The Joys of offered life! No mains power means you must harness your own electricity,
only to nuke it in one minute flat trying to air fry a pizza slice on a 12 volt system, along with the rest of your home on wheels. 👍🏻
Parody obviously, the genius of lithium battery power means you can now live just like in bricks and mortar. But man sometimes it feels like you're pushing it ...
I quickly found myself back on a ferry across the pond after my Summer in the UK.
It was a long drive down from Cherbourg, France but this time I wasn't solo.
My friend Simon was also over in Europe so we convoyed up to make the drive down together.
Along the way, and given where I'd arrived, we stopped in at a few must see WW2 sites, but one in particular was filled with serendipi...
I have recently invested in some new equipment to up the game a bit, mostly clips, mounts and all manor of toys to fix camera's to things, but the biggest and most impactful investment is an Insta360 X5 camera.
I've wanted one of these for a long time but held off, assuming it would only get gimmicky clips and would barely come out to play, kind of unfeasable.
But my next "big adventure" ...
Hello!
I am back! I won't bore you with this year's reasons for downtime, but the downtime has very much done what was needed and I am ready to get things going here again.
This summer I returned to the UK to escape the Portuguese summer heat. Oh what a contrast to winter for Xmas/New years! The sky was blue, the sun was shining and the UK population seemed just a little bit happi...
Hello all!
Thanks so much for your patience over the summer whilst I galavanted around and enjoyed a wonderful summer in the UK (I know! shock right?) I got a lot squeezed in I even got to meet a handful of you guys on here which was amazing.
But although I'd intended on filming it all, I just didn't.
I'd gotten a little lost with content direction again so took some time out.
Seein...
Yesterday I did a much needed admin day and clearing out of paperwork.
As I pulled 1 binder out the cupboard this little red booklet fell out with it. It’d been so long I almost forgot what it was.
This was my in-pocket notebook that lived on me during the build of Amber.
I’d scribble measurements, parts lists, sketches & doodles, motivational helping hands… it log...
2025-07-17 13:47:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey folks,
This message should have gone out a few days ago but a slight oversight on my behalf meant it was scheduled to go out for 1/7/2026. 😂
As I type I'm heading north up the Iberian peninsula to catch a ferry to the UK.
Hopefully I will see some of you at the handful of events I'm attending during my time over there.
After 3-4 years of returning to the UK only f...
I have a little mini film for you!
based on a true story. 😉
Knocked this up for socials but thought I'd send it over to you lot first.
Making video's without words is really fun, although I still can't get on board with filming/editing in Portrait, it's how the world & social media has gone I get it, but I'll die on this hill of thinking it is just all wrong, you can't fit anyt...
Welcome back & to the last of the Van Dock videos! (For a while)
To finish the structure off I need a roof. A particularly windy day helped push that along and I bit the bullet and collected the sheets myself.
It wasn't all plain sailing though, as half way through roofing, a flaw in my design stemming right to the beginning reared it's ugly face and I needed to act fast to make chang...
Can this one really be classed as a VanDock project video?
I'll let you decide, twas a bloody good time though!
Despite only adding some stain to the dock in the video, and attaching bits trying to go solo, a lot actually happened during this time.
Most notably when my good friend Ken comes to join in the fun.
The official reason was to help get the land fire prepped.
The re...
It's time to add some walls!
I tracked down a local family run sawmill and picked up some live edge pine cladding for the job. The Chinesium screws however... less so. 🤦🏼♂️
but plank my plank the structure became an enclosed space and really began to resemble the image I had of it in my head.
The Vandock progresses forward, even during Europe's biggest blackout.
That happened whilst I was on the weekly shop and quickly become an event leaving me scarily low on Diesel. But once back on the land I quickly forget all about this crazy situation the entire Iberian peninsula is experiencing. Luckily it's not the apocalyptic event some here had feared, the electric comes back on...
2025-05-29 17:19:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey all, In this one the we continue on the newest addition to the Vandock. I'm assisted by my brother who comes to visit, before taking a week break with the family. Before I know it there is a floor to walk on! No more awkwardly straddling beams, and the skeletal frame of the kitchen starts to emerge. I can't wait for the kitchen's completion so get the cooking kit out and have the...
2025-05-22 15:19:09 +0000 UTC View Post
I cannot tell you how long I've been sat on this footage longing to get around to it!
But here we are! Those two post I keep referring to are about to be the foundations of a whole new are on the land!
From the get go I think my excitement comes through this video, it is a complete fever dream and I loved every second of making it.
The wood, at least the first load, is here, the sun ...
The rain gives way to some sunshine and everything, including my motivation, sprouts into life.
The veg patch gets some attention, we come home from town with a few more items than intended & we'll go on a little venture out on the bike to see what the surrounding area is looking like after weeks of torrential downpours.
Rain.
