Got myself a nice bull bar last weekend for £50 so this went on today. It needed a few cables moving, but was basically easy to fit.
Monthly Archives: February 2012
A busy weekend
Quite a few jobs on the go this weekend. Saturday I dusted off the pair of very tidy looking Suzuki Vitara JLX seats I bought in Feb 2011 for the Bambi. 
Sunday had a four and a half hour round trip to visit another Rascal enthusiast who sold me a bull bar for a very reasonable £50. That can go on next weekend 🙂
Sunday evening did a bit more on the mass of planning around the Europe trip. What’s the currency in the Czech Republic? Just one of literally hundreds of questions that will pop up over the next four months. Tried to book a couple of nights at the Dialogu Centrum (Centre for Dialogue, a religious centre next door to Auschwitz).
Also trying to book up at the campsite within Plitvice National Park in Croatia. These are the only two “must stay” places, everywhere else can be a bit flexible.
Travel page updated
The travel page has been updated with a write up of the Rascal Enthusiasts Rally at Leigh Delamere in Wiltshire. Also a couple more pictures courtesy of Van Drederic.
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Rascal Enthusiasts Rally – Wiltshire, February 2012
Had a cracking weekend at the Rascal Enthusiasts rally over the weekend of 10th – 12th February 2012.
Not many turning up and the weather was a little on the cold side :-O Friday and Saturday night both saw temperatures down to -9C causing all water to freeze. Attendees were Van the Man (organiser), me, and Shelley and Sophie who came down with Bonny, their lab.
Friday night was just myself and Van, we sneaked through a hole in the fence to get into the motorway services on the M4 and dined at the Burger King. Saturday daytime we visited a motor museum that had over 100 exhibits which doesn’t sound like much, but I counted at least three Rolls Royces 🙂
4PM Saturday the girls turned up with Bonny and not long after we went down to a pub in a nearby village for dinner and a few beverages. Back about 10PM and a few Apple Sours and vodka before turning in for the night.
Got away quite early on the Sunday but we all seemed to get stuck in the ice and I was the last one out which wasn’t much fun!
Roll on the warmer weather…
Welcome to sootyvan.com
This is my first attempt at creating a blog so please go easy on me 🙂
It’s my plan to do a tour of Europe in the sooty van during late June and early July 2012. This is the place where I plan to put updates and pictures so friends and family will be up to date on whatever trouble I manage to land myself in.
Here’s the rough plan:
Leave Essex on Saturday 23rd June 2012 and head to Kent for the Eurotunnel. The trip then follows three legs of approximately 1,000 miles each returning via Eurotunnel on Saturday 14th July.
Leg A – Witham to Auschwitz, Poland. Travelling through Belgium and Germany, Czech Republic and finally Poland.
Leg B – Auschwitz to Casola in Lunigiana, Italy. My friends Mick and Yvonne have a villa in Tuscany and I plan to stay with them on the weekend of 7th/8th July. This leg will take me through Austria and Slovenia with a detour to the Plitvice National Park in Croatia, before briefly travelling through Slovenia again to Italy.
Leg C – Casola in Lunigiana to Witham. The final leg will see me staying at Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva, and meandering back through France before taking the Eurotunnel again for the trip home.