Another Leak! (but I'm going anyway)

Hello again, Reader

Quite a lot has happened since I last posted. On the eve of my departure, I decided to sleep in the van a second night. Some time before dawn there was torrential rain and at about 6:30 or 7:00 I was woken by the drip drip of water making a puddle on the van floor and soaking the bottom of my quilt. There's a leak in the roof, and I think it's the seal around the air vent. It looks old and worn. 

I headed to nearby Llandow industrial estate and got a cylinder of clear silicone gel and a calking gun. I dried off the roof and the vent as best I could and put a thick layer of gel all around the seal. An hour later I was off. The guy at the hardware place said the gel wouldn't be fully set for twenty four hours, but it would be fine to drive to York.

So here I am in York, reunited with my British Council colleague from fourteen years ago, Alasdair Lord. Because it took time to address the leaky roof, I didn't arrive in York until nearly 9pm. And there's Lordy finishing cooking a spicy vegan curry. What a legend!

Before I go on, Lordy insists I plug his YouTube channel: The Renaissance Yorkshireman Podcast - YouTube . He tells me it's the coolest YouTube channel for anything postcapitalist. So if that sounds like your cup of tea, don't forget to like, comment and subscribe :)

Although Lordy had a camp bed available for me to set up in his living room, I opted to sleep in the van again. I wanted a relatively safe experience of wild camping on a residential street, and I wanted to be in the van if it rained - to see if the leak was gone or not. But it didn't rain throughout the night. I also didn't sleep very well, as I discovered a new hazard of urban camping: both sides of the road sloped down towards the pavement, so the van was parked on a camber. Which meant my bed was sloping to the right. I'll have to find as level ground as possible for future park ups.

Sights of York

Today we went for a walk into the centre of York to see some of the famous sights. It's a beautiful place and our route into the city went through lots of lovely parks and groves of trees. It's a glorious, sunny day too.

And here's the first sight. York Minster. This is "one of the world’s most magnificent cathedrals. Since the 7th century, the Minster has been at the centre of Christianity in the north of England and today remains a thriving church rooted in the daily offering of worship and prayer." (York Minster homepage)

Next up, the statue of the Emperor Constantine. He was the first (only?) emperor to rise to power outside of Rome. Constantine was made Emperor of Rome right here in York! The fact that the statue's sword has a broken tip is symbolic of something or other Lordy was explaining. 

Moving along, this is the famous Bettys Café Tea Rooms. "With beautiful interiors inspired by the Queen Mary ocean liner, it’s been making a splash since 1936." (Bettys website)

Finally, we took a stroll down The Shambles, most famously known nowadays as the real life inspiration for JK Rowling's Diagon Alley. "The Shambles is an old street in York, England, with overhanging timber-framed buildings, some dating back as far as the fourteenth century. It was once known as The Great Flesh Shambles, probably from the Anglo-Saxon Fleshammels, the word for the shelves that butchers used to display their meat." (Wikipedia) 

Back to Alasdair's house and he made me his famous banana coconut vegan smoothie. It's got cinnamon, maybe vanilla ... some other ingredients. Tastes awesome!

And that's everything up to speed. 

It's really lovely weather outside, but weirdly I want it to rain, if not this evening then tonight. I'll sleep in the van again on the sloping bed. I'd really rather find out if the leak is fixed before I leave York. I'm off now to research the next one or two parts of my journey.

Thanks for reading,

Brian