August

The weather broke this week and the heavens opened up good style for the best part of four days. this wiped out the chance of doing another Car boot thus still carrying around some unwanted goods should really bin some of the stuff but all things will sell eventually.
 At the moment I'm suffering quite badly from some sort of ear infection this is really uncomfy to much noise is giving me a headache and making me feel sick if there is no noise i feel like I'm underwater. Got some ear spray (£8.00) from boots as could not find the old-fashioned ear drops. I am also using warm olive oil this is an old wife's trick that was used on us as kids i think it worked then not sure about now but will soon find out.
Because of this i have left the harmonica alone and only messing around with the guitar unplugged it might sound like am having a whinge but my head is really sensitive at the moment.
Had my wonderful friend and bro phone me this week which is something the lad does not do very often I was really pleased to hear from him, am only too glad to help you bro I think my mum would have turned in her grave if I had, not of.

Update on my health my ear infection has almost gone now it has taken the best part of four weeks to clear up but all is well I can get back to amping up my toys now.
I need to get back to making a few more videos and taking more photos, might be best to move onto new pastures in order to ignite my enthusiasm once more that is if I want to keep sharing my life with you all.
The biggest bugbear of doing the filming is the editing and uploading onto youtube finding a place where I can sit for the best part of a day like a pub or public library and getting good free WiFi. I did try with WIFI in the van but the cost involved out wayed the need by miles.
I have spent something like 1600 nights sleeping in a van now and still loving it, not had any real bad nights i did have one or two at first when sleeping on the setup that most vans have the sofa beds are far too uncomfy for anything more than two nights. having a fixed bed and a proper mattress is a must if travelling full time. Good shoes and a good bed should be high on any body's must-have list.

Keeping the bed and bedding away from any outside wall is a must but sometimes very hard to do with the limitations inside the van because of design or size the newer vans with drop-down beds are are a great idea. My bed is one of the couches which runs lengthways with a proper mattress and topper on. This is a permanently up at first i had the standard 36-inch wide mattress on but this gave me problems with body heat and the cold walls of the van which was causing the bedding to become wet not damp but really wet.
I solved the problem by getting a 30-inch wide mattress and placing empty plastic bottles in the six-inch gap giving me air space between the bedding and outside wall I have no issues with this set up at all.

While in bed my head is just level with the window and having the window set on the night-time opening is helpful in winter if you're having the heating on.
Another thing you will want to do to make sleeping or living a little comfier when parked up is to make sure your van is reasonably level if this is not practical for you to do use foam strips or cushions to level the bed by placing them under the mattress.

I do find staying cooler in the summer a damn sight harder than staying warm in the winter especially this year at any rate.

Sat in a Subway Having a surprisingly good breakfast roll and a good cup of coffee never been a fan of this type of eatery but must admit its a lot better than I thought it would be.cont aug I got this off e-bay it looks nice and the bidding was low when the guitar arrived it looked ok at first, after messing with it for about an hour the cigar box which was only hot glued on became loose from the neck. It was glued to the inside top of the box this stops the body of the guitar, in this case, the cigar box from vibrating and giving some reverb to the sound which made it practically useless as an acoustic. Also, the neck is 3 mm wider over the 8.9.and 10th fret along with the grove that holds the nut being at a slight angle admittedly it plays well when plugged in. The tone and volume control on the guitar which controls the twin piezos where either on or off. The three small sound holds on the front are nice and look good but ineffective due to the lack of acoustic sound coming from the guitar itself But I do like the look of the guitar so I'm going to make some changes to make it more playable that's the plan anyway. First thing will be to make the cigar box a little wider put some sound holes on the back of the box and turn the front ones into one long oblong sound hole. I intend to change the Piezos for a humbucker style pickup and change the bridge.

