It has been the nicest day.
We have got both children at home and Numbers One and Two Daughters are safely tucked up together at Number One Daughter’s house.
We started the day with coffee and long discussions.
It has been put forward that Lucy, who has an art scholarship to her school, paints beautiful pictures on the outside of the camper van.
After some initial reluctance she considered the idea, and eventually became quite excited about it.
Once we had started to talk about it the ideas absolutely bounced about. At first we had just thought that we might paint patches over all of the repaired bits, or maybe nailed-on planks. It would be all right to do this now because all the real bits of nailed-on planks have been taken off and the holes carefully mended with bits of somebody else’s old caravan.
By the time we had been talking about it for half an hour we were planning a full scale travelling gallery, stuffed with important family symbolism and ideas for beautiful themes and significant pictures.
We thought we would incorporate the Ibbetson family motto, which is something instantly forgettable in Latin but which translates as: “I was born a free man, and I shall die one.” I like this very much, it is nicely in accord with my life principles.
Mark thought we could add the family crest whilst we were at it, but nobody else liked the idea, because for some reason presumably thought important by the long-dead Sir Charles Ibbetson, the family crest has got two dead sheep on it.
I imagine he must have done it to upset his wife, or perhaps because the chap at the heraldry office had sold out of lions and unicorns, or maybe was offering the sheep at a discount because he couldn’t shift them. The reason is lost to history, but anyway I am not painting dead sheep on the side of the camper van. As family crests go it is disappointingly lacking in gravitas, and was clearly designed by somebody who never expected to have to lead an army into battle.
We all had our own ideas of things that we wanted to put on it, and in the end Lucy thought we could all be represented by an animal. For reasons which I shall not go into here it was very satisfactorily decided that Lucy would be a dragon, Oliver would be an octopus, Mark would be a butterfly and I would be a worm. There was a great deal of thought went into this conclusion which is too complicated to replicate here, but we were all very pleased with the result.
It is going to be spectacularly unusual when it is finished, quite apart from the animals we would like toadstools and flowers, an illustration of the magical spell for the refreshment of the spirit with the cup, the sword, the tree and the green hill, some snowflakes and a golden apple, some ladybirds and the family motto.
To complete the glorious picture we have ordered some strings of colour changing LED lights to stick along the sides and around the window. We have ordered fifty metres of these, and they come with a remote control which we thought we might keep on the key ring so we can switch it on as we approach, in case we can’t find it. I wanted to have a little model railway on the roof as well but was outvoted because of the solar panels.
It is going to be absolutely fantastic, Lucy is very good indeed at art and will do a brilliant job. We are all feeling very happy and excited indeed. It might look a bit surprising coming along the drive to Gordonstoun: already when it turns up at Lucy’s school every single girl rushes to find Lucy and tell her that her parents have arrived.
We all got so excited that instead of doing the things we were supposed to be doing we all rushed over to the camper can to have a look at it. Lucy took some photographs and contemplated her design and helped me measure some curtains whilst Mark and Oliver washed the cars. Oliver is practising this quite hard because of wanting to earn some cash this summer. He is going to help Mark with some of the electrical things inside the camper van as well, which should make for some interesting special effects, how marvellous.
By the time we had finished that it was time for work. We have decided that we will get started again after the weekend, if all goes according to plan.
It is going to be the nicest camper van ever in the world.
We are so happy. How lovely it is to be us.
