The Beauty within the Beast
To nickname our Jabberwocky "the Beast" came about largely by accident. It was as much a frustrated description as a term of endearment in the days before the MOT; back when it lurked on our drive, defying any attempts to make it function. Today, not only does it...
Spring Forward
This year I can proudly say that the clocks going forward did not take me by surprise. I was ready for time travel, and made it through to the other side with only minimal lateness. Spring is in the air in Leamington. Having neatly eclipsing the weekend, today, like...
The Pipe, the Beast and the Earley Café
If you could measure progress in the exciting new currency of golden bins, yesterday would have been a 5 out of 5. Not that the currency matters, I'm just trying to tie in a theme, and if you had seen the bin, I am confident you would understand why. The important...
The Next Step
The miraculous news is still settling in. I assume that at some point in the next few days I will unexpectedly begin leaping around and singing. Behold, the Beast, now certifiably road legal! I think that much of my excitement has already been expended on the delight...
The Golden Bin
This week I discovered what gazumping is and why one must fear it. We have, you see, embarked on the slow and arduous process of getting a foot onto the very lowest rung of the property ladder. The offer I mentioned on Sunday was accepted, and we have begun the...
Jabberwocky HQ
We have spent the last few days in the throws of one of life's most celebrated torments: Househunting. A process that makes a roller-coaster of emotions look like a carousel of indifference. It started when we found Westlea Road. The house spoke to us, we loved it, it...
It’s ALIVE
The glow plugs were indeed not working properly and the battery was, indeed, dead. The mechanics of Leamington (including the much hailed "returning tomorrow" of the previous post) had fought and fallen before the Beast, at times (I can only assume), cowering in fear...
Moodbanking
I don't believe in luck. I prefer to savour the good times, and bank them in the ISA of good feelings for a rainy day. Lately there have been a fair few rainy days, and they have been making regular withdrawals, but I'm still determined to save. DEBIT: The van has...
Garlic Supernova
Take a box of baby tomatoes, give them to Barny and let him chef at them for a few hours in a low oven. The resulting slow roasted garlic tomatoes are a thing of such exquisite beauty that for a brief eating spree you forget that you don't even like tomatoes, twisted...
Food for thoughts
A recent survey has shown brownie, cooked to Barny's Mum's recipe and served in a styrofoam cup, to be the worlds most successful snack from a van. I know this because last night we had a bunch of friends round, installed Barny in the kitchen and becooked them. The...
Curiosity Killed the Radio Star
It's official, I am now a managing director of a company that will one day be very sucessful, will probably rescue puppies from burning buildings and is almost certainly carbon neutral. I was under the impression that setting up a company was complicated, but the...
Van Fail
As the title suggests, we are having a few tiny hiccups in relation to the van. Before I begin I would like to say, in its defence, that it was proper cold this morning. MOT day, the day of reckoning when we finally discover how much the beast will cost us. This is...