Blind confidence

A rear-lounge glow-up starts with fixing some bothersome blinds. Nigel Donnelly gets stuck in

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EARLIER IN THE year, we made a list of the things that make Penny a little harder to live with than she needs to be. Many have been sorted already the plumbing is more reliable, a stabiliser has been fitted and there have been various power and lighting upgrades. One area still languishing near the bottom of the list, however, is the dreary, dog-eared rear lounge.

Bailey went to town in the front, with mains lights, spotlights and a ceiling lamp.

There's even a chest of drawers and a drinks cabinet with a pull-out tabletop. At the back, though, it's all rather basic. Only the rear window has a curtain, there's just a single ceiling light, and in our case, the blinds are in a sorry state. The rear one doesn't retract properly, the offside one is broken, and the whole area could do with cheering up. We have plans for lights and cushions, but first, we need to fix the blinds.

State of play

At the front of the van, every blind and flyscreen latches and retracts neatly. Given how often they're used, that's a pleasant surprise. As with many caravan fittings, though, lack of use can cause as much trouble as wear and tear. Since touring in Penny, the rear lounge has become our breakfast or dining area, particularly at festivals when we're too lazy to pack away the main bed up front.

There are three windows back there. The nearside one, by the door, works fine apart from a cracked corner - an easy fix if we can be bothered.

The other two are worse.

The wide rear window blind doesn't do itself any favours with its sheer size. The flyscreen is missing the two claws that latch it open, and the main blind pulls down but barely retracts. The return is slow and gritty - it's not just a tension issue but something rougher in the mechanism.