travel with topsy

42. Topsy the wedding car

2009-07-31T10:24:00.004+01:00

With the nice-ish weather we've had, Topsy has been out and about too quite a lot, with a couple of weekends away in Weardale trying out the awning with the kids and dog, and a few weekends up in Teesdale too. During that time Topsy passed her MOT and has had a bit of a service in preperation for the grand tour of scotchland, which will last as long as our megre amount of cash does!

The other rather exciting news for Topsy was when Leslie and John got married, and Topsy was a guest of honor charged with taking the groom

and the grooms Mum, and best man Stuart to the wedding venue! Twas a lovely day and Topsy looked spiffingly good in all her ribbons and balloons....and the bride looked fantastic too .... here's what the local rag, the Newton News had to say...

John Embleton and Lesley Ann Oxley were married on the 4th July 2009 at Bishop Auckland Registrar’s Office. The Reception was held at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre. the groom travelled to his wedding with Best Man Stewart Imeson in a camper van. In contrast his bride arrived in a white stretch limousine escorted by her son Christopher, and three Bridesmaids Ellie, Kyla and Ebony.
John is employed at Darchem Engineering and Lesley is a children’s nurse. They enjoyed their honeymoon in Rhodes after a few days in a cottage at Whitby. The happy couple thank John’s family and all their friends for making the wedding a day to remember.

41. topsy is warm

2009-05-20T13:46:00.002+01:00

SO, after two winters of needing full Arctic gear to drive anywhere, I knuckled down at work doing every shift possible and eventually saved up enough cash to buy a lovely little propex heater... it was a bit of a hassle to fit, but is working perfectly now and t-shirt driving has become the norm! Cheers to Ray (northern classics and campers), excellent work, as usual!!

40. easter egg cruise for zoe's place

2009-05-19T21:31:00.007+01:00

What a fantastic day this was - the north east vw club Easter egg cruise to Zoe's place! The challenge was to collect as many Easter eggs as possible, and then deliver them to Zoe’s Place, North Ormesby, who, during the Easter weekend, raffled off the Easter eggs in order to raise money in support of their incurred running costs. Such a day even meant Topsy got washed and polished, inside and out!

The club arranged two Police motorcycle outriders providing, us with an unchallenged police escort to our final destination !! Looking to help the club beat last year’s excellent efforts (16th May 2008 24 VW vehicles in convoy 141 Easter eggs) the Cobbler's Hall pub where i work nominated this as their Easter charity. we tirelessly sold raffle tickets, and badgered customers to bring in Easter eggs, and by the eve of the cruise we had collected a whopping 127 eggs, so big big thanks go to Collette, the staff and the many many customers who gave so generously....

...My mate Vicky joined me on the cruise, but we left olive-dog at home, fearing she would eat everybody's hard work! I only just got us to the start of the cruise on time, as a stop of for a maccy d's coffee was an absolute must at 9 am on a cool Saturday morning! All 127 eggs were unloaded from Topsy and the other vw's into a rather fine red and white splity

and then it was off, all 28 vw's of us, to Zoe's Place....
... being in half a mile of vw's, with police bikers directing you through red lights is a rather nice experience, and all for charity too, couldn't be any better...

it took a while for all the vans to pull into Zoe's place, where we we greeted by some of the kiddies and staff...who were delighted by the vehicles and , eggs ....

lots of eggs...

... lots and lots of eggs, 556 in fact, plus a cash donation and a hamper of baby items ...
a fantastic achievement worthy of a mention in a certain local newspaper. A proud vw club then headed off to the hills for a well earned spot of lunch and a photo call for the vehicles...

what a nice way to finish the day - except i had to rush back to get to work!

39. whitby weekend

2009-03-13T09:53:00.005Z

finally had a weekend away, though we didn't sleep in the van - that would be far too ccolldd!! This time we got the kids and Olive-dog looked after (thanks Jason) and Rog and I were Whitby bound ...
... with a harbour view room booked at The Dolphin, and a fab view of Venus and a crescent moon...... The next day was full of excitement, we went on an adventurous seafaring voyage with extreme perils, such as a slight swell in the sea and a baby seal for 'Jolly Cap'n Roger' to avoid... ... the whole journey out of the port and back in lasted 5, maybe ten minutes, and it's well worth it for the comedy value, it was only £3 to catch the boat from near the pompous queue at the Magpie Cafe, and was probably the best money we spent on the weekend, until that is we saw Elizabeth the Steam Bus...... yes it is an actual steam powered bus (is this the future of camper vans!). Rog was very excited when for a couple of English pounds they let us board for the wonderous trip of a lifetime around Whitby, especially when flames came from the cab, but Elizabeth is slightly spoiled by the naff Thomas the Tank-esq face...

.... but I'm sure kids love it... then it was off in the van to Robin Hood's Bay to look for baby dolphins and fossils...

... though the only fossil I found was Roger, he found a blow fish in a window that he said bore an uncanny resemblance to me... ... I'm not convinced though!! That night, back at the Dolphin in the harbour view room we were treated to the spectacular sight of one side of Whitby bridge opening...

... amazing! The next morning it was kipper time, though the mere mention of kippers turned Rog a bit green so it was pot of tea then walk up to the Abbey without kipper timemaybe I'll get kippers next time....

All in all a great long awaited weekend break, now I'm back at work though so I'll just have to long await the next one!

38. topsy's troubles

2009-01-22T11:23:00.002Z

Well, it's been a couple of months since any big adventures, mostly due to me working too much over Christmas and new year.... but Topsy has also had to have her starter motor repaired - thanks to Wayne for doing the job though, I struggled for an hour and a half to get the starter motor off the van, Wayne did the job in two and a half minutes!!! He also took the van away the next day and replaced the bushes, what a very nice man!
Unfortunately Topsy is still the target of the aycliffe vandals, all her tyres were let down the other morning, yet they aren't punctured - and the vandals replaced the dust caps - very very strange! rather annoying though as it takes ages to blow them up with the plug in pump thing!
Plans for this years adventures are going well though, we're looking into going whale watching up in bonny scotchland, and trying to organise a joint camping trip with the kids mates families.... ..... for now though we're just pleased Topsy is still running well and getting us and the dog out for a few local day trips....

