Many years ago we packed everything (not very much kit in those days actually) for a 9 week trip around Scotland doing a puppet show to raise money for Ethiopia (1983) We ran through the list of things to pack for about 60 miles up the M1, until Tent? I just pulled off the motorway and drove down the otherside......
The dog was fast asleep by this time & he was extremely confused that his next walk was in the same park as usual when he had been in the car for nearly 2 hours!!
The crazy thing was it was a small 3 person lichfiels ridge tent that had seen better days anyway and buying a new one would have probably cost no more than the extra petrol, but that did not seem an option at the time!
Last spring on our first outing of the year, we put up the awning in front of a group of onlookers with a swagger and style never seen by us before. I'd even warned the assembled observers in advance that the language might turn blue, but no, it all went ridiculously smoothly until I looked for the pegs.......................
To save a 100mile round trip (and not a little face!!!) I went to the office and bought sufficient rock pegs. (Of course they would come in useful one day) and completed the putting up with SWMBO telling everyone in earshot that it was my fault. As soon as the last rock peg was put in guess who looked under the front chest and found the peg bag.
For those of you who forget the corscrew can I suggest this. Get a very sharp pointed knife and push it (wiggling the knife from side to sideand cutting the cork as you go) ie pointing straight down and best done with the bottle on the ground. Once the knife has gone all the way through the cork you will find that you can twist the knife, pulling upwards. As you do so the cork will come out of the bottle.
My first ever camping trip (when I was 18) was an ambitious hike around France with my mate. I was travelling from South Wales and she was travelling from Southend-on-See and we met in Dover for the ferry crossing over. I brought the roll mats, and plastic dishes and cutlery, she brought the old ridge tent and sleeping bags,which she had borrowed from a colleague.
We got to France and realised we had forgotten the phrase book, but we bought one in Calais and then realise we had got a French to English book and had to struggle to translate things.
We got to our campsite in Mont St Michell, unpacked everything and it was then that my mate realised there were no poles with the tent. She hadn't checked it beforehand, as she had never used a tent before.
We tried in vain to make some tent poles from old tree branches, but gave up and just used it as a giant sleeping bag in the end. We spent three days like that until we were able to buy some poles. Fortunately the weather was brilliant and it was no problem sleeping in the open air. We met up with some Swedish bikers who always camped like that..
About a hundred years ago when I was a teenager I went camping with the youth club. 6 girls, 4 boys, 2 leaders. We went in a minibus and took the club's canoes with us. We packed "everything" into the bus the night before as we were setting off early. It was decided to stow all the stoves inside the canoes out of the way. The canoes were difficult to get on top of the bus on the roof rack so we tried it first with them empty.
We went to Wales, about a 2 hour drive, crammed with luggage and provisions etc. When we got there we realised we had left all the stoves in a line on the coffee bar counter at the youth club. We managed for a fortnight with stoves consisting of a tin with meths burnt inside it. One of the best holidays I ever had!
------------- Meg
visit www.Morningstarr.co.uk for unsolicited news and views.
Its funny how some of the best campinhg hols I can remember from my childhood were the one's when there was a problem ! like when the tent almost blew away and we were all given a bit of frame to hang on too, exciting to us although my parents look back on it a little diffrently
2002 middle of June on the ferry to the IOW watching England playing their first match in the World Cup.Suddenly remembered that I'd left the TV at home. Just had to go out and buy another one to watch the footie and watch England go out on the freak goal from Ronaldhino over