The Asphalt World

Consisting of 10,500 residents, Dennistoun is a district of Glasgow North to the River Clyde.  It is here that I have been working for the past six weeks.  It would have been possible to have driven  the camper to Glasgow.   To have hired a pitch and to have stayed at my home away from home – this would have been possible but the camper had been scrapped.  I needed to find a bed and a roof for the duration of this contract.

It didn't take me long to find somewhere suitable.  I wanted a room that was clean with a window that would open more than a few inches and allow in plenty of light.  If I couldn't have the light and the air and the rolling fields of a relaxed camping pitch, then at least I could have the light and the air.  The room I found was in a loft and the window in the roof would open to any angle required.  For me all rooms seem too warm and so I was grateful to have found this room – a room that would give license to the chill and the breeze of the outside world.

The project I had taken on was behind schedule.  This meant plenty of overtime and weekend work.  Rarely will I work on weekends but since the daily rate doubled on these days – well, what can you do but make the most of it?  So the work was frenetic and there was a great deal of it.  And this left little time for the things I like to do such as updating this blog, or taking long walks around places still unexplored.

And so last Sunday the deadlines had been met and a big part of the project was completed.  I was able to finish earlier and take a good walk around Dennistoun.  There is the atmosphere of the wild and the unpredictable here.  Perhaps it is the fiery Celtic blood of the locals.  Or perhaps it is the many pubs and betting shops, and the streets with the discarded cigarette butts, spittle and dumped refuse.  I never really appreciated that this recession had an effect – but here could be seen the upshot of an economy divorced from fortune.  The teenage mothers and the second hand pushchairs. The charity shops and the derelict offices and houses with boarded windows.  The endless police patrols and the down beat council run tower blocks.  If this is your asphalt world then I suggest reading the rest of this blog – there are alternatives.

Fly tipping - in front of a sign warning of a £40,000 fine for the offence. 

Offices without workers

Twin Towers where people live

Peace To All

Goodbye Old Van

The camper needed its yearly roadworthy inspection and I had a good idea what the verdict would be.  The year of travelling up and down the spine of England through record breaking wet weather had taken a heavy toll on the poor old Transit.  The rust damage was beyond the scope of repair according to the inspector – and it was time to lay the van to rest.

The blog began at the time the van was purchased and many posts have described the fine service received from this old vehicle.  It was an interesting experiment.  To buy a cheap old camper van.  To live in it and to learn from it and to attempt to  master it mechanically.  I wouldn't recommend this to everyone but if your life is missing some adventure and has become a little too comfortable – then certainly give it some thought.

I now have to cast my eye to a replacement vehicle.  It could be another camper van or it could be a 4WD or it could be a large estate type car – however it won’t be 24 years old and will not require so much maintenance to keep it going.  It will have to be able to tow a 2000 kg caravan.  Anyone have any suggestions?  Price range will be between 5k and 10k.  I like the look of the Land Rover Defender - but anything in my price range is unlikely to look as good as this one.  

There is no urgency to the purchase.  I am still working in Glasgow and only need a vehicle twice a month when I fly back to the South coast and need to pick the kids up for the weekend.  I have been hiring cars from Avis and these have been very comfortable and easy to drive.  Even this nomad has to smile at the innovation of power steering.

Peace to All