Caldicot One Man and His Campervan


Caldicot

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'Today I'm in Wales, and I'm in absolute heaven. Why?

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'Because I'm at a huge campervan gathering.'

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I just love looking at all these other vans, it's so nice to see people

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loving their vehicles and see what other people are doing with their vehicles.

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'I get a serious case of campervan envy...'

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Let me go inside!

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Yes, jump in.

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I love this, I feel like I'm in the Waikiki Bar in Hawaii.

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'I'll be showing you the extreme lengths that some people go to to personalise their own vans,

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'and reveal how to make the best campervan curry using the freshest local ingredients.'

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And the reason I'm using lamb is because

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I'm in Wales. The country is famous for it.

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'And my van and I face the judges.'

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Initially, looking at it I'd say it's very, very nice.

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I've travelled just over 250 miles from the Lake District

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over the border into Wales and the small town of Caldicot.

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After a really long drive from the Lakes, I'm here in Monmouthshire in South Wales.

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I'm going to a festival, but not just any festival - this is a campervan festival.

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Festivals like these are where the good, the bad, and the ugly from

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the campervan world come together to celebrate campervan culture.

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I've set myself a challenge.

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I'm going to enter the van for the Show and Shine.

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Now that is the competition for the finest van in the festival.

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Having done nearly 2,500 miles without a wash - that's the van, not me -

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if I'm going to win this competition I'm going to have to get my rubber gloves on and get scrubbing.

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'This could well prove a challenge too far.

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'The festival, held in the shadow of Caldicot Castle,

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'is only in its third year but has already become hugely popular.'

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Ah here we go, this is it.

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'This year, a staggering 1,500 campervans have made the trip.

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'My van and I were in for some stiff competition.'

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Wow, look at these.

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This is the Show and Shine field, which hopefully we are going to be allowed onto tomorrow when I'm

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all polished up and looking lovely, if I'm to stand a chance of winning a prize.

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If you ever wanted proof of the campervan's popularity, then this is surely it.

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This place was extraordinary, like a campervan museum, with examples dating back over half a century.

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This is an early bay, looking very pretty.

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We've got T5s,

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nice T25.

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'The much sought-after early models built in the '50s and '60s

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'are known as splitties because they have a split windscreen.

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'Some of them actually hinge outwards!

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'Then there are the bays, of which mine is a late model.

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'From here they evolved right up to the luxurious T5 model of today.

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'Finally, one of my absolute favourites, the rat look.

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'These are vans that are made to look old and tatty, complete with rust and faded paintwork.'

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I just love looking at all these other vans, it's so nice to see

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people loving their vehicles, and it's so nice to see

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what other people are doing with their vehicles.

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See how much people care for them

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and take time over them and look after them and make them what they are, which is classic vehicles.

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I'm going to have to do some serious polishing if I'm going to stand a chance tomorrow.

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'But before I got the cleaning equipment out,

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'I found my camping spot, parked up, and headed off with one mission - to check out the competition.'

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Isn't this the coolest thing you've ever seen?

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It's two old VWs, backs cut off, stuck together to make a mobile dining room, I love it.

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Wow, this is cosy.

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Look at that.

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Excellent. And you tow it behind your van,

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you can kip in that one, cook in this one.

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And this is another one of my favourites, simply because it just belongs in the age that

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it was born in, it looks like it hasn't changed a bit.

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'As well as being the height of retro chic, this van also has an ingenious cooking arrangement.'

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-The cooker is under the front seat?

-Yes.

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-That's intriguing.

-Yes, even most of my friends don't even know it's there.

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-Could you show me how it works?

-Sure.

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All you do is lift the seat up out of the way and drop it down,

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and as you drop it down, if you've got your gas left on, it cuts the gas off.

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'Wandering around, it was easy to understand how some owners become obsessed.

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'But for many the campervan is simply a chance

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'to sample a lifestyle that few other vehicles can bring.

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'You get to drive and cherish these wonderful old vans, and the family can come too.

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'I'd seen enough great vans to realise how strong the competition was.

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'My trusty old van by comparison was looking a bit, well...tired.

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'If I was to stand any chance tomorrow,

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'I was going to have to give her a thorough clean.

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'I don't carry a Hoover in my campervan so it was onto my hands and knees with my dustpan and brush.

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'It's amazing what you pick up on a 2,000-mile tour around the country,

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'sand from all the beaches, dead insects, and, of course, crumbs from all the cooking I've done.

