Ecstatic - Goodbye, Caravan!
No, I'm not throwing the rattle out of the pram completely but doing an extremely happy dance round the office as the finance company has agreed that my caravan should be rejected as unfit for use, due to wide-ranging damp issues which must have been present when bought from a supposedly reputable dealer 
- Kirkcaldy Caravans in Kirkcaldy, subsidiary of Cookstown Caravans in Northern Ireland. Despite readings of over 90% in some parts 
, the dealer offered to repair but luckily Black Horse Finance agreed with me that its next stop should be the breakers.
Sooo, money will arrive in my account by the end of the week, the caravan will be collected from my driveway and I'm able to go and buy a nice, dry, new-to-me van at the weekend! Then, all The Stuff will be emptied out of the spare room into the new van...
When I think how excited I was earlier this year with my new van and what plans I had for renovating the tired inside decoration, it's bad that a dealer could cheat people so badly. I'm now rather more cynical about the caravan trade.
On the good side, I've had a lot of fun on my travels with the dogs this summer and I'm looking forward to more soon. Met some nice people too though I've had fun with the snooty brigade. Melrose seems like a nice visit for the autumn, with pubs and shops 
close by and I was thinking of some similar places in the North of England, such as Bolton Abbey. Any suggestions?
Oh, and the new one is a 2004 Avondale Dart 5-berth which will have the bed permanently up at the back as the 2-berth was just a tad on the small side for me plus the dogs and I'd rather have the room for the weight than a huge shower-room.