CARAVAN CAPERS with Julie Peasgood (Merrydale Maj)

Day One:

It’s a bright sunny morning and we're on the way to my chosen CL. I am feeling excited - but if I’m honest also a little apprehensive - about staying in a caravan for some of my Panto stint at the Grimsby Auditorium. Will my practical skills be up to the job? (With regard to the caravan rather than playing the Queen of Merrydale.) And as sleek and streamlined as it is, I cannot believe that the inordinate amount of stuff I have packed will even begin to fit in the Bailey Unicorn Cartagena. Claire at the CL has been very welcoming and helpful on the phone, and a lovely lady called Pam will be showing me the ropes. I am slightly worried about grey water (largely because I’m not quite sure what it is) and whether I'll be warm enough, but I am armed with three hot water bottles, thermal Jim jams, a seriously naff Onesie and a huge fleecy dressing gown - so as long as I can cope with bearing a marked resemblance to a Michelin man I reckon I'll be toasty. The loo may be a different issue however. True to my name, Julie Peasgood, I most certainly do (in fact I have a bladder the size of a peanut) so my main concern is how often I may have to empty the loo thingy - and will it be embarrassing at all?

I have only stayed in a caravan once before in my life. That was when I was thirteen and I went on holiday to Great Yarmouth with my best friend June and her family. I have always gravitated towards small, cosy spaces – they make me feel safe somehow - and I loved every moment of that holiday. Strangely enough, none of my family or friends (other than my sister, Lilian) share my current enthusiasm for this latest adventure. They have openly voiced the fact that they think I’m bonkers and keep reassuring me that I can always jump ship and stay with them for the duration of the job - or even just for a night if I'm craving a bath. I do prefer a bath to a shower, so I may well take up the latter, but I have every intention of making my caravan stay work. I’m not staying here for convenience, I’m hoping to discover some of the pleasure I remember from all those years ago.

It frustrates me that people are sometimes so ready to judge when they don’t have first-hand knowledge of what they’re dismissing. ‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it’ has always been one of my favourite sayings - and I’m very much hoping I won’t be knocking this experience at all…