A Welsh pensioner has shared how lives on just €28 a week after living in his converted lorry for 30 years.
Mike Leaver, 70, spends his days writing novels from his converted lorry that has been parked in the exact spot it broke down for 20 years.
Before settling down 20 years ago, he spent 10 years travelling.
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Mike’s current lifestyle means he doesn't have electricity, mains water or central heating.
The former handyman spends £25 (€28) a week and mostly spends it washing clothes.
Mike bought a lorry and converted to a point where it now has a kitchen, bed-sitting room, and even a roof garden.
Mike, told North Wales Live : "I like Porthmadog so much, mainly because it is a lovely, friendly town and community, with easy access to walking and climbing in magnificent Snowdonia – but also the stunning coastline and sea on my doorstep. It has a lively mix of local Welsh, resident English, and visitors from overseas, as well as a short but fascinating history of industrial heritage.
"And the Welsh language is still strong here which adds much to the area's distinctive culture."
Mike grew up among bomb sites in post-war Birmingham before going to boarding school, which he described as a "dumping ground" for weaklings.
The school's cruelty forced his mum to move him down to a Somerset carevan before being moved over to a comprehensive school's "delicate" unit, where he finished his studies.
When Mike left school he converted part of an industrial warehouse into a flat, then lived on a houseboat before moving into an office where he slept and ate.
During Mike's life, he's worked a wide range of jobs, from a laboratory technician to a corporate events coordinator, and he even spent time as a captain for a pleasure boat company before owning his own company for a time as a motorcycle dealer.
Sadly, his company failed, but he took advantage of the Government's Unemployment Re-Training Scheme to set himself up as a writer, something he had long wished to do.
Mike originally came to Porthmadog having discovered the charms of neighbouring Tremadog 20 years earlier on a walking and mountaineering holiday.
He said: "As a committed vegetarian and recycler – who has never owned a television or been tempted to consumerism - I keep my living expenses extremely low. For example, I burn scrap wood, heat my shower water on gas rings, and eat cauliflower leaves with gravy.
"I hope to persuade others to pursue this path to happiness, especially in these harsh economic, social, and environmental times.”
Now focusing on his writing from his van, Mike's books explore dozens of powerful themes, such as those of power, perversion and coercion versus loyalty, friendliness and collaboration, alongside relationships, homelessness and unrequited love, all matters he has dealt with personally through his life.
Coming out on May 28, his third fiction novel, Newspaper Curtains, follows two teenage girls from opposite sides of the tracks in 1960s Midlands England who are forced into prostitution.
When writing, Mike imagines a friendly reader sitting in an armchair, laughing – and occasionally crying – while he tries to give them advice on how to start their own life of happiness.
His top tip is to get rid of your television and learn, instead, to play board games such as Scrabble with family or friends.
But for Mike, he hopes that in 10 years time, he'll still be able and healthy enough to live in his truck.
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