Hey You...STOP, THIEF!!!

Whatcha.

So the Guf, its been a problem child of late. Technically its only been a problem child once and a problem child has also affected it. Let me explain.

Saturday a week ago I got a text from Maff saying he had walked past the Guf on his way to Phil and Iso's birthday/housewarming and had found the rear van door open. He shut it and kindly informed me of what he had seen. I was having a meal with Pa and Rosie at the time and by the time I got the message and got home it was half ten. Inspection of the Guf revealed that some little shits had stolen everything from the back of it. That consisted of ALL me and Hannah's camping equipment, built up over the years into a veritable orgy of camping joy. EVERYTHING. Well, everything I use when staying in the van to take photos anyway. The list includes a 15tog double duvet, two pillows, gas stove, gas lamp, gas (for stove and lamp!), cuttlery set, plates, bowles, travel mug, thermos, speakers for MP3 player, cigarette lighter converter to turn it into a pin socket and a load of other useful things that will take ages to replace like lots of sachets of sauces, salt, pepper, sugar etc taken from service stations, spare bits for the curtains, the odd tool and alike. All of it was in a few boxes and bags and they grabbed the lot and made off with it.
Fuckers.
Mother fuckers.
So much stuff, probably worth at least £200. Worse than that though, I have to try and replace as much as I can afford before I can go on anymore road trips for my major project.

Perhaps what angers me the most is the complete uselessness of the items stolen, I mean, its not like they can be sold for much is it. If it were a stereo or something perhaps I could see the point more, but this is just inconvenience and expense for me for no real gain of their own.
Maybe they were keen campers and wanted the stuff?

What goes through the minds of these people...

Little shit 1: Hey, little shit 2, we need some camping stuff you know in order to have some camping fun.
Little shit 2: Your right Shit 1, we do. But I have not much money and would prefer to spend it on hats.
Little Shit 1: Right, me too. What shall we do then?
Little Shit 2: Well, is it just me or has that van (guf) got a lot of camping stuff in it?
Little Shit 1: It has by the look of it, yeah.
Little Shit 2: Well, we want it, they have some...so thats not fair is it?
Little Shit 1: Correct, why should they have something we want?
Little Shit 2: Lets nick it then? That will teach 'em for having stuff we want.
Little Shit 1: YEAH...lets do it.

I imagine thats how it goes.

Scum.

the second problem happened this weekend as me and Hannah ventured to Worthing to go charity shopping. A fine Saturday afternoon plan. We chugged along in the Guf, bargain bound, until, on just entering Worthing, I happened accross a puff of steam/smoke from the bonnet. So we pulled into a side road, lifted the bonnet and were greated by water spewing out and boiling atop the engine.
Looked like a radiator problem.
Luckily, having foresight, we had joined the AA when the Guf was first purchased. Got on the blower to them and three hours, many phone calls and some stern words later, they finally turned up.
Mr AA (a jolly nice chap) confirmed the belief that the radiator had a problem and towed us back to blighty.
Today, I took it to a garage and they have replaced the radiator at a cost of £180.
Crapping shit buckets.
At least its mended and promptly, byut £180 on top of £200 of lost stuff makes John an unhappy and really skint man.

Two things in two weeks to one guf...is the world trying to tell me not to drive? That the CO2 emissions are not justifiable even if I do make a world changing photographic project off the back of them?

I dunno, all I know is that it was increadibly bad timing given I have a week to hand in my exam project!

Still, as the often right and logical thinking Hannah pointed out to me, better in Worthing than in Edinburgh! Which is true, small mercies and all that. At least I could get it sorted before it affected my major project.

Lets just hope bad luck don't come in threes! ;)