campervanliving

I am off to the beach to see what the high tides and recent storms have brought.  But before I head off I thought it might be interesting to brush up on my shipping law, just in case I find anything more interesting than cotton buds (washed down the loo - jetsam?), fishing nets (lost overboard - derelict?), bottles (thrown overboard - flotsam?) and bags of dog poo (one can only assume this is lagan). Anyway, British law is quite clear about wrecks and salvage. Salvage is the act of saving something with the intention of returning it to its legal owner. Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, wreck material remains the property of the original owner and anyone who finds washed up goods must report it to a government official, the "Receiver of the Wreck", within 28 days. Failing to report such items could lead to a £2000 fine. The legal owner then has a year to come forward and prove ownership of the item. Legitimate salvors are entitled to a salvage award in recogniti...

Here I go again, spouting off about the state of the ocean. Well, yes. But this time I want to propose something really positive. A solution. So here it is. Recently I’ve started doing mini beach cleans every time I go to the beach. I call them my #2minutebeachcleans and all I do is spend 2 minutes picking up a few bits of litter and disposing of them. It takes 2 minutes, which is actually longer than it takes me to  me to take a picture and post it to instagram @martindorey and twitter @campervanliving . Considering the scale of the problem this really is a pathetic, meaningless gesture, isn’t it? With every tide comes more plastic that’s been dumped, lost or washed into the sea so my two minutes really makes no difference at all. Or does it?

Let’s talk about socks. Yes, let’s. It’s coming around to that time of the year when our feet need a little extra care and attention. They don’t like being out so much anymore and need to be looked after a little more than they did during the sock-free days of the summer that’s just passed. So I thought I’d share with you my sock philosophy. I like good socks. Good socks make me happy. This is because I have lived with poor socks. I have bought many, discarded many and been thoroughly fed up with many because they got holed or fell apart or just weren’t up to the job of keeping my poor little tootsies out of temperature-related trouble. I have regretted buying cheap socks many times, especially on camping and surfing trips and when I used to work in the film industry and spent days on end standing about on location. Getting cold feet is a very unpleasant experience, and once chilled, the pinkies take ages to warm up again. As I said, I’ve been there.  A few y...

I went for a walk with the dog last week and came across the tent in the picture. I love the audacity of the pitch. It's right there, on the beach, with a pretty good view. They even had their own picnic bench. Looking on, I enjoyed the fact that they had the cheek to pitch up on council property, without permission (I can only assume) and were rewarded with that fabulous view. Slightly jealous, I imagined myself waking in that spot, watching the waves, brushing my teeth, greeting a shiny, brand new day as the sea breeze blew in my hair. It was a nice thought. Then I found myself thinking about who it was who had pitched, whether or not they had permission, who owned the land and whether or not they had pitched late at night to avoid being seen, challenged and thrown off the plot. I pondered the legal situation. I even questioned myself in thinking it was cheeky. Why? Because they were flouting the law? Technically, they needed permission from the landowner, so, if it was n...

Maggie hanging out with the Rothfink crew Hello again. I went to Devon Dub Fest this weekend. I was invited along by the team to give out prizes for the Show and Shine Competition. I gladly did it. They give all their profits to CLIC Sargent, the charity that did so much for us when Maggie was ill with leukaemia. It's a remarkable thing to do and is to be applauded - especially when you consider the work they put in. If you have never heard of CLIC Sargent or don't know what they do or why they have inspired me so much too, then please have a read of the blog I did for them here. Anyway, the dedication of the team at DDF got me thinking. So that's why I am going to donate £5 for every copy of my book, 'The Camper Van Coast', that I sell through my website at www.martindorey.com throughout August. That's it. It's the least I could do. And I'll sign every copy too. Thanks. Enjoy the summer. Click here to buy the book.

Sometimes you need to stop for a moment and take stock. It happened to me on Saturday, during a busy day looking after the campers on the last of this summer's Wild Weekends. I had just finished serving a seafood paella with razor clams, smoked dogfish (that we'd caught on our long line) and barbecued chicken. I had spent all day cooking, washing up and making sure my guests were well looked after and having fun. The fire was burning, the marshmallows were toasting, the sun was going down in the meadow and the temperature was still in the high twenties. I opened a beer (it had been chilling in the river next to the camp site) and sat down in the grass to listen to Nat play guitar and sing. Looking around our campsite, I reminded myself to remember this moment, because later, when I would be washing up again, the gloss would have gone from the camping experience. After all the work I had done setting up the Wild Weekends and all the work still to come to clear up the camp...

This video is one of the pieces of work I am most proud of. It is the long version of the film that got me the gig at the BBC and it was the first time I had been in front of the camera either talking or cooking. I spent a day with Chris Harris in North Cornwall doing what I love doing most - walking on the beach, driving my van and eating nice grub. As it turned out I think the film shows it off pretty well. It's a nice life. Sadly the van has now gone, but its spirit lives on. That jumper is just about dead too. Music by my friends The Adventure Babies. You can download the track here:  http://www.adventurebabies.com/