Our van's third birthday

At the end of September our lovely van celebrated its third birthday. With a fresh MOT under its belt we're ready for another year of adventures. Shortly we're off to Arran to celebrate my 60th birthday and today, getting to the end of my list of stuff-to-do I found time to make a small modification and add some more "pointless" bling.

First the mod. The Boxer van has a large drain hole in the scuttle ahead of the windscreen; just the other day I found it blocked with leaves. I had to remove the rubber pipe, which exits in the front o/s wheelarch, and flush it out with a hose. It was filled with rotting vegetation! So, today, I found a redundant gauze filter from the funnel we use to top up our freshwater tanks. I cut this down with scissors to fit over the drain hole and found to my surprise that it just wedged into the space. Excellent! I was gonna glue it but it appears that might not be necessary. Result! Just remains to be seen if it stays in place. This is out of sight so you could use any old bit of gauze.

Next, more silly bling. This is a example of the phenomenal power of the internet. On Monday, reading a test of the new Autotrail V Line van conversion I noticed an option was chromed cab door handle covers. "I want some", I thought, and in minutes I'd sourced some on EBay and had 'em ordered for delivery two days later. They arrived today and were fitted in no time at all, thanks to self adhesive strips. I love 'em!

They're actually polished stainless steel and I like that they give the van a hint of luxury car; further belying its commercial origins. I got the set of four (1 o/s, 2 n/s & 1 rear) for £32.95 inc p&p. By the way, if you think they're OTT you should have seen the ones which covered the whole door handle frame with chrome ... yeuk.