FROM crunching numbers to serving up a dollop of something cold and creamy with a fancy flake sticking in it, is all in a day’s work for Abergavenny’s Chris Copner, who is an accountant by day and one of Wales’s most loved ice cream men during the weekend.

In terms of career options, there is seemingly a world of difference between studying spreadsheets as an accountant and doing the rounds in a technicolor van filled with sweet treats.

It’s almost as diverse as Clark Kent’s role as an overworked and underpaid hack, and his more famous job of saving the world as Krypton’s most famous son - Superman.

Yet the line between the world of finance and the delivery of delicious dairy product is one Chris has been crossing with panache for the last seven years.

And it all began as a labour of love for the 28-year-old who was crowned one of the top four best ice cream men in the UK at an awards ceremony in Yorkshire earlier this year.

“I’ve being working in accounts and finance for over ten years and I love the job, but when the opportunity arose in 2007 to buy a vintage ice cream van and restore it to its former glory, I jumped at the chance,” explained Chris.

“It has always been a childhood dream of mine to own and drive one of these vehicles.”

Copner first became enchanted by the unmistakable melodic chimes of the ice cream van and its precious cargo of flavoured ice, towers of cones, and wonders of whipped cream, as a young lad growing up on the streets of the Mardy.

The arrival of one of these brightly coloured “sweet shops” on wheels is always a big event in most kid’s lives and Chris was no exception.

In fact he fell even deeper than most under the strange spell which an ice cream van can cast on a young mind and those blessed with a sweet tooth.

“I’ve always been fascinated by ice cream vans ever since I was a child, and it’s not something which has ever gone away.

“I loved their bright colours and decorative pictures and began collecting toy models of them from the age of five,” revealed Chris.

Following his purchase of the 1976 Ford Mk 1 Transit van nine years ago for £1,400, Chris spent a further two years restoring it to the pomp and prime of its heyday.

The ice cream van in question had an extra scoop of loaded significance because it was the same vehicle that used to visit his road when he was a child, and the one he used to patiently wait for every single day .

Chris told the Chronicle, “I knew it was the exact same van because it had the same number plate as the one featured in old photographs of me as a child. It looked OK but it needed a lot of work.”

After the van’s freezer was fixed, the rust removed, and the paintwork polished, the van was ready to take to the road and roll.

Which is exactly what it did in the summer of 2009.

Emblazoned with the legend of “C.J. Copner,” and “Old School Whippy,” the man and his pink and white van, loaded with Rocket lollies and other old school delights made a name for himself travelling the streets of the Abergavenny area.

Fast forward seven years, and C.J. Copner’s van is a well-known fixture in Abergavenny. In fact, he now owns a fleet of them, and you may have seen a few of them on TV, because Chris’s vehicles are often used for weddings, TV work, corporate events and street work.

They’ve made an appearance in shows such as Stella (Sky one), Campus (Channel 4), Being Human (BBC ), and Dirk Gently (BBC), to name but a few.

They’ve also made regular national magazine appearances in Great British Food, and photo shoots for the likes of Ford Motor group.

Yet Chris is keen to point out that the fame and prestige take a back-seat compared to being on the frontline as an ice-cream man and doing the rounds of Abergavenny.

“It’s not just a break from the office, it’s a great way to get out on my own, drive around and meet people,” said Copner.

Although Chris, who is also Treasurer for the Abergavenny and District Round Table, admits that being an ice cream man is far harder than it was in days gone by, the man who has become one of the UK’s most recognized specialists in ice cream van history, still regards it as a Great British tradition that needs to be kept alive.

As such, after a hard week at the office, he’s out every weekend and Bank Holiday until 7pm to make sure if someone wants an ice cream in the Abergavenny area, then by God they’ll get one.

Chris told the Chronicle, “Just 20 years ago there were 20,000 ice cream vans on the streets of the UK, now there’s just 5,000 remaining.”

The decline of the great British ice cream van could be laid in part at the feet of the supermarket’s almighty freezer and it’s endless value packs of Magnums and Cornettos, but as Chris points out, “There’s a lot of red tape you have to wade through as an ice cream man. It’s so difficult to get a pitch anywhere these days and a good location can make all the difference.

“I’ve had my own issues with the council about setting up in a more permanent and prominent location but that’s the way of things.”

One thing’s for sure, Chris will continue to ring the chimes and dish out the 99s in all weathers, because after all, who doesn’t feel a slight quickening of the pulse and tingle of anticipation when the man with the ice cream van comes a calling?

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