The love of old vehicles comes with a price. I think all of us know the routine of regular maintenance, finding holes where there shouldn’t be holes, and mud where there should be. Our twenty-three-year-old transit van just had to have its back end rebuilt after an MOT fail, so it’s not just Land Rover’s that suffer from this never-ending battle against time and the elements. That said, the fellow who did the welding has turned into a contact, on an ever-expanding list of contacts. Rob did a great job and is thriving.

As such, he has been able to expand his garage into a double unit. While we were picking up the van, he happened to ask if we knew anyone who would be interested in buying a used but decent mobile garage tent. Dave and I looked at each other, both thinking, ‘We don’t have a garage…’

A week later, we were the proud owners of a new garage tent.

Well, we put the frame together on the ground, and then wedged the tent legs against the mobile ramps we own – they’d be heavy enough right? Not quite. On the first attempt, the ramps shifted around so they needed wedging against something bigger and heavier. Enter Larry. If a garage tent can move a 2.5t Land Rover, then we had serious problems!

We used the ramps to chock the wheels and then got creative with ratchet straps and the towing eyes. Before too long, the tent was upright, spread out and ready to be used! Larry does not quite fit inside it with the roof rack on, but the front does. Working on the engine bay area in the winter will now be marginally more comfortable than before.

As some of you will remember, I bought a 1977 Series 3 88 back in January last year only to discover that it required significant restoration. A non-working horn turned into the realisation that the bulkhead was in a dangerous condition. I did a bit of research and ended up ordering one from Rob Owen in Doncaster. I’ve only ever heard good things about him, and we could go and pick the new bulkhead up as it’s not too far from us.

I have never been so excited to pick up a piece of metal before. Off Dave and I went in Larry to collect this shiny new bulkhead. We knew we were in the right place when we spotted the Series 3 parked up outside – a working vehicle if ever I saw one! We were greeted by Rob and had a quick look around the workshop. It was like every workshop I have been in – a chaotic order of parts and equipment known only to those who work there. It didn’t take long to get the bulkhead safely installed in Larry, and we were ready to go.

As it was only midday, and we knew Tea on the Tailgate was happening in Selby, we decided to drop in for a brew and a natter with like minded people. Half an hour later, we rolled in, parked up and had coffee in hands.

This was the first Tea on the Tailgate we have attended, and just like most Land Rover meet ups, it was as welcoming as we expected. It was a birthday celebration, so we were graced with a little sticker for the car and a piece of cake. Best part of it though was getting to meet some new, like-minded people. The variety of Land Rovers, from old to new was lovely to see as well, from a nearly new Defender to Freelanders and the usual plethora of series and even a forward control. Not bad for a cool late October Saturday.

I think the best story though, comes from Kira and Iain. Iain, or Een, was there in his Camel Trophy KBAC Discovery 1, which was a training vehicle for the event. The lovely couple had been working on one of their vehicles the previous day, where Een had proposed from underneath the car. The ring he had was in fact a clutch spigot bearing which fit Kira perfectly. Who said romance was dead?

All in all, it was a lovely afternoon to catch up with people and share stories. I definitely recommend attending one of these events near you.