Friday 25 April 2014

Daydreaming



There was a competition in a magazine today offering a prize of a campervan! How very Hippy I thought and slipped into a day of dreaming of travelling the country, stopping off in out of the way places, snoring to my hearts content in distant lands like 'up north' or Wales.  The freedom of the open road, but not at a very high speed I imagine, enjoying distant parts of the land without worrying about expensive accommodation.  That's for me I thought.
The lack of money that running such a vehicle would cost does not disturb dreams, only reality. Therefore I could see myself parking alongside the wide empty white beaches on some deserted part of the highland coast, parked under some ancient castle, drinking coffee brewed on the primus stove while wallowing in the view of deserted silent giant hills.  The crowded roads, cost of petrol, or standing at the side of the highway while the man from the AA worked under the van attempting to replace the bits that had eroded away and fallen off never at any time entered my dream world, I was good like that.  
At first sight it does appear a jolly good way to see the country, to visit people and places at the moment far out of my ken, but the cost will always upset a dream, even if the vehicle itself is free.  Ah well, maybe I will not buy their yoghurt anyway, it would be a tragedy if I won and had the brute parked outside tempting me to go visit relatives.  Actually that last thought might not be too strong!  
What are the chances of winning any competition?  Possibly a couple of million people will not the competition on the side of the tubs of various products, the majority not being interested as it means little to them, they have transport, the kids would hate it, and therefore the numbers entering would be a mere few thousand, possibly.   How many would forget to buy the goods? How many forget or fail to enter?  So the numbers with whom we compete lessens and we have more chance here than we have with the Lottery.  Could it be the computerisation of shop goods can tell the company whether the individual entering often buys their products, therefore enabling then to reach the 'right' person for the prize?  As I have never bought whatever it is they sell I would have little chance.  
Ah well, if the rain stops I will get the bike out instead tomorrow.....



 

10 comments:

Carol said...

Go and buy the yoghurt!!!!

Adrian spends his retirement travelling around and finding remote spots. Have a browse back through his blog. http://adriansimages.blogspot.co.uk

Enjoy!

Lee said...

It all sounds so very nice on paper and in dreams...but I'm a home-body...I like being within my own four, unmoving walls. I've never really been one keen to be on the move all the time.

I have a few friends who travel often throughout the year...towing their vans all over the country...year in year out...and good for them...that's what they love to do; but me...nope...it's not for me.

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

We get loads of campervans down here in the Northern hemisphere winter months.

They are referred to as "Freedom Campers" or as "bloody smelly nuisances", from their habit of poo-dumping all over New Zealand's pristine countryside.

Also getting stuck behind one of these bastards on a narrow road (most roads down here are narrow-ish)can make one contemplate murder.

Adullamite said...

Carol, Yes sir! I've bought it!!!!

Lee, Home is good, but wandering now and again is good also.

TSB, Hmmm, I am off out to find a road map of NZ in case I win! Sounds good!

the fly in the web said...

I remember being caught behind caravans and camper vans on narrow roads...the former were referred to as carapox and the latter as caraclap....but it's all right if you're the one in them!

the fly in the web said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Adullamite said...

Fly, i would be going flat out, 20 MPH!

soubriquet said...

Back a million or so years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and Soubriquet was a long-haired student, living in a leafy, idyllic college campus, one of the house cleaners would ask us all if she could have any cereal packets, jam-jars, whatever, which had competitions and tokens on them, when they were empty, because her hobby was competitions.
I used to play bar-billiards in a pub near the college, across the fields. (The Fair Rosamund), and I struck up something of a friendship with a group of locals, who also played bar billiards and pool. One of them was the son of our cleaning lady. He told me she'd won trips abroad, cruises, clothes, washing machines, cars and all manner of things.
When I visited their house, it was clearly true, she had pics of her receiving the giant Readers Digest cheque, keys to a shiny car, all sorts of similar stuff.
She pointed out that most people don't enter, that even those who originally buy the product because they are enticed by the promise of prizes forget, or send it in too late, or get the answers wrong.
Really, she said, there aren't many contenders for a lot of prizes. And it costs a stamp to enter. Just do it. You might not win the first 200, but eventually you will win something. I tried it and won six padded coathangers....
Enter them all.

And if you don't want the prize, you can sell it.

Mike Smith said...

So I said to the salesman, I want to buy a van to travel the country.

He said 'Camper?'

'Okay, duckie, I want a lovely wee van...'

Adullamite said...

Soub, When back in the Cash & Carry one of the customers who owned a wee shop had won vast amounts this way. Using the 'Grocer' mag he had caravans, holidays and cash, our boss hated him! The green eyed god of jealousy!

Mike, Too too sweet.