The older generation deprives the rest from any point of view

Here they are, place by place, occupying half of the camp: the camp. They are huge, they are white and they are numerous. Among the endless rows of white goods on the go, it seems claustrophobic. There is almost something military about it, as much as it is airtight. As if the Pensioners had secretly gathered here to prepare for an invasion (from Goodpool Court, I think).

There is little left of “car camping and tent” since I was little. There is still a small corner with tents, the so-called tractor field. There are often younger conservative progressives against their better judgment who celebrate the embarrassment of camping life, while all around them embrace the convenience of mobile luxury en masse. Judging by the appearance of the drivers and their cars, this is based on a significant pension. The campsites are so spacious that they can accommodate foldable electric bikes, gas barbecues, and full sets of garden furniture.

We are in this camp visiting friends who are traveling with an old Volkswagen. Technically also a mobile home, but in a different arrangement than that of the average mobile home owner who brags about “feeling free” during their holidays. The old Volkswagen is actually quite small and therefore a bit clumsy on the inside, and looks comfortable and nice on the outside. It started its life as a regular truck and was later converted. The current generation of mobile homes is just the opposite: new, big, and designed from the inside out. Inside you want as many square meters as possible, so you put an angular white container on the back of the truck body. Have a lot of space in the cart, but from the outside it is as comfortable as a test room for fluorescent tubes.

But of course it is like the problem of ugly houses, the resident himself does not see the ugliness, but the locals have to look at it. And if there were only a few campers per campsite, it would still be possible, but there weren’t any more. The RV plague has turned the average camp site into a social metaphor: With their generous retirement, the older generation obscures the rest of any view. While you might say it’s not necessarily fun for the average caravan to look at such a field of discontinued white goods.

So, dear mobile home manufacturers: Design mobile homes for the people who have to look at them. Dear mobile home owners: Buy a nicer and smaller mobile home (does this bubble bath really have to come with you?). Camping: Place the campers in a separate area, behind a very high fence. At least not exactly between the beautiful view and the people in the Jars Square.

Jasper van Kuijk on Twitter: Tweet embed