I came across this camper van while walking Olga yesterday morning. (She went out for her regular walk, all the way around the neighborhood! I guess she was feeling energetic.) I like this kind of retro dolphin graphic on the side. It looks like something from an early '80s Ocean Pacific t-shirt.
Here's the whole thing:
It's a Mercedes Sprinter. Apparently the driver has had some clashes with the local parking authorities...
...as he makes clear in the passenger-side window.
Anyway, I don't think Olga will be walking this morning, as it's raining again.
I was sorry to see that Helen Reddy died this week. She was almost my mother's age, and such a phenomenon in the '70s -- I remember seeing her on "The Muppet Show" and Carol Burnett, and I distinctly remember her appearing on some awards show wearing a dress with a radically plunging neckline. In fact, I'm not even sure it had a neckline -- I think it plunged all the way to her waist. My dad had her greatest hits on 8-track and we sometimes listened to it in his car. (He was that kind of a cool, liberated dad. He could listen to "I Am Woman" and appreciate it, though I'm not sure my mom would agree that he completely absorbed the message.) Did you ever see the surreal animated video for the song "Angie Baby," made for some '70s TV show? Very creepy. But then, it's a creepy song.
Blogpost read and appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThere is a Volkswagen here identical to the Mercedes Sprinter but badged as Volkswagen Crafter and it is quite a good vehicle. We hired one as a campervan a couple of years ago. Even though it was of a good age, it was very easy and comfortable to drive and ride in, once you became used to the weird automatic transmission.
ReplyDeleteNow I hear you asking what was weird about the transmission? Oh, you haven't, but I will mention it anyway. It was like driving a manual car and as if someone else was remotely pressing in the clutch and changing the gears.
ReplyDeleteA nice rig. Traffic wardens have to be "jobsworths"...or they end up jobless.
ReplyDeleteSad to see Helen Reddy go, but good songs and a good woman
I have always loved that song but realise that Ive never actually listened to the words!.In a weird way,I love that video!xx
ReplyDeleteWhen Helen Reddy covered Graham Nash's song "Our House" she changed the line about having "two cats in the yard" to "two dogs in the yard" and I swore that I would never forgive her. I was 15 and obviously had too little to think about. I was never sure if I liked her voice or not, but yes, she was very '70s.
ReplyDeleteI never did like her voice at all. I'm sorry. Same with Karen Carpenter. Just not for me.
ReplyDeleteJust discovered that DT and MT have Covid. Trying to wrap my head around this.
That camper van is an old beater. I wonder if the same guy has had it since it was new?
ReplyDeleteI was never a big fan of hers and I can't even remember what I thought about her iconic song when it came out.
ReplyDeleteIs it Covid or house arrest? Asking for a friend
ReplyDeleteI thought it was sad to hear about Helen Reddy too. I know I had at least one of her records and possibly two. That is nice van. It made me think of the story I heard on PBS last night about the numbers of people who are having vans converted to live in. In fact, van conversion companies can't seem to keep up with the work loads these days. When they interviewed the people, they had a variety of reasons but most of it boiled down to the high cost of living.
ReplyDeleteCool dolphin van.
ReplyDeleteIt was sad news about Helen Reddy. I hadn't thought of her in so many years.
I don't really like that particular van. I think it's rather cumbersome looking and homely. As for Helen Reddy, I enjoyed some of her music. I'm sorry to hear that she has passed on. Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteAngie Baby! I thought. At first I had no recollection of the video; but the minute I started watching it I remembered. It was a weird song and the "cartoon' made it even more weird.
ReplyDeleteWhy would anyone wish to be(come) a traffic warden? Everyone hates them. No one talks to them. Well, I do - someone has to. Oh do we laugh. Since you mentioned cockroaches the other day: There they are, traffic wardens, the cockroach's equivalent encroaching on our parking. Nowadays you can't even dispute you were there since they take photos. Circling the offending vehicle. Relentlessly.
ReplyDeleteI live in a pretty upmarket area with restaurants to match. So upmarket that it's pedestrianized between 11 am and midnight. Which doesn't stop the Lamborghini drivers to park their package right in front of the joint they frequent. I mentioned this to the Angel (my son). Well, he said, what would YOU do? I don't know. Leave the car in the garage? Take a taxi? Employ a gaggle of Brazilian kids to look after my pile of metal? Same difference. Anyway, what's a fine on top of your dining bill?
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It's weird to see a sprinter in London. Van dwellers are all over the western US these days. I remember Helen Reddy, it's sad that all the 80's people are dying.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know Helen Reddy died. Nothing breaks through the trump news cycle here.
ReplyDeleteOh my god. I adored Helen Reddy and listened to those 8-tracks constantly. We all belted out the words to all of the songs. Jeez, "Angie Baby" is so creepy!
ReplyDeleteAndrew: I'm not sure I can even imagine what that transmission was like, but I'll take your word for it!
ReplyDeleteGZ: Exactly. I feel kind of bad for those guys. That's a terrible job.
Debi: Yeah, it's kind of fantastic, isn't it?!
Vivian: Ha! I've never heard her version of that song. I should look it up on iTunes, although it's hard for me to imagine anyone other than CS&N (&Y?) singing it.
Ms Moon: I'm betting they were both just too smooth for you. You like a grittier sound. Right?
Red: Yeah, I wonder? Wikipedia says it's only been in production since 1995, but I would have guessed this is older.
Ellen: She's one of my earliest pop music memories, which is probably part of why I like her.
Penelope: LOL! Could definitely be the latter -- but what did Melania do, I wonder?
Sharon: When I was a kid, I wanted to live in a van in the worst way. Van conversions were huge in the '70s, and I've read that there's a whole "vanlife" movement now, partially fueled by Instagram!
Robin: I hadn't either. Apparently she'd had dementia for the last half decade or so.
Edna: Oh, I agree -- it IS cumbersome. That's part of what makes it an interesting photograph, I think. Especially with a sleek dolphin on the side!
Mitchell: I think that video was made for something like Carol Burnett -- some nighttime TV show.
Ursula: Have you ever seen the movie "Muriel's Wedding"? One of my favorites. There's a scene where a guy asks Muriel out, and he says, "I have to tell you something first...I'm a parking inspector." Like it was such a dark secret that it might tank their relationship right off the bat. LOL
Allison: I'd never even heard of a Sprinter, at least not that I remember! It IS sad that so many musicians I knew growing up are now passing on.
37P: Oh, Lord. It's important to stay informed, but I think all Trump all the time would make me crazy!
Elizabeth: It WAS creepy! And yet at the time I didn't realize it. Like Debi, I don't think I ever actually listened to the words until I heard them in conjunction with those animated visuals.