The Thank Yous, the Cast List.

During this long journey from February 2012 to now Wednesday, 16 October 2013 we have been supported and encouraged by a plethora of people, mostly friends and family, but clearly some trades as well. They have all contributed time, materials, knowledge or loaned ears to be bent when things went awry. They have propped us up when we’ve been down, encouraged when we’ve doubted ... pointed to our over ambitious aspirations and grounded us, and in doing so, have in numerous instances saved us some cash. Without them we would not have kept going ... so when `They’ ship our murdered corpses back from the land of foreign, defiled and abused pre and post-mortem here’s the list of names of those who can be blamed for delivering us into the hands of the cannibals on the southern side of the English Channel.

Mr Adrian Smith: Finance Director ... and Mr Smiths Secretary; Mrs Smith (I may not live to cross the channel at that line there). Mr Smith also consulted on Moho poo routine and how to chill.

Mrs Simone Smith: Soft furnishings, Common Sense and Hard Stares Director ... her secretary is a bloke and he’s rubbish ... he knows this ... he doesn’t care.

Mr Lance Harrison VSOP, BO, TB, STD (Hons): Heath Robinson Engineering director; fixer and verifier of electrics, structural integrity and many other tweaks conforming to proper engineering principles consultant.

Mrs Zoe Harrison: Estates Shakedown Director: Chair of pre-flight, habitation shakedown and accommodation committee. We’ve been living on the Essex Harrisons drive since we left my brothers flat (apart from two nights out at Wallasea Island) to cure in no particular order: Nearside tyre puncture, suspected cab leak, removal of items we thought we’d need, loss of 12volt systems, water heater lockout ... that lots a blog on its own.

Mrs Sarah Harrison: Common Sense and Hard Stares Director Western Front. Chair of pre-flight, habitation shakedown and accommodation committee 2012 various dates.  Currently engaged as, mail forwarding and communications consultant.

Mr Andy Harrison: A spade is a spade and don’t let those (that word I’m not allowed to use in the blog) take the Mickey out of you director. The maker of that Stalwart of the Empire;  the Sunday roast and acerbic comment.

Mr Graham Wells: Built Environment Renovation director ... not only knows his spades from his manually activated earth and aggregate manoeuvring tool, but also knows how to use a Kango, a plasterers hawk and trowel and a myriad other highly specialised trade tools and secrets for when part of your house becomes a swimming pool all of its own accord.

Miss Clare Smith: Owner and manager of Mr Wells, and their children Tyler, Tess and Tamsin,  who loaned us their dad for what seemed like many weekday evenings and weekends during 2012.

Mr and Mrs Finch Senior, for not being the pain in the arse parents can be. Ma Finch for her haberdashery stash and seamstress skills, Pa Finch for helping us to line the various rooms of the Tilbury house after we’d destroyed the place in the name of `progress’.

Mr Peter Finch: Air Commodore, for plumbing services rendered in the name of `progress’ ... not bad for a man who spends most of his life ferrying the wealthy in a flying taxi ... well someone has to do it.

Mr David Finch: Paradoxically (and only he will know why), temporary accommodation and box set director ... though some things in box sets should be in that place where the US Government put the Arc of the Covenant at the end of The Raiders of the Lost Arc, to baffle archaeologists and historians of the future.

Miss Claire Finch: Box set intervention counsellor. Provided normal telly when eight straight series of Red Dwarf, induced nosebleeds, fits and the feeling that someone in the BBC felt that adding a woman to the cast was required to bring balance to the force ...

Miss Alison Polyviou-Shine: Sunshine in winter consultant.

Mr Paul Studley: Blackdown Conversions. Refurbished our motorhome which I still pine for, and built us the new one when the original was destroyed, all round fair player, and knower of things (also knows his spades from his manually activated earth and aggregate manoeuvring tools) ... as a footnote, the moron that destroyed the first motorhome is now being very careful with his soap holding technique while enjoying his own sojourn at her majesties convenience ... for a year with a three year driving ban. Compensation would be nice for all the out of pocket losses, but as he’s unlikely to be paying it from his own funds, we can live without it.

Mrs Lynn Studley: Blackdown Conversions. Maker of cushions and seating, who battled with our industrial seat covering material, not once but twice.
 
Mr Garry Lees and Co: Garry Lee Panelcraft, for turning our un-ambulance like white ambulance into a very ambulance like yellow van, that doesn’t leak and looks handsome with its black trim.

Mr Marc Wood: Alarming Entertainment, CD, MP3, Bluetooth, subwoofing tweeterising Basebinned stereo badboy who turned the Moho into a Moho Disco.

Ray and the boys of Benchsound Vehicle Engineering,  who have overhauled thirteen years of tick box servicing by whomever the NHS contracted to do their servicing ...  sometimes not very well.

MB and M Motors for MOTs; Tyre changes and minor electrical works, when a certain over keen DIY’er managed to short all the vehicles main and signal lights ... ahem?

All the people we worked with over the last six and three years respectively ... who thanks to their various foibles and states of harassed lunacy assured us that leaving the rat race was the right thing to do  ... before the urge to do a Reggie Perrin became too strong or the urge to acquire an Uzi 9mm became stronger.

And finally thanks to everyone that’s wished us well on our way, organised mad nights out in Old London Town ... Jennifer Chung and the ladies of the LODC.