The Sun Is Shining...AND IT'S FREE.

So. Solar.

Yes.

I snapped up the end of the line panel from MAPLIN of all places... on a whim i figured i needed to learn a little about circuits and sustainable energy... so i went for it.

I thought it might take a little while to charge the battery before i got light. BUT NO. as soon as i plugged it in i was blinded by an almighty blast of white light. fantastic.

I also charge my phone every night on nothing but the power of our closest star.

SO HERE WE ARE...(FOUR TET REMIX...)

Well, here are a few photos of my so far epic journey into the world of van life.



I arrived and settled on the first weekend with a little bit of fear about what i was about to do...
The first few days with unlaid carpet in piles and my belongings spilling out of boxes was mega depressing... sleeping on a bright pink beach lilo (i will put a pic up i promise) which was too short for my body and meant for lounging in pools etc. was a freezing experience and i was forced into my thermals...

Within a week or so i managed to get my first sofabed from a local off freecycle.org and trollied it back triumphantly...

For some time it was sufficient but after a while i realised that my back trouble was directly linked to a rogue wooden beam hiding under the wafer thin mattress and i decided to upgrade.


I recently collected the improved futon - again from freecycle - and a friend happily trundled off with the old one... his brother is sleeping on it now... i hope his back is ok...

I laid my carpet soon enough and am ecstatic with the result. It is probably my favourite thing about Amber at the moment...


I found a wonderful doormatt in town and had to add it to my new home, i figured it would encourage me to wipe my feet too... so that Amber would stay cleaner for longer... I had to hoover all the fluff from laying the carpet with a vacuum borrowed from the janitors of uni... and an extension cord... ITS A WORK IN PROGRESS!! I can borrow power in times of need...


I plan to put this bird box that i made at the freshers fayre in a tree next to the river and try to make my living space some kind of animal friendly place... rather than just an encroachment on their space...

Its only fair...

A moment.

Yes. I am still alive. I have had no camera or means to photograph until recently so expect a few large chunky blog entries in the next few days.

I am in the Surrey Comet this week... page 4... the photo makes me look particularly gangly...

More coming soon concerning; pigeons, solar panels, carpet, living, showers, beds and hangovers.

My Design For Life...

So.

Today I am throwing my life into a van.

I leave tomorrow, and I will be sleeping in Amber for the first time ever tomorrow night.

It wasn't possible to put up the hammock yet, as I was unable to get hold of the welder again before tomorrow - will do it when I get back to Kingston...

Until then I have been given a lilo by my sister. Very pink. But kinda comfy... it will do for the time being...

I have thrown down the carpet for now as well, but that should be laid properly in the next week or so, and I will start to be a very active member of freecycle.org in the immediate future... searching for a decent sofa bed.

If you havn't heard about freecycle.org its basically a free trade site where you can get free stuff and get rid of stuff you cant bear to see thrown away... great for getting things like sofas, fridges, freezers, bikes etc... you should definately check it out and see how big your local community is... in Kingston alone there are over 10000 freecyclers...

http://www.freecycle.org

Anyway, I expect it will be a little while until my next post; fresher's week coming up and all and
I will be settling in to the carpark... But watch this space.

Oh, and how cool is this view to wake up to after a nap...

My insides are changing. A kind of Ambulance Puberty?

Yes. She is blossoming.

Finally.

Soon Amber will be ready... for me to move into her? That kinda takes the analogy too far doesn't it...

Well, whatever, she is nearly entirely painted a lovely shade of blue...

And a trip to a carpet shop provided these beauties for laying in the not too distant future...

So needless to say, I am a little bit excited.

Currently trying to fit my life into a van... packing and all that, so, if you'll excuse me...

...Bug Catcher wants to fight...

Snails. Slugs. Blackfly... Paras. Tangela. Etc...

When they get near your greenhouse... This happens...

Though I did enjoy watching the ants picking up the blackfly and carrying it off to be eaten... go team!

But yes... Devastation in the greenhouse. Bummer.

Invisible Touch...

Wowser.

It's certainly been a while since I updated you all on the progress of Amber.

Well today is your lucky day.

This is the first of 2 updates which will come very close together as i have in fact come a long way since the last entry and i dont want to give you the whole shebang in one lump sum.

So, for starters, I finished priming the floor, then got a bit hunk of wood and marked it all out using the old torn out floor as a guide.

I cut up the new thinner floor (more headroom... less back ache... yes please)...

Next i fitted all the bits of newly cut floor into the Amber to check it was all snug and that my skills as a man were up to scratch.

My skills as a man who does DIY and man stuff are average.

The floor fitted ok. It could have been better. But at least I did it. With no help. Yay.

Next on the agenda was weatherproofing the wood, so that it didn't just start to rot at the first sign of moisture... This was a thrilling process of multiple coats... maximum waiting around... maximum coffee intake.

We also got to play around with the engine... seeing as we had pulled out an old heater when taking out the original floor... we had to re-tube lots of things up in the heating system... and an air pipe for the air suspension that got welded through... but a trip to the engine supply shop down the road and we had all the parts we needed... Rafal once again jumped under Amber and worked his magic... she purred like a charm. I literally got goose bumps from revving the engine...