Spring clean and slight set-back

The weekend arrived with blazing sunshine. So, as I am my dads daughter, it was obvious that there was only one thing to do on that balmy morning...wash Dougie!

Little did I know that it would take over 7 hours and leave me with some rather interesting tan lines, not to mention a new (and healthy) fear of step ladders!

Have to admit, I really hadn't realised just how dirty the van had got. The lake district mountain driving escapade had left muddy tracks up the side of the van and there was a surprising amount of oil just under the front grill (I suspect left over from the overheating drama and radiator work). The roof was also very dirty....dirty enough to write your name in! Which was incidentally how I nearly fell off the ladder so no pictures unfortunately.

Luciky with the help of Kat bringing me tea and cold drinks, the supervision of the dog having a snooze in the van and Sarah pointing out bits I'd missed, the whole van not only got scrubbed clean but also a lovely coat of polish.

Getting up close and personal with the paint out did point out a couple of interesting facts. Given the number of weld marks around the roof, and the fact that under the white is is the same green as the tailgate, I'm pretty certain this isn't the original roof.

Also the front grills appear to be held on by hope and rust, how the RAC guy got them back on is beyond me. Tried to tidy them up anyway and without the moss growing in them I think they look quite good!

As well as the outside, spent a bit of time sorting out the cupboards as the previous arangement meant we blocked the tea cup cupboard with the bed, very annoying when you want to make hot choc last thing at night. I also modified one of those Ikea wardrobe accessories to make a wardrobe in the back cupboard. Quite pleased with that one!

So the only thing left to do was to take Dougie on a drive to show him off. Saturday night I popped round to the Tates for a BBQ and discovered that more of the dash lights are non-functional. The clock still works, and is set to the right time (so it has one up on the Ibiza!). Had a some starting issues, engine would turn over then take AGES to catch.

I should have sensed the impending doom at this point...

So on Sunday Sarah suggested we should take the van for a drive. (Déjà vu??) Anyway the van didn't start for about half an hour. This is all that happened:

So given my extensive knowledge of the also things old and crotechty, I suggest we walk the dog and try again later. So we did, and he started second time.

All good. Right? RIGHT?

Nope.

To my credit, I did not panic. Even though I was at traffic lights. Blocking everyone turning right.

Luckily  using a combination of a wrench and my dads foot we manged to get second gear and all the way home. All 2 miles of it. And you know what? We didn't have to stop once. Phew.