Month: August 2023

A whole lotta love …. for Katy Kangoo

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I have just been to my very first vanlife festival, Slumber on the Humber. This is a new festival for this year, with a focus on mental health and raising money for Mind.

It has been an absolutely amazing experience, in every respect. The festival was only a small one, but brilliantly organised with music from local artists on two stages all weekend, a market and an excellent wellness tent, where I took part in a drumming session which was brilliant.

It was great to meet up with some of the women from my campervan Facebook groups, who I have previously met at Upton and App Fest. I also met so many other wonderful people.

I had applied to be in the show field as I wanted to let people know what you can do with a small van and an even smaller budget. I was a bit nervous when I turned up on Thursday, especially as there were some really amazing vans there.

There were only two microcampers there, myself and a Fiat Doblo, named the Blue Midget.

I was parked in between a jeep in camouflage and a very large overland truck so there couldn’t have been more of a contrast between the vans. I said to the owner of the jeep that it looked like he was Action Man and I was Barbie.

Some of the people were full time in their vans and many others weekend users. Like many van owners there were lots that had been people’s lockdown projects, in itself a great boost to their mental health during that time, to have a positive focus that they are now really enjoying.

I also met Martha and the Van Dwellers, who travel with their two dogs and a cat. They have a stunning zebra decorated van.

I was really excited to be near Florry The Lorry. I have been following Katherine and Chris for a while on Facebook and was so keen to see the lorry in real life. It is an incredible home, and even has a bath! Go and look at their pictures on Facebook.

They were so welcoming and invited me to join them around their campfire which was really nice, as I got to know them and my neighbour Paul, in the truck. He has a You Tube channel called Off Grid Nomad, which I’m looking forward to watching.

There were also a family, four girls and their parents who converted an old bus into a home and moved in last October. Their aim is to save on rent and eventually be able to buy some land for a tiny house build. I love that van life can enable people to do that. They have a Facebook and YouTube called, ‘Six in a bus’, if you want to follow them.

Everyone was so nice about Katy and I know that I have inspired a few other women to kit out their own vans as well. People were very complimentary about the needlework, and the use of space. It was so lovely to meet so many people who understand how I feel about having a van and being able to travel.

There were lots of large lorries there as well. One of my favourites was the one with a tailgate that turns into a garden with astro turf and table and chairs. The red van is being developed by a young couple into a home complete with a garage for a motorbike.

I know that vanlife won’t be the answer to everyone’s housing issues, or mental health concerns, but there is no doubt that it has given a lot of people somewhere to live, a way to retire early, something to work on, a way to travel and that can’t be a bad thing can it?

At my first music festival with Jacky about 6 years ago I was listening to a song by an artist called Doozer McDooze. It was called, ‘ I don’t wanna go home, I wanna stay like this forever ‘. It was about that feeling when you have been at a festival and are so happy, you really don’t want to have to pack up go home and go back to work on Monday.

The lovely thing is that I don’t, I just get to move on to another great location. I am now a few miles down the coast in Lincolnshire, at Mablethorpe. I am looking forward to some beach walks and possibly seeing some seals, in the local sanctuary as it is the wrong time of year for them to be here in the wild.

I am also very excited that my friend Sharon, from Marsden, is coming to join me for the weekend. She wants to buy a campervan so is testing out some to decide what she wants. She has rented one and will be arriving on Friday.

I will be back later in the week with updates on the Trust properties I visited in Herefordshire. Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Leominster, a history in stitches

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I spent most of last week at a beautiful campsite near Hereford.

I had chosen this site as there were a lot of things that I didn’t get to see last year in this area, and one of those was an embroidered history of the town of Leominster that I had seen mentioned in a tourist brochure last year.

The embroidery is housed in a community centre which in itself is well worth a visit. Grange Court dates from the 1600s and was once located in the centre of the town where it was the market hall.

It was sold in 1855, dismantled and moved to its current site near the Priory. It was a family home and is now used for many different community purposes, including a cafe and wedding venue.