37. topsy is vandalised

2008-11-04T10:13:00.004Z

well, during the dark hours of sunday to monday a person or persons unknown vandalised topsy. They smashed the windscreen, let a tyre down and had a bit of a go at the wipers and mirror. Luckily she's insured so the windscreen is getting replaced today, it's a bit of blow this close to christmas though.... here's the pics

the offending stone

36. Olive goes to her first vw club meeting

2008-10-15T09:13:00.004+01:00

Olive joined me and the girls in Topsy as we headed up to the Durham Dubbers club meeting, great turnout, but tight parking! photo's shamelessly pinched from the durham dubbers website! Olive met some other dogs and quickly made friends, including Jess, a three legged dog that also came from sadberge...

35. Olive goes fossil hunting!

2008-10-15T08:32:00.005+01:00

Yep, off out in Topsy yesterday, me, Rog and Olive, for a spot of fossil hunting (and no, I don't mean we went looking for Roger! hehe) up in Weardale ... You can just see the fossils in this underwater slab of Frosterly Marble

Faithful Olive waits to do some more sniffing about!

Still waiting....

Here's what the polished marble looks like

"come on, there's even more sniffing to do over the bridge!"

Who fell over!

Ah, that's what a close up of a fossil looks like.Olive stares at the sheep - seems too keen so we won't be letting her off the lead near them for a long time!And she makes herself at home in the Topsy!

34. Topsy gets a dawg!!!

2008-10-15T08:04:00.006+01:00

Great news for us and Topsy, last saturday we collected out new dog from the Dogs Trust at Sadberge.... here's what it said on their website about our new friend, Olive....

Likes and Dislikes: Olive is cheeky girl, who is always happy and loves to make people smile! She has lived in the same home since she was a young pup, before being returned to us due a change in her family’s circumstances. Olive is housetrained and can be left in an indoor kennel for short periods of time.
Type of home needed: Olive is a busy dog who will need an active family who can keep up with her. She is used to going camping and hill-walking, so we’d love to find her a new family who enjoy these activities too! We think Olive may have been overlooked here at Dogs Trust because she only has one eye. However, it’s all she’s ever known so please don’t let this put you off! Overall, she’s a lovely, bouncy girl, who will make a fabulous addition to an energetic family.

We met her on the previous saturday, took her for a walk (myself, Babs, Belle, and Jenny), and liked her.... Then we went through the stress of the home visit! But that was fine, phew! Then we brought her home on thursday for a couple of hours to meet the cat... She didn't attack her, so everything was set up for bringing her home. Yippee!!!!! The day came, we duly paid our £75 (no discount for missing body parts though!), and we brought her home for good - kids adore her, as do I....

She has settled in quite well, and enjoys the beach (but not the sea), and she loves Weardale!! Her and the cat, well, they're not bezzy mates yet, but there's been no fur flying!

IF YOU'RE THINKING OF GETTING A DOG, PLEASE CONSIDER A RESCUE DOG

33. topsy's interior almost finished!

2008-10-11T08:25:00.005+01:00

thought you might like to see what we've done to Topsy over the last year or so, mostly interior, gonna attempt to deal with the outside rusty bits over winter and next spring... Thanks to everyone who's helped do the things I can't do, like mechanics (ray, from northern classics and campers, (see topsy's web links on left)) and electrics (my mate sean and my better half Rog), and welding (Mel). She's now a fully equipped 6 seater camper, perfect for taking us, the kids and many of their friends for days out and weekends away. Had some welding done after a minor incident (dent being the right word) with a lamppost and also new battery tray made and welded in. Leisure battery installed & inverter. LED lighting installed - runs off the leisure battery. Hook up kit in and working! New speakers but old radio in and working - at last, journeys were quite lonely! 2nd hand exhaust after Topsy blew a foot long hole in hers going up Hartside pass Insulation in (thermawrap i think, the silver bubbly stuff). Rear seats upholstered. Cupboards (under seats, kitchen and roof locker) built, installed and upholstered. Door cards, kick cards, side wall cards re-made and upholstered Lino floor down, nice sparkly black one. Curtains and net curtains made and hung. Cab headlining (well, my version anyway - painted the cab roof to save the job of removing windscreen). New stove with grill in and working (I'm always amazed when things work) Various other little jobs too, but here's the latest photo's of how she looks now.....

32. Zoe, Mandy and the "seven dwarves"!!!

2008-10-04T11:00:00.006+01:00

So, me and me mate Mandy decided to take all our kids, Paris, Simone, Raven, Tanisha, Barbara, Belle, plus Belle's mate Jenny, camping for a night up at the Strathmore Arms, near Middleton-in-Teesdale.... A fantastic time was had by all - though I think next time we go we'll either take more adults or less kids! The weather was ok, rainy at first but it cleared up to cloudy by the evening, and was almost sunny the next morning... and through the night we watched shooting stars and had a great view of the milky way - here's some of the photo's

31. GIBSIDE GATHERING - durham dubbers get together

2008-10-04T09:48:00.008+01:00

What a fab super weekend this was! Organised by the Durham Dubbers WV club at the National Trust's Gibside estate, a serene place and a perfect way to end the summer holidays for the kids... The weather was nice, hazy mornings sunny afternoons with just a tiny bit of drizzle as we were packing up on the sunday. Loads of walks, dragonflies, communal bbq's, friendly folk and good music on the Saturday evening meant a good time was had by all .... I'll let the pictures tell the tale!!

At one point this turned into "8 men and an awning" and provided us with a good hour of entertainment!!!

But they did get it erected eventually!! In the meantime the kids made friends...Whinge whinge whinge, i think the kids would have liked a bit less walking

but that didn't stop Karen and I from taking them exploring

we did quite a lot of exploringwe thought it was nice, a walk in the woods

you never know what you could find!

