Diary of an Ordinary Van

[Vee4]

All these years of being Ordinary can make you a little crazy ...



but we're still getting the job done. Recently at Birmingham Town Hall, there was Ashley Hutchings' birthday celebration, the difficulty being that the Town Hall is now fully surrounded by pedestrian areas with no vehicle access to the Stage Door (unless you are a VIP and booked in advance). Luckily, it was a bank holiday when the parking meters were inoperative all day so the plan was to find the nearest bay, park up, and hand-carry the equipment. Amplifiers are much lighter than they used to be, utilising Class-D amplifiers and rare-earth magnets for the speakers, so that's not as bad as it sounds (and yes, they do sound good too). I confined my tool kit to a small Xcelite set, a spare 9 volt battery, an LED flashlight and a copy of the (most recently known) running order. I only needed the last two items and I was very popular all evening ..."When am I on?"





We were out of the Zone before midnight (with dashcam footage to prove it) so only one LEZ charge to pay.

[Altransit]

I have an odd aversion to LEZ, ULEZ, parking charges, 20mph zones, and traffic cameras, so I just stay away from city centres these days, but it's good to see that some of these old rockers are still giggin', and even better to see the OV providing the necessary support

[Vee4]

I have an odd aversion to LEZ, ULEZ, parking charges, 20mph zones, and traffic cameras, so I just stay away from city centres these days, but it's good to see that some of these old rockers are still giggin', and even better to see the OV providing the necessary support.

I know what you mean, but the OV has go where the customer goes. Not being based in London now, the ULEZ is just another expense - at least they have an efficient 'autopay' system so I don't have to worry about missing an entry. The TomTom speed and camera alerts help to avoid entanglements with the authorities.

[Vee4]

Another post that was still in the pipeline!

The Ordinary Van has been a regular at Cropredy Festival since 2010, the Mk5 before that, reliably carrying equipment to and from the festival site. The festival was shuttered in 2020 and 2021, as with most festivals because of the Coronavirus pandemic. It has carried on from there, unlike some smaller festivals that did not reopen. One consequence of the hiatus was that the company supplying caravans for the backstage 'dressing rooms' sold most of its stock in order to survive and unless you were a superstar with a cast iron contract rider, the only option was a tent. So much for being Ordinary! As it turned out the tent, although not exactly 'glamping', was a very good alternative and cheaper too, so it is now the annual order. Here we are in 2025 between the tent and a caravan:

[Altransit]

I've lived in Bicester for the last 20 years, and until today, knew nothing of the Fairport Convention Cropredy festival 20 odd miles North of me

Every day truly is another school day

[Vee4]

I've lived in Bicester for the last 20 years, and until today, knew nothing of the Fairport Convention Cropredy festival 20 odd miles North of me Every day truly is another school day

Counting the original garden party in 1976, it could be said that Fairport's Cropredy Convention has been going for 50 years. The band was founded in 1967, so next year will be their 60th anniversary.

Interesting factoid: the original Ordinary Van, the 1969 Mk1 V4, provided transport services for Fairport Convention in the early seventies. Actually, it was far from ordinary:

[Vee4]

I was planning a formal retrospective, up to the end of 2025, but I'm not sure I'll have time. I'll add some factoids as they come to mind.

Interesting Factoids from a Long and Ordinary Life #1 - Fuel


Thanks to Wikipedia for the photo.

1. Total fuel purchase (imperial gallons): 4685 (21300 liters)
2. Total fuel purchase net: GBP 23065
3. Total fuel purchase inc. VAT: GBP 27589
4. VAT rates: 15 to 17.5 to 20%
5. Highest price per liter: 1.969 (July 2022)
6. Lowest price per liter: 0.999 (Jan 2016)
7. Cumulative MPG: 41.43

I don't have exhaustive records for the earlier Transits but, from memory, the petrol (gasoline for our USA readers) vans ran 15 to 20 mpg (well, I was in more of a hurry in those days!) and the Mk5 diesel was in the thirties. The Mk7 TDCi was an obvious improvement, consistently running around 45 mpg on the highway. The TDCi also proved smoother and quieter than its predecessors.

[Vee4]

I was planning a formal retrospective, up to the end of 2025, but I'm not sure I'll have time. I'll add some factoids as they come to mind.

Interesting factoids from a Long and Ordinary Life #2 - What's Old?
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something Blazer Blue

When is a banana not a banana?

When it's a TDCi...


So what did survive? Cue Gloria Gaynor ...

In no particular order:

1. The Mk5 ran 270,000 miles with nothing more than routine cam belt and oil changes, eventually falling foul of the first London LEZ. The TDCi lasted well, despite my original concerns about its complexity - things like the dual-mass flywheel, the turbo, the EGR valve and the electronics. It had routine oil changes, a new temperature sensor and reversing light switch, and never left me stranded. I tried to take care of it, in as far as you can from the driver's seat, and there's probably an element of luck, i.e. was it a good day in Turkey? The self-tensioning timing chain took care of itself (what price wet belt?). The TDCi doesn't qualify for ULEZ, but given it's no longer London-based and TFL Auto-Pay, the charge is just another tax.
   ~
2. Cooling system - radiator, pump, hoses, heater, fan, etc. Never even drained.
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3. The entire exhaust system, end to end! This surprised me after previous experience, particularly with the Mk1/2.
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4. The front brake disks! One set of pads, but still the same disks and the same calipers (brake fluid replaced every two years). How many times did I hear: "You'll have to have those changed next time..."
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5. Master hydraulics - servo and ABS (again, brake fluid replaced every two years).
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6. Everything in the cab, including the CD player. Oh, one air vent went floppy.
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7. Heated wing mirrors. Still original, no breakages.
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8. Headlamp units. Lamp changes as necessary, of course. Developed a slight bloom in front of the main beams, not enough to draw MOT comment.
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9. Front coil springs and shock absorber struts, and rear shock absorbers.
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10. Finally - something I should have listed but forgot. Let's see what's left after the next instalment (that's the UK spelling) when there's a list of what didn't survive.