The embroidery panels were done by a local group of stitchers and were made over 4 years by 15 stitchers in time for the Queen’s Jubilee in 2012.

They feature a wide variety of techniques such as crewel work trapunto and applique. Some are themed, such as the history of the Priory, or WW2, others summarise the events of one century.

There was some amazing work in the panels, I think my favourite were the early history ones that featured wool work and applique.

I also loved the trapunto ones, featuring stonework from the Priory and the woodwork details of the market.

A really wonderful labour of love from the embroiderers and a very special way of portraying the local history.

We had a lovely weekend at the Evesham event, it was raining on the Saturday but nice and sunny in Sunday and we had the miracle of a dry pack down.

It was also brilliant to see all of the talented people who make all their own clothes for events. Dave, in the black below, also does leatherwork. You can find him at Buffy Leatherwork on Facebook and Instagram. He had made things for film and TV including the recent movie about Richard 3rd, The Lost King.

These boxes above were made by my other friend, also called Dave. He also made and painted the bed in their tent. They are absolutely stunning, museum quality.

I will leave you with one of my favourite pictures, of me and Kerry in her tent. She is wearing one of her beautiful gowns, which is a wonderful red and gold in real life. I do love the sepia version of the picture though.

I am off to another festival this weekend, where Katy is in the show field, so I am very excited about that. I will then be in Lincolnshire for nearly two weeks so hopefully will have lots of long beach walks and even see some seals.

Until next time have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.

Unexpected textiles treasures in Upton

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I have just come back from my second music festival of the summer. I went to the Upton Blues Festival last weekend. I then had a couple of nights at a campsite near Malvern before joining my sister, and some other friends from one of my Facebook campervan groups, at App Fest near Tewkesbury.

The Upton Festival is a free one which takes place all around the town, similar to the Jazz Festival in Marsden. You just pay for camping and the field accommodates 7,000 campers. Katy is in there somewhere!

Both festivals were really good and there was much dancing. We were also pretty lucky with the weather as the summer has been very mixed here. I have also made new friends and seen lots more lovely vans.

Upton on Severn is a beautiful little town on the river. I visited Stourport on Severn in March and this is not far away.

There are the lovely black and white timbered buildings that this area is famous for and lots of Georgian splendour as well. The area developed through river trade and was an important trade centre in those days.There are still barges on the river today.

As it was a bit damp on Saturday I went and visited the small Tudor House Museum and I am so glad I did. This is a treasure trove of a museum, run by volunteers and has a very mixed collection, all donated by local people. It thus reflects the history of the town, but also their particular interests.

The most fascinating for me was a large lace collection, donated by a local collector. Nothing is know of its provenance but there was a wealth of machine made Stefi lace. This is made by machining on a background fabric, which is then chemically dissolved, as you would with some types of embroidery.

Such beautiful collars here. I had not heard of this type of lace before but it was very popular in the late 1800s.

There was also a recreation of a local tailor’s shop, this was full of the tools of the trade from its heyday. I love to see this type of social history preserved and it is all the more special for being of local origin.

There were some very creative displays of buttons and Haberdashery.

A wonderful museum and well with visiting if you are ever in this area. The volunteers who run it are so lovely as well and there are lots of other shops in Upton worth a visit as well.

I am on the way to the Evesham Re-enactment event, but wanted to come to Hereford to see some more Trust properties and visit more of the cute Tudor villages in the area. The forecast is mixed for the rest of the week so it may be mainly indoor visits, however I am sure I will find some lovely things to show you.

I hope you are not suffering from excessive heat, or too much rain, or any other extreme weather. It has been useful for me to try life on Katy in worse weather, as much of last year was a heat wave or very nice and sunny.

I am pleased to report that things are still working well. I will have been on the road for a month at the weekend. I still love it, on rainy days I just sit under the new lap quilt and read. I seem to have magically acquired a lot of new books, no idea how that happened 😳 🤔

I will return next week as I am cat sitting at Jacky’s. I also need to give Katy a good clean as she has been in a lot of muddy fields and she is going to be in the show field at the next festival in two weeks time.

Until then have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.