Are you still here?

'Rupe, a red light's just come on. Should we stop?' announces Crisp with his usual calm delivery. Could this really be happening again? Perhaps this is going to be the brutal reality of life on the road with Tilly - warning lights, oil leaks, odd ways ...... and so far from the fantasy I've held in my head for so long - the dream is crumbling - it's back to the reality of a 31 + year old VW camper I guess. At least this time its only one red light - last time it was the works - every warning light flashing all at once in (not so) glorious technicolour - and a whisker short of half an hour of taking ownership of a v quirky Californian import (via the Netherlands!) 'rust free/good runner' VW Camper. That time it was heading from a port, this time its heading for one - Dover and a ferry deadline - more importantly a gnawing fear that those all too often despairing family asides 'you'll never make it/you're bound to break down before Calais/what possessed you to purchase that? .............' may just hold more truth than I would like to admit. This time the pressures, really on. A tentative look reveals a broken fan belt - that's the easy part. Fixing it is going to be the challenge! Of course we've no spare - yes I know Jonathan advised so strongly we should take one - but younger brothers can't always be right - can they?! Well I at least do now possess a library of manuals, kind gifts and now worth there weight in gold. Reassuring tones from one give me the confidence to suggest we just drive on with fingers crossed and hopes that Tilly might just get us there in time to begin our much talked about adventures at last!