Ever get fed up trying to put a round frying pan on to your hob? Member Richard Stead and his friend Terry Steel have been testing an innovative new product in Richard’s Bongo.

Since I was a kid arriving at the seaside after an exciting journey in Dad’s old banger, removing my soggy wrapper from the squashed tomato sandwiches was the high point of my day. Picnics and barbecues, al fresco dinners and bonfire-night suppers are among my happiest memories. Naturally, I find myself cooking a lot as I always volunteer for galley duty on boats and mess duty at camp. I get a kick out of feeding ravenous hikers and deck crews coming off a long watch. If the sea does a roller coaster or a hurricane threatens to tear the canvas from its poles my humour improves with the challenge. Keeping the flames alive and the food in its pans is more fun than hauling in the sails or digging storm trenches. Mostly I get to cook on two-ring burners, and it’s amazing what can be accomplished as long as the gas flows. My friend Richard Stead gave me a frying pan. Why? Because he knew I would have to test-fry it and he’d get fed in the process and that’s what I did this morning, in fact I was so taken with the pan’s design I bought another. I turned out a magnificent hot, breakfast in double-quick time. With one round pan I would have had to put items in a queue for space and that would mean some parts of the meal getting cold. These pans are deep-sided, and rectangular!

In the back of Richard’s bongo they fit easily side by side and made best use of the space on the cooker. But best of all they’re made of thick material with a heavy-duty coating of non-stick and the heat conducted evenly and effectively. I cooked 2,suauages, four rashers of bacon and four rounds of black pudding in one pan and in the other: two field mushrooms, two hash-browns and two eggs. I confess to heating some baked beans in a trice after plating up and emptying both pans, not that I couldn’t have found space beforehand but it would have messed things up. The ‘Boatie Frypan’ is a must and I find myself saying “Why didn’t anyone think of this before?” Don’t you just love messin’ about in boats?

Bon appetit from Terry Steel, a fry-baby and I don’t care who knows.

You can obtain Boaties Fry Pans online from

http://www.boatiesfrypan.com

As we all know, Bongos are very versatile vehicles. But no-one could have envisaged this! Sent in by the Jewell family.

“We thought it about time that we share our Bongo story and wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience.

When our first son was born the Bongo provided an excellent form of transport to the hospital, with plenty of space in which to get comfortable whilst in the throes of labour. Harry was born many hours later under the expert help and guidance of the midwives at The Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton.

Three years later, baby boy number 2 decided he was coming in to the world a week early and so, whilst mummy did what she had to do, daddy made sure the Bongo was duly prepped and ready to go at a minutes’ notice. At approximately 04.45 on the 10th December 2008 the Bongo was put into action once again, this time en route to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester as we had decided it was marginally closer to our new home than Southampton. The journey would normally take about half an hour, but with it being early morning, and dad on a mission, we got there in a record 20 minutes. However…. the baby only took 15!

Dad parked up outside the maternity unit, transferred to foot and beat a more conventional labouring couple to the door buzzer to announce our arrival in the car park. Or should that be ‘Sam’s arrival’, as by the time they slid open the door, there was mum already holding the baby!

By far the lengthiest part of the experience was waiting for the hospital staff to complete the paperwork so that we could go home. However, we have kept their notes stating ‘born in transit’ as a fond reminder of the occasion, but personally think ‘born in Bongo’ has a better ring to it!

The Bongo is now affectionately known as Bertha, and her sentimental value will always outprice her retail value … (even though she’s actually a Ford Freda!).

Regards

The Jewell Family”

Is it Time to bin the Bongo?

The old adage has it that it is only after you have lost something that you truly realise just how good it was. No matter what you have or enjoy it is all too easy to take it for granted. Simon Turton found this out when he started looking at the alternatives available……(continues below)

When we brought our Bongo, about 5 years ago, we were delighted with it and have since found it to be the perfect family and towing vehicle. In the years that we have had our Bongo, which our boys (4 and 6) absolutely love, it has been a load carrier, people carrier, holiday holdall and just a fantastically versatile vehicle that we both find a dream to drive.

The lively 2.5 turbo-charged diesel engine packs a punch and it will cruise all day at 70+mph. It’s also quite good when you’re not towing!

At the start of the year we did start to think about considering alternatives to the Bongo. As we have the 2WD version it wasn’t that good in the snow earlier this year and so we started to think that we should be looking at a 4WD vehicle. Of course there’s the 4WD Bongo option, but we’ll get there later.

