Tent Sniffing for Beginners

How super. A small festival in a small field in a small village in the south of England. A faery festival no less, filled with all the delightful English eccentrics you can imagine (me included) The weather was suitably British too, grey, windy (really really windy) with the occasional sudden downpour and cold, very cold (well it is only May). But what a fine time we had! After realising during the pitching of the tent that I had forgotten to bring a mallet i asked a fellow camper if I could borrow his, he lent me an axe, I wish I was joking, I'm not. A really big axe. You know when people say 'oh you shouldn't meet people online the might be axe murderers'? well real life people you meet in fields might be too, though I felt I was safe as he gave me the axe, I mean, maybe I'M the axe murderer (I'm not) So tent pitched. Then on to the festival full of middle aged hippies and middle class hippy wannabes (me) and children. Most of whom were dressed as fair...

So, DD and I met up with my brother and his children and we all went camping at Dernwood Farm . It's sort of wild. There are flushing loos, running (cold) water and it's pretty busy but it's just a field, no marked pitches and you can have real fires (which was one of the main reasons we picked this site and was a great addition to camping) There is a long walk from the car park but that's a big plus as there are no cars on the actual site to worry about. No danger for the kids and no car noise. (and safety for the many toads on the site) We visited Hailsham Leisure Centre on the one day it rained and the girls had great fun on the flume and in the pool. We also did a quick bit of charity shop shopping. On  the Sunday we went to Hastings and the girls played on the extremely windy beach. On the Monday wewent to Heathfield for the french market (in full moustache mode), made candles, bought bread and generally had a fab time. And every...

I adore camping.I love tents. I'm fairly sure that many of the reasons that I love camping will be the reasons you hate it. I'll start at the beginning, I love the smell of a canvas tent, I like the anticipation of packing for a camping trip. The look at the list,checking the food and the booze. Packing the car,(I have a Fiat Panda so it's car Tetris every time) And then the drive, either to a site I know and love or to a new exciting site where who knows what I will discover. Arriving, unpacking, laying out the tent, pitching, happy in the knowledge I can do it all by myself! Sending DD to fetch water, and other small chores. The sun (or rain) and the knowledge that as soon as we are finished I can cool off with a beer or warm up with a tea. Sitting in the fresh air,watching the other campers, listening to the sounds of nature, the wind in the trees, bird song, bees. Walking around the area seeing what is going on. Snoozing on a rug, reading  a book, sipping a Pims...

I have Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, I am a mother and I work full time as an IT Manager. CMT has probably shaped who I am the most as it’s been with me the longest, although it was not diagnosed until I was 36, I had been showing symptoms since my early teens and I had had some surgery on my feet in my twenties. My hands’ clawing was at first assumed (by me) to be related to my job and excessive computer use but a keen neurologist said that as soon as he saw me walk across the room he knew I had CMT!  My main symptoms are weakness, tiredness and poor balance.     CMT certainly doesn’t define me though. I am a keen camper and  part time festival hippy. Every summer I can hardly wait for the weather to be good enough to tempt me out in my tent. I am a minimalist Glamper! No electricity hook up but plenty of bunting, solar powered fairy lights and flowery deckchairs. My husband doesn’t share my camping bug so I camp with my 13-year-old daughter.   ...

1. It is not darkest just before the dawn, but it is coldest. 2. Baked beans are amazing for breakfast and warm your very soul. 3. The best way to get warm is to get dressed & do the washing up. 4. A sleeping bag, a duvet, pjs, a hat & bed socks can make a subzero night toasty warm. 5. Taking extra gas is a good idea. 6. Instant porridge is the invention of a genius. 7. Showering is over-rated. 8. 2 girls aged 10&11 can amuse themselves for hours at a time in the countryside. 9. I can still read a book in 3 days when I have time! 10. Caravan's are for wimps :-) 11. The English countryside is gorgeous in the sun, not always warm, but always beautiful. 12. Birdwatching is fun (tawny owl, buzzard, kestrel, spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, crows) Have you camped in a tent this late in the year? Did you enjoy it? Would you consider doing it?

After finding advice online I decided to risk painting my tatty, second hand, poly cotton tent. I used fabric paints ( Dylon make them and there are other brands) after I painted on the design it was left to dry, and then I ironed each painted section of the tent on the hottest setting the tent would stand to fix the dye. Once dried and ironed I sprayed over each painted area with   Fabsil waterproofer (you can see what looks like a wet patch around the painted areas, it dries clear and invisible) and now all I need to do is test the tent in the rain!  Wish us luck! The tent will make it's debut at Camp Bestival this year.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin