All set up for season two and the heavens open.

Rain, Rain, Go away. Come again another day. Only it didn’t go away, but it did come again the following day.

We bought our Awning a couple of years ago, in anticipation of starting the job. There is no way we’d have such a big awning for touring. But, for the job, it provides extra living space.

With a reputation of being tight, ‘The Boss’ didn’t buy the awning new, we got it second hand off fleabay and had a lovely couple of days in Coventry whilst we picked it up. Sent to Coventry, for an Awning.

On the very few occasions last season when it rained we did have a couple of spots along the front edge of the awning where it leaked. Three or four strategically placed buckets, problem solved.

This season, the dripping is getting on his pip. Buckets lined up along the front edge, only this time, six or seven buckets are needed. The other Assistant Wardens mention they had seen another Warden cobble up some sort of internal guttering system. Turns out the ‘said’ Warden was mostly responsible for our current career choice after talking us into it three years ago.

Paul, we must give him full credit, is now responsible for us sitting in the car on route to Screwfix for some guttering. He has sent us pictures of his ‘cobbling’ and we are about to shamelessly copy his work, after all, we already copy his work, if you follow.

Four lengths of three meter guttering easy swallowed by the Volvo and back to site. ‘The Boss’ adopts his usual ‘no plan’ approach, grabs a hand saw and starts cutting. “Deb….have you got a plaster,”…. “Deb…. make it a big plaster.” It would seem his finger is now leaking blood faster than the awning was leaking rain. After being a ‘smart arse’ telling me never to cut towards yourself only yesterday, it now seems he “might” have been cutting towards himself. Was it deep? He says it stopped on the right side of the bone so all is good.

Three plasters later and it’s back to the job in hand. Nothing technical, a dozen cable ties, one gutter on the front edge leading to a vertical gutter down to the ground by the front leg of the awning. Carefully lift the groundsheet inside the gutter and sit back waiting for the rain.

“That’ll do us another ten years now,” he proclaims, unlikely, but we do advocate that asking experienced caravanners ‘how to’ can be far cheaper than the shop. You may not even be able to see it on the final picture, it’s that tidy. I think we would only ever use this on a seasonal pitch though … he only has another nine digits to spare.