The requirements for my second van were fairly simple, a kitchen area with a worktop away from the bed, a bed at the back that I could keep up permenantly (and not have to continually put up and down), an easily accessible toilet, the ability to get from the drivers seat to the habitation area and of course, heating. Oh, and the vehicle still needed to be small enough to get about very easily (I really didn’t want a big motorhome to deal with – it was only for me after all) You’d think these requirements would be fairly easy wouldn’t you.. and although the majority were, the bed proved to be the biggest issue, with nearly EVERY design in my price range having seating in the middle of the van that you had to convert to the bed at night. (why is this a thing??) It would be impossible to keep a bed up in this design, as it literally blocked the entry to the rest of the van.. so 95%  of the options out there were discarded. The hunt for the ‘one’ ended up with a search for ‘camper with bed at the back’ and only then did the sole varient for me, show itself.

The Story of Fred

The design I settled on was a Fiat Ducatto IH Savannah Gold which in its day was considered very much a ‘luxury’ vehicle. Now, some 18 years later they were, fortunately, just at the top of my budget, although still very sought after. Because of the additional expense on this one, I planned to borrow against the mortgage, sell Dolly, and repay a chunk back to lessen the repayments. This would be much easier and FARRR cheaper than getting a loan, and where I had overpaid on the mortgage there were more than enough funds available to me on their drawdown facility. (where you can re claim some of the over paid mortgage monies)

The search was extensive, and although only a few of these were for sale, I found 4 that were of interest. My favourite by far was a 2000 white van with a green interior, and a really good price. Everything looked perfect with this one so I started active enquiries. The guy seemed friendly enough, but as the emails went to and fro over a few days, something didn’t seem quite right. He had lots of info, and a nice selection of photos, he was happy for me to check the mot info, and even sent pics of his drivers licence as proof of who he was. That all seemed fair enough until it transpired that he was abroad, and not actually with the van – so I was unable to see it in person to check it over.  He was, however, willing to deliver it to me so I could inspect it. This sounded great, tho a litle weird, and little bells of caution started ringing in my head. I continued the enquiry however, until the courier company he was hiring asked me for my credit card details. The conversation then started deteriorating, and he couldn’t answer some of my concerns about the financial aspects of this transaction. He couldn’t give me any reasonable reassurances that by giving my details over to a third party this wouldn’t result in me being defrauded in some way. He even went so far as to begin acting insulted by my concerns and being mildly aggressive in his tone. Fortunately for me, during the time we conversed I had not stopped looking at these vans online – rather thankfully so, it transpired, because within a very short time, I had a rather alarming find. The van he was selling was also in the forecourt of a company in Cheshire selling campervans. I wrote to them and asked if it was for sale but they replied that their van had already taken a deposit. As conversation between the company and I continued, the manager told me that she had seen this online, and that the photos seemed to be taken from an older ad than theirs. She told me that it was a scam, and that I should steer clear and be very careful, because these scams were on the rise and not at all uncommon. Why SHE didn’t report it, I do not know.. but I certainly did! Horrified, I broke contact with the scammer, filed a report, notified Gumtree and counted my blessings for my natural caution. Tho I wont lie, I was disappointed at loosing this little beauty.

I still had other options though, and now my caution was alerted, I was very careful. One looked horribly tatty inside, so I discounted that one, and I was left torn between the two remaining vehicles that were available. One was with a company in Worcestershire, so I went with a friend to visit that one, a silver van priced higher than my budget, and the other was a privately owned van right at the top of my allowance. The visit to see the silver one gave me the much needed opportunity to have a proper look round, and I fell in love with the design straight away. Both vehicles available to me had positives, both had negatives, although they were all minor niggles to be fair. The private one was a strong postal van red, a colour that I really wasn’t keen on – not least because all the interior was bright red too (overkill!), but it was much better priced, and it secretly became my preferred vehicle of the two because of this. In my head I named her Pat (after Postman Pat!) – I was that keen on her. The other silver one, was a nicer colour and tho quite a bit more expensive, it did come with warranties, and after the near purchase on the scam one, that felt like a big peace of mind. This van named itself… the last 3 letters on his numberplate were FRD – well he had to be Fred didn’t he?! Mileage was much the same on both, so didn’t really enter the equation. Undecided and really struggling to choose between them, I pitted the two against each other. The private one wasn’t gonna budge with price, and nor were they willing to get a new MOT as the one they had still had a few months left on it, but the company offered to drop their asking price to nearly match the one being asked for Pat, and were not only willing to give their one a fresh MOT, but they were going to rectify all the advisories from the last one and give the van a complete service on top. This seemed to be a bit of a no brainer especially when teamed with the warranties on top, and the decision was basically made for me because of this. So, I went ahead with the purchase of Fred.