As we also have a caravan we started to make the case, as you do when you’re looking to justify a purchase, that we needed to change the Bongo.

After several months of on-and-off discussions about new cars, I drew up a short-list of 4x4s, including the Mitsubishi Shogun, the Toyota Landcruiser and a handful of 4WD pick-ups. With a budget of around £6,000 plus our Bongo trade-in we were looking at 2003-2004 models and off we headed to the dealerships.

The first thing that happens when you go to dealerships is that you forget the budget you started out with. As most dealerships don’t stock cars older than 4 years, we were faced with an array of “57” plated Nissan Navaras at around £13,000. Whilst we were at the joint Nissan and Volvo dealership in Sheffield we had a good look around several pick-ups. Whilst there was plenty of room in the front for me and my wife, the rear seats were very upright with minimal legroom. In the Bongo the rear seats easily recline when our two young boys nod off; in the pick-up this just wasn’t going to be possible.

The salesman was very open and honest, and explained that the suspension on pick-ups, which are designed as work vehicles, is very hard when unloaded and wouldn’t give a very smooth ride when the family were on board, although they would tow well.

We very quickly decided that pick-ups, no matter what make, were off the list. Before we left the dealership we headed over to the Volvo area and went straight to the Jeremy Clarkson-approved XC90s on display. The only one in our suddenly-increased price bracket was a “55” model, priced at £13,000, and we gave it the once-over. Stylish and very trendy, the XC90s seemed to be well built and finished to high standards; with permanent 4-wheel-drive they are no doubt very good tow vehicles. Again, the biggest problem was the upright rear seats that would provide no comfort for our boys for those long holiday journeys or indeed any journeys when they fall asleep.

The other problem was that the boot area in the XC90, whilst it is fairly generous the two fold-down seats (the XC90 is a 7-seater) do eat into the space. I certainly could not get my mountainbike in without removing any wheels. In the Bongo’s cavernous boot I can get my bike in as well as my boys’ bikes with no trouble; no fussing around with bike racks or other contraptions. Open the boot, load, close, drive off. In fact in the years that we have had the Bongo we have also never yet been beaten by the size of anything that any furniture store can throw at us. Whilst lesser MPVs, SUVs and estate cars struggle with flat-packed nightmares the Bongo was packed and gone before you can say: “Did we really need another bookcase?”.

Back on the forecourt and we were fast coming to the conclusion that no matter how good the XC90 was the Bongo was still better for our needs; the interior of the unconverted Bongo offers ultimate flexibility that we couldn’t match in anything much, much newer, nor apparently much bigger. Range Rovers and other large luxury 4x4s are physically huge, but not as big as you would imagine on the inside.

The other real bonus of the Bongo is its sliding rear doors that are a godsend when you have children. You can get them in and out in the tightest parking space with no worry about scratching the car you’re parked next to. The high driving position (higher than a Range Rover out of interest) gives excellent visibility, is extremely comfortable and is a dream to park.

If you own a Bongo and you’re reading this you’re probably thinking that you know how good they are because you’ve got one. If you’re thinking about buying a Bongo then you won’t be disappointed.

So, fellow Bongonauts, take stock when you next glide the rear seats forward to enlarge the boot space and think how lucky you are when you fold the rear seats almost flat when your kids (or parents) have fallen asleep or how having window blinds is something that you would really not want to be without. And don’t forget that you can have great fun at the traffic lights, when you’re alone in the vehicle, as you leave the other cars standing with the drivers all wondering how you managed to beat them away.

We’re very lucky that we had our epiphany, of realising what we had, before we binned the Bongo.

Simon Turton
Reinvigorated Bongonaut

Graham & Rosie Sugdon didn’t really get a comfortable nights sleep on their rock’n’roll bed, so they made some further investigations. This is their story.

We have been sleeping OK but not really well in the Bongo, we both agreed that we slept better in the tent on an air bed. So we decided to look at air beds to fit a Bongo.

The approximate width in the Bongo is around 1 metre and after much searching we found that you needed to look for a ” Full sized ” single air bed, ( most are 75cm not 100cm). The only one we found was a ” GELERT ” Air bed £16.98 at Amazon.