Check out the tiny split screen camper!!

and loads of other nice beetle and vans

I think we made our camp quite cosy!

Belle was delighted with these welding gloves we 'won' in the charity auction!

I don't think this little chap had seen a ball bigger than him before....

must remember, I'm not the only one taking photo's

Gibside Hall....

Gibside's retreat....

Complete with Dragon flies!!!

Gibside's stable block, impressive huh!

And the chapel...

30. five females, rain, and clouds

2008-09-30T20:38:00.006+01:00

Earlier this summer we (me,barbs, belle, becca, and map reading Karen) tootled off in Topsy for a well earned rest and holiday ?!?

The journey started well, with a traffic jam of cows in Swaledale, it finally felt like we were away from Aycliffe!

We spent the night at Usher Gap campsite, a lovely basic place and very reasonably priced too, £11 for the 5 of us!! I should have taken more notice of the tent's instructions though, as there was a bit of a waterfall coming in through the roof of the tent, but luckily that was on the kids side!!! Then it was up the Buttertubs pass to Hawes, via Hardraw Force, and we saw the upside of all the rain as the waterfall was pretty spectacular.... Then it was back to Karen and the map, determined to get to the lakes, driving through driving rain, but at least the view was amazing as we saw rivers and waterfalls that only appear during torrential downpours!!! Eventually we found a nice campsite at Glenridding, still quite reasonably priced (£21 for 5 with the van and two tents!!), and we discovered how to keep ourselves amused cooped up in a van awaiting the rain to ease up before we pitched those darn tents!

The picture above is the van at the cafe on Hartside pass, very poor conditions, only 1 biker, and poor Topsy had blown a bit of a foot long hole in her exhaust... .... this was fixed up a few days later with help from the Durham Dubbers, thanks guys!! All in all a great time we had, and it didn't even put us off having another adventure!

29. 5 girls, 1 mum and topsy

2008-07-30T20:38:00.005+01:00

I'm pleased to report that Topsy didn't breakdown today! Yay... and she also coped with 5 excitable girls, two traffic jams, and me, and got us to Hamsterly Forest where we saw another bay camper!and then up on to the moors for a picnic and some mineral specimen hunting, good fun!

28. Weardale again, and another breakdown

2008-07-27T17:58:00.006+01:00

You know the feeling, a glorious sunny friday afternoon, just finished work, and you think to yourself "well lets do it, we'll just throw stuff into the van and be off!". So we did, and ended up at Westgate in Weardale, here in fact, and after a lovely picnic tea ...

we had a lovely few pints at the local pub, sitting right next to the river (saw bats, lots of midgies, trout, dippers, swifts) and it was very very nice!!!. Poor Topsy still doesn't have curtains, since I've hurt me arm I've been unable to finish her off inside, but we managed to stick the old curtains up with gaffa tape, and I had an undisturbed nights sleep. not even Roger getting up to close the sky light for a downpour woke me!!

Then it was off to the moors for breakfast, far too hot to go anywhere but high! (saw no adders but did see lots of rabbits, partridge, grouse chicks, unknown bird of pray, sheep, dragon fly etc)

And then it was time to go down to the river to cool our feet in the water (saw two heron!). Everything was going well at this point, lovely weather, good company, good food, nice cups of tea, what could possibly go wrong?! Well, Topsy, that's what could go wrong, she just didn't start, same symptoms as the time she didn't start a few months ago, in as much as she didn't start. Cue the getting out of the 'complete idiot's guide to vw's' book, going through it step by tedious step, but with no tools apart from a craft knife! We think that the loose battery connection came off in transit, so the battery didn't charge up enough to start Topsy until I'd flattened the damn battery. But in my haste to get away for the weekend I'd left my mobile at home, that would be the mobile with the breakdown folks number in it, , and Roger's phone had very little credit on it... So I eventually got through to my work, and got me boss Carly to go on the internet to find the number for the breakdown folks, she tried but it wasn't there! The only number that was there got through to a recorded message informing me that office hours were monday to friday!!! Arrghh, so now no credit left on Rogers phone, so what else is there to do but walk to the local pub, up a hill, in sweltering temperatures, and panic over a pint and a J20...

we were very hot and very tired but not overly happy!

After a bit of a sit it was inspiration and desperation time, another phone call to work and Carly managed to find Ray's number, he's in the same vw club as me, and I knew that some of the members of that vw club (durham dubbers) are covered for breakdowns by the same company as me, so maybe, just maybe, he could get the number that I so needed... ... after a while he rang the pub back and by some miracle he'd manged to get the number, oh thank goodness!! After a tense phone call to the breakdown folks to see if I was covered, it was a less tense wait for the truck.... The recovery guy, Allan, was fantastic - he got Topsy charged up and running in no time at all, it must be great to be a mechanic!

All in all a lovely weekend, but thanks to Carly, Ray, Nic and Allan, they definitely saved the day!

!! THANK YOU!!

Then it was straight home and off to the pub, where we discovered it was flying ant day, and watched lots of queen ants then smaller drones take off into the the pale dusk skies, ahh!

27. Belle's birthday (from march)

2008-07-21T12:16:00.004+01:00

Well, I've finally found the photo's from Belinda's birthday outing with her four of her mates, first to Billingham to go ice skating - very traumatic for me as two of the four girls needed medical attention from falling over on the ice, I'll think twice before agreeing to that sort outing again! We were meant to go to the forbidden corner again but the snow put me off travelling that far! After ice skating and medics it was off to the seaside for birthday cake and a picnic, the weather was freezing, but the girls still enjoyed playing by the sea!

