Volkswagen Camper & Commercial – August 2019

hoop. It’s not a criticism when

I say that it’s little more than a

glorified sunshade with zip down

sides & front door. It’s ideal for us;

just a sunshade by day, but with

covered space for our chairs &

things. It makes for an interesting

comparison with the similarly

priced ‘sheltaPod’ which strangely

seems to block out the majority of

any view, unless it’s all but folded

up. That’s more of a standalone

tent which can be attached to a

vehicle, whereas the bus provides

the majority of the stability for this

device and it collapses if detached -

just like a sunshade!

There’ll be a full report and a pull

out special along in a month or so,

but I enjoyed CJ. It was its usual

mix of well preserved Volkswagens

and Concours judges, a curiously

odd but generally entertaining

selection of cover bands. And a

whole lot of folk enjoying mixed but

fine weather and having a good old

get together with their mates.

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DAVE RICHARDS.

This month, I am actively engaging with new technology and writing my

column from beneath the awning at Camper Jam.

The Barefoot Chef

I

’m stretching my deadline to

the nth degree, but rules are

meant to be broken and besides,

I wanted to give the new

awning a proper test. A couple of

weeks ago my Oppo from VW Bus

magazine Alan Hayward, invited

the fair wife & I to a quick weekend

away camping and we jumped at the

chance of a weekend with pleasant

company. There would also be the

opportunity to give our new awning

a proper workout. Sadly though,

the weather conspired against

us, blew a gale and we chickened

out. This weekend at Weston Park

the weather has provided almost

perfect conditions.

We abandoned our proper, big

awning almost a decade ago when

we came to realise that we were

taking far too much stuff, and since

then have been using a fifteen

quid, pop up tent simply to chuck

everything into. This ‘Low Sienna’

from Vango however, is relatively

tiny with just a single inf latable

BAREFO

OT

SINCE (^2009)
DA
MN
GOOD (^) F
OO
D
N
O
PON
CINES
S!
A bit about
the chef
The ‘Barefoot
Chef’ started life
as a photography
project, which
went on to
spawn a number
of comedy
cookery videos on
Youtube. Before
this column, Dave
was involved with
a cookery spot on
local radio until he
cooked squirrel on
the breakfast show
and was never
invited back!
52 THE BAREFOOT CHEFwww.volkswagencamper.co.uk
THE BAREFOOT CHEFTOAD IN THE HOLE