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'And boy, had I done a lot of cooking - from foraged mushrooms to fresh honeycomb,

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'clawing out crabmeat,

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'to creating a super-sized frittata from a giant egg.

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'My campervan kitchen has been hard at work.'

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I would say that's just about perfect.

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Oh, it's delicious.

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'After an hour of elbow work, I'd got the van

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'back to the condition she was in when I bought her.'

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Dirty, dirty, dirty, it's amazing how much rubbish I've managed to accumulate.

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'But it was obvious parts of the interior hadn't

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'had a proper clean for decades, so I used a little campervan tip.

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'I mixed white wine with bicarb of soda to make a green cleaner that really cuts through the grime.'

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I wonder when the last time was

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this van saw

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a damp cloth?

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'With both my energy and the light fading, I went off in search of some food.

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'Cooking would trash my van again, so it was the perfect excuse.

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'Much as I like to cook, this was to be the first night off

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'on my journey, so I thought I'd have a celebratory curry.'

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I saw the sign. Cooking camper.

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-It's a bit of a compromise, because on one hand, it would be great to cook in the van.

-Yes.

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Obviously a bit limited for space, but if I was cooking in the van

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I couldn't use the van for pleasure.

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If you have a van, you want to do more than just work in your van.

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-You want to go surfing in your van, sleep, have pleasure trips.

-Can I have a look?

-Of course.

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Very nice.

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Do you use it as everyday vehicle, then?

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It gets used 365 days of the year, because apart from doing shows, I have a lunchtime delivery round

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-which I do. So snow, ice, it gets a day off on Christmas Day.

-Right.

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But yes, it's every single day.

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How many people do you feed, do you think, in a day at a festival like this?

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In a day at a festival like this I will probably feed...

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anywhere between 100 and 200 people.

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-How do you do it?

-I have to prep at home.

-Yes.

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Things like onions, chop them all the night before in the plastic tubs into the cool boxes.

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It's planning, that's all it is, really.

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OK. Oh, look, it looks like you might have some customers.

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Hello, guys.

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I bow down to the superior cooking and organisational abilities of this man.

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-Can I give you a hand?

-Well, if you're offering to help, far be it for me to say no.

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-Just grab yourself some gloves.

-Yes, OK.

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For the next batch of the vegetable curry, just some potatoes.

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-Righty-ho.

-Need chopping up.

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Like me, Steve isn't a trained chef, but has successfully been cooking

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out of his campervan for the past three years

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using locally-sourced produce, and his food smelt so good that it really got my creative juices going.

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I've had an idea that I would like to make

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a lamb rogan josh with lots of fresh tomatoes, onions.

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-Sounds good.

-Get some Welsh lamb.

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-What are you using for heat?

-I've got chilli flakes.

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Chilli flakes are great cos if you use chilli powder, everything gets coated in chilli

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and it hits your tongue straightaway, whereas if you use fresh chilli or chilli flakes

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you taste the meat, and if you're using Welsh lamb you want to taste the lamb and then you get the heat

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come through.

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Great tip. So basically you're using local ingredients, fresh

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-ingredients, cooked with love out of the back of a camper.

-Absolutely.

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On a glorious summer's day.

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-Is there a better way of earning a living?

-Well done!

-THEY LAUGH

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My congratulations to you on a really good lifestyle, it sounds great.

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-Brilliant, it looks wonderful.

-Chicken curry, rice, and lentil daal.

-Thank you, I shall enjoy this.

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-Enjoy your night off.

-I'm going round the other side.

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'I headed off to enjoy my dinner in one of the last remaining patches of evening sunlight.'

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That's actually really good and, you know what, it's a relief. For once

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I haven't had to catch it, cook it, kill it, chase after it, go out in a boat to get it,

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pick it off the beach, rummage around in the mud, get up to here in

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dirt and grime, just go over there and enjoy great campervan food

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from someone else's campervan.

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Perfect.

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'I finished my curry and had an early night, ready for judgment day tomorrow.

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'Still to come, will my van sweep the competition

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'aside and triumph in the Show and Shine? And I'll be showing you how to make the best campervan curry.

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'And will my special guest gave the thumbs up to my campervan curry creation?'

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'It was a busy day ahead, and it was competition time for my trusty van.

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'But I also had a curry to cook and needed some ingredients.

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'Luckily I'd been tipped off about the nearby town of Usk

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'had a farmers market where you could buy just about anything.

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'I only hoped they had Welsh lamb for my curry.'

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I've got my shopping list and I'm heading off to the farmers market

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to pick up some fresh ingredients for a very special festival curry.

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'The farmers market really was as good as I'd been told.

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'The range of produce was staggering, there was everything

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'from locally-grown veggies to locally-produced salami,

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'and even a stall selling Welsh wine - of all things!'

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-Can I try some of the dry? Is that all right?

-Yes.

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Well, funnily enough the first thing I found at the farmers market is alcohol-based,

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but only a little soupcon.

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That's lovely, I'll take a case.

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That's what I like to hear.

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Thank you. I've got myself some Welsh cider,

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Welsh perry, which is very nice,

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and some Welsh wine.

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Looks delicious.

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Guinea fowl. They look wonderful, but probably not very easy to cook in a camper van.

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'All very nice, but it was curry ingredients I needed.

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'Luckily, the next stall was a great help.'

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Mango pickle, that looks beautiful.

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All homemade.

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'I picked up some garam masala and sugar-coated fennel seeds. I was on a roll.'

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I've spotted the veg man.

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'The secret to making the best rogan josh is by using stacks of tomatoes.'

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That many tomatoes.

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That's the way to measure tomatoes, like that.

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'I was going to make a lamb rogan josh because I know the local Welsh lamb enjoys an excellent reputation,

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'so when I spied the organic meat stall, my heart leapt.'

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Aha, lamb! My main ingredient.

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-Hello.

-Hello.

-How are you?

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-I'm fine, thank you.

-Good. I'm glad I found you because I'm looking for some diced lamb to make a curry.

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That's 350g.

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OK. Now, tell me about your lamb.

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-How far have you travelled to get here?

-About 20 miles.

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So I wouldn't be able to get any more local than this.

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-I don't think so.

-That's great, OK.

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'Job done, it was time to hit the road.'

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I pretty much got everything I need

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so it's back to the festival.

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'But there was one thing I'd managed to sneak into my shopping bag without the camera crew seeing,

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'and something I certainly wouldn't be able to make myself in the van.'

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One thing about campervan living,

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you've got no oven,

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so you'll have to wave goodbye to those baked goods.

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Unless, of course...

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you find them at a place like this.

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And I tell you something, there's absolutely no way

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I'm taking any chances with this in the fridge as I drive along.

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That's a proper taste of summer.

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'There was no time to waste - the van still wasn't as clean

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'as I'd like and the start of the Show and Shine was looming.'

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Let's get on with it.

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'I'd brushed out and polished the interior last night, now it was time to wash the paintwork.'

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'But because I was on my own, unlike the other campervanners,

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'I didn't have my usual army of family and friends to help me. I needed to call in some backup.'

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I've seen the competition,

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and my kind of amateur Sunday afternoon cleaning efforts

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I don't think are going to be enough.

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'So I called in the cavalry for a bit of extra elbow grease.'

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Thank goodness for that, I've got a bit of help.

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-How's it going?

-Glad you could make it.

-That's all right, no bother.

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A bit grubby, I'll do all the paintwork. I don't know if you

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-can help me get the wheels tidied up.

-Yes.

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Also on the front there's loads of insect spots, I could do with getting those off if possible.

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'After 2,000 miles on the road, my van had taken a bashing, and I didn't want to let it down.'

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What do you think, are you going to be able to get something done with it?

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We'll sort something out, I'm sure we will.

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That's looking amazing, nice work!

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Maybe I stand a chance after all.

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'The joy of this competition is that it's all in the spirit of good campervan fun.

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'Everybody who enters gets to vote on the other vans,

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'judging them on bodywork, interior, and overall condition.'

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All the vans are separated into categories, and I'm here with the late bays.

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And I'm the first to arrive so if I'm the only entrant, I'll win!

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This is looking good.

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'With the scent of victory in my nostrils, I felt spurred on to give the van one last polish.'

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It would be awful, wouldn't it, to be first...out of one.

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At least first out of two would be good enough,

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but what's going to happen is some beautiful van

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is going to rock up next to me and it'll be second out of two.

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'By now, the Show and Shine contestants were pouring onto the field.

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'Another late bay did show up in my category, a very rare model with a caravan grafted onto the back of it.

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'But I remained confident that my original interior

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'and immaculate paintwork would wow my fellow van owners.