A nice new clean Subway in Bude

The start of September will be the start of my fourth year out in this van and I am so looking forward to the next 12 months not too sure if I will be moving about all over the place or just going to another area and staying there as long as possible you just have to make sure you move around in your chosen area enough not to annoy the natives too much. Once they know your not a threat to them and not throwing your rubbish all over the place they do seem to take an interest in you and the way you live.

Almost all the people I have got to know while out on the road like the idea of living on the road themselves but all seem to find a reason why  they cannot its normally to do with other family members also you get a lot of questions like how do you keep clean and what about washing your clothes plus it must be cold in the winter or what do you do when it dark outside.
Well if I need to answer that for you reading this I will
Your Family will only ever be a phone call away, We do have showers some even have built-in washing machines, and most have blown air central Heating, And when its dark outside I do the same things you do go the pub or stay in and watch the telly.

If you really are interested in this lifestyle get out and talk to people go for a walk on the local waterways your find loads of helpful full-time boaters that will spend some time to tell you the ups and downs of there way of life.
Same applies when you see motorhomer,s but make sure they are true full-timers and not the Oh yea were full-timers but go back home every month to do the washing etc.
You can live totally off-grid other than having a contact address of some sort for your driving licence, tax and other legal requirements.

Getting goods and parcels delivered is getting easier now with all the drop off points and Amazon type lockers popping up all over the place.
Giving the lifestyle a practise run is a good idea this would help you iron out anything that might become a problem in the future I myself stayed in my van full time for over 12 months and only going back to the house to work on the computer.
I even went on holiday for the weekends and was never more than 5 miles away from the house sometimes I was only 1/2 a mile away at Anderton boat lift.
I would even use the laundrette which was no more than 50 mtrs from my house might sound daft, but this is something i would be doing for the rest of my days

Anderton Boat Lift In Cheshire I even slept in my tent just pasted the boat for a weekend.

