress...

Bad news

He won't start.

We tried to start him this morning, so that we can move him round to the garage to load in the stretchers etc, but we just can't get him going.

Since our trip to Awesome, back at the beginning of January, we have had weeks and weeks of snow, with tenperatures of down to -12* or -15* overnight, so I'm hoping it's just a battery issue, or the engine being really cold.

I'm going to call our friend Dan to see if he's got any ideas.

So, so fed up...

Not junk, vintage memorabilia...

The TV company have said that they would like Bertie to be as 'untouched' inside as possible, so they can film him right from the beginning on the first shoot. So, the only job we've done so far - which is put all the junk from the back into our garage - needs to be undone... And we also need the stretchers etc, which we hadn't collected from Reuben. So I went back over to see Reuben today to pick them up, and he also had the bench seats from both ambulances that he had bought. His lock up was full of exciting projects, including an amazing 1934 pick-up truck, and he was really friendly and helpful as ever.
So - now we have some new toys!

We're in!

Kirsten called today - we're in! They'll be in touch soon to arrange the first filming day...

Exciting news!

Well, having sent that email to the channel 4 show last November, we're quite excited because it seems they may want to feature our project! I've been trying not to be too excited until we know for sure if they'll use us, but I can't help it!
I had an email back asking for more details and photos, which I sent, and then a couple of phone calls and emails back and forth. They have been asking all sorts of questions that I can't really answer yet, like who is going to do the work, how much it will cost, what the layout will be etc... But hopefully my enthusiasm and the unique vehicle we're working with will be good enough.
Today a girl called Kirsten from the production company came to see me, and Bertie, for a recce. She seemed to love Bertie - his character and quirkiness - and I had to do a test piece to camera to show how I came across. Nervewracking! Kirsten then takes this film back to their production meeting to see if we would be right for the next series. She seemed really positive, and said we'll know by the end of the week - exciting!
And - bonus - the house is now super tidy as I did a mega job before she came!

Continued...

... The guys at Awesome said they have a carpenter, Thomas, who they use to do their cabinet work, so they will put together a quotation for us once they've spoken to him. Let's see if we can afford them! In a way it seems odd not to be shopping around to look for different companies, but on the other hand Jonathan and I both liked the vibe from these guys, and I think personality is going to count for a lot on a project like this.

The return journey was also a little awkward, as the passenger door decided to keep swinging open, so I spent the majority of the drive hanging on the handle to stay in the vehicle!

We've had loads of people looking as we go by, and two sets of people came up to talk to us in the carpark of the service station - I love it!

Bertie on the road

Today was our first long drive in Bertie Blue. We took him down to St Ives to meet Glenn and Greg at Awesome. It has been a bitterly cold day today, and we were SO cold! We left here at half 7, leaving the children with Granny and Grandpa, and I had hoped that the engine would soon warm up the cab - but not a bit! I was very grateful that I had taken a blanket.
We had a few teething troubles with the engine on the way down - in that it kept cutting out whenever the revs were low. It made for an interesting job for Jonathan at each roundabout and junction, but he learned to anticipate it as the journey went on.

We had a really positive meeting with the brothers Glenn and Greg. In fact, we ended up being with them for nearly four hours! They seem very keen to do the project, seem to understand what we are trying to achieve, happy to take our ideas but also to make suggestions too. We talked all about our ideas, the style and feeling of what we are hoping to accomplish, and I think it helped that I took along several photos of the sort of things I like.
We chose the vinyl for the seats and the dashboard, flooring for the back, and agreed a layout.