Baywood, one of several new folding chairs from Vango.

OK, OK, I’m teasing you, I know…  Yet again, I’m going to hold off on the big news at the forthcoming Motorhome and Caravan Show in Birmingham.

Well, there’s plenty of time, the doors don’t open until October 11…

Meanwhile, I’ve been getting early news of all kinds of exciting camping and caravan accessories from an equally wide range of manufacturers and suppliers.

It’s all been previewed with next season in mind, and you won’t necessarily see much of this in the shops yet, but at least you’ve been forewarned.

Putting up the bunting on my campervan Gene.

So, backtracking to the beginning of the summer: May and the Meadowlands Festival. This was the first festival of the year for the samba band I play in (Barulho) and also the first outing for the penguin suit. It was also my birthday weekend. Far more important than any of the above.

You might be asking why would a sane person, assuming I am, buy a penguin suit? Perhaps if anyone has an idea they could let me know…

Sprite Alpine 2 caravan 2012 model lends its looks from the new Swift and Eccles models.

The Sprite caravan brand is nearly 65 years old and in that time it has provided affordable caravanning holidays.

It’s had a turbulent history mixed in with some halcyon times when Sprites simply sold the world over.

The Swift Group who produce the Sprite nowadays have realised that the brand has a loyal following and a heritage as long as your arm.

The Sprite brand is being developed further and 2012 looks set to further its success.

I went a few days ago to see the first Sprite Alpine 2 caravan prototype being built (- yes the caravan was missing its rear end one-piece back panel).

So what is the Sprite like? Does it offer a stylish tourer that retains a “value for money” status?

For a web exclusive, why not check out my “first impressions review” of the new Sprite Alpine 2 caravan 2012 model which goes on sale from late October (and will be on show at the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the forthcoming  Birmingham NEC, 11th – 16th October). CLICK HERE

Young or old - everyone loves a VW campervan. This is the Celex from independent converter Bilbo's.

I was going to talk about next month’s Motorhome and Caravan Show at Birmingham’s NEC, but I’m happy to hold off on that until a future blog, so please bear with me. Suffice to say, I hope you can make it there ‘cos it has all the makings of being a cracking event, with ticket prices a lot less than last time around, too!

Instead, I’m going to talk campervans. Volkswagen-based campervans, to be precise.