This was not the video we planned to make. The plan was simple: finish the last bits on the van, pack up, and head off to Europe for the summer. What actually happened was Lyndsay drove to Peterborough on Thursday morning to hand in George’s passport to the passport office, while Steve stayed back at SMG having the final bits fitted to the van. Not exactly the week we imagined.
How We Ended Up in This Mess
Lyndsay is going to tell you this herself in the video, and honestly, she deserves huge credit for being so open about it. The last couple of years have been genuinely tough: losing her dad in difficult circumstances, then grandma, and on top of all that going through the joys perimenopause. She describes it as her brain simply not working properly, and she is not wrong. Plenty of women watching will understand exactly how she feels. The upside is that she is now feeling stronger and more like herself than she has in a long time. The downside is that earlier in the year, when she checked all the passports (yes, she does this, she is the organised one), her brain filed George’s expiry date under “November 2026, that’s next year, don’t worry about it.” Except November 2026 is not next year. It is this year. And George needs his passport again soon after we return as he will be heading to France and Belgium for a school trip.
She only spotted it 4 days before we were due to leave, while filling in a school form. It was a heart-sinking moment. She sat there and ran through every possible scenario: cut the trip short, delay the everyone’s departure, have George fly home early with Harry. None of them were ideal. In the end, the answer was to apply online for an urgent passport, go to Peterborough to the passport office, hand in the old document, and hope the replacement arrived before Sunday. A new child’s passport normally costs £65.50. The emergency version is £156.50. Ouch. And even using the urgent service, we were looking at up-to a week for a child, not the 24-hour turnaround available for an adult. So crossing our fingers was the best strategy.
Meanwhile, Back at SMG
While Lyndsay was loitering in Peterborough trying not to arrive more than ten minutes early for her appointment (she arrived twenty minutes early, naturally, and had to go and find shade), Steve was getting the van properly sorted. The big one was the Teleco air conditioning unit fitted into the lower dash at the front. We already have aircon at the back, so now the whole van is covered properly. Mark at SMG did the install, and I was shocked when they took the front bumper off and revealed the state of it, it was grim. Dead flies, something that looked suspiciously like a hornet. Crikey.
But the result is brilliant. With both units running, we are pulling around 1,000 watts, which on a 5,000-watt inverter is absolutely no problem at all. Cold air is coming through into the front lounge area, and the rear unit has the back and kitchen covered. It is a proper game changer for hot nights off grid. Steve also had the skid wheels fitted on the back of the chassis. No drilling required; the holes are already there on the Alko chassis, and they simply bolt straight in. Steve fitted them himself in about ten minutes. If he can do it, anyone can. A new Wolfbox dash cam mirror has gone in too, so we will give a proper verdict on that once we’ve have had a few weeks to try it.
So, Are We Going?
The van is packed. We are ready. Lyndsay had her night out with her best friend (well deserved, genuinely), and Steve had a very pleasant evening testing the air con. But as of filming, the passport has not arrived. We are due to leave tomorrow. So you will have to tune in to find out which combination of us is heading to Europe. Fingers crossed for us.
Watch the video to see how Lyndsay’s passport office visit actually went, and drop us a comment if you have ever had a travel document nightmare of your own. We cannot be the only ones.
Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP7TfP5U2fA