How a humble pair of light-grey clogs became my unofficial uniform — at home and in Vanilla Some things earn a name. Not because marketing told them to, but because life quietly confirmed it. These light-grey Crocs Baya clogs are no longer “the Crocs.” They are The Grey Nomads — always ready, always by the door, always coming along for the ride. They don’t stay in one place. They migrate between kitchen, garden, drive, campervan, campsite and back again with the calm confide

An essay by John Nickolls I didn’t go to Scotland to prove anything. I didn’t go to chase a route, collect a badge, or compress the Highlands into a checklist. I went because I wanted time to stretch again — and because I suspected that if I let the road decide the pace, something useful might happen. I took Vanilla , my campervan, because a campervan changes the rules. It removes urgency. It collapses the distance between moving and living. When your bed, kettle, and shelter

🌄 Less faff. More van. Effortless calm, clipped into place. ⸻ ✨  The Essence QuickPop  is not flashy. It doesn’t beg for attention. It simply removes friction from your campervan life — and replaces it with ease. This is design that respects your time. ⸻ 🌍  The Old Way (We Loved It… Mostly) For decades, campervans have used long tie-down straps. They were loyal. They were strong. They were… a bit annoying . Too long. Too twisty. Too keen to flap in the breeze like a protest

The Action Camera That Finally Understands Real Life Some cameras chase adrenaline. Some chase specs. Some chase influencers. The DJI Action 4 does something rarer. It understands reality. Not perfect light. Not staged moments. But the way life actually unfolds — inside campervans, at dusk, in mixed lighting, during quiet mornings, long drives, late nights, and everything in between. This is not an action camera shouting for attention. It’s a camera quietly getting everythin

Vanilla’s Silent Co-Pilot Screen-free road awareness that pairs perfectly with Apple CarPlay ⸻ 🚐  INTRO: WHY TOM MAKES SENSE IN VANILLA Vanilla is not a cluttered van. It’s curated. Calm. Purposeful. Every bit of kit in the cab has to earn its place  — and that’s exactly where Tom by TomTom  shines. Tom isn’t a sat nav. It isn’t another screen. It doesn’t shout instructions or fight for attention. Instead, it sits quietly on the dash, doing one job extremely well: watching t

Fluffy crumb • Strong crust • Proper bread • Raisin-Function Ready –––––––––––––––––––––– 🍌 Ingredients (all grams + teaspoons, exactly as you like) • 350g strong white flour 🍞• 150g mashed ripe banana 🍌• 20g sugar ✨• 1 tsp salt 🧂• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional) 🌿• 1 tsp fast-acting yeast ⚡️• 25g vegetable oil 🛢️• 140ml warm water 💧• 70g chopped walnuts  🌰🔥 (add using the PN100’s raisin function) –––––––––––––––––––––– 🧠 Why this bread works Banana softens the crumb 🍌St

The Airversa AN6 Waterless Diffuser isn’t just a gadget. It’s a precision-engineered atmospheric delivery system. Tiny. Silent. Ridiculously efficient. It’s tuned like an acoustic instrument to deliver fragrance with scientific consistency. Instead of relying on water dilution, heat plates, or ultrasonic vibration bowls (which introduce moisture and weaken scent integrity), the AN6 uses cold-diffusion nebulising technology . This means it atomises pure essential oil into m

⚡🧡 JACKERY EXPLORER 1000 V2 THE ULTIMATE OFF-GRID POWERHOUSE FOR VANLIFE & DRONE ADVENTURES 🚐🌄🔋✨ If you’ve ever parked up somewhere beautiful — a beach, a clifftop, a forest, a festival field — you’ll know one universal truth: When you’re off-grid, power is everything . It keeps the lights glowing, the gadgets buzzing, the cameras rolling, the drones flying, the kettle boiling, and the evening entertainment… entertaining. And in my campervan, Vanilla, there’s one device t

🛞🔥 THE LEIGHTON LV-1 EXPERIENCE Why These Alloys Transform a VW Transporter – Looks, Load Ratings & Proper Tyre Pressures 🚐✨ Featuring the exact setup used on my van (20" LV-1 gloss black with staggered fitment). 🎨 THE LOOK: GLOSS-BLACK DOMINANCE There’s black… and then there’s Leighton LV-1 Gloss Black .These wheels don’t just “go” with a Transporter — they complete it. Bold split-Y spokes , a deep, predatory stance, and that shimmering wet-paint gloss finish that looks

🌅  Chapter 1: The Dawn of Cosmic Orange – The Unboxing Liturgy Unboxing an iPhone is never “just opening a box.” It’s a ritual — part...

📖🚐  The Highland Odyssey: NC500 + Skye 15–28 September 2025 🔥 One Man · One Van · Two Drones · A Legend 🔥 ⚙️  Pre-Launch Rituals —...

Month:  September 2025 Style:  Anti-clockwise (swift east coast, luxuriate on the west, Skye-ish finish) Mode:  Pure drone guide (no...

🌍 Prologue – Before the Bird (The Buffering Stone Age) Life in Vanilla has always been sweet. She’s a fortress of gadgets: Jackerys...

📓 THE RAY-BAN META WAYFARER OWNER’S EPIC Subtitle: From Hollywood Cool to Sci-Fi Tool — The Andrew John Nickolls Experience™ 🕶 Section...

Next - Code Black 🚀 INTRODUCTION: THE SCENT THAT CHANGED MY LIFE 🚀 Ladies, gents, and fragrance fiends, buckle up. Today, I’m about to...

🔥🎉🚀💥🍳🥓🍝  10,000-WORD SIZZLEFEST BLOG: JOHN + SIZZLETRON 2000 = CAMPERVAN LEGENDS!! 💥🚀🎉🔥 ⚡️ By John Nickolls, proud owner of...

🔥🔥🔥 THE FLAME LORD: 10,000 WORDS OF PURE CAMPFIRE LEGEND  🔥🔥🔥 (aka my Odoland 11000W Camping Gas Stove Burner — but please, call it...

Welcome, dear reader, to the ultimate love letter to my campervan heater — Vanilla Blaze ! 💥 This isn’t just a 1500W ceramic space...

Welcome, fellow road wanderers, festival dreamers, and lovers of next-level campervan life! Today, we’re stepping into Vanilla — but...