Rain rain rain, & yet more bloody rain.
That's how the first month back panned out for me, along with a myriad of issues that needed attention. At the exact same time the UK, where I had just left was experiencing blue skies and lovely weather... just to add salt to the wounds. 🤦🏼♂️
I did want to bin all of this off, and this video is only about 40% of wha...
In between the gaps in the rain I'm trying to get odds and sods jobs done.
But rather than the list shrinking, it's growing.
I take the prop shaft off as the repair we made needs attention, and the generator has begun to show signs of kicking the bucket, so a bit of TLC is needed.
A “two van” van dock is a little pointless without two vans.
It’s also rather depressing 😅
So I came up with a solution, one that will accommodate so many more practical uses and activities.
Unfortunately the weather is STILL hindering this and all the other projects so work is still slowly ongoing but I’m excited to show you the 3rd addition to the Vandock™️ v...
2025-04-10 13:37:48 +0000 UTC View Post
I lug an extremely heavy amber through France & Spain, loaded to the hilt with new toys, repair and future project items. Once that metric ton is removed I can fit a new magic box that makes the van faster, and suss out where to start for the year ahead. Right before the weather puts a pin in all of those plans.... for 3 solid weeks. 🤦🏼♂️ Enjoy.
2025-04-03 19:44:56 +0000 UTC View Post
Final prep leading up to the ferry out of the UK.
Upon reflection I come to realise how much I actually enjoyed my visit, despite the challenges and deadly experiences, and my opinion of "the isle of doom" since covid days have changed.
Oh, and I bought a load of stuff n fitted a new log burner.
Enjoy.
I stumbled across a video project file I'd completely forgotten about earlier!
It was this, a practically finished blooper reel I'd thrown together alongside making the series.
There's all the usual balls ups that come with my way of filming things, a look behind how the AI stuff went together, and a look at few segments I decided to delete from the finished article.
No wonder my lapto...
Now that I was free from the Leicestershire floods I could continue my now not so neat route around the UK.
As my MOT was approaching I found a location to do some repairs in prep when I bumped into Al of 6D Diesels, who invited me to his workshop, as seen on Youtube, to carry out the work there, &, as it turned out, it was a bloody good job I accepted!
I highly recommend 6D Dies...
Every time I go back to the UK it's an adventure of some sort... rarely fun, but an adventure all the same.
This festive period just gone was no exception, ohh did we have some fun in Blighty!
Whilst doing my rounds to see friends, I dropped in to my old friend George who we'd got back in touch towards the end of the Italy road trip and quickly were nattering away like old times. These d...
Based on a true story. 😆
Music: As the world caves in - Matt maltese
I made this for reel for Instagram last week whilst getting to grips with the new camera.
I'm so chuffed with the jump up in visual and audio quality the Osmo Pocket 3 provides. with a stabilised gimbal and built in features it opens up so many new opportunities and angles.
There is also a new drone which...
Hello again!
It's been some time! 😬
Excuse the delay and silence, the break wasn't supposed to go on so long but I had some personal stuff to deal with so thank you for your patience.
This video takes you right back to that tunnel I left you in, where I "spontaneously combusted", 😆
and will follow our drive back through Europe from Italy and a few little adventures within ...
I’ve been caught out in the Leicestershire floods.
I had to move the van twice last night as the water reached the tops of the axles and my diesel heater exhaust started bubbling.
Until we reached this high spot and there was nowhere else to go.
My mate’s narrowboat became unreachable so we had to campout 2 up in here and both phone’s went off with a crazy localised alert from th...
Lance is fully embracing the festive spirit, opening his and everyone else’s presents. 😅
Showing the ropes to his new best mate, my brother’s Podenco 🐕
Have yourselves a fine day all, may your belt buckles burst from expansion and your ears withstand Maria Carey’s awful songs.
🎄🎄🎄
2024-12-25 13:07:11 +0000 UTC View Post
So here we are! the end of a road in so many ways.
Our day starts with people flying past the pod windows, and I spent the morning getting the first episode of this series finished, before setting off to the last planned destination of the trip, the location of a very famous movie cliff hanger I'm sure almost all of you will know.
For me it was a bit of a pilgrimage, as the film in questi...
Not too far from my Como Park up is the remains of An old hotel & Funicular that peaked my interest for some Urbex, but a 20 minute climb would reveal that was a bust.
But in a fortunate turn of events this hill would have something else in store, and I'd find myself getting lost in both another hidden Hotel & the history of this old holiday destination.
Low & behold, like a b...
Do you remember that oil service I mentioned like 5 episodes ago then did nothing about. Well a few hundred miles, many thousands of revs and railing up the highest peak in Italy later it's now that time.
I am driving all those miles home after all, and once my bank card gets melted from Mercedes-Benz and a gaunt through Italian Halfords, I have what I need t get the job done. Or do I?
St...