FEBRUARY 2019  1

This month saw a momentous achievement…

When we bought our first and only caravan, back in 1997, we left almost straight away, on extended travel.

Once we started spending periods back at home again, a few years later, thoughts turned to making a better parking area for the van and an area at the front of our sloping block was levelled. The logical next step was to try to cover the van from the elements, but this proved impossible on that site. There were council regulations about the percentage of the block that could be covered, but the greatest impediment was the existence of gas and sewer pipes “somewhere just under there”. John was not prepared to experiment with digging holes for a roof support…  So, van and later Bus, remained uncovered.

At our new place, we had quickly worked out that an extension could be built to the front of the backyard shed, to house Bus. John had organized a firm to do this. They had taken care of the necessary permits – no problems. We had avoided what could have been an expensive glitch, by asking the man doing the measurements to double check that the roof pitch would accommodate the height of the Bus rooftop air con unit. Whoops….adjustments were made. That bloody aircon was more trouble than it was worth.

The extra roof area of the new structure had the added benefit that it would catch and channel more rainwater into our two backyard tanks. More “free” water for the garden.

February saw the completion of the “busport”. A grand and imposing structure for our old Coaster.

Bus was brought home from where it had been temporarily parked in the long grass at aunty’s place. I hoped it had no reptilian or rodent residents as a legacy…

Finally, Bus had a proper home.