26. Topsy takes us caving

2008-07-19T21:15:00.003+01:00

Well, Topsy has been performing magnificently, a couple of weeks ago she got 5 females to Bradford, even with a rather long detour to avoid the stationary traffic jam on the A1, and we discovered we knew where Lightwater valley is, though the 3 girls in the back were quite devastated when we drove straight past it! Well done to Karen for navigating at short notice, she isn't too keen on reading maps and it must have been a bit shocking for her when I decided the stress of moving a mile an hour was too much for me, so it was B roads all the way!! Still, if you're gonna get stuck in traffic then take the B roads, Topsy is the ideal vehicle to do it in, as she's brimming with books and games to keep bored kids entertained for what turned into a 3 n 3/4 hour journey, there, and two hours back! Then a bit of a rest untill the next adventure!!!

It was that Saturday panic again, the kids off school but the weather lousy, just where could we have a fun day out?? Rog suggested going underground, but we've been in enough mines, so how about going caving instead. No, not with ropes and head torches, diving through icy cold water and scrambling through rabbit size gaps - that kind of caving is for braver less claustrophobic folks than us! We set of to White Scar Caves, not far from the home of Wensleydale cheese (we like that cheese), beneath Ingleborough hill. Topsy couldn't fit through the cave entrance so we had to leave her in the car park whilst we went underground...

It cost a whopping £21 for the four of us to go in, but we all agreed it was actually well worth spending that sort of cash to see the delights inside... Roughly an 80 min walk, the tour is fantastic, with and underground waterfall or two, eerie flow stone and stalactites and stalagmites, all in weird and wonderful shapes. We were lucky as the recent downpours (some of which we drove through) turned the sometimes trickling stream that runs through part of this cave system into a raging torrent, very exciting!

Afterwards we headed back down the road towards Hawes, stopping for a pie and pint (well, Rog had the pint, we had fruit juice!) at the Station Inn next to Ribblehead viaduct, their award winning pork pies got the thumbs up from us. Just next to the pub you can see underwater streams emerging from the limestone and disappearing back in!?! Whilst we were exploring these we watched the rain sweeping towards us from the hills, and only just made it back into Topsy before the squall soaked us. But it gave me enough time to make coffee before we set off again.

The weather on the way home was patchy, sunny one second then huge rain storms the next, but we made it home with no troubles, well done Topsy, who got us out of Aycliffe again!

25. pics of the rear seats

2008-07-01T10:58:00.004+01:00

pics of the rear seats which went into Topsy, thanks Mel for all your help!!

24. topsy goes cruising with nevw!

2008-06-26T11:39:00.005+01:00

Topsy joined the north east vw club on a cruise from Boro to Saltburn on tuesday night, it was a laugh! Between me and Mandy and her daughter Tanisha, we managed to find the meeting point about 3 mins before they all set off, then we lost them at the traffic lights, but the nice vw driver behind me helpfully indicated early for every junction so I'd know where to go! Thanks!!

I've never driven in a convoy before and I've got to say it's fab! Most other drivers we passed looked delighted to see such a crew of old cars and vans, we felt like we were in the Italian job! (wrong make of cars and less explosions but just as thrilling!). We didn't cruise home with them though, we got a bit separated in Saltburn, and then we realised we were on the road home, so home we went... bit of a late night for a 9 yr old though, we got back at around 11 thanks to "quick" visit to Tesco

I forgot me camera but I've shamelessly poached these photo's from the nevw club website!

23. Topsy says "well done, Dave!

2008-06-23T13:20:00.005+01:00

Well done, Dave, another successful day!

22. Topsy's first vw show!

2008-06-22T11:32:00.010+01:00

Last Tuesday we took Topsy over to Sedgefield village show and had a great time! The girls (Babs, Belle and Paris) had a fab time spending most of my cash on tacky stalls and inflatable death slides, whilst me and Rog enjoyed a pint or two (J2o for me) after looking at all the classic cars, we especially loved seeing the tractors!!

Some of the north east vw club were there, along with Durham Dubbers, we all liked seeing how posh their vehicles looked compared to Topsy.

We didn't take any pictures but Topsy managed to shunt her way into some of the snaps taken by both vw clubs, but the overall fave was the little front opening yellow bubble car, I want two!Only a small oil leak ...

The star of the show for us!

See Topsy's nose!
See Topsy's rear!And again!!

Durham Dubbers...
North East VW club

Now we're looking forward to some more time off work to attend a few more events!!

21. m.o.t

2008-06-06T08:10:00.003+01:00

Rather amazingly Topsy passed her M.O.T yesterday. It didn't amaze anyone else but me, as she's a lovely little bus, but it least the stress levels will go down (well for 6 months untill i start worrying about the next one!!)

Well done Topsy!!!!

20. work has progressed!

2008-06-02T22:19:00.005+01:00

Well, still no photo's as I'm just far too lazy to take them! Though actually it's because every time I stop work on her it's too dark to take any, but work IS progressing!

Since the last update poor old Topsy has had her points plugs and leads changed, her exhaust slightly welded and gaskets changed, and had a lovely tune up (thanks to Ray and friends!). She now runs sweeter than she ever has (since I've had her) and is a damn lot quieter too...

She's also had some more 'Doctor Mel' treatment with a couple of other patches welded, thanks Mel!!

She's also had some electrical things added,the radio works now so no more lonely journeys... she now has 240 mains hook-up for campsites (yay, the girls can take hairdryers!), and she almost has the leisure battery installed, and the inverter, so we can charge phones and light her up when we go 'wild camping', well, we can when the lights go in! So a big thanks to Sean for the work done, and a big thanks in anticipation for work to be done!!

Internally though there has been leaps and bound, all door cards and kick boards have been replaced and upholstered (by me), the new rear seats now have cupboards underneath (they look fab (I have to say that as I built them!)), the main cupboard for the stove is in (again, built by me!) and the new sparkly black floor is in (yep, that was me too!), and the new overhead locker is half built (yip - me!), so only the rest of the interior trim to do, plus a few lights.

Photo's will be added ... later!

(and here's a little sorry for me neighbours who have to put up with the constant drilling sawing and general crashing and banging noises, she'll be somewhere near half finished soon-ish maybe!)

