Vivienne Haldane discovers the sweetest vintage caravan you could ever imagine, which takes pride of place in Catherine and Rob Reeves’ front yard, near Cornwall Park in Hastings.
Surrounded by clusters of bright flowers and pink flamingos, Lucy, who is now retired from the road, looks as if she’s been there forever, but not so. The 1958 caravan has a name – Lucy – and she has quite a story to tell.
Love at first sight
Catherine spotted the partially restored caravan on Trade Me eight years ago and just had to have it. Since it was located in Nelson, there was no chance for viewing, so she impulsively clicked the ‘Buy Now’ button and hoped she wasn’t making a terrible mistake.
The moment the blue caravan arrived one misty winter morning, her fears dissolved. “When I saw her, the name Lucy immediately popped into my head,” says Catherine.
Catherine and Rob decided from the outset that rather than making their caravan roadworthy, Lucy would instead enjoy a gentle retirement in her twilight years. “She’s a bit fragile, so no travels
now for Lucy,” says Catherine.
Stamp of distinction
While Lucy had been partially restored by the two previous owners, Catherine and Rob have added their own stamp. Catherine’s passion for all things vintage has spilled over into every millimetre of Lucy’s interior: from the Cath Kidston wallpaper to a host of nostalgic collectables. Catherine sourced the wallpaper (“who wallpapers a caravan?” she laughs) and other Cath Kidston merchandise online: fabric for the curtains, cushions and decorative bunting. She’s a whizz at sewing, so the task was a pleasure for her.
“We introduced pops of red here and there to liven up the accessories; it’s a bit playful, I think.”
It was Lucy’s shabby chic appearance that first caught Catherine’s eye. “She was in good condition -the blue colour scheme she came with, we’ve kept throughout – but there were things we wanted to enhance as well. Rob does ongoing repair work inside and out to keep Lucy up to scratch; cupboards and drawers provide ample storage; she’s all legally wired up so can be heated in winter. There is a tiny fridge as well.”
Rob, who is an aged care nurse, shares his wife’s retro passion. Catherine met Rob when she was 18, and they’ve been avid collectors of bric-a-brac ever since. Catherine says one of the first things she bought when she left school was a potty painted with flowers and an old treadle sewing machine. She loves to fossick in op shops to see if she can find any new treasures to add to her collection.
Often Catherine and Rob will gather up their 1960s Duraware picnic set, make a picnic lunch and head off to wherever takes their fancy, usually somewhere out in the Hawke’s Bay countryside. Once there, they’ll set up a little picnic table with all the trimmings – table cloth, a thermos of tea and something yummy to eat; settle back and enjoy the scenery. Catherine enjoys taking photos of their trips – “it’s always an adventure – we never know what we’ll find.”
She adds, “We like to carry the same feeling of nostalgia with us; we can’t take Lucy with us, so instead, we transport her essence wherever we go. I call it our sunshine vintage life. She is such an important part of our lives now.”
Restoration retreat
Lucy has become Catherine and Rob’s favourite retreat. “We often relax in here with a glass of cider or a cup of tea and listen to music,” says Catherine. Sometimes she uses it as a workspace for a current project, such as sorting seeds once flowering is over. Both are keen gardeners, and their rambly, cottage-style garden always has something of interest in bloom.
They encourage others to come and enjoy the space too. “Through the local grapevine, we decided to offer Lucy as a sweet nostalgic place where people could have time out if life was getting a bit much for them or celebrate a special occasion.” And Rob has made sure everyone stays safe – Lucy has a QR code to make sure contact tracing can be adhered to.
Catherine enjoys matching pieces from her collection of fine china to suit each particular visitor; vases of freshly picked flowers complete the picture. She offers tea, and visitors bring their choice of food. “Since owning Lucy, we’ve met all kinds of people. No matter what their reason is for coming, they all seem to enjoy the occasion. It feels like a caring thing to do.”
Come the festive season, Catherine will be sprinkling her magical fairy dust around Lucy, with handcrafted decorations, flowers gathered from her garden or foraged from near and far. She’ll also whip up a mini banquet of delicious treats. “It’s not the usual Christmas eve in our house – we’ll be eating strawberry, yoghurt cheesecake and gathering linden flowers from trees nearby to make cordial with later. Rob will probably be looking after the elderly who can’t care for themselves. It’s the simple things that hold meaning for us, Christmas or not.”
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