When I got my hands on an old double-decker, I set about making my childhood dream come true. By Lindzi Hargrave, 38
As I opened my front door, I came face-to-face with a giant cardboard box, a pair of legs sticking out underneath it.
‘These are for the book bus!’ the box said.
‘Well, you’d better come in then,’ I laughed.
For years, I’d been saying that it was my dream to buy a double-decker bus and convert it into a library, and since then, friends had been calling round and dropping off boxes of books to help me make that come true.
In my mid-30s, I knew I didn’t want the traditional life of marriage and children. I wanted to do something different and, as an avid reader, I could think of nothing better than running a library in a bus.
And my plans were going full speed ahead.
I’d bought an old police recruitment bus on eBay and I was all set to move in.
‘But Lindzi,’ my friend with the box of books said now, ‘it’ll be freezing!’
It was the middle of January and the bus would have no electrics or heating.
‘I know,’ I said, ‘but if I can get through winter, I can get through anything.’
The following week as I lay in bed in my new bus home in a thick coat, blanket, hat and gloves, I looked up at the ice on the inside and thought, I need to get some renovations done.
I got to work the next day, starting by installing some solar panels and getting electricians in to wire everything up.
As the electrics took a while, I split my time between living in the bus and camping out at a friend’s house.
In time, I got myself a fridge and a fire with a chimney that went from the ground floor of the bus all the way up and out the top.
I painted the inside a deep purple colour and added patterned material and fairy lights to make it more inviting.
'But Lindzi, it'll be freezing!'
I started posting about my renovations on TikTok and it wasn’t long before I caught the attention of the organisers of a festival called Van Life.
‘We’d love to have you come and show your bus and do a talk at our festival in summer,’ they said.
‘I’ll be there!’ I replied.
But, despite months of renovations, by summer there was a snag.
I still needed to get my bus an MOT to get it on the road and there was a lot of paperwork.
‘I’m not going to have the bus sorted on time,’ I told my friend.
‘Doesn’t matter,’ she said. ‘We’ll just do the talk and camp there.’
At the festival, we were the only tent on the whole site!
But as I took to the stage for my talk, everyone was so lovely and supportive. They made me feel part of the van life community, despite not having my bus with me.
With Van Life inviting me back the next year, it gave me a strict deadline to get the bus on the road.
I finished my renovations and then it was time to install the bookshelves to build my library.
It was hard work but as I put in the last shelf and stood back to survey my work, I felt thrilled.
With the black bookshelves, the bright purple library ladder and some mini seats and sofas where people could sit and read, it was perfect.
I couldn’t wait for the day that people would use it for real.
I got my HGV driving licence and, finally, we
hit the road, heading from
my hometown
of Anstey, Leicestershire,
to the Van Life Festival.
The bus was a hit.
People flocked to board and, as I listened to their oohs and ahhs, I couldn’t help but smile.
It was named as one of the best conversions and I won a trophy!
A few weeks later, I went to another festival, Carry on Crafting, where the book bus officially opened to the public.
As I slung open the middle doors, customers walked in and scanned the shelves, picking up handfuls of things to read.
‘How much for these?’ a little girl asked.
‘They’re free!’ I said.
Her face was a picture.
It had always been my plan to give books away for free because I hated the thought of anyone being unable to afford the joy of reading.
And, since I opened the book bus to the public, I’ve given away over 300 books to happy customers.
Seeing people smile as they select their books fills me with joy and I hope to keep doing it for years to come.
● Follow Lindzi on Instagram @busdifferent