The weather broke this week and the heavens opened up good style for the best part of two days. this wiped out the chance of doing another Car boot thus still carrying around some unwanted goods should really bin some of the stuff but all things will sell eventually. At the moment I'm suffering quite badly from some sort of ear infection this is really uncomfy to much noise is giving me a headache and making me feel sick if there is no noise i feel like I'm underwater. Got some ear spray (£8.00) from boots as could not find the old-fashioned ear drops. I am also using warm olive oil this is an old wife's trick that was used on us as kids i think it worked then not sure about now but will soon find out. Because of this i have left the harmonica alone and only messing around with the guitar unplugged it might sound like am winging but my head is really sensitive at the moment Had my wonderful friend and bro phone me this week which is something the lad does not do very often I was really pleased to hear from him, am only too glad to help you bro I think my mum would have turned in her grave if I had, not of. Update on my health my ear infection has almost gone now it has taken the best part of four weeks to clear up but alls well I can get back to amping up my toys now. I need to get back to making a few more videos and taking more photos, might be best to move onto new pastures in order to ignite my enthusiasm once more that is if I want to keep sharing my life with you all. The biggest bugbear of doing the filming is the editing and uploading onto youtube finding a place where I can sit for the best part of a day like a pub or public library and getting good free WiFi. I did try with WIFI in the van but the cost involved out wayed the need by miles. I have spent something like 1600 nights sleeping in a van now and still loving it, not had any real bad nights i did have one or two at first when sleeping on the setup that most vans have the sofa beds are far too uncomfy for anything more than two nights. having a fixed bed and a proper mattress is a must if travelling full time. Good shoes and a good bed should be high on anybody's must-have list. Keeping the bed and bedding away from any outside wall is a must but sometimes very hard to do with the limitations inside the van because of design or size the newer vans with drop-down beds are are a great idea. My bed is one of the couches which runs lengthways with a proper mattress and topper on. This is a permanently up at first i had the standard 36-inch wide mattress on but this gave me problems with body heat and the cold walls of the van which was causing the bedding to become wet not damp but really wet. I solved the problem by getting a 30-inch wide mattress and placing empty plastic bottles in the six-inch gap giving me air space between the bedding and outside wall I have no issues with this set up at all. While in bed my head is just level with the window and having the window set on the night-time opening is helpful in winter if you're having the heating on. I do find staying cooler in the summer a damn sight harder than staying warm in the winter especially this year at any rate. The weather broke this week and the heavens opened up good style for the best part of two days. this wiped out the chance of doing another Car boot thus still carrying around some unwanted goods should really bin some of the stuff but all things will sell eventually. At the moment I'm suffering quite badly from some sort of ear infection this is really uncomfy to much noise is giving me a headache and making me feel sick if there is no noise i feel like I'm underwater. Got some ear spray (£8.00) from boots as could not find the old-fashioned ear drops. I am also using warm olive oil this is an old wife's trick that was used on us as kids i think it worked then not sure about now but will soon find out. Because of this i have left the harmonica alone and only messing around with the guitar unplugged it might sound like am winging but my head is really sensitive at the moment Had my wonderful friend and bro phone me this week which is something the lad does not do very often I was really pleased to hear from him, am only too glad to help you bro I think my mum would have turned in her grave if I had, not of. Update on my health my ear infection has almost gone now it has taken the best part of four weeks to clear up but alls well I can get back to amping up my toys now. I need to get back to making a few more videos and taking more photos, might be best to move onto new pastures in order to ignite my enthusiasm once more that is if I want to keep sharing my life with you all. The biggest bugbear of doing the filming is the editing and uploading onto youtube finding a place where I can sit for the best part of a day like a pub or public library and getting good free WiFi. I did try with WIFI in the van but the cost involved out wayed the need by miles. I have spent something like 1600 nights sleeping in a van now and still loving it, not had any real bad nights i did have one or two at first when sleeping on the setup that most vans have the sofa beds are far too uncomfy for anything more than two nights. having a fixed bed and a proper mattress is a must if travelling full time. Good shoes and a good bed should be high on anybody's must-have list. Keeping the bed and bedding away from any outside wall is a must but sometimes very hard to do with the limitations inside the van because of design or size the newer vans with drop-down beds are are a great idea. My bed is one of the couches which runs lengthways with a proper mattress and topper on. This is a permanently up at first i had the standard 36-inch wide mattress on but this gave me problems with body heat and the cold walls of the van which was causing the bedding to become wet not damp but really wet. I solved the problem by getting a 30-inch wide mattress and placing empty plastic bottles in the six-inch gap giving me air space between the bedding and outside wall I have no issues with this set up at all. While in bed my head is just level with the window and having the window set on the night-time opening is helpful in winter if you're having the heating on. I do find staying cooler in the summer a damn sight harder than staying warm in the winter especially this year at any rate.

