Adria Twin Van Conversion

For about three years we had a big old Elddis Autocirrus motorhome. We bought her almost on a whim, and she served us really well, taking us to parts of this great country of ours that we had never been before, and giving us a great focus for our weekends.
Our combined activities of wildlife watching and photography and walking meant that we were coaxing the old bus down narrower and narrower lanes, often causing some scratching on the side panels.
She (Gladys was her name) was also a little thirsty giving a best of 27 MPG, and a worst of 24 MPG (on a breakneck, pedal-to-the-metal rush up to the Lake District to see a very rare butterfly).
She was also b****y slow - 55mph was a usual max, with an occasional 60, and one memorable occasion where the needle touched 70 on a long downhill section of motorway following a lorry and having the wind behind us.
I hated sometimes having a queue of cars behind me, and longed for something a bit faster.
We also got frustrated having to make up the bed each night and un-make it again each morning. This came to a head on Rose’s birthday when she had consumed just a little too much fiz. I had to make the bed AROUND her, rolling her around as I played cushion jigsaw – never again!
As it was just the two of us we also didn't need so much space.
Our new shopping list read like this-
1 Van conversion (not coachbuilt) for size reasons
2 2.3 Turbo Diesel (for speed and economy)
3 Fixed Bed (for sanity)
4 Good bathroom with shower (Love a shower)
5 Good kitchen (Love food)
We looked at Treganos, Devons, IHs, and Timberlands and many other conversions, but some were tacky, some very expensive, some both!, and none had a fixed bed. Then one day whilst strolling around our local dealers Rose found Gladys II.
She was a brand new (sod the expense - you are only young once and a long time dead) Adria Twin conversion with, wonder on wonder, a FIXED BED!!!
We signed up for her there and then, haggled a good trade-in on Gladys I, and awaited delivery in 2 weeks.
Truth is that she is not IDEAL, but then I don't think that the IDEAL motorhome exists. She has a poor kitchen, with no grill or oven, and is a little cramped at times. This, however, teaches you to be tidy.
She does meet all the other criteria in spades, and is excellent value for money considering the quality of the fittings and comparing her to other conversions.
She is in use every weekend, and we have even slept in her in the drive - soppy old romantics that we are!
She is fast - I have had a comfortable 90 mph out of her, and she returns an average of 30 mpg - not bad.
Superbly comfortable, she is a joy to drive. We NEVER have a queue behind us, and seem to overtake just about everything.
We had an awning fitted as part of the purchase deal, and a CD player/Radio that has a remote control so I can turn the radio on or off from the bed – lazy sod!.
The only other modification to date is a reading light at the foot of the bed (we often sleep the 'wrong' way round) and a 12v socket for charging batteries.
The real icing on the cake, for me, is the huge storage area under the bed. I can fit all my camera gear there and we NEVER run out of beer or fiz!!
Future mods will include an extension to the worktop in the galley, and possibly a reversing camera (I love toys and gadgets!)
The best accessory is a PDA running TomTom GPS Navigation system. It has meant that we never have rows about map reading - officially the most common cause of divorce in this country - honest!!
One accessory we will never have is a TV. We spend evening reading, listening to music, or (get this folks.....) TALKING to each other.
Gladys I & II have done wonders for our relationship.

Van Morrison at Frome, Somerset

9th July 2005

Here are a few of the photographs I took at this amazing gig.

My first feeling on arrival was delight on hearing that PeeWee was to open for Van - I asked one of the road crew if it was likely that PeeWee would do a number or two with Van and he said probably not as Van was not in the best of moods (Salmon is NOT fish!!!! - long story).

PeeWee did a great set, short but up tempo, and a nice, tight, little backing band. The horns were not just decorative - some really nice support from them.

Then I got my first glimpse of the man back stage - he was laughing and joking with the crew, so his mood had obviously been tempered somewhat. I shan't go into the set-list (others have done it better than my memory could) but it struck me as more of a "Greatest Hits" set than I have ever heard before - perhaps it was because of the audience type there - not your died-in-the-wool Van fans, but mostly local people who would have turned out for just about anything (including the two tribute bands the night before).

Into The Music

Starting with the two most accessible tracks of the latest album, and then ripping through his back catalogue Van was on top form, vocally relaxed, and playing some excellent sax and guitar. Moondance was cool, and some nice solos, with lovely harp on Bright Side of the Road.

PeeWee appeared for a couple of numbers (and was well received by the crowd) Wild Night - probably well into my top 20 Van numbers, was excellent, and I couldn't help singing along, (sorry to all those near me!!!!)

Van really became animated when powering through (Sonny Boy II's) You Gotta Help Me, on the Gob Iron -

Blow Man, Blow

- wonderful stuff - could never work out why the harp was conspicuous by it's absence on this track on Too Late To Stop Now - it was written and originally performed by one of the finest harmonica players of all time.
The Healing Has begun (er - sorry, but that is Our Tune - a few tears here) was spectacular, and the finale of B.E.G. and Gloria (Thankfully with NO excrutiating elocution lessons....) ended a great set.

We spent the night in the car park in our little motorhome and sat under the stars reminiscing about a great nights entertainment.

Loved it to bits....

You Guys had better be in C!!!