The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr Benn.

July 2021

Here  I am sitting inside ‘Mr Benn’ in the rain at Treen near Pedn Vouder. I’m a few miles from home and a few miles from Land’s End. I’ve stayed overnight in my new camper van and feel very much like Ben has organized the whole thing!

Ben’s dream from being very small was to have a ‘Bedford Banger’ with a bed in the back so he could travel and have somewhere to sleep. He also wanted to fix up old Saabs as he went about his travels. These dreams didn’t come true- partly because he didn’t pass his driving test. His beliefs about how to drive got in the way somewhat… he didn’t believe in looking in his mirrors, wouldn’t indicate and would only drive with one hand on the wheel.

After discovering the joys of sea swimming (did I mention that sea swimming changed my life??!!) I’ve found that there are quite a few things that seem to be overlaps in the Venn diagram of life as a sea swimmer. One is the wonderful depth and gentleness of those who are drawn to sea swim and another thing is ‘van-life’, so that you can watch the sunset by the sea, sleep-over and then have a morning swim before heading the few miles home and starting the day.

 I found myself really drawn to this option and decided to take the plunge and try somehow to get my own van.

As soon as I made this decision things just slotted into place. I started looking at Facebook Marketplace where local people sell items. As we live miles from anywhere it’s a good place to start, otherwise any purchase meant a significant drive. Penzance is also a hot spot for van life. One search and there it was – the van of my dreams and only a few miles up the road.

Now the only obstacles standing in my way were; the funds, the fact that if I got a van I’d have two vehicles as I had 6 months lease left my Honda Jazz ‘ The Bean’ until February 2022….and I needed John to get on board with my latest notion. No mean feat as he has always been VERY clear that he would never sleep in a van due to his height and increasing need for comfort. We had camped for years on summer holidays ( affectionally known as Hell-i-days) due to lack of sleep and disproportionate amount of tummy bugs which we seemed to attract! Those times had their magic and we made many memories but we were delighted when that phase of life was well and truely done.

Where there is a will there is a way though. Loosing Ben has made me realise how temporary life is and with my mantra of finding as much joy in life I took the challenge on. I phoned Logan (the man with the van) and arranged to see it that evening.

The moment I saw it I knew it was for me. It was a wombled mixture of old furniture/ bits of old boat including 3 portholes and painted in all the colours I love. It had done lots of miles but I realized that my van would probably never leave West Penwith and was going to have spend its life visiting beaches within a ten mile radius.

I had a spontaneous test drive and when it got up the notorious Bowjey Hill near our house I realized it was a bit special. We parked outside the house and as luck had it, England had just  that minute beaten Germany for the first time since 1966 in a major football competition. This was a good- if out of the blue time- to show John the van. I was not 100% sure about things especially as the timing was wrong but after seeing the van John said go for it especially as it is my 50^th birthday this year. I believe in going with the flow and the flow seemed to be van shaped!!!

When Logan and I drove back into Newlyn we spotted a chap called Ben that it turns out we both know and who is the same age as my Ben. He was having a bad day and said he felt lost so Logan said get in the van and lets go for dinner. It felt like a sign. John and I slept on it and I chatted to Ben’s friend Phil about the van and he said it looked like a good deal and that Ben would definitely approve. The next morning the transaction to buy the van was completed on Battery Rocks as both Logan and I had planned to swim there that morning. My spiritual home was the perfect place to enter into another new experience.

So what to call the van…..in the night I had a flash of inspiration. As a child I had loved the TV animation show Mr Benn about a city gent who was, rather incongruously, invited to lots of fancy dress parties. When Mr Benn went into the changing room to try on his chosen costume ‘as if by magic- which of course it was’ he entered into the world of the costume that he was dressed in eg a spaceman, lion tamer, wizard. I often called my Ben ‘Mr Benn’ and so it seemed perfect. A quick google and it transpired that Mr Benn turned 50 this year too! Mr Benn with his strap line- ‘you can be whoever you want to be’ and the book’s full title ‘The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr Benn’ was the perfect name.

So Ben here I am off on many adventures. Just me and your name sake. Who knows where we will go and what we will see. I’ve just been for a swim at Pedn Vouder near Porthcurno. Magic. I think you are here too.

September 2021. Update:

‘The Bean’ has been fixed, repaired and returned early. It is now a ‘Has Bean’!

I have a friend who is medium and he told me to look out for something to do with new curtains that would mean a lot to me. An odd message I’m sure you will agree. Especially as we only have two pairs of curtains both of which I’m very happy with. So there I was a few days later getting ready for a sleep over in Mr Benn. I’d ordered a book of Mr Benn stories to put on the bookshelf in the van to familiarise anyone who needed it with Mr Benn stories. It had a dust jacket with a picture of Mr Benn on it. I have round portholes as windows and needed something to block the light out. Curtains as it were. Just look at it!

 

 

It’s been a beautiful summer with sleepouts and fun in Mr Benn. Watching the moon rise or just having a cuppa on the roof of Mr Benn. He’s brought me so much fun and freedom. Its something I’d never have done if Ben hadn’t given me the idea. My nieces and nephews loved playing in/on him when they came down in the summer. It was like all 5 cousins were all together again- all be it Ben represented by a van! Get yourself a passport Mr Benn we are going to see Aunty Laura and Bryan in France at the end of October. Just me, Mer Benn and …..Ben x