Tent Sniffing for Beginners

Yes it's 2016 and no I haven't blogged since Hector was a pup, but here we are. It is STILL raining in the UK and if I wasn't comforted by rainbows I might have begun to build an ark. It is looking increasingly likely that by the time my daughter is a grown up she will be having boating holidays (like in water world) rather than camping ones! All this water made me think of Wellingtons. Those rather fabulous boots named for a Duke and now cheerfully keeping the camper, farmer, and dog walker's feet dry. I seem to have got though a fair number of wellies in my time, I think festival life takes it out of them. Sun seems to make then brittle and then they crack and let in the very thing they are designed to save us from, the camper's nemesis, mud. As a festival girl I like a fancy welly, no plain black ones for me, or a smart functional green, no I like a bit of flair. The first wellies I bought for festivals were black with tattoo prints on. There are still...

I rarely share this sort of thing, but seriously how cute is this 'outdoors indoors' kids room design from Cuckoo land? I just adore it! I need to find an excuse to get the bearskin rug! “Set up camp in the mountains!”   Teepee Bed, £399 Clockwise from top left: SNURK Butterfly Duvet Set , £44.95 Stag Wall Sticker , £9.95 TweedMill Throw in Mustard , £75 Knitted Fox Hottie , £19.95 Henry Bear Rug , £89.95 Tree Bookcase , £565 Kids Wallpaper in ‘Into the Wild’ design , £70 Olli Ella Storage Basket in Coda design , £59 Zuny Owl Paperweight , £24.95 Teepee Cabin Bed , £399 Single Hanging Cacoon , £220 Finlay Fox Rug , £55.95

People sometimes show some surprise when they hear that a 50 year old woman goes to festivals. They show even more surprise when they hear that while I take my daughter and sometimes a friend, that I would still go to festivals if I had to go alone. My husband is not a festival goer.  I have been going to festivals since I discovered them relatively late in life. I was 41 when I attended my first festival, on a whim after seeing a flier, using a very basic tent I obtained via freecycle and really making it up as I went along. I would suggest that everyone go to at least one festival in their life . you may hate it (my husband is not keen, though that's mainly health related) but I suspect you won't. Festivals give you the ultimate excuse to be you. To wear what you like, to wake and sleep when you like, to eat and drink what you like, to be free for a couple of days in the semi wild of a field with only some material between you and the elements. The very things th...

An advent calendar can now be found over at Camp Bestival! They have prizes behind each window, and you can think about the festival and buying your tickets too while you are there! The 2016 theme is Space (and why not, we have astronauts, we have Star Wars) so pop over, play on the calendar and plan your fancy dress too!

A Star Wars tribute from my now teen, though I guess she was much younger when we took this pic!

More food memories today - I need to find a recipe for Sunday - do you have a good camping recipe to share?

Let's talk food. I like to set up the tent and get everything sorted and then I can relax, have a beer and cook some food. As I don't camp with electricity or refrigeration the first night's food may be fresh things but I will rely on cans and packets as time passes. But what better meal that chilli and rice. Perfect comfort food, easy to cook and eat, store well in cans (and using those pouches of partially cooked rice saves on fuel to cook the rice too) I know my brother fondly recalls the time we experimented with the extra hot Dynamite chilli , after all, how hot could it be? (spoiler - very hot, we nearly died and were only saved by beer) So comfort camping food for this winter Friday is chilli and rice, nice cowboy feel to it too - if you are alone eat it from the saucepan, you mountain man, you! Tempted to cook some at home now and pretend Chilli