I sometimes get people asking me what’s it like to be a White Van Man stuck in a green van?  Being a WVM is not just a simple title, it’s a state of mind, it transcends the colour of your van and your gender!  It’s arguably the best job in the world and here is why;

Local man with van

Close your eyes for a moment, and imagine an old van (long wheel base, high top with battle scars) and it is a hot sunny day, the windows are down and inside the van are three guys (or gals), they are cruising down the A38 with Guns and Roses (Sweet Child of Mine) playing.  They are swapping stories from the weekend whilst slurping hot coffee on their way to a hard day’s work.  Unless you have been there, you can’t really begin to understand the joy of being a WVM.

You don’t stop being A WVM when you don’t own a van anymore, it’s something that stays with you forever, it’s a sense of belonging and being part of a team.  Becoming a WVM is not easy, it requires years of early starts, lifting heavy weights, working long hours in all weathers, compromising with difficult customers and supporting your mates through bad times.  That said, when you get home you feel a warm buzzing sensation deep inside you, and this is the WVM feeling, it’s a feeling of I’ve worked hard, had fun and earnt some good coin, roll on tomorrow!

You will find that in every van there are the unwritten rules that everyone sticks to, for example, in my van we have three rules; absolutely no sexist jokes, no farting on Tuesdays, and no swearing out of the window.   There are different rules in different vans, but there is one overriding rule that applies to all vans, and that is what’s talked about in the van stays in the van!

WVM have a bad reputation of being a bit ill tempered, dirty and foul mouthed, but please don’t forget we are the backbone of the country, we put up the scaffolding, fix the fences, mend the pipes and much much more.  If you are lucky enough to live with a WVM, or have one coming to do a job, please remember they need loving – reach out to them, hug them and say thanks for everything.