Owning A Characterful Food Van In Subzero Temperatures
The Beast is causing trouble at the moment. Having managed an entire season with no major disasters he has proven his worth, and is now seeing how far he can push his luck. I will add that much of this is not his fault, but in the interests of fairness it is only partially our fault, so he will have to take at least some of the blame. As we are currently in the deep, dark depths of the off season we’re using the consecutive festival-free weeks to get as many big jobs done in the van as we can. This happens to involve lots of outdoor, routine stuff like oil changes which are fine when it’s lovely and warm, but frustrating in subzero temperatures. This was probably what led to the wrong nut coming off the bottom of the engine, causing two other pieces...
A Practical Guide to doing Everything at Once
Step one: Panic. Step two: Worry about the merits of step one. Step three: Pace the living room. Approx 20 laps. Step four: Tea. Step five: Get some fresh air. Step six: Repeat steps one to three. Step seven: Do something to take mind of steps one and two. Step eight: Observe hands. If shaking, repeat step one. If not, repeat steps two and three. Step nine: Consume high-sugar snacks. Step ten: Check Everything. If present and correct, proceed. If not, begin at step one. I find this to have been the most effective method for dealing with the last three days. Not only that, but without even knowing of my Method, Barny seemed to be executing something almost as good. It lacked the variables found in step 8, and step four featured more heavily, while step nine...
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 routine of worrying ourselves into homeownership. Today, during our mortgage appointment, we were asked to worry about what happens if one (or both) of us die. We also briefly touched on whether we even have enough money to survive, if we would like our house to be destroyed by fire and how much we would be willing to exchange peace of mind for cold, hard cash. You see society can now eradicate the world’s problems by insuring against them; not only can money prevent the death of a loved one, it...
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 seemed just right. There was a back room that would be perfect for adding a catering kitchen and a garden out the front that we could sacrifice to the Beast so that it might come and live there with us. We put in an offer. It was turned down. We regrouped, considered once again the second entrance and the really nice layout and made another offer. It was turned down. There was, we were told, another bidder. We considered finances, moved things around and mentally started decorating the living...
And now what do we call it…
Yesterday was a long, expensive day. Long, because at 3am I woke up to the frantic hammering of my mind thundering round in ever decreasing circles of worry. Expensive because of what caused the 3am alarm call. But, marvellously, joyously, we have a start! We found a van on ebay that might just suit out purposes, and actually won it. Hence the dilemma. You see I love thinking about, writing about and endlessly scheming, but given the excellent opportunity I pretend I’m not home and let the answer phone pick up. So I will have to work on both the van and my attitude towards running the van. Technically therefore also my attitude towards everything else. This is a little harder, but I will try for an explanation. I’m not good at getting things done....
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