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'I was beginning to think I had this competition in the bag,

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'but then along came a beautifully-restored camper,

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'and even worse, it had a breathtaking interior.'

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Looks like the competition's turned up, which is a bit disappointing

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because they're really quite good, and I was really hoping to win.

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But part of this competition is that everybody gets to judge everybody else's vans, and that means that

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I can go and have a rummage around in all these beautiful campers.

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# Every day I get confused

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# Get on the bus that takes me to you

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# Too much, magic bus

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# I'm so nervous I just sit and smile

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# Too much, magic bus

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# House is only another mile

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# Too much, magic bus... #

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To say that I'm enjoying myself today would be

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a massive understatement, I'm absolutely loving this.

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I love seeing all these vans.

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To people who don't know anything about the scene it might be hard to understand why

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I get so excited about campervans, but I'm going to show you something that will show you exactly why.

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Hello.

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I've come to talk to you about your lovely van.

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Thank you. The tiki van. Less than 15 in the world with a high top,

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DIY interior, bamboo, very cheap.

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I like it. And this is what you would call rat look, isn't it?

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Rat look, yes.

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Rough, rough,

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-just about road legal, and that's the idea.

-Do you get pulled over a bit?

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Yes, to ask me questions about it.

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-Really?

-Yes, yes.

-Let me go inside.

-Yes, jump in.

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I love this, because you sit in here and you're taken to somewhere completely distant.

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I could be in Hawaii now. It's raining outside and I feel like I'm in the Waikiki bar

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in Hawaii and the world is a beautiful, beautiful place.

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It doesn't get much better.

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Look at that, real pineapples.

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How about that for accessorising, you don't get that with a normal car.

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What do your family think about it?

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Love it, love it, adore it.

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-Do you camp in it?

-Yes. We sleep in it, cook in it.

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How are you feeling about today?

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-Confident.

-You're among friends here, aren't you?

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Yes. They don't fix anything for me.

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After seeing Jason Cooper's extraordinary Hawaiian interior,

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it struck me I hadn't done enough styling to make my van stand out.

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Just enough time then to make some last-minute adjustments and bring out my trump card.

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What's more stylish than a classic 70s toy?

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Well, there's not a lot more I can do here, I've got my Stylophone,

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original Rolf Harris...

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STYLOPHONE BUZZES TUNEFULLY

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1930s Touring England game,

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some melamine, a bit of foodie stuff, my cooler,

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and there's even a campervan hot water bottle in the boot.

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So it's time for me to go and do my bit and do some judging.

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'My style touches seem to do the trick, pretty soon admirers were

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'flocking to come and see how it should be done.'

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I'm judging the vans,

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but to be honest with you, I just go for the vans I really like.

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Some of them obviously in better condition than others, some of them

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are really groovy, some with really good paint jobs.

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This one is beautiful, looks like it just came out of the showroom,

0:20:010:20:08

so that will probably get my vote.

0:20:080:20:11

This one

0:20:110:20:13

is, like, covered in tarmac.

0:20:130:20:17

'I thought I'd better seek some clarity about what I should be looking for from head judge and

0:20:170:20:21

'campervan guru Ricky, and get some reassurance about my own van.'

0:20:210:20:26

Come and have a look at my bus.

0:20:260:20:27

-Love to.

-Tell me what you think of this.

0:20:270:20:29

What I want to know is with the secrets of judging criteria, what

0:20:290:20:32

people are looking for in vans, and how you'd view my van.

0:20:320:20:36

Well, initially looking at it, I'd say it's very, very nice.

0:20:360:20:40

Trouble is over the years people have used these vans and they've

0:20:400:20:43

deteriorated, ripped out the original interior, modified them, done them, maybe redone them

0:20:430:20:48

the way they want them as opposed to factory spec, so it detracts from the originality.

0:20:480:20:52

So the fact that I've got the original interior will count well for me.

0:20:520:20:56

Absolutely, big bonus.

0:20:560:20:58

Some people don't want all that clutter, they want a bed and somewhere to chuck their

0:20:580:21:02

bikes and surfboard and all the rest of it, not interested in cooking and all that kind of stuff.

0:21:020:21:06

Depends what you want to use it for, but that looks like a very nice van, I've got to say.

0:21:060:21:11

With my judge's hat on, I went on viewing.

0:21:110:21:14

The next van was the epitome of high-tech luxury camping.

0:21:140:21:19

I love the splitty, I love them, but I just couldn't live with them.