We put this in a “single” Black and Grey Quilt from Asda £8, with a “Double” Quilt in a Black and Grey cover from Asda £10, and with a single memory foam from pound stretchers £10, and with another “single” Black and Grey Quilt cover over the memory foam.

We now have a colour coded bed and Quilts and we are warmer and more comfortable. It takes about 30 seconds to inflate.

In the Morning we tidy the bed up, deflate the air bed, and we then roll everything together to the rear of the Bongo , pull up the seat back, and the bed is put away! Quick and tidy.

Next time we need it , we drop the seats roll out the bed and blow it up. We don’t take the 2 rear foams with us any more so we have more storage spage behind the back seats ,and we put the main foams either in the roof or on the dashboard or in the awning at night ( you could use them for a mattress to sleep in the roof).

It was all Kath Williams’ fault. It was her idea to post a message on the website to see who would brave the elements and converge on the Llangors Lake site in the beautiful Brecon Beacons early in July. In the end, 7 Bongos were in attendance, despite the poor weather.

Friday evening was spent innocently enough, lazing around in the late afternoon sunshine, drinking wine, and inspecting each other’s awnings.

The first hint that things were not quite what it seemed was when, at 9.45pm, Kath innocently asked where she could get something to eat. After much chortling (“Yeah right, I’m sure if your ring Dominos Pizza in Newport they’ll send a bloke out on a moped” etc), Tim Preece kindly agreed to drive to Brecon to get a take away. The rest of us disappeared to the rather lively Campsite Club bar.

Most of us got out alive shortly after midnight, and, after a swift top-up under the Bongomaster’s awning, it was time for bo-bos.

The next morning started slowly. Very slowly in fact. David Lapworth made a day trip from Neath to see all the Bongos in a field, but it was gone lunchtime by the time we all felt together enough to take on some collective exercise. By this time we had also been joined by Gary & Delyn Price who had made their way all the way up the road from Ebbw Vale. The Bongomaster, armed with his OS map, assured everyone that he had sorted out a 2 mile “quick jaunt” over the fields to the Black Cock Inn, and off everyone trekked. 3 hours later, we were there.

Glares at the team leader produced mumbled responses along the lines of “It’s the local authority’s fault for not sign-posting the route”, “this map must be a bit old”, and “nothing like this has ever happened to me before”. This last excuse led to sharp intakes of breath from those who had gone to the Stourport Bash where a similar thing had indeed happened before.

A plot was hatched.

Mark phoned up some mates of his with instructions to “take out the Bongomaster”.

It was early evening, and Martin Parry was just getting his awning erected for the very first time.

A light rain began to fall. Suddenly, from the neighbouring field, a crack SWAT team emerged, firing at the Bongomaster’s Ford Freda.

There was a deathly hush. Then the awful realisation that the Bongomaster had, in fact, disappeared to the clubhouse again, and so had missed his “appointment with destiny”.

The Lewis family (below) did not let it get them down. “Never mind, we can always get him at Hastings” they said.

So, to end an action packed weekend, everyone went back to the clubhouse to enjoy the camarardrie and witty banter that Bongo owners everywhere always bring to the table.

Until next time, parp! parp!

Craig Grady reports: Half term was coming up, we were looking for something to amuse the kids and so we decided to visit Balamory. For those who have no idea Balamory is a kids’ TV programme based in a fictional town on a Scottish island. It is actually set in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. It would have been called Tobermory but for the Womble of the same name; they thought it might confuse the older watchers of children’s television.

We left East Yorks on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon and drove up to stay with a friend just outside Carlisle. We thought this would be a good breaking point for an 8hr journey with two small children. (We spotted a campsite at Tebay services beside the M6, for people wishing an overnight stop on route). The Tuesday morning we set off for Scotland, the weather in Carlisle was superb and less than 30 mins later we crossed the border into Scotland, the land of four seasons in a day. The torrential rain at the border was short lived and followed by murky grey skies until we passed Glasgow. We stopped for a coffee and a stretch at Luss just off the A82 on the banks of Loch Lomond. This is a lovely spot with plenty of picnic seating, toilets, burger bar and shop selling superb Scotch pies. After this we had to press on for Oban and our Ferry. We left Carlisle at 8:30 and arrived at Oban at 1:30 with an hours break at Luss. If you are considering going to Mull, then I would advise you to check/fill up with fuel in Oban.

