Franni's Little Pommie Immigrant

[franni]

Gday, 
my name is Franni and i thought i should be upfront from the beginning and confess:
1. my van is a pom!. A1968 Pearman Briggs Safari 13' 2berth built in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. 
2.[close your eyes Cobber] my dear old hubby won't have a bar of ...oh oh oh dare i say it, slot head screws. ooh that was scary and doesn't feel any better for the confession. he loves his tekscrew gun
3. i'm sure there was something else …. oh yes. i had a brief internet affair and spent the night in an anguish of desire. 
'Fessed up to dearly beloved and he said "Show me" so i did and he said "Wow" and a few other things like "Lets buy her" so we did and she came with stories of great adventure which i'll tell you if i am not ostracised for the above confessions. she is the cutest little bundle of wood rot and borers and fits so well into our world of unfinished projects. we have called her Shirley. what an education. 
i think it is a great forum and i love reading about other peoples restorations and get much courage from you all. thankyou
Franni

[smiles]

Dear Franni

Welcome to the wonderfully mysterious world of playing about in old miniature homes (aka vintage caravans)!

Never mind where they come from, it's where they're going that counts !

smiles

[cobber]

G'day franni,

Your second post on the forum and you are in the confessional already, but have no fear you have not sinned 

By 1968 most caravans were being mass produced using those other screws ... the days of the craftsman built vintage caravan were almost over  .... But English vans still had style 
I do know of a 1958 P&B 4 berth van that has recently been rescued in the UK, the only one in existence apparently, it is in the hands of a bloke who will do it justice.

I look forward to seeing photos and hearing the history of your van.
By-the-way, I agree with the sentiments expressed in your first post   ..... so we can still be mates 

Cobber.

[franni]

thanks Smiles and Cobber
here is my first attempt at photobucket

our lovely Shirley
oh its a big pic. maybe i need to check the size next time.

[DC3Td]

Gday & welcome Franni. I reckon the pic size is good.Able to see more definition but of course you can use a different process that uploads at a smaller size & when clicked on expands the size.Great looking `van & sure you`ll have plenty of (gritted teeth) fun along the way.

[Don Ricardo]

G'day Franni,

What a great little van you've got there! I'm sure you'll get lots of admirers when you're out and about.

And the photo? Perfect size. Just keep posting photos the same way you did with this one.

Don Ricardo

[franni]

Shirley's interior before we got destructive [all in a good cause of course]

[franni]

just when you think you've mastered photobucket

[franni]

photo bucket seems to want a cup of tea between pics. some load, some don't

[DC3Td]

Gday Franni.Yep,P/b does chuck a hissy at times as we find ourselfs.Love the interior shots thus far. gordon

[franni]

interior of P&B Safari.she looked so pretty.
but…..

[franni]

probe around with a screwdriver and there's bound to be trouble

[DC3Td]

Gday Franni. You can delete or edit posts at any time. Edit tab,top right corner of each window.Delete,by clicking on the cog wheel beside it.

[franni]

many thanks DC3Td. i'd rather be polishing aluminium than mucking around on the computer

[franni]

how did our English caravan get to Australia? Overland of course!
from the factory in Stroud UK


, where she was built in 1968

classicsafaris.proboards.com/post/2085/thread

 through Europe, Afghanistan and the Khyber pass



through India to Colombo, Sri Lanka [then Ceylon]



then shipped to Australia. 
i have been told she travelled around a bit before becoming a child's play house, then left to rot in a backyard somewhere in the Adelaide hills. she was rescued in the early eighties and renovated by the gentleman from whom i bought our "Shirley" last August when she was well and truly due for another restoration

[Don Ricardo]

Wow Franni!

Now that's a caravan trip worth doing! I nominate you to organise the next vintage caravan tour - back to Stroud of course! Although...we may have a bit of trouble getting through the Khyber Pass, post 9/11 and all that!

It's fascinating to hear the story of the vans on the forum. Thanks for posting.

Don Ricardo

[franni]

today we are about to put back the aluminium front panel but it has 2 tears about 50 mm long near the window. what is the best way to repair these and make it watertight but also look good. hoping someone can advise please
franni

[franni]

we've been stripping layers of paint from our English Safari and scraped away most of this sticker, placed low down near the door.


i think the white lettering on black is national caravan council, but which nation and what the rest of the sticker says is anyones guess. it was on the original paintwork so is probably between 30 and 46 years old, could be England or Australia or somewhere in between. 
any sleuths out there like to try and guess. i don't suppose it is important really but we love to grab hold of any little thing that might add a bit to the history of our old vans, don't we.

[Don Ricardo]

Hi Franni,

The National Caravan Council is the peak body for the UK caravan industry - click here. If no-one on the forum can tell you what the sticker says maybe you can send the photo to the NCC and ask them if they can tell you about it. They may be interested to know where the sticker (and the caravan) ended up.

You might be interested in some photos from the NCC and shown here. No Safaris I don't think, but great pics all the same.

Don Ricardo

[shesgotthelook]

Hi Franni, just a tip, it might be easier to keep all your questions & info re your van in the one thread. That way, you can easily find things later on. Cheers, SGTL

[cobber]

G'day Franni,

Sorry I can't help you (yet)  regarding the sticker but, I have to agree with SGTL when she suggests you keep questions and posts regarding the 'Little pommy immigrant' under that thread... particularly the post about how it got from the UK to Oz.  you could even copy that post and transfer it to the 'Little pommy immigrant' thread if you want 

It's a very interesting story and it doesn't deserve to get lost in the 'General board' (it's already slipped down to page 2) IN FACT IT WOULD BE NICE IF THE ADMINISTRATOR COULD MOVE THE 'LITTLE POMMY IMMIGRANT' POST TO THE MEMBERS PHOTO ALBUM BOARD (with your permission)   

Anyway.... You are not on your own, lots of people start the story about their vans in the 'General' board 

Cobber.

[franni]

thanks Don, Cobber, SGTL. i was unsure about where to put the posts. not sure about copying and relocating but will have a go later.
it is all very exciting
have emailed NCC in uk so hope to have a bit more info.
thanks for your response
franni

[franni]

i've just had a reply from Brian in the UK and the sticker reads 'approved manufacturer, national caravan council' NCC established 1953 to set standards of manufacturing for caravan makers. logo changed around end of 60s so we just got in with the old one

[franni]

oh @#%&**** i've just changed the subject line to 'the little pommie immigrant' in all my threads in the hope that they would all be together but now i have 3 threads with the same name. how can i get them all together . please help, i'm not very computer savvy.
franni

[Geoff & Jude]

hi franni

just ask the moderators to merge the three threads under one subject heading.

they can also move it into members photo album if you want them to.

it's easy enough to do if you have the "authority" to do it.

geoff 'n jude