0:21:190:21:22

I'm into the modern vehicle, you know, I like it.

0:21:220:21:25

You get in it and it starts, so I bought a panel van from a builder and it was the right spec.

0:21:250:21:31

The only thing wrong with it, wrong colour,

0:21:310:21:33

so I decided, right, I've got a budget, so I went for it.

0:21:330:21:36

Painted it the colour I wanted, saw an Audi TT with burnt orange leather, did that,

0:21:360:21:40

repainted it, did the black over the top a little bit different.

0:21:400:21:44

Fitted it all out, wired it all up and knew that I wanted a big TV because my

0:21:440:21:47

daughter said if we're having a new van and you sell the old one, I want a TV in it.

0:21:470:21:51

-So I put the biggest TV you can get in it.

-How big is that screen?

-19.

0:21:510:21:55

19 inches, so your van has got a 19-inch monitor and a DVD player?

0:21:550:22:01

When we pick them up from nursery they go "TV, TV!" Then I try and

0:22:010:22:04

get them out and my two-year-old won't get out.

0:22:040:22:07

You've obviously lavished time, love, and attention on this van.

0:22:070:22:10

There's a lot of labour on my side, which obviously you can't take into account because

0:22:100:22:14

that's partly me doing it, but cost-wise, I've spent near £30,000. I like keeping busy doing it.

0:22:140:22:20

I enjoyed building it. I did it all in six months, and I like that, project-managing it.

0:22:200:22:25

I'm into Mk2 Golfs and big flashy wheels and stuff,

0:22:250:22:28

and the wife's into camping, but likes smart vehicles.

0:22:280:22:31

So the deal is as long it's got TV, pop-top, and a bed in it and cooking,

0:22:310:22:34

I can do I want with it.

0:22:340:22:37

Well, judging's over and they are about to announce the winner.

0:22:430:22:46

I don't know how I've done, fingers crossed, but there's some really stiff competition here.

0:22:460:22:51

We'll start off with the club display...

0:22:540:22:57

'The awards ceremony is the high point of any festival, it's a pat on the back

0:22:570:23:00

'for all the hard work owners put into their vans, and I was itching to get my hands on a trophy.'

0:23:000:23:06

Moving on to late bays, in second place, Martin Dorey with the red and white bay.

0:23:060:23:13

'Second place!'

0:23:130:23:14

Thank you, sir. Cheers.

0:23:140:23:16

'Suddenly all the hard work and the money I'd paid to the valet seemed worth it.'

0:23:160:23:20

At the moment Martin's travelling all around the country cooking, he's gone mad and is doing it in a Bay.

0:23:200:23:25

What's wrong with that?

0:23:250:23:27

-We're just surprised you're getting everywhere you're meant to be!

-2,500 miles and no breakdowns, yay!

0:23:270:23:33

Yay, excellent.

0:23:330:23:35

-Well done, Martin.

-Thank you.

0:23:350:23:37

'No time to rest on my laurels, I still had a dinner to prepare.

0:23:410:23:46

'It was time to start cooking my campervan rogan josh.'

0:23:460:23:50

Well, I've had a great day, I've really enjoyed the competition.

0:23:530:23:58

I won a prize, how about that?

0:23:580:23:59

But now I've got to focus on cooking, I'm going to cook a lamb curry for a very important guest,

0:23:590:24:04

and he's going to be quite hard to please, I think, so I've got to get on and sort my spices.

0:24:040:24:09

'My mystery guest was Steve, the campervan man who had cooked for me

0:24:090:24:13

'yesterday, and whose chicken curry had really impressed me.'

0:24:130:24:17

I'm making him a lamb curry

0:24:170:24:19

as a return favour.

0:24:190:24:22

The only thing is,

0:24:220:24:23

his curry was really good.

0:24:230:24:25

'I'm preparing the classic curry base of fried garlic,

0:24:250:24:29

'ginger, and onions, into which I'll throw my dried spices.

0:24:290:24:33

'But the key to the rogan sauce is lots of fresh tomatoes from the farmers market.

0:24:330:24:38

'First off I sealed the lamb by frying it in vegetable oil.'

0:24:390:24:43

The reason I'm using lamb is because I'm in Wales, the country is famous for it.

0:24:430:24:49

And this lamb is organic, and it's been reared only about ten miles away.

0:24:490:24:54

So it's as local and as fresh as I could possibly hope for.

