With that thought in mind, I set about finding something smaller that I can rebuild into a self-contained outdoor disco set-up. By the way, this article might make more sense if I tell you I’m a bit of a petrol head! I get through a lot of cars. I like to buy them, do a bit of work, then inevitably I get bored and sell them on. Anyway, I digress. Back to how my thought process panned out.

In September 2020, my first thought was to buy a van and convert it, so I started looking at vans. This idea has already been done with VW campers and camper replicas. My next idea was to convert a trailer, which has some advantages over a vehicle, not least of which is not having to worry about getting it through an MOT every year. So I went to a retailer in East Sussex and looked at a square flatbed trailer. It was bigger than I first thought and it intimidated me a bit. I decided to go home and research smaller trailers.

I also considered getting a 4x4 vehicle with a removable canopy, so I could lift the canopy and then perform underneath it. My main concern was having enough room for a decent playout system. I even started looking at pickup trucks. Nissan Navaras look gorgeous, but more research showed that they’re prone to cracking straight down the middle. Also, it turned out that these must be partly made from gold, since even the pre-2010 trucks are still selling at over £5,000. If there is anything under £5k, then it’s either been beaten up in a drunken brawl, or has 500,000 miles on the clock and a slight oil leak.

What about a lorry? I thought. I could cut out the side and have a side-flap opening, then perform from a ready-made stage. Also, who knew second hand lorries were so cheap? Actually, why are they so cheap? And whilst this did seem like a unique idea, where exactly was I going to keep one?

If I attempted to keep a great big truck on my road, my neighbours wouldn’t be happy – parking is already stretched. I Googled whether you can keep a lorry on the street and apparently you can, but if the neighbours complain the council is likely to side with them. (Additionally, a Luton doesn’t make a great daily driver.)

So, I went back to where I started: trailers. This time I discovered ‘exhibition trailers’. These are almost exactly what I wanted, so I started shortlisting secondhand ones and researching the costs for new trailers, sticking to my £5k budget. And it started to look more promising. By the time we got to a very non DJ-friendly Christmas and New Year, I still hadn’t pulled the trigger on a trailer. I didn’t want to rush into it, but I figured I would need a month or so for fitting out. Plus I would need a new website and a lot of marketing to get things off the ground. So, I knew I needed to start making progress.

As we moved into February we were told about the four stages of easing lockdown restrictions and I now had a deadline – 23 April 2021. On Sunday 7 February I was browsing the usual secondhand suspects on eBay and Facebook Marketplace. I’d already messaged a couple of owners but I had yet to see anything close to what I wanted. I was going to have to make progress or just forget the whole idea.

By this time I had floated the idea to my close neighbours, as well as my friends, and they all agreed I had an awesome idea. I was re-energised. At around 1am, in a last-ditch attempt for inspiration, I just typed ‘exhibition trailers’ into Google and started clicking through images. It wasn’t Christmas, or Easter, and I hadn’t just lost a tooth, but lo and behold Google gifted me an image of the perfect trailer.

There she was, a pill-shaped red pod on a twin-axle trailer, complete with a side lifting door. As soon as I saw the image I deflated a little bit – there was no way it would be in my price range. I clicked on the link anyway and landed on a trailer selling page. The price advertised was £5400 plus VAT. A few more clicks and I finally landed on the page for the business that was actually selling the trailer. Same price, same product. I could not believe it. Of course, it looked like it needed work to make it what I wanted, but the ingredients were there, I just had to add water.

First thing on Monday morning I rang TCM Trailers in Birmingham. It still felt too good to be true. But nope, they had the trailer and the price listed was correct. I arranged to drive up the next day to see it.

When I got to the yard and saw the pod in person, I was taken back – it was huge, much bigger than in the pictures. A bit like a mini petrol tanker! I also had the sudden realisation that I’d never towed a trailer before, let alone one this big. I don’t mind admitting I was a bit scared. I was also excited. But mostly scared.

I chatted with the yard owner, who was either the world's greatest salesman or someone who happens to think a lot like I do. We got on like a house on fire and ended up exchanging life stories for two and half hours in his office! Then we agreed a price, shook hands and I paid a deposit, safe in the knowledge that the trailer would be delivered by the end of the week.

On the drive home my mind was buzzing with ideas for all the different ways I could make the pod amazing.