We travelled down the east side of the island along single track windy roads with extreme slopes and stunning views, the Bongo handled these superbly, although I felt the need to select low gear and hold to get up the very steep half mile climb out of Tobermory. About 5 miles west of Salen on the B8073 we found a small camping area at the side of the estuary, it had no facilities although toilets were available as was water at a local saw mill 200yds away. It was however incredibly tranquil and beautiful and remarkably cheap at £5 per night and you could have a campfire, this added to the sea breeze should help keep the midges at bay. We actually stopped at the big site at Craignure on the last night, the facilities are superb but I felt it was very expensive at over £20 per night. The sea breeze helped with the midges here although as soon as it calmed they were back. There are two other campsite that I was made aware one was at Fishnish and was a nice looking site with good facilities. The other, which was a verbal recommendation was at Fionnphort in the far south of the Island and was on the waters edge with tremendous views although no electric hook ups. The family who recommended this were from Hampshire and had loved this site.

On the way back we had a couple of nights at the Keilder forest campsite, which was located and equipped wonderfully and had lots to do all around it although the midges were still a bit of a nuisance.

The bongo covered over a thousand miles in a week and as is usual performed faultlessly and returned over 30mpg. If anyone was considering going to Mull, I would give the following recommendations.
1) don’t go between May and September unless you are immune to midge bites.(they really are THAT BAD)
2) Allow plenty of time for journeys on Mull, as all the roads except about 17 miles are single track with passing places.
3) If possible book one night at a time so you are free to explore the island.
4) Visit Aros park just outside Tobermory as it is a fantastic place to spend a day.(some campers appeared to be camping here but I don’t know if gates or toilets are locked.
5) Pre book ferry crossings as some are always full and while your tickets is valid for any ferry you will only be put on after those who have reserved a space. There is no charge for reserving a space.

Overall it was a great Bongo trip and I will visit again (probably at Easter) and will allow more time so I can spend some time in Oban as it looks really nice as well. I was also pleasantly surprised to see a blue Bongo heading towards Mull as I headed home (looks aghast).

The Grady Family

Hooray for Allan!

Ian Harley had a problem with his Bongo, so he went to get an expert opinion from Allan’s Vehicle Services. Not only was his problem solved, but he got to meet “the team” (pictured above). See below for his tale.

Is my Bongo really making that funny noise…?

When it comes to trying to identify and find the source of a strange or unusual problem with you beloved ‘mini-home on wheels’, you can often be at a bit of a loss.

Although they are becoming a fairly common sight here in the SW of England, finding a true expert locally to sort out the trouble can be a bit problematical, as many ‘mainstream’ garages can be a bit reluctant to get involved. I can’t think why, as they are relatively simple to work on for most things and like all Japanese motors especially Mazda’s they are pretty well bullet proof and reliable to the ‘N’th degree.

However a quick browse of the website found my answer, Allan at Allan’s Vehicle Services at Wixenford.

Allan is one of the most amazing people you could wish to meet. Not only is he a mechanical genius when it comes to the Bongo, he is willing to drop what he is doing to help a customer at a moments notice.

Good old-fashioned craftsmanship, and attention to the customer are what set him apart from many others. I can’t thank him enough for his help.

It must be said that other must think so too, it appears he has poorly Bongo’s coming from all over the South of England to get the magic touch.

And my ‘funny’ noise…

Initial suggestions from local garages suggested the front CV joints had gone and ‘ok we may be able to do it if we can get the parts… can you get a mortgage!’

Allan’s verdict…
‘ Give me moment and I’ll come for a test run with you…
Hmmm… not right that, but it feels like the oil levels are either low or not circulating in the rear limited slip diff.’

And it was! A quick oil top up to the LSD and transfer box and ‘Thunderbird 2’ is back in action better then ever.

And the cost? Well let’s just say that I don’t know how he makes a profit if his rates are that low.

Thank you Allan. Keep up the great work. And it was really nice to meet “the team”!

Ian Harley
Very happy Bongo owner.

The Bongomaster writes: Allan knows so much about Bongos he can even keep his on the road despite the fact he reversed in to a low railway bridge!

Here’s a postscript from Francis Hallam:

Down Devon lanes in search of a legend…. And finding one in Allan Bugg

You know you’re onto something when a place is really hard to find. And when the person you get to says he wishes he had found somewhere more out-of-the way, you’ve hit gold dust. Allan Bugg is, frankly unique. Where others talk knowledge, he has it. Where others boast ‘customer service’ he lives it. The only problem is that he is so nice that he has to help absolutely everyone. Time becomes an elastic concept.