A few cans of beer and a fishing rod perfect 

My Van Parked up about 500 mtrs from my tent

This is my new toy

Nice but soon to be cannibalised

 The weather broke this week and the heavens opened up good style for the best part of two days. this wiped out the chance of doing another Car boot thus still carrying around some unwanted goods should really bin some of the stuff but all things will sell eventually. At the moment I'm suffering quite badly from some sort of ear infection this is really uncomfy to much noise is giving me a headache and making me feel sick if there is no noise i feel like I'm underwater. Got some ear spray (£8.00) from boots as could not find the old-fashioned ear drops. I am also using warm olive oil this is an old wife's trick that was used on us as kids i think it worked then not sure about now but will soon find out. Because of this i have left the harmonica alone and only messing around with the guitar unplugged it might sound like am winging but my head is really sensitive at the moment Had my wonderful friend and bro phone me this week which is something the lad does not do very often I was really pleased to hear from him, am only too glad to help you bro I think my mum would have turned in her grave if I had, not of. Update on my health my ear infection has almost gone now it has taken the best part of four weeks to clear up but alls well I can get back to amping up my toys now. I need to get back to making a few more videos and taking more photos, might be best to move onto new pastures in order to ignite my enthusiasm once more that is if I want to keep sharing my life with you all. The biggest bugbear of doing the filming is the editing and uploading onto youtube finding a place where I can sit for the best part of a day like a pub or public library and getting good free WiFi. I did try with WIFI in the van but the cost involved out wayed the need by miles. I have spent something like 1600 nights sleeping in a van now and still loving it, not had any real bad nights i did have one or two at first when sleeping on the setup that most vans have the sofa beds are far too uncomfy for anything more than two nights. having a fixed bed and a proper mattress is a must if travelling full time. Good shoes and a good bed should be high on anybody's must-have list. Keeping the bed and bedding away from any outside wall is a must but sometimes very hard to do with the limitations inside the van because of design or size the newer vans with drop-down beds are are a great idea. My bed is one of the couches which runs lengthways with a proper mattress and topper on. This is a permanently up at first i had the standard 36-inch wide mattress on but this gave me problems with body heat and the cold walls of the van which was causing the bedding to become wet not damp but really wet. I solved the problem by getting a 30-inch wide mattress and placing empty plastic bottles in the six-inch gap giving me air space between the bedding and outside wall I have no issues with this set up at all. While in bed my head is just level with the window and having the window set on the night-time opening is helpful in winter if you're having the heating on. I do find staying cooler in the summer a damn sight harder than staying warm in the winter especially this year at any rate.
 I got this off e-bay it looks nice and the bidding was low when the guitar arrived it looked ok at first, after messing with it for about an hour the cigar box which was only hot glued on became loose from the neck.
It was glued to the inside top of the box this stops the body of the guitar, in this case, the cigar box from vibrating and giving some reverb to the sound which made it practically useless as an acoustic.  Also, the neck is 3 mm wider over the 8.9.and 10th fret along with the grove that holds the nut being at a slight angle admittedly it plays well when plugged in. The tone and volume control on the guitar which controls the twin piezos was either on or off. The three small sound holds on the front are nice and look good but ineffective due to the lack of acoustic sound coming from the guitar itself but I do like the look of the guitar so I'm going to make some changes to make it more playable that's the plan anyway.
First thing will be to make the cigar box a little wider put some sound holes on the back of the box and turn the front ones into one long oblong sound hole. I intend to change the Piezos for a humbucker style pickup and change the bridge.

Humbucker Pickup

Now With The Humbucker In Place

Fitting the Humbucker meant cutting the neck inside of the box I will now have to strengthen the neck somehow. The next thing is to place the Bridge you can see four small pin  holes around the bolt this is where the bridge will have to sit so it will mean shorting the sound hole and cutting into the neck again to place a brace to take the bridge. The other two holes are where the volume and tone control knobs went so I need to do something to these as well.

Nice New Bridge and tailpiece.

Slowly but surely 

I have finished the guitar now watch the video below i did most of this with just a juinor hack saw and a small welding vice plus a craft knife screwdriver and a hot glue gun.
I think it looks better and sounds better but then I would would,nt I the weight in the box now having a few braces in gives it an even balance with the neck.

off e-bay it looks nice and the bidding was low when the guitar arrived it looked ok at first, after messing with it for about an hour the cigar box which was only hot glued on became loose from the neck. It was glued to the inside top of the box this stops the body of the guitar, in this case, the cigar box from vibrating and giving some reverb to the sound which made it practically useless as an acoustic. Also, the neck is 3 mm wider over the 8.9.and 10th fret along with the grove that holds the nut being at a slight angle admittedly it plays well when plugged in. The tone and volume control on the guitar which controls the twin piezos where either on or off. The three small sound holds on the front are nice and look good but ineffective due to the lack of acoustic sound coming from the guitar itself But I do like the look of the guitar so I'm going to make some changes to make it more playable that's the plan anyway. First thing will be to make the cigar box a little wider put some sound holes on the back of the box and turn the front ones into one long oblong sound hole. I intend to change the Piezos for a humbucker style pickup and change the bridge.