Mini-report
Two years ago Random and I bought a trailer tent to make camping easy. It was a 1960's tent, and worked well. Then we put it away, and made plans to get it repaired and updated for the next meet-inna-field.
Two years later...
We'd done nothing to it...and went to the meet inna field. Where it promptly blew away, over, down and into several sharp scratchy pieces all over my car :(
mirrorworld offered the use of his two man tent, and the_ladylark also mentioned that she had a spare available. Thanks very much, both of you.
However, by chance the bag containing the gazebo turned out to contain the big 6-man tent that we had been given by korenwolf two years before. And which I had totally forgotten about. I was quite happy about that.
More luck! The bag I thought had the duvet in it actually had the HUGE gazebo! We had achieved reception area!
Um...wait! If the bag with the sleeping bags contained the gazebo, where is the sleeping bag? Ah, that'd be the one that is on the table in random's shed in Croydon...oops!
So, a not-so-quick trip into Hereford and Halfords acquired us two sleeping bags.
Friday Night was punctuated by a group of presumably new campers who had their car radio blaring, and then started loud and tuneless singing and shouting until...1:15am when *someone* went over and loudly explained that we would be grateful if they would be quiet. Which they were...ish, and grudgingly.
The weather was interestingly nothing and something...a bit warm, a bit wet, a bit cloudy, a bit sunny...
The noisy campers had the RAC out, as the radio had flattened the battery on their 4 year old Beemer. And thus had locked them out. And they'd broken the driver's door and smashed the glass trying to force the door...
Saturday night we invaded the pub for a barbecue, to discover that staff had failed to turn up. Naomi and I went and cornered Gid, and Jenny, and and and...basically we took over the running of the bar, the cellar (ably dealt with by Edmund) the kitchen, and Meg took over the barbecue. Music was supplied by a pair of pianists (Peter and me), and assorted guitarists and singers.
Sunday was quiet. I took Kaiser for a walk, as Roy was poorly, and all was going well until his lead broke, at which point he reailised he was nekkid! and ran home, with cars diving off the road. Clearly this was a Doberman on a mission...
Sunday lunchtime saw the return of the RAC man to replace the engine management unit in the Beemer that they'd blown up trying to jump the Beemer with unmarked jump leads...
Sunday night was *a bit of everything* night, with a buffet of *stuff*, more singing, and Barry behind the bar, serving me *mostly apples* and me eating a couple of plums. They must have been off, because I was quite ill on monday...
...wherein packing and such happened, many hugs were exchanged, people left, and once again I realised how fond I am of everyone who was there. My family.
Pics were taken, link in my previous post.
So much more happened, such as the bizarre bird of prey, which I will post as a seperate....post....later, when my head stops aching.
before I go, however, much huggage and thanks to artela and the_ladylark for all the work in organising the event, and without whom I would not have spent the long weekend living inside a giant nylon sock, sleeping on a 40 degree slope, in the cold and wet and dark, sharing a sleeping bag with wasps and slugs, eating badly cooked food and warm drinks whilst being blown over by gales....I can barely wait until the next one! :)
More as and when i remember it.
Two years later...
We'd done nothing to it...and went to the meet inna field. Where it promptly blew away, over, down and into several sharp scratchy pieces all over my car :(
mirrorworld offered the use of his two man tent, and the_ladylark also mentioned that she had a spare available. Thanks very much, both of you.
However, by chance the bag containing the gazebo turned out to contain the big 6-man tent that we had been given by korenwolf two years before. And which I had totally forgotten about. I was quite happy about that.
More luck! The bag I thought had the duvet in it actually had the HUGE gazebo! We had achieved reception area!
Um...wait! If the bag with the sleeping bags contained the gazebo, where is the sleeping bag? Ah, that'd be the one that is on the table in random's shed in Croydon...oops!
So, a not-so-quick trip into Hereford and Halfords acquired us two sleeping bags.
Friday Night was punctuated by a group of presumably new campers who had their car radio blaring, and then started loud and tuneless singing and shouting until...1:15am when *someone* went over and loudly explained that we would be grateful if they would be quiet. Which they were...ish, and grudgingly.
The weather was interestingly nothing and something...a bit warm, a bit wet, a bit cloudy, a bit sunny...
The noisy campers had the RAC out, as the radio had flattened the battery on their 4 year old Beemer. And thus had locked them out. And they'd broken the driver's door and smashed the glass trying to force the door...
Saturday night we invaded the pub for a barbecue, to discover that staff had failed to turn up. Naomi and I went and cornered Gid, and Jenny, and and and...basically we took over the running of the bar, the cellar (ably dealt with by Edmund) the kitchen, and Meg took over the barbecue. Music was supplied by a pair of pianists (Peter and me), and assorted guitarists and singers.
Sunday was quiet. I took Kaiser for a walk, as Roy was poorly, and all was going well until his lead broke, at which point he reailised he was nekkid! and ran home, with cars diving off the road. Clearly this was a Doberman on a mission...
Sunday lunchtime saw the return of the RAC man to replace the engine management unit in the Beemer that they'd blown up trying to jump the Beemer with unmarked jump leads...
Sunday night was *a bit of everything* night, with a buffet of *stuff*, more singing, and Barry behind the bar, serving me *mostly apples* and me eating a couple of plums. They must have been off, because I was quite ill on monday...
...wherein packing and such happened, many hugs were exchanged, people left, and once again I realised how fond I am of everyone who was there. My family.
Pics were taken, link in my previous post.
So much more happened, such as the bizarre bird of prey, which I will post as a seperate....post....later, when my head stops aching.
before I go, however, much huggage and thanks to artela and the_ladylark for all the work in organising the event, and without whom I would not have spent the long weekend living inside a giant nylon sock, sleeping on a 40 degree slope, in the cold and wet and dark, sharing a sleeping bag with wasps and slugs, eating badly cooked food and warm drinks whilst being blown over by gales....I can barely wait until the next one! :)
More as and when i remember it.