We've been in England since March 17th and would you believe there has been no rain at all? Apart from today, where it's been back to good old proper British rain - wet, wet and miserable. The side window of the van is leaking as expected, so we'll have to wait for dry weather to silicon that up, or even pull it out and do a proper job of it, but it's okay - none of the actual build is wet.

We are absolutely thrilled to bits with what we have done though. The kitchen has come along perfectly. Having it at the back of a short wheel base means you have a lot of space inside - sure, we can't cook inside (well, we can if we want - more on that later) but since we only plan to #vanlife in the summer months, that shouldn't be a problem. I'm really glad we don't have barn doors either as the tailgate forms both shade and shelter.

We're really rapt with the roll out drawer. Jamie found a sheet of old perspex in his Mum's shed, which has formed a see through benchtop! Cool huh? Inspired. We love it!

The table works well as well. Lots of worktop space for prepping dinner and the shelf at the back is just big enough for a beer or wine - we call it a bar.

We were given quite a pathetic little gas burner from my mother in law. I shouldn't say that - I'm grateful, because right now it's a bit hard to source things and we're still not even sure whether it's worth getting a cooker right now in case we don't go anywhere, but it's enough to do a cup of tea on anyway, and I wanted to show in this photo how we could put the cooker on the table or on the drawer benchtop, and still have some chopping space. If you really want to know what the best thing is for cooking in a van, get a marine kerosene cooker - you don't have to carry around a gas bottle, just a few bottles of spirits. I love them, even if they are a bit expensive.

Do you like our strap handles? Made out of a strip of leather, they are classy, cheap and easy. There's a special little fold you do so zoom in on the photo if you're thinking of making them yourselves.

The side drawers also work well - easy to open up the door and access food. The bottom door is good for longer things as it goes right past the wheel arch to the back. As you can see, we still have to get the bench tops sourced. We were given some decking wood but it was a bit warped and mouldy and we'll only use it if really desperate. It's so hard being patient and not being able to go to the stores.

There's still a lot to do, but it's really taking shape now! I've ordered a lot of little things like a bottle opener, breadboards, cushions and fairy lights - essential. of course. My mother in law in making curtains. There's a lot of delay on the post due to COVID-19 which is frustrating. The mattress we ordered days ago still hasn't even been shipped. As soon as it gets here we will be sleeping in the van in my sister in law's driveway!

What projects are you working on at the moment? If you are a vanlifer, how are you managing through this crisis?

View the Other T4 Van Life Build Posts

Why We're Scared to Travel in England

The First Rule of Van Life: Be Warned

With Love,

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