I got to his place at 8am as arranged. He was just doing a job on a Bongo which I had seen take an hour to do in another garage. He took ten minutes! Time for me. No! A lady arrived with an exhaust that needed replacing and after a lot of moving of vehicles, the job was done….with a brief interruption to help a gentleman out with his wheel sizes….Two hours later…

I had been informed by three garages that my problem was related to my brakes. Not with Allan it wasn’t. Eventually I got priority from marauders when he told me to block the entrance so no-one else could get in. 50 metres down the road for a test run and ‘Aha! I’ve heard that sound before. It’s the UJ bearing going on the propshaft.’
As we’re talking about this, and Allan can talk for England, he’s pointing out all sorts of other things about my vehicle that suggest he’s a clairvoyant or something.

Did I resent the two hour wait? Did I hell! It is a privilege to see someone who is magnificent at what he does and doing it with love and passion and none of the c**p of our century. I’d queue for days for that…..

Oh, and by the way, he didn’t charge me, ‘Later, when we get the work done….’

David’s Adaptions

Vehicle supplied and built by AVA Leisure.

David Brown had an accident 20 years ago. In this fact sheet he talks us through the adaptions he has had made to his Bongo.

Ian Taylor UK Ltd: Quality Cars, Competitively Priced

I think it would be best if I gave you a little bit of my background so you get an idea of the adaptions that were required on my vehicle. When I was 37 I slipped on the ice, put my hand out to cushion the impact, and broke my elbow. Within 6 months I started to have problems with my hands and figures, such as not being able to let go of pens, and not being able to release my grip from the steering wheel. The problem progressed to my wrists, elbows and then my shoulders. This was accompanied by pain and restricted movement.

Eventually I had a problem with my neck with the top two joints fusing. All this gives me a problem with reach, moving my legs in confined spaces (despite replacement knees) and restricted turning of my head. After lots of tests, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which is where the immune system fights the body, usually at the joints.

I am now 58, and now use a wheelchair. This allows me to travel and be in a condition to enjoy the place upon arrival. I do not need to use the wheelchair constantly. It is a tool to use as necessary.

I have had some items fitted on my Bongo to make life easier. I would like to personally thanks Vaughan England at AVA Leisure for making these adaptions for me and guiding me through the process.

A leisure battery to run the coolbox from the rear 12v socket
I cannot reach the cab lights, so have had a light fitted on the roof between the front seats, with a switch on the dash
Extra lights fitted each side of the roof just inside the tailgate, with switches set at a level I can reach.
I can not reach to clean the windscreen so have had a Webasto hotshot fitted, which sprays hot water from the jets.
I have had a blindspot mirror fitted on top of the driver’s mirror housing.
The alarm interior sensors can be switched off so that it is not activated by my assistance dog whn staying in the vehicle.
Apart from these, I have had some further physical adaptions made to the Bongo. As I have a problem with grip and reach, I have had a peg spinner fitted to the left of the steering wheel and a small ball steering wheel fitted on the right hand side. Both are quick release so that Barbara can drive the vehicle without any problems.

As I have a problem with my leg joints I have had a left foot accelerator fitted. This folds down.

In the rear we have had the rear bench seat removed for wheelchair access. Securing tracks have been fitted both to front and rear. When the wheelchair is loaded, it can be secured with special webbing clamps. When I am too ill to get out of my chair, we have an inertia seatbelt system that also clamps into the tracks. To get the chair into the hehicle we have two extending ramps that slot into a securing bar that has been fitted to the floor at the rear and the side. the securing bar allows the ramps to be set at the width you need, and then to secure them in that position.

As am a registered disabled person/wheelchair user, and because the vehicle has been specially adapted before it was registered, it is exempt from the road fund licence, and it is eligible for VAT relief. So no VAT is paid on purchasing or servicing.

Further Information

Assistance dogs: www.caninepartners.co.uk
VAT relief on adapted vehicles: www.hmce.gov.uk
Forum for Mobility Centres: www.mobility-centres.org.uk
Disabled Drivers Motor Club: www.ddmc.org.uk
Disabled Drivers Association: www.dda.org.uk
Mobility Roadshows: www.mobilityroadshow.co.uk
AVA Leisure: www.mazdabongo.com