Counting Down

Me, Hemi; a blue VW. 1988, four speed manual , four berth campervan. Once just an ordinary VW campervan. But no more. I was forever changed by a group of young kiwi travellers who transformed me into something special. But the time came for them to move back to New Zealand and they advertised me on Gumtree. For those of you who don’t know, this is the best way to buy and sell campervans especially for those who live down under. All my beautiful photos were available to view in Flicka. Lots of people looked at them. Most of them were tyre kickers.

One day some ancient kiwi pensioners looked at my pics and it was love at first sight. Not kind of what I had in mind for the future I can say. But they got me by stealth in the end. They sent their son as a poser. He seemed to be able to talk the talk. Reckoned he had one of these before. (more about that later) He liked me. He liked me a lot. He sent a quick fire text to his mum and said get some money into this account fast otherwise Hemi is going to fall into the hands of foreigners. Literally within seconds, Hemi was rescued from purchase by poms and had new kiwi owners.


I was safely back in the hands of a caring kiwi family. Of course I was tricked into thinking I had again been purchased by young fun loving intrepid travellers embarking on the big OE. Not to be as it turned out. Son, Mo as he is known, drove me back to base. Yeah literally. Parked me up at RAF Northolt and put me to sleep for the winter. It was there I realised that I had serious completion. Dave, the red peril of Uxbridge! Dave (a 1995 Saab) is not quite as ancient as me, but he is getting on as well. Dave gets to go out heaps, that’s when he is not snowed in. Mo has promised me a trip sooooon, once he gets me properly insured and my battery charged up again. Yeah, he let the battery go flat. It has been so cold here this winter and I have been covered in snow many times.


Life has been busy and not too boring living on the base. The planes come and go and sometimes Liz and Phil, or Charlie and Camilla come out here to hop onto their plane for jaunt somewhere. I get to see a few nice motors and some interesting aircraft.
Mo, who plays in the band is raving about the new band room the tax payers have funded for them on base. State of the art he reckons and one minute walk away from the brand new barracks built for them to live in. Must be good being employed by Liz.


So what of these ancient kiwi owners who apparently have purchased me? Well they are waiting for the European summer. Come July, they intend to fly to the UK to meet me and make me their home for 16 weeks. I can’t wait to get on the road. According to Mo, they have done all this stuff before in a WAKA! The Waka (also purchased and owned by Mo) lived with them for a year in 2007. It was also a VW campervan. It took them all over the UK and France. This gives me much cause for relief. The thought of being driven on the right side of the road in a right hand drive is always nerve racking for an old VW like me. Apparently M is such a nervous passenger on the continent that she has to do all the driving and A has to navigate because she can’t read maps.