The launch of 'Caravan Fran'went well from our point, apart from an out of date Tom Tom not being aware of 'no right turn' signs where it wanted us to turn right. Eventually we could make one and at least avoided the dreaded 'make a U turn' conversation. Wherever we were on the edge of the city (Oxford St?) I got the impression that a caravan of any age was a novelty and the locals were not aware that it is rude to stare.
At Bondi Beach I realised I had been there before, maybe 15 years ago, and just drove past the front of the pavilion to look at the beach. Even after a second visit I've not yet had the sands of Bondi between my toes or dipped a toe in the ocean, maybe one day. A beach is a beach to me and I think I'd rather Manley. Anyway, we arrived outside the pavilion and I ducked between the bollards into a spot on the pavement so I could make enquiries as to just where I had to be. Immediately the photos started being taken and some would have got a nice shot with the beach behind, unfortunately I didn't and just wanted to get out of where I obviously shouldn't have been before an enthusiast Ranger found me. Around the block and into a court yard at the back of the pavilion and we were in place.
Lots of people and kids at the launch and most had a look at the van. I don't think there was one of the dozens of kids who had ever seen or been in a caravan so it was certainly a novelty to them. Even for most of the parents it was a first time experience. One grandma at least had a father who had built a van which he later sold to Ashton's Circus. The replacement van was used for years before becoming an on site van at Coffs Harbour, some photos might materialise in due course.
There were cup cakes and nibbles, games and activities for the kids, lots of bright deck chairs, the author had a book reading and some musos provided some entertainment. What do you call more than one Ukulele player? Well a Ukulele band of course, six of them strumming away and making merry, most unusual I thought. A big pile of books was completely sold so the bookseller and the author were happy. The kids had a variety of cut outs of things you would need in a van that they could stick on the vinyl poster above. The results showed they had pretty much no idea of caravanning!
With some recent cooler weather I decided to start stripping the grey/white house paint from the offside to see how the original paint was underneath, but to keep it neat I put some tape on to give a clean edge as I knew I couldn't get it all done before the launch.
So now the old girl has a tri-colour side, which I don't actually mind, but it will all get stripped in time. Fortunately the last coat of paint went on with no preparation, they even painted over some bird poop! The result is that the old enamel paint is great and still has a good shine which is very pleasing to me. This coat of paint was probably put on in the 1980s and I'm really happy it has survived so well. The colour is slightly different to the original but if the rest of it comes off as well as this lot then it will remain a caravan with two different sides.
With the launch over I scored the couple of posters from the front and we were back home in an hour. A pleasant afternoon for our first public engagement. Barbara really seemed to enjoy the time so it was a win all round.
George