19. Weld weld weld, thanks Mel!

2008-02-17T09:44:00.004Z

SO, developments - but not a smooth as chocolate! So the unfortunate incident with a lampost is nearing recovery, in as much as the bumper is being re-attached! And the battery tray that was discovered to be nearly rotted away has been replaced with solid metal, phew - but the seats are turning out to be a 'f****** nightmare' ... anyways - here's work in progress

18. topsy gets arrested - nearly! (from oct 07)

2007-12-14T08:01:00.003Z

I forgot to mention that Topsy got pulled over by the police the other week, late one night coming back from Newcastle, at about 11 in the evening, the three girls had been to a McFly concert for Barbara's birthday, and I'd already driven round for ten mins without me headlights off. The poor tired over excited girls were wrapped up in sleeping bags and blankets, shivering and I was wrapped in my coat equally shivering!

Uneventful journey back to almost Aycliffe (better than the way there following me mate who drove very quickly, had Topsy on two wheels on a roundabout, I'll not do that again!), when I thought the lights had gone to green so I turned right into Aycliffe, ahh nearly home... then the flashing blue lights appeared behind me, so I pulled to the left to let them pass, but they stayed behind me, eek!. Slowed to a stop and wound me window down, the conversation went as follows...
policeman - You've just done what I've done twice
me - what did I do twice
policeman - no, i did it twice you did it once
me - oh, what've I done once?
policeman - ran a red light
me - no no no, it was green! (starting to look panicked now!)
policeman - no it was red
me - (speechless)
policeman - it was green for straight on red for turning right (which I had)
me - (cue a couple of tears) oh no, what's gonna happen, I've only just passed my test, I thought it was green, I'm sorry (now in flood of tears)
policeman - (smiling) well, what's gonna happen now is you're gonna drive home carefully and not make that mistake again!
me - thank you orrifacer!

I then set off and reached 40 mph before I realised it was a 30 zone, oops, but he just overtook me and wagged his finger, so thanks to Aycliiffe police, as ever friendly and forgiving! And ever since then I always get a little wave when he passes, ahh.

17. not a lot happened ....

2007-12-10T08:11:00.000Z

So, it's been a while since the last update, but since then Topsy has had her first blast down the A1 and back, roughly about 350 miles without a hitch, and we had a great time in Corby visiting me brother...

Topsy also taken the girls on a couple of road trips - up to near Alston with Belle's best mate who's also into rocks, and we found lead ore, fossil's and fluorite, and all the girls got very wet and muddy. We were joined up in the hills by my mum and dad in their sporty car, and Rog n Rob on the bikes, Topsy took the longest to get home, but we did stops off in Hamsterly Forrest...

Topsy then took us to the forbidden corner - with Barbara's best mate, and again Topsy performed marvelously and didn't break down once! Good old Topsy! OH, and the forbidden corner is well worth the money, I'd recommend it to everyone!

Topsy then took Belle and two of her mates through Hamsterly Forrest, up Weardale, to see the fossilised tree at Stanhope, then over the hills towards teesdale where we stopped for hot chocolate (it was very very cold on the moors!).

Also, Topsy has had her first crash (notice that Topsy had her first crash, as though it was nothing to do with me - who was driving), she reversed into a, well, I'm not saying what she reversed into, but we thought it was only cosmetic damage, a bit of paint sheared off hear and there and everything elss was ok ...

... and it was, until the bumper fell off on the way to darlington, only on one side though and I managed to bodge it for the return journey with cable ties, clever little me!

So, no pictures of Topsy at the moment, not whist she's looking slightly poorly! And also no new-old mini, I've put that project on hold till Topsy is better!

Anyway, it's all systems go over the next couple of weeks, so a merry christmas and happy new year from Topsy, and all of us!!!!

And here's looking forward to many many more adventures in 2008....

16. witch Belle

2007-10-18T18:21:00.000+01:00

Well, Topsy has new new flowers on - I like them but Barbs and Belle aint too impressed, though they did pose for the rather frightening photo of Belle dressed up for the Halloween disco (I'll not make any jokes about Barbara not needing make-up to look scary!)

15. she didn't start ...

2007-10-05T23:18:00.000+01:00

Pulled up outside my friends house, no parking spaces so I did a bit of reversing back up the road to the nearest one. Now, I knew the engine doesn't play properly when it's cold, so I wasn't too surprised when she stalled, but I was quite shocked when she then wouldn't start. I was nearly in a parking bay, but still well in the chuffing road, and she would not respond. Not even turn over. No roaring into life. Not even a groan. Nothing. Nowt. Absolutely fluff all...

Well, there was a small 'click', but that wasn't settling me in anyway ...

... a truly nauseating horrifying beast of a situation I didn't want to be in though - all the worst case scenarios were running through me mind ...

... me first actual proper breakdown of a mechanical nature (instead of mental!). With a 32 year old vehicle you knew it had to happen sometime. But the Irish luck was smiling tonight, Topsy might be in a state of exhaustion, but I was 30 seconds from me mates front door, which is definitely what you need in a crisis.

A reassuring phone call to a drunken Rog later, and with the help of my friends and their fantastic youngest daughter Tanisha (aged 9), the car was pushed off the road (must remember so sit in it next time to put handbrake on!) and the amazing RAC were on their way (oh how smugly thankful I am that I joined that marvelous institution).

One welcome cup of tea and some calming time with me mates later, The RAC Man, a terrific Glaswegian, had mastered Topsy's quirkiness of not liking the key all the way in the ignition, and he'd checked the battery was charged, then he really scared me by jacking me van up, which caused a lot of panic on my behalf. He found the starter motor, wriggled the connections a bit, climbed out and just effortlessly started my pride and joy into life again ...

Oh the elating relief...

The RAC MAN then showed me where me starter motor is and the bits to check if it happens again between now and me getting them properly fixed, and gave me loads of great advice on those little jobs that need doing and what tools I need to do them, so here's another

THANKS, RAC MAN

And even though she broke down (and I know it wasn't a serious one!), I love me van even more - and each setback gains me more experience and knowledge in how these machines work and how you fix 'em, and the fun factor goes up even more ... I even secretly enjoy the almost panic attacks when something does go wrong, I'm not bored by life anymore! So cheers to everyone who's been enthused enough to help me in any way!

