Thirty

Hi reader,

Today's magic number is thirty. 

This is my 30th blog post and it also happens to be my 30th day of living in my van. It's been over a month since I slept in a house; shout out to my friend in Cardiff who told me I wouldn't last ten days in a van. 😜

I woke up in Inverness this morning and it is such a beautiful city. I'll write about Inverness in my next post. I'm thinking of staying for a few days here as there's a lot to see and do. I prepared breakfast and made a few calls (hi Dave Boyd, Natalie Mullarkey and Russell Briggs) and then down to the business of fixing the latest van problem.

Fuel leak

After breakfast, I Googled for mechanics in the city. 'The Garage' on Lotland Street caught my eye. It didn't come up top of the list but it had some positive reviews from happy customers describing Tomas as reliable, honest, friendly and knowledgeable. And only a ten minute drive away, so off I went.

Tomas was brilliant and identified the problem right away. Here's the culprit: another perished 'o' ring.

This time I didn't have to find a Ford Motors to buy a new one. Tomas had a scrapped Ford Transit engine in his workshop, so he got a spare one from there. It took less than ten minutes to fix. He also disconnected the leisure battery, which has been next to useless on this trip anyway. He said that the way it was wired was dodgy and a potential fire hazard. 

As the reviews said, Tomas is a really friendly guy. He's from Lithuania and he's been living in Inverness for about fifteen years. He advised me that if I want to visit Loch Ness after Inverness, the best location will be Dores Beach. 

So ... problem number six fixed and the Millennium Falcon is ready to fly again. Cost: 20 quid 😍

Spirit Level

Thanks to Ben Cooling who recommended another useful app: Bubble Level. This effectively turns your phone into a spirit level and is very useful when parking for the night. It helps me to check that the van is on level ground, which makes for a better night's sleep.

Unlimited Data

A real game changer was my decision to upgrade my phone package to unlimited data. Previously, I'd been getting 3GB a month because I'd read an article saying that most people are paying for way more data than they actually use. However, the first half of my trip had been a constant quest to save data and find free WIFI. Even then, I ran out of data three times and had to buy a 'bolt on'. Now I've got unlimited data for 25 pounds a month and it's amazing. I can make video calls whenever I want, use Google Maps without airplane mode and tether my hotspot to the laptop too. I still need to visit libraries whenever possible as the useless leisure battery in the van means I need to constantly find places to charge my LED lamp, phone, power bank and laptop. That's easy though. There have been brilliant libraries all along my route.

Thermals

I'm happy to report that the thermal long johns and undershirt I bought from Primark yesterday are fantastic. I had a cozy night last night and I plan to return to Primark before I leave Inverness to pick up another two sets. I was enjoying feeling lovely and warm walking around Inverness this morning with my secret layer under my clothes, but I decided to remove them before coming to the library so that I can enjoy the benefit when the evening turns chilly later.

Cuckoo's Nest

Vintery, mintery, cutery, corn,
Apple seed and apple thorn,
Wire, briar, limber lock
Three geese in a flock
One flew East
One flew West
And one flew over the cuckoo's nest.

I'm really enjoying reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. If you've seen the film but never read the book, I recommend it. Of course, you can't read about Randall Patrick McMurphy or Nurse Ratched without picturing Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher.

A major difference in the novel (named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005) is that a big reveal from the film actually comes in the first twenty or so pages. I won't say what that is in case of spoilers, but I will say that the book is interesting because it's narrated from the perspective of the half-Native American psychiatric patient 'Chief' Bromden. We see the growing conflict between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched through Chief's eyes. I'm looking forward to watching the film again when I finish reading it.

That's about it for this post. I'm going out to find some lunch and enjoy Inverness.

Thanks for reading,

Brian