Menoperability; Questions, Questions!

Thank you for the wonderful warm reception of my new playmate, The Grey! Some queries arose, so permit me to address those directly.

1) Do I reverse park? Yes, certainly. I learned to drive in the old UK way with a stick shift and clutch, three-point turns, and parallel and reverse parking mandatory in testing. Frankly, it is rare indeed on British roads (particularly in towns and cities) to find a space that could be 'driven into'. Reverse parking is the only way to manoeuvre. For the unaware, while reversing was used in parking The Grey, due to it being on the street and between two other vehicles, this is an example of parallel parking. In my dash display, other than the standard reversing camera tramlines, I had an image similar to this with the 360' overhead view!

(Though not with this labelling!)

2) Do you intend to sleep in The Grey? Of course!!! More on that as the build goes along.

3) What do you do if you are in gridlock and need to charge? Well, I shall be avoiding all future potential gridlock situations! This was an exceptional day, and only because I was collecting from within the city centre. The vast majority of my travel will be out-with large urban areas. But here's the thing - what would you do if stuck in a gridlock and out of petrol/diesel? A few folks might carry jerry cans with a couple of gallons for emergencies, but I only know a few that do. The principle is the same regardless of fuel type. In fact, the BEV has an advantage - as long as it can reach a power outlet of any sort (through an office window perhaps?), it can 'refuel'; for "gas", you can only go to specific suppliers. Then there is the basic principle that one never lets one's tank get empty anyway; always refuel at the quarter 'tank' level!!!

You'll be learning more about the technicalities of BEV driving and management along with me over on the tubular - that's what people are interested in. I fully expect some anti-electric trolls to turn up, too - I like swatting trolls.

Oh, and to be clear, YouTube is free to view, subscribe, comment, etc. So have no fear on that matter. If you do not have a YT profile, it will use your Google ID. It is good to set up a profile, though, as you can then have notifications (if you wish) of postings on the Community Board or videos, and you can save things to 'watch later'. Oh, and it took 24 hrs for the @yaminthegrey handle to integrate on the web. Apologies. Fully searchable now.

Despite paying for Prime membership, delivery to the Hutch is less than spectacular, on the whole. It is also true that the Prime contract does not cover quite a few of the necessary items for the makeover. Hey ho. After five days of raised eyebrows and pursed lips, I am coming to the conclusion that I ought not to wait and stagger my shopping but just get on and order it - I really don't want to be paying for Prime membership any longer than is necessary to get through this initial shopping glut. Anyhoo, the insulating stuffing arrived two days late. So Saturday afternoon, I unwrapped it and checked the quality - I was impressed. I didn't go for the cheap stuff the big hardware store stocks and that many van lifers use; instead, I opted for rather costlier loft-style insulation. Much thicker batts, and it is easily torn to size. Being of recycled PET, it is environmentally preferable, and it is also hypoallergenic. I am finding that it produces very little dust.

The work is slow to get going, though; it is quite hard on my spine. Also, due to this amazing spike of incredible summer weather we are having, it is like working inside an oven during the day - which is exactly why the insulation is required! That's okay. It evolves as it evolves! I have been making and remaking decisions on the go about the lining. As mentioned, I need to get orders done. 

Other distractions are that, now I am down in the van for a couple of hours each day, passersby are showing interest. One lady in particular, with her rescue dog, Rogue, has stopped a couple of times for a natter. She has a campervan! 

On Monday, I had a wee go with the selfie stick and Gopika's video function. I am a tad concerned that folk are going to get the heebie-jeebies watching this wee grey lady capering about with the big grey van and making like she knows what she's doing. It was disappointing to discover that those video clips (three of them at around one-minute duration each) took an absolute age to get sent up to the cloud so that I could make use of them... not sure if I will have even done any editing by the time you read this. (Will put an addendum at the foot of the post if successful!)

Anyway, Hettie the Heilan' Coo was ahead of the herd, leaving the Stuffy Clan in her dust... that's her in prime dashboard position, raring to go...

ADDENDUM; yes, the first video is out! (I am not going to tell you the trials and tribulations of creating that thing - or the nearly two hours it took to upload.... nope. Just enjoy the disaster as it is.) Note that there is now easy access via the clickable image on the sidebar! Yxx