And for Mandy, Tony, Tanisha (and clan),

THANKS MATE!

Thanks for the tea, the advice, the use of the phone, for calming me down, for the company, and for not chucking me out even though it was very late! I'm glad I've got mates as cool as you...

14. independant driver

2007-10-04T11:47:00.000+01:00

Well, Topsy has some more flowers on - but no pictures yet as next week there will be some more!

The first week of driving by myself has been great, very scary, but good fun. Belle has even been dropped off at school without being embarrassed, but Babz hasn't asked for a lift to her school yet....

I've driven up Weardale again, with Rog and Frank, and it's fantastic now Roger can get drunk, he's far less grumpy about the whole Topsy experience...

And me and me mates can go out anywhere for a cup of coffee, and have a much better view than the one from the local cafe.

I've checked my tyre pressures, and got a new spare wheel

A word of warning to my friends though - I don't think I'm going to stop being obsessed by Topsy, so if I drone on too much about vw's, just tell me to shut the fluff up!!

Anyway, more pictures next week, if I can fit it in between all the driving!

13. third driving test

2007-09-24T11:28:00.000+01:00

So, I've actually finally blooming well done it - the driving test was passed with 3 minor faults, and now the red L plates are off and the green L plates are on!

And a message for the best driving instructor in the world ...

Thank You, Bob!!

... couldn't have done it without you, you've made me and the girls, and Rog very happy...

12. New gas pedal

2007-09-20T08:11:00.000+01:00

And yes, it's another DIY spectacular success for Topsy, the new accelerator pedal is on, and it works! It's always good when something newly fitted looks as though it should work, and actually does - maybe as time goes on with this project I'll get more confident in the technology and my ability?!
So, jobs I've done so far
Two cab door weather shield/seals installed
Most of the exterior light seals replaced
The sliding door lock removed, parts replaced, rebuilt
The gas stove installed (only till the new cupboards go in, then it'll have to be re-installed)
One sun visor recovered
Brakes replaced by garage
Seat belts installed by garage
Gas pedal
Various other bits of tinkering, like a spare set of keys!

Hmmmm, it's not much, at this rate she won't be completed by spring (mind you, I don't think Topsy will ever be finished - there's always another little job to do!)

11. Sliding door now works!

2007-09-14T17:17:00.000+01:00

I'm well chuffed with myself as today I finally fixed my sliding door! It now opens, stays open, closes and locks, and then unlocks for the whole process to begin again. Thanks to Richie from the NEVW club for the advice (again!) and to Volksheaven for finding the part I needed even though I wasn't too sure what sort of door lock it was!

Anyway, another DIY success for Topsy!

10. camper cramp

2007-09-10T22:16:00.000+01:00

So, the roof is up, or the top is popped, the kettle is on, there's inches of clearance space above my head, yet still I hunch up as though the roof is down. And so does everyone else in the van! I'm naming this curse 'camper cramp', and it really hurts the back all that crouching for no reason a whatsoever ...

Oh, we finally got the drivers door seal on, it only took hours of work, I even messed around with body-filler stuff! Noise level in cab is vastly reduced (I can hear the kids now but don't tell them!), as is the draught, but it'll be harder for Mr R.A.C man to break in next time I lock the keys in!

9. wensleydale

2007-08-31T13:19:00.000+01:00

wensleydale

click on the picture if you want to suffer the full 127 photies of our adventures in the land of real cheese

8. THANKS R.A.C MAN!!!!

2007-08-26T20:12:00.000+01:00

This post is to thank the marvellous R.A.C guy - unfortunately I forgot to ask his name - who came to my rescue this bank holiday Sunday and got into my van so I could get my keys out, yes, like the stupid idiotic numpty fool I am, I'd locked the chuffing keys in Topsy... Oh it was bad - I was enjoying the sunshine doing bits n bobs to Topsy, I went in the house for a cuppa, and with the worst sudden nauseating feeling I've ever experienced, I realised the van was secure and I couldn't get back in it... I'm sure anyone who has done this will understand the sickening sensation as all options a thought of then discounted, I couldn't even bring meself to tell the next door neighbours what had happened, I just didn't think I'd be able to take any of the usual advice people give in dire situations like this! SO, after about half hour silent panic, I started texting folk that might be able to help (thanks to everyone who got back in touch - it was nice to know I wasn't alone!), and then it occurred to me that even though it might cost a bit, the R.A.C might be able to help, I mean, why else would I pay 70 odd quid a year?! Well, it seams the R.A.C could help, and it didn't cost a penny as apparently 70 odd quid a year covers the cost of a lovely guy spending a bank holiday Sunday rescuing me from the brink of despair! With bizarre magical equipment, from things that inflate and should be in a doctors surgery, to the more usual piece of wire (you know where you are with a piece of wire, though there was no half tennis ball) this lovely guy, with some help (or hindrance) from Dave next door (I'm afraid I did shout at Dave once or twice to move away from the van and let the brilliant professional do his job), eventually got the window down and magically opened the door... Oh what a chuffing relief that was! On Tuesday I think I'll get some new keys cut, emergency keys, and I'll also be telling everyone I know to join the R.A.C - even if they don't have a car, the reassurance it gives me when we're travelling has been worth the membership fee, but locksmith skills on a bank holiday Sunday are the icing on the biscuit! Anyway, the panic is now over, the nausea is subsiding, and the keys are not in Topsy but firmly in my pocket, and although the R.A.C man was exceedingly helpful, I hope to never require his breaking and entering skills again!! So, if you're reading this, Mr nice R.A.C man, 'Thank you very much', from one extremely grateful fool, but I'm glad I wasn't the camper with a 'goosed' engine (yet!)....

!!THANK YOU!!