0:24:540:24:59

'After removing the sealed lamb pieces, I stir-fried the onion, garlic and ginger

0:24:590:25:03

'until they were soft, along with my spices - garam masala, turmeric, ground coriander and chilli.

0:25:030:25:11

'After adding the local lamb and tomatoes, I let it cook for an hour,

0:25:110:25:16

'which gave me just enough time to make my chapatis.

0:25:160:25:20

'I added some water, oil, and salt to wholemeal flour, and kneaded the dough.

0:25:220:25:28

'Then I pressed them flat and cooked them in a hot frying pan.'

0:25:280:25:31

I've decided not to serve rice with my curry tonight, I decided to do something

0:25:310:25:36

very simple and that's chapatis, because I've always got flour,

0:25:360:25:40

oil and water on board the van.

0:25:400:25:42

'My lamb rogan josh smelt and looked great, and in an effort to boost my five-a-day and as

0:25:420:25:48

'a special surprise ingredient, I added some local spinach for the last few minutes of cooking.'

0:25:480:25:53

-Anybody home?

-Hello.

0:25:540:25:57

-Good to see you.

-Are you all right?

-Yes, not too bad.

0:25:570:26:00

-How's your day been?

-Busy.

0:26:000:26:01

-I'm just about ready to plate up so do you want to take a seat? I'll bring it out.

-I'd love to.

0:26:010:26:06

So it's local lamb,

0:26:060:26:07

local spinach.

0:26:090:26:11

That's great, it's in season at the moment and it's delicious.

0:26:110:26:14

Yes, it's organic stuff we picked up from the farmer's market.

0:26:140:26:17

'My campervan rogan josh was the first curry I'd made on my trip.

0:26:170:26:22

'The tomatoes and lamb juices had reduced to a thick spicy sauce

0:26:220:26:26

'tempered by a dollop of sour cream and my home-made chapatis.

0:26:260:26:30

'But would my discerning guest be impressed?'

0:26:300:26:33

Oh, that's lovely.

0:26:330:26:34

I used the chilli flakes rather than powder, yes,

0:26:340:26:37

thanks to your advice.

0:26:370:26:40

-It's beautiful.

-Because you can taste the meat.

0:26:400:26:43

-You can.

-You get the lamb.

-Yes.

0:26:430:26:45

I always think it's a shame when you have a curry and you

0:26:450:26:48

can't taste the individual ingredients that are in there.

0:26:480:26:52

I've also got some Welsh cider.

0:26:520:26:54

Lovely, cos it's not just Somerset that makes cider.

0:26:540:26:57

No, apparently.

0:26:570:26:59

The Welsh make very fine cider as well.

0:26:590:27:01

They do. Apples are very Welsh.

0:27:010:27:04

-Are they?

-Years gone by, every, every Welsh house had an apple tree in the garden.

0:27:040:27:07

-Is it the right accompaniment to curry?

-Well, it's refreshing.

0:27:070:27:11

Because it's dry and crisp, it's lovely.

0:27:110:27:13

Last night, I had my first night off cooking in a long time.

0:27:130:27:17

-Is this the first night you've had off cooking for a while?

-It is, yes.

0:27:170:27:21

And it's so nice to eat something that I've not cooked

0:27:210:27:26

and that I've not had to go to a restaurant to pay for,

0:27:260:27:29

which is lovely. I don't get cooked for very often.

0:27:290:27:33

'What a wonderful weekend.

0:27:330:27:36

'I may not have ventured far from this muddy field in the middle of

0:27:360:27:39

'Wales, but I've had the chance to show off my new van to some fellow enthusiasts.

0:27:390:27:43

'I cooked my first ever campervan curry, and to top it all I'd even won a prize.'

0:27:430:27:49

'Next time - the final leg of my 2,500-mile trek around the UK

0:27:520:27:57

'takes me to Pembrokeshire and the beautiful Welsh coast.

0:27:570:28:00

'I get the whole family involved for the final stretch.'

0:28:000:28:04

-That's the way we like it, isn't it?

-Yes.

0:28:040:28:06

'Burgers and homemade campervan chutney.'

0:28:060:28:09

Wow, that's massive!

0:28:090:28:12

'I make a cordial out of foraged flowers,

0:28:120:28:14

'but just five miles from the finish line, face my biggest disaster yet.'

0:28:140:28:19

What do you reckon?

0:28:190:28:22

Truck, it will have to be on a truck.

0:28:220:28:24

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0:28:310:28:35

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