Buying a motor-home (1)

It should have been easy - the brief was to go online and find a few local places that sell second-hand motor-homes - but it was never more difficult. The old jalopy that I drive sits under a great maple tree and is regularly encrusted with bird excrement (I am being polite for this blog). Therefore first thing this morning, I went to the local carwash to spruce it up ready for the day's jaunt. The carwash started its splash routine, jerked into life, then promptly stopped. I waited a few minutes, but was reluctant to open the door in case it suddenly started again, so drove out to park up. I went back into the shop to report it, but the man said, "you shouldn't have driven out!" I pointed out that in that case, they should have clear directions pinned up about what to do when there's a machine failure.

But back to our search for a motor-home. We specified within a radius of 30-50 miles, but still they come up in Devon or Aberdeen. We specified a certain price band, but invariably they hope one can stretch the budget to meet their prices, usually double our price limit. Finally we narrowed the search to four places in Suffolk. The first specialised in caravans and had only one motor-home, beyond our budget. The next two were either new sales, or very pricey, nearly new vans that were gleaming monstrosities, far bigger and dearer than we want. The last place boasted a family business in continuous operation for 45 years at the same site in Stowmarket. The sat-nav first led us to a caravan park near by, which we trudged round in the cold drizzle, but it had no vans for sale. When we finally tracked down this wonderful Stowmarket site, it had gone into receivership and closed down. Someone had entered a comment that we only found later: "well why didn't you close down your website too!" Amen to that.

Yesterday, Ann and I bought me a new coat. It doesn't sound much to write about, but for me clothes shopping is always a major trauma, and I need Ann to coerce me and to help choose. As usual, I bought the first one I saw, which was more than I usually pay but is very smart. I immediately wore it and carried the old one away to dispose of. It was well quilted and not in bad condition, but it had grown a bit tight on me, and the zip had a habit of popping open sometimes when I bent down. Walking back to the carpark while Ann continued shopping for herself, I used a narrow alley that looked threatening even in the day. Wedged among the detritus between the large commercial dustbins was a nearly-new sleeping bag, doubtless hidden by some homeless person while he went begging, so I hung the coat up on the dustbin beside the bag for him to find. If he wants it, I hope it proves useful.