7. oh dear ...

2007-08-16T19:45:00.000+01:00

OH dear oh dear indeed, I know I said I wouldn't, and maybe I shouldn't, but I just couldn't resist adding my own, erm, touch to Topsy ... so, with some help from Babz, Belle and Rebecca from next door, and thanks to a nice seller on ebay she's now got the remarkably easy to apply (almost idiot proof) hippy seventies daisy decals [I know it's a cliche van], sorry, but she also has the authentic real natural rabbit skulls that we found in Weardale - there's even a baby one, awww..

However, I like her like this ...

I think she looks great ...

A van of character ...

We've made her our own! ...

6. Northumberland

2007-08-15T10:34:00.000+01:00

WELL, we've had our 2nd one night holiday in Topsy - two holidays in less than a week - oh the decadence of being a camper owner!! This time up the A1 towards Northumberland, Rog drove on the A1 motorway bit as I'm still on the provisional licence thingy, but I managed to drive the rest of the way - and it was pretty darn scary - with the wind hitting the side of the van she was wobbling around all over the place, I found myself not only checking the road ahead but checking the hedges ahead to watch for any gaps so I'd be prepared for the 200mph gusts (I may just be exaggerating slightly there) as I fought with the steering wheel - the trick seems to be just to go that few mph slower and she handles well...

SO, we eventually made it to Beadnell in Northumberland and found a great campsite right next to the beautiful coast, but yet again we were camped right next to a light, but not our fault this time as we parked where we were told to (and it wasn't bright enough to keep me awake after the bracing salty air!). After our first very successful boiling of the kettle with the newly installed gas bottle and two ring hob we went down to the beach to play in the waves whilst Roger went for a well earned pint (or two), and although the skies were cloudy it was warm enough for us to get soaked. Then it was back to Topsy for tea - a lovely meal of beans n sausages on bread, only mine was full of peppercorns as the top fell off the grinder - much to the amusement of all but me .... then off to the beach again in warmer clothes, where Bill n Babz were delight to discover the tide had gone out even further and we could now walk on rocks that we couldn't even see earlier, and we scrambled over rock pools and treacherous seaweed covered stones where we found tiny crabs in limpet shells, but we never came across any of Bill's 'sea enemies' ... 15 minutes walk later and just before sunset we found ourselves on a very beautiful beach with huge huge huge sand dunes that kids just can't resist scaling up then running down - and I couldn't either! We made it back to the van before the light went completely and after an hour or more of showering, teeth brushing, another drink, one more trip to the toilets, oh, just one more drink, loads of fuss getting beds comfy, the girls were finally ready to settle down for the night - phew!

THE next morning was rainy and cold - I was up first and had a walk down the beach and then to the shop for bacon, eggs, spade, bucket and fishing net, I forgot the milk though so that meant another trip down the beach, this time with the girls for company, and we made sandcastle in the rain next to the lapping waves of the north sea, now that's what I call a proper holiday! We all enjoyed a hearty breakfast and cups of tea/coffee/hot chocolate then we packed the van up and set off, but stopped very quickly when we spotted some long-horned northumbrian cattle, where we all did our best moo impression...then on the move again for Alnwick, hoping to see the castle where 'arry Potter was filmed, but we got side tracked by the gardens, and as you have to pay for the castle and garden separately we didn't do both, it did seem a bit off a rip off, but the gardens were actually well worth a visit - and perhaps we'll try the castle next time?! The girls and Roger loved the Poison Garden where they have various nasty toxic plants, Bill was very surprised to discover that rhubarb as actually dangerous! There are also many many water features for kids to get very wet in, which Bill did after Babz pushed her in them! Oh, and there is the biggest tree house we've ever seen, mildly disappointing as it set up to make money from the cafe in there, but it is impressive with it's rope swing bridges... Back to the van for a cup of tea (I can't stress how absolutley fantastic a feeling it is to make a cup of fresh hot tea in Topsy) then back down the A1, with a two hour traffic jam near Newcastle crawling along in 1st gear through torrential rain, even when we cleared the traffic and reached to A1m Rog was driving at 35mph, think I'll start checking the weather forecasts!! And there'll be another adventure soon - but who knows where as there never is a plan - and more things to put on the list for next time, like a proper awning instead of a tiny tent! ...

Topsy now has new front indicator seals, and a new passenger cab door seal, others to follow shortly!

5. first overnighter

2007-08-10T10:12:00.000+01:00

AT last we have had our first adventure in Topsy up in woolly Weardale, with a slightly delayed departure due to her brakes - but thankfully this problem was swiftly rectified by the highly recommended Norm the mechanic at Gregg Little's, and he also put the new seat belts in so I can drive Topsy with the kids safely in the back - which is great as you can barely hear the constant questions from them when you're up front with the window open - ah peace!

THE first scheduled stop (not counting the brief halt in Stanhope for Rog to have a five min breather from supervising me driving, and where I did me seventeen point turn in the road!) was Killhope Mine which is one the the best museums of it's type - the kids got to search for their own minerals, and go down the mine kitted out in wellies and hard hat, and play with old-fashioned toys, and see a great collection of minerals and spar boxes, oh and lots lots more - and there was no interactive computers in sight! Killhope is great for a day trip from anywhere in the north east for adults and kids and is highly recommended by us all! (Belle and Babz found loads of bonnie crystals and Belle is now engaged in making her own spar box).

WE then drove back down the valley in Westgate where there is a great quiet basic campsite right next to the Weir of the Wear, with toilet and showers for Barbara and a five minute walk to the pub for Rog! One vw bus for the girls to sleep in - one tent for me n Rog (I will get around to putting the hammocks in!). After sunset we had the pleasure of watching very fast bats chase midges (of which several bit us - midges that is, not bats!) over the river Wear, and fish jumping out the water, and also one large trout (well nearly a foot and a half long) wriggle expertly over the weir. There was an owl somewhere near by, but even Roger's impression of an owl call didn't entice it into view!! And we saw the stars - lots and lots and lots of stars, it's great without light pollution - if only we hadn't camped up in front of the street light!!

