CAMPER&BUS 23I
t’s funny how Volkswagens and the VW
scene can divert people down a rabbit hole;
you get into VW Buses as a means of going
away camping and on road trips and before
you know it, you have a successful business on
your hands. For Roger and Jo Bateman, it was a
couple of chance encounters that got them into
the VW scene and later to begin a VW wedding
hire company.
Back in 2013, Roger and Jo went on their usual
European touring holiday with a group of friends
on their BMW 1200 motorbike, but it was to be
their last motorcycling holiday. After hearing
how another couple in their riding group had
been knocked off their bike and injured, this got
them thinking. Roger says: “We were all careful
riders, but had to admit that we’d all had near
misses in the past, so decided maybe it was time
to retire the bike and do something else.”
It was at this point that Roger and Jo were
invited to a friend’s birthday party and found
four-wheeled inspiration. Roger reveals: “Our
friend’s daughter and husband turned up in a
green and white Late Bay Window – it was in
perfect condition and I said to Jo that it looked
like it could be a lot of fun.”
Upon returning home to Bedford, Roger
began his search and Enola Bay, their Orient
Blue Riviera Camper was the result. Originally
sourced and repainted by Brookside VW Air-
cooled (www.brooksidevwaircooled.com), this
is where the story takes another turn, as when
Roger and Jo decided to retire down to Somerton
in Somerset to be closer to family, it was only
natural that Enola would go with them. It was
another chance meeting with a friend-of-a-
friend that led to Enola being pressed into
service as a wedding vehicle. This another
light bulb moment for Roger who says: “I really
enjoyed the wedding, so we decided to check out
a local wedding show and came away with more
bookings.”Wedded bliss
It was at this point that a bit of head scratching
was done and a plan was hatched, because
although Enola had worked for a few weddings,
the camper interior configuration wasn’t really
ideal, so Lily, another Riviera, only this time a
white Early Bay was sourced from the USA and
given to Brookside VW Air-cooled to work their
magic on once again. This was followed by a
trip to Madmatz, where the Bus was left in the
very capable hands of Mark and Odett, who’d
done a very nice job of their first Bus. They
were entrusted with the soft furnishings of Lily,
including upholstering the purpose-built curved
rear seating set-up.