Van insures Madonna has good time

It's not often white van man can brag about who he had in the back, and, if he said Madonna, you'd accuse him of it more likely being contraband, but this may not be the case..

Being a fan of Madonna, which, like us all here at vancover.co.uk, I know most of you are; and being glued to MTV when her most recent vid's appeared, I'm sure you're asking the very same questions I find myself asking. No, not "Just how did she managed to pour herself into that dodgy leotard for the 'Hung Up' video?", or, "Just why are you shacked-up with wannabe-gangster-but-too-wuss-to-actually-be-ex-public-schoolboy-Ritchie? When you could be practising some of those, er, gymnastic moves on yours truly?" (A sentence in itself which would leave you breathless); No, rather "Where can I get a van that looks like that on the inside from darlin'?"

I had a mate once, (It's ok, I've had one more since) of no fixed abode. Top geezer, who actually didn't need a postcode as he had the coolest bedroom you could imagine. With a wheel in each corner of it. A ride which had been pimped good and proper way before that vicars-son cum headache-inducing Westwood ever got in on the act. We're talking something 50cent would sell his mother f*r. on the inside anyway.

Admittedly, the outside did strike a sombre resemblance to that of a 1988 ford escort van, complete with pram wheels and a pea-shooter, the sorry excuse for where the exhaust should have been - but the inside, man, it was something else.

Anyway, back to Madonna and her gyrations, or, as is my interest, the set for her latest video offering - 'Sorry' which sees our heroine stoically inventing a new craze. Van dancing. Whether or not it will catch on I don't know, but one things for sure - if you wish to take up the craze yourself, you'll need the help of one man in particular. Shaun Woodford is from Pontypridd, which for those unacquainted is found in Wales . If you overlook this minor setback like I did, then I can go on to tell you Shaun runs a customised car firm, and it was him who Madonna's people approached after she had the idea for the video shoot. £21,000 and one weeks hard labour later, what started life as a battered old white van, was transformed into a 70's discotheque. On wheels. Mr. Woodford and his staff at AB Styling Limited, worked around the clock to kit out the knackered load-carrier which itself had been around the clock. Twice. Recalling the time when the request came through for this 'unique' job, he initially thought someone was having a laugh. I'm not quite sure why when asked to kit it out with pink neon lights, lilac shag pile carpet, fake dark purple snakeskin wallpaper and a mirror disco ball, but the Welsh can be a little behind the times.

"We weren't sure what to think at first" added Mr. Woodford.

Perhaps secretly thinking it was some sort of present for Elton John.

"Everything we needed had to be ordered in and there were a couple of moments when I thought it were going to be touch and go" he went on. Taking me back to thoughts of Elton.

The team managed to finish the job on time though and delivered it in person to the set of the video; managing to outstay his welcome by a week. Although he didn't get to star in the video, he did get to drive the one-off van in some of the shots. Needless to say he didn't get to rub spandex with the Queen of Pop whilst loitering around the location of the shoot. Its not often you can admit to having a global superstar in the back of your van, and by all account he didn't. Suffice as to say she filmed part of her video in there. Which is more than my mate can boast. I don't think her on the meat counter at Kwik Save really impresses anyone tell you the truth.

If you want to be insured on your van, whatever the load you intend transporting, give us a bell here at vancover.co.uk, and we'll do our level best to offer you the cover you need. At a price you can afford. With immediate effect. You can't say fairer than that now..

Date - 21/09/2006