BREAKFAST was a luxurious affair - we drove over the moors towards Teesdale, and stopped by a little river to eat strawberries and other goodies in the open air surrounded by nobody, the kids tried to build a damn, Rog went off for a little walk to a quarry, and I relaxed in the sunshine laid next to me bus .... a very nice time was had by all!

AND now we're back from the weir on the Wear where we were at (say that quickly after a few pints!) and I think we're all agreed that Topsy is the best thing we've ever had - excellent for the girls as a changing room after falling in river accidents, and great at just trundling steady away up and down the hills - though I have had her up to 60 mph, I much prefer cruising round at a modest 35-45! Also, we went all that way to see nature at its best, only to find a sparrowhawk in me own back garden! Next week a new adventure, but we don't know where as there is no plan! Well, there's a plan to write a list of things we might need, like insect repellent - we were hopelessly unprepared as always!

ps - I'd like to say thanks to the chaps at Homeplan DIY (Greenwell Road, Newton Aycliffe, DL5 4DH 01325 312037) who even at this early stage of my slow Topsy interior project have been an invaluable source of knowledge, materials, tools and very good advice, especially when it comes to camping stoves and gas bottles, connecting the right two things together!! So, THANK YOU, from the camper van girl... who can now enjoy a cup of tea anywhere!

4. first drive!!

2007-07-29T11:01:00.000+01:00

EEK! Yesterday I drove me Topsy for the first time - a very brave Roger sat in with me, and we crawled along in first gear for a few minutes ... finding second gear turned out to be not quite as easy as I thought, and finding 3rd was just as traumatic ... but 4th was ok, I think I'd started to get the hang of it by then!
SO, after a quick detour to drop off a friend I set off towards Keith Bingham's vw emporium in Thornaby, in a 32 year old vwehicle, with my L plates on, so apologies to anyone who was stuck behind me! By now I'd got the hang of going up through the gears, but going down through the gears was proving to be different gravy entirely, 4th to 3rd is fine, and 2nd to 1st is fine, but as yet I can't for the life of me get it from 3rd to 2nd, so at every junction I was having to come to a complete stop from 3rd and then going up from 1st! But all the folk on the roads seemed to have patience, and most folk smiled and waited for me to sort me little self out whenever I stalled it (which was a few times!) and didn't seem to mind too much that I wasn't going particularly quickly on some of the back roads ... Roger did get a bit concerned a few times, but as I said, a near crash or nearly going off the road doesn't count!! However, she's not been on two wheels on any corners yet so I've yet to push her to the limits of her capabilities! (hopefully I'll never have her on two wheels - that's more Roger's style!)
ANYWAY, I loved driving Topsy, it's quite strange being such a new driver who's learned in a nice friendly modern car to driving the idiosyncratic quirky Topsy, but the feeling is great, the steering is good, the view is fantastic, in fact it's just as hard but even better than I thought it would be - me little dream was a good one and I'm so pleased I've got her, but I will be going somewhere quiet to practise that gear thing, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually ....
(The vw emporium was excellent, and thanks must be said to the guy who owns it, Keith, he talked me through exactly how to put seat belts in, and he managed to find me the two hammock bunks I need for the pop top roof, so this week I'll start drilling me van !!)

3. Topsy makes friends!

2007-07-26T09:44:00.000+01:00

SO, yesterday evening Billie and I were loading the van up with spare quilts an pillows that we'd been saving for months when Boris (another North East VW Club member) pulls up to say hi, which was nice...
.... and a while later I heard the unmistakable sound of a vw, and was very surprised to see another great looking van pulling up outside - Boris had brought Gareth, and he and his lovely sweedish import were nose to nose with Topsy! It was strange to see two fantastic looking vehicles in this quiet suburban street!
Also yesterday we took Topsy to meet the local vw mechanic, Norm, and took her to the Cobblers pub (a fine and dandy establishment which comes highly recommended by me - well, I know folk that work there!)
SO, not much work done on Topsy yet (none), but next week the door seals should come (me first diy van job!), and we may have got the seatbelts by then and could possibly have a clearer idea on what we'll eventually do with the inside... But we're still brimming with enthusiasm (but thankfully the purple fur idea has been dropped, phew) (and if you click on the picture and look at it close up - you'll see I wasn't lying about selling the kids shoes!!)

2. more pictures

2007-07-25T12:16:00.001+01:00

SOME more pictures of Topsy - We've been sitting in her for an hour drinking a cup of tea, putting the roof up, taking it down, pulling the bed out, pushing it back, looking in cupboars and trying to decide what exactly we should do with the inside - I think for now the best plan is to get the extra seatbelt fitted and then think for a few weeks and not rush into to anything too drastic!

1. We've got her!

2007-07-25T10:41:00.000+01:00

Well, yesterday we brought my new baby home - Topsy the 1975 vw camper... First though I must thank Duane (Topsy's previous owner), and Richie of the North East VW Club, cheers guys! And also thanks to Paul for driving us through and driving the kids home :-)
IT was the most money I've ever spent in my life so I felt a wee bit dizzy after handing the cash over and signing the documents, it took me a good couple of hours to get over that one! There's only one seatbelt in the back so unfortunately my daughters can't join us on any adventures yet!! Though we should have another one fitted shortly ... Roger stalled it a couple of times on the way home :-( but it seemed to drive fine when he got the 'hang of it'. I failed my driving test this week, but the L plates will be going on her sometime today, or tomorrow, and I'll have a little tootle around the industrial estate away from proper traffic!.
BUT this morning the dizzyness is gone - there was no regrets as I woke up to look out the window at the lean green travelling machine (nor did I have any regrets the previous twenty times that I looked out of the window to check on Topsy, but I'm sure that I'll only check 19 times tonight!)...
SO, that's all the news for now, but there will be developments over the next few weeks!!
From Zoe, Barbara and Belinda
xxxxxxx