Fergus had been in the family most of my life. He had been acquired by my Dad early in the 70s from SMT Motors in Glasgow. I remember going on holidays with Mum, Dad and my wee sister up to places like Mallaig and Oban. It lay forlorn for many years until in my early twenties I made some effort to get it roadworthy again. I would use it for hillwalking breaks to the Fort William area and Glencoe. It was great. Time passed however, and the van began to need attention. Unfortunately, I had not the inclination and it was only after inheriting the van on my Father's death that I made a real attempt to restore it to its former glory.
Around that time my football club - Celtic - had been taken over by a wee man wi a bunnet called Fergus McCann. One of my Rangers' supporting friends came up with the soubriquet 'Fergus Ma Van' and the name stuck.
Fergus was soon on the road and my friends and I enjoyed many breaks around Lochgilphead in Argyllshire and .... even a trip over to Ireland!!! It may not have looked great but it was a runner.
This link will take you to an old webpage trying to capture those times. It is a pretty poor webpage and hasn't been updated for some time. Click here
My own health was to take a blow when I had a heart-attack and poor Fergus was left neglected in the yard slowly deteriorating once more.
With retirement came an opportunity however, to make a determined effort to get Fergus on the road once more. I turned to Sam at PFP Coachworks in Newtongrange near Edinburgh. He agreed to take on the huge task and after many months of laborious work Fergus was looking brand new. (So he should have, as a small fortune had been spent on him!!!!!). The financial well was dry and though the interior could have done with more attention it was going to have to wait.
Circumstances had by this time changed and, with the buying of a property in France, a new adventure was to open up for me and Fergus but that is for the next blog.
In the meantime, here is a movie illustrating the 'before' stage in Fergus' restoration. Click here
Clicking here will access the photie gallery of the stages during the aforementioned restoration. When the new window opens click on the Slideshow tab to take you through the visual story.
The next blog, as has been mentioned, will continue the story.
