September | 2025 | Gray Summers

ILLUSTRATION HERE IS BY JONATHAN GROSS. THE FRONT COVER FOR HIS FATHER’S BOOK OF POETRY, ‘OFF ROAD TO EVERYWHERE’. BILLIE CLOUD 9 WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS ARTWORK. HE TOOK PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE INTERIOR.

HERE? A SMALL INSIGHT INTO HOW THE VEEDUB FEELS. AS THE PREVIOUS BLOGS HAVE BEEN GIVING THE STORY OF FUTURE RECORDING MY SONGS IN THIS GREEN SANCTUARY ON WHEELS, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE INTERNAL BUS VIBE.

A fair few photographs of my VeeDub Bus, now called Billie Cloud 9, have been taken since 2009. Certainly the stripping down, repairing all aspects from bodywork to engine and beyond to the aesthetics and the whole renovation process. A few of the developing interiors are captured in some photographs too. They are a visual imagery story.

**IF YOU’RE IN THE BACK SEAT……THIS IS YOUR VIEW.**

Luckily, I have saved all photographs over the years to an external hard drive, as they are too many to clog up an iPad file or mobile phone file. So. They are therefore, on a constant regime of exchange from one source to another more permanent source, they are kept safe. Unless I lose the external hard drive.

What has happened recently is that many of the renovation photographs, which were loaded onto a ‘Thread Page’ within my membership of the Volkswagen Type 2 Early Bay enthusiasts site, have been taken off. Photographs taken were uploaded in good faith by using companies allowing free use for upload capability. All that exists now is a box with a company cartoon logo saying ‘problem. visit site’. They evidently want you to pay a subscription now.

**THE NEW CARBURETTOR AND HOW THE VEEDUB ENGINE LOOKS. SITS IN THE BACK OF THE BUS. NOT THE FRONT LIKE A CAR, VAN, LORRY, ETC..**

Over months now, I keep getting emails from these companies saying that payment is now required if you wish to keep the photographs. I ignore them as I know I have them, as said, on a hard drive.

**VEEDUB BUSES ARE AIR-COOLED BY A FAN LOCATED INSIDE THE ENGINE BAY. THEY HAVE NO WATER FILLED RADIATOR SYREM.**

However, within my ‘Thread’ on the Early Bay members site, there are very many exchanges with other members regarding the process, shown through photographs, of how my VeeDub Bus looked through the whole renovation journey. Now that there are no photographs, it is therefore nonsensical. It makes a farce out of and mocks the conversational exchanges. Payment? I don’t mind usually. But over the years of membership on the Early Bay site I used two suggested upload companies. And I won’t be using them again, because they are only relevant to that one Thread. I would never use them on this site for example.

I OFTEN SEE, ON RETURNING TO THE BUS AFTER A WALK, PEOPLE WITH THEIR FACE PRESSED UP NEAR THE WINDSCREEN GLASS, LOOKING INSIDE. IT OFTEN STARTS A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE BUS AND WHAT IT IS LIKE TO OWN ONE.

I haven’t been on the Early Bay site for a few years because my VeeDub Bus was inactive. Now up and running again, it was nice to go back in and check out how past friends/members have been fairing with their VeeDubs. These friends and members are very much like our WordPress community. Very supportive. Also, as VeeDub owners themselves, have valuable knowledge to exchange and help you get answers to various issues and problems.

THERE’S ALWAYS A VIBE IN MY BUS WHERE THE MYSTICAL AND SPIRITUAL ARE AN INHERENT VITAL FACTOR. THE DREAM CATCHER, BOOKS TO READ, MUSIC OF A NEW AGE NATURE, THE SMELL OF COFFEE BUBBLING IN THE MOCHA POT AND THE AMAZING AROMAS OF ESSENTIAL OIL AND RESINS ARE BURNING.

I tried to upload a couple of new updated photographs onto the site yesterday, taken from my iPad photo library, to finalise the Thread’s story board. But they wouldn’t upload. Insert button just showed an empty space with a little blue ? in the middle. So will probably be the company refusing the photographs. I will have to look into alternatives later today. The site members are very good at giving pointers and advice. Hope the answer isn’t the need to use an external organisation option again.

LOVE JUTE/SISAL FLOORING. LOVE COMFORT REALLY. TO ESCAPE INTO THIS SANCTUARY. KEEPS ME SANE. WHY? I SIMPLY LOVE CLIMBING INTO THE VEEDUB CAB, KNOW THE GIFTS IT CAN GIVE AND SO I ALWAYS WHISPER ….. ‘THANK YOU’.

So, just to say, we are so lucky here on WP. I do pay an annual fee on here for more photograph allowance. And to get the adverts removed. And get a Google www. address too. But even the basic WP plan allows visual imagery to enhance our blogs.