What a fantastic choice he was as well. They serviced him perfectly, not just the vehicle, but a full habitation check as well and he was beautiful all through, with me not really having to do anything other than adapt him to my personal tastes. Inside he was pretty much the same as the scam vehicle although he didn’t have an oven built in as that one did (tho to be fair I am pleased for that, as I would never use an oven on the road, and the extra storage is far more valuable to me). He had a seperate bathroom with shower, toilet and sink, a kitchen area, plenty of worktop space not only over the hob and sink, but an extra one that popped up at the side. The passenger seat swivelled around to this as well, so I could use this as a desk should I want to. Very neat! Fred came with not just one, but TWO leisure batteries that charged as he drove, a 3 way fridge, a rear end dinette that converted into a very nice double bed and most importantly heating. In fact, on the day I picked him up, two days after my birthday, he also came with an hook up charging cable, a bunch of flowers and a celebratory bottle of wine in the fridge! He was perfect!

But I am jumping ahead with the story… Before the handover day, and just as they were finalising the service, I went out to visit him to see if the new leisure battery that I had on Dolly might be able to fit in as well. It was a newer and bigger battery, so might be more beneficial in the long run as Fred didn’t have a solar charging option. I drove up in Dolly the day before, then planned to visit Norfolk for a few days more after visiting Fred. The two vans met up and I had a good tour round Fred with them showing me where everything was, and how to use everything that wasn’t on Dolly (all things water, using the heating, getting to the toilet cassette to empty it etc.) They tried the battery, but Dollys was too big for the housing, which in Fred was under the seats (saving a HUGE amount of space!) Tho a touch disappointed, I still went away happy and excited because the new van was going to open a lot more opportunities for me, which were going to be a lot more comfortable, enjoyable and thrilling..

As I left, I realised this was basically going to be my last trip in Dolly. I really only had a couple of days and I’d picked Norfolk because I hadn’t photographed there yet. I hoped to catch some of the tulip fields they have, since I’d not seen these before and this was just the right time for this. As I drove away content in Dolly, I felt sad to let her go, but thought positively about the last journey in her and my mind wandered. She had taught me so much, and given me wings I never knew I could have. I felt a little like I had an angel on my shoulder, guiding me to such awesome decisions on these vans, and I felt SO incredibly grateful for my fortune with them. As my musings went on, my thought turned back to the current foray in Dolly, and I considered that as Norfolk was her last trip with me, maybe I could make this Freds first trip as well and tie both vans into one county… then I stopped thinking and heard that in my head. Quite unexpectedly tears rolled down my face as I suddenly realised what I had just said. Dolly and Fred, both in Norfolk.

You see, quite unexpectedly all these things had come around and without an ounce of intention or second thought as to how or why. But it was this exact moment that pointed me to an answer to that unasked question – as that ‘angel on my shoulder’, the one that helped me progress on in my life, to give me something encouraging, fulfilling and inspiring to live for, suddenly became very real. And I realised that I knew who it was – or rather maybe, THEY.

My grandfather lived in Norfolk, and his name was Frederick, Fred to everyone. I hadn’t given it a single thought when Fred got his name though. My beloved grandmother, who I loved so very dearly, was Dorothy, but everyone called her – Dolly. Yeah. I know right?! I never gave that a second thought either! Dolly and Fred. They were my grandparents. Dolly and Fred were both Norfolk born and bred, and as a child my parents split us 3 children up for summer holidays, My sister went to my Dutch grandparents, my brother stayed at home for trips with my mother, and I always went to Norfolk. My grandmother and I were very close, especially after my grandfather died, and I wrote and visited her all the time from my childhood right through as an adult until the time she joined my grandfather in 1993. Dolly and Fred… the names that had inadvertently come to my vans. Explain that?!

Yes, I cried that day. They were tears of unimaginable gratitude and love.

I continued on to my trip feeling warmth, love and even a feeling of being watched over and protected, feelings that I hadn’t felt in so many years, and whether real or imagined, the comfort I got from that has lasted to this day.