Of tents, traumas and torrential rain......................

Ok. So. I may not be a fully paid up, card carrying member of the great outdoors brigade, but I like to think I am close to nature. I feed the birds everyday, I donate on a monthly basis to a number of local and worldwide nature charities. I spent most of my chlidhood in caravans or boats. However, none of this prepared me for a great british bank holiday camping trip to the wilds of Lincolnshire (well, Woodhall Spa is actually quite civilised but doesn't have the same ring to it!).
Followers of the blog may remember that I bought husband (at his request) a tent for his birthday last September and ever since he has been dying to use it.
So, off we go, me, husband, dog Disney forgot to draw (dDftd), brother, sister-in-law, 3 kids and 2 teenagers (Kevin and Perry wannabees) and their dog. We packed car at 5.30am on the friday morning - beds, bedding, stove, table, chairs, food, water carrier, blankets, dog stuff, cooking and eating utensils,  "all eventuality" clothing (wellies, fleeces, shorts, flip flops) etc etc etc - car was full and dDftd perched high on back seat in tight spot and, as previously, wondered why it takes so much stuff in order to get back to nature?
Met up with brother and gang and then onto the campsite. Weather blistering hot whilst trying to put up tent (bearing in mind has only been up once before in back garden and took at least 2 hours and a near divorce!). Not too bad a performance as brother on hand to mediate at the important moments (eg when tent peg or mallet appeared to be ready to be launched). Tent was up - hurrah! Tent was up, but not quite right - boo! Tent was rectified but the rest of the weeked was spent tweaking various pegs, ropes and rods - to the point where zip finally broke and canopy got ripped - major trauma!! Has now been gaffe taped to an inch of its life and we can't use one of the doors - ah well - perfect tents are for newbies- we're seasoned now and have the scars to prove it!
First day went well, then came the evening - and the midges and mossies!! Am still finding bites in places I didn't even know midges and mossies could get. Sat around camp covered in scarves and coats from head to foot wafting things about to try to get rid of them - eventually had to go to bed just to get away from the pesky critters!
Bed!! There's another tale! Had taken v. plush airbeds - almost normal height so well off the floor. Unfortunately they needed electricity to blow up - which we managed to nick from an unoccupied site the first day (which subsequently became occupied so beds gradually getting saggier and saggier as weekend wore on as we could get any more air in!). First night they were well blown up- to the point that husband got on and immediately was ricocheted off!! Oh how we laughed! (well I did anyway!).
Now, the toilet and washing scenario I was well prepared for. As I have mentioned I have spent a lot of time in caravans as a child. However, this is what I now realise - as a child it was a novelty to be walking about with towel and wash bag in hand, as a young girl it was a good excuse to wander the long way round to the shower block so that I could pass gorgeous boy's caravan in the vain hope that he might notice me (never did!!). As an adult it is neither fun nor productive, at 5.30am to be wandering through the campsite in kaftan, socks and shoes and looking like you don't fit your face.
Saturday: torrential rain. All Day. Not fun at all. No signal on phone so couldn't even get sympathy from facebook friends. I had the only tent that one could stand up in (all others just small 2 man tents) so all 9!!! of us in and out of my tent all day -threw a bit of a strop and created atmosphere for a while - but had nowhere else to go!! Hair now scraped back as rain made it frizzy and no straighteners, still looking like I don't fit face as had minimal sleep due to bed and the cold. At least midges gone




So, at risk of boring you to death with everything I give you the rest of the highlights:
a) trees at back of tents seemed to house a whole flock of wood pigeons who took great delight in tap dancing on top of tents and gave hours of amusement in activity we named "pigeon slapping" - they really were sitting on the trees and taking it in turns to slap each other with their wings (and Sarah I am not obsessesed with pigeons!!)
b) hailstones the size of golf balls for about 10 minutes on Sunday - managed to shelter in a shop doorway eating an icecream when they arrived - the irony of the british bank holiday!
c) clubhouse entertainment - Gemma Marshall - singer (?) who apparently got through to the top 200 in X factor. Hmmmm.......

d) revisiting Martin - a little village where we used to live in the police station- picture of it now on right (Dad was village bobby - like Heartbeat). I loved this place and even though we left when I was about 6 years of age it has a strong hold on my memory. It was where I started school and where I got my love of nature from!!
e) dDftd was on his best behaviour all weekend - bless!
f) nephew (11yrs) cooking toast for everyone on his own camping stove with his special gadget
g) I heard a cuckoo - a rare sound
h) the lights in the toilet/shower block were motion sensitive/time limited. If you were in there too long the lights went out!! Scary at 4am







So, will we be camping again? Watch this space........................!!