sunny (then rainy) bank holiday weekend

26 May 2014





Hello Peoples, on this dank dark drizzly Bank Holiday in Ol'Blighty, I thought I try and lighten the mood. Can you believe that it was actually sunny once? Yesterday we went out to a local beach in our camper van. 
We have had our camper for about three years now, but it really feels like part of the family. I know that sound cheesy, but it is true. As VW camper original advert says, 'It's not just a car, it's a way of life' and 'It's not just a car, it's a second home'.  We keep it ready stocked for camping at the drop of a hat (or when the forecast in sunny).
Anyway, I'm waffling. What I wanted to post about was our new curtains which I made on Saturday. We took the plunge and went for a bright bold colour for once! 
The fabric cost about £1.90 per metre off ebay, total cost around £24. Readymade VW curtains cost around £150 per set, so thats £126 I can spend on myself right?
Since we refurbished our van a few years ago, its been on about 15 camping trips and numerous days out and market trips. All that takes its toll, so I bought a carpet and upholstery cleaner and got busy sucking out all that dirt and debris. It now smells fresh as a daisy (actually it smelt like wet wool for a while).

 I also made a little linen cover for our cooker.

we bought a few bits and bobs like this mackerel cushion...

 and a new seat/box which I am going to make a padded seat cushion.

Our nipper LOVES the van, she just never gets bored in there and can stay in it all day, climbing about, playing with the steering wheel, pushing all the buttons and bouncing on the seats.

and she is really into binoculars.


the view above is Compton Bay, and the carpark is on the cliff above.

I'm so in love with my new cardi I found, I do love a good vintage knitwear or blanket label, am I alone?...

and a mini version (courtesy of our good friend Katy)

a quick paddle (which resulted in wet bottom)



most of the sand has washed away from this beach which used to be the biggest sandy beach on the island (I think?) but it has revealed more of the fossilised forest and rock pools.

 I do hope the sand comes back or there will be some very unhappy tourist this summer.

Oh van love (its called Lewes but we tend to call it the Hungry Caterpillar as it munches through our savings). We hope to one day restore it's badly filled bodywork too, ouch!

But to be honest, I don't mind.


18 comments

  1. As I'm sat here in a very rainy bit of england today, these photos are reminding me that we will have nice weather again, hopefully, soon. I absolutely adore the green colour of your camper, it's beautiful! Great photos, as always, I love the cardi too.
    x

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  2. I was just going to ask how you worked with the child seat in the van, so I am glad you included a picture.

    My parents had a (then modern) camper van in the 80s and 90s, and my sister and I just sat by the table when we were on the road (I think the very first camper we had did not even have seat belts for us since my dad built it from an old van).
    Now that I have kids myself that seems completely crazy, but no-one thought twice about that back then.

    P.S. my parents loved camping with us, but the trips always turned into somewhat survival trips (due to colder-than-planned weather, lower-than-planned supply of food, harder-than-planned terrain/water conditions...), but your camping trips have made me think that MAYBE I could give camping a try again.

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  3. These photos are so lovely! I'd love a camper-van. They look so cute

    ellenunderwater.blogspot.co.uk

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  4. that last picture just melts my heart... so adorable!!

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  5. When I lived in UK all my spare money went on my Morris Traveller. I seemed to be working to keep the wolves from the hungry Morris. Still I didn't care either. I resprayed the car myself with a friend and then I scratched along a wheelbarrow moments after finishing her. I never do scrapes normally. Perhaps it was the new speakers that blasted out music to be above the noisy engine. I rather like the exposed fossilised forest rather than sand.

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  6. Ah yes…the perils of owning an old vehicle! My lovely mini is currently in storage (costing £4 a week instead of the billion it costs to drive it) because the house has eaten all our money! Ho hum…I really thought one day I would grow up and everything would be the way I planned! Lovely photos as usual! x

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  7. Isn't it strange how all the sand has left Compton this year? What a beautiful van too. :)

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  8. Anonymous26.5.14

    How great is it to raise a kid by the ocean? Love the RV, too. Looks like you have lots of summer adventures ahead.

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  9. What a lovely post. Thank you for sharing your story of the love of your van.

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  10. Such lovely photos and looks like you had a great weekend! :)

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  11. Stunning photo's as always Artemis. Your VW camper is gorgeous.... as is your nipper. Well done for making your own curtains and saving yourself a packet...a no brainer I'd have thought, for someone of your talents.

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  12. I would love to have a fully loaded camper to head to the beach in, it looks perfect!

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  13. I'm always on the look out for a cosy cardi. Love your red checked curtains x

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  14. Saw your curtains on instagram and they look even better in real life so to speak! Love the matching cardi's too x

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  15. Hi Artemis ~ I have loved following your blog for about 2 years. Thank you for sharing your life and your spirit. It occurred to me this morning that you might enjoy checking out another blog I follow here in the U. S. It is called "Posy Gets Cozy." The woman who writes it is also very creative and has a young daughter. You both have a similar sense of style and similar interests. xo ~ Leslie

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  16. Our VW van has been part of our family for 16 years. She has been repainted a paprika colour and her name is Sassy van.

    I don't even think about how much money we've spent keeping her happy over the years. A part of our family indeed. She's taken us all over British Columbia and the west coast of the USA.

    Lovely pics you take......

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  17. I don't know what it is, but I am currently in love with anything with a fish on it, so your mackerel pillow is calling to me!

    I love your camper van! It's so wonderful that you can take off when the weather's right and go on an adventure. :)

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  18. I did not grow up camping as I lived in the rural countryside of Mississippi and leaving our rural home to go camping in even more primitive surroundings was just not that entertaining to us. We tended to vacation by visiting friends/family in larger cities and taking advantage of the things we didn't have access to at home. BUT your pictures make me sincerely want to ramble about the English countryside camping on a lovely farm somewhere in Cornwall. It's all so very very beautiful.

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