After taking off the running lights its time to remove the alluminium panel that surrounds the window frame. Go gently with this job because you do not want to puncture the skin here at all. All the fixings on the sides and bottom of this panel that surrounds the window are already out so it should just be a simple task to remove all the top ones and peel this panel away from the frame. Pff! Nothing is going to go easy in this job. I removed all the staples along the top of the panel and then started to break the mastic seal in the joint. Now that is hard work, I eased a pollyfilla knife along the seam popping twigs in at intervals to stop the mastic sticking to itself again.

After doing this all the way along (lets ignore the throbbing arm muscles 'cos thats just whinging") I gave my brother a shout again. We tried to ease the panel off, but something was still holding it. Again, gently does it as a tear in the aluminium is a bad thing!

A little investigation with the tip of a screwdriver among the mastic reveals some hidden nails - 5 in all - along the edge of the panel.

Now, I dont know how you go about getting these out with any degree of finesse at all. I managed to get one of them out without doing any damage, but the other four were having none of it. I eventuall resorted to using the tip of a screwdriver as a chisel to cut a little line left and right of the nail heads to allow the panel to slide free.

After this the panel slid out quite easily. What I see when I remove it sort of vindicates my decision to strip everything back to the frame. More rotten wood revealed.

Ok, it looks crap, and it is. However, at least I can do something about it now. Some of the wood is just very wet as opposed to rotten. Thats a plus! Some of it might be okay with the Ronseal wood hardener. Thats another plus. Some of it is just pulp that I need to replace but at least I can now. If I hadn't stripped this all off I wouldnt even know it was there. (I dont know if I am trying to justify it to you or to myself heh heh.)

Horrible weather starts to roll in and its cold and rain is starting. All that is left to do is cover the front and pop a fan heater into the caravan to help dry it out. Weather forecast shows that the North wind I have been shivering with is actually blowing the rain down to England and leaving Scotland dry and sunny for the next few days. Then I see the news and our Southern cousins as getting a pelting with wind rain and snow! At last I can get on with it now. I hope that tomorrow sees the end of stripping all the bad bits out and that I can start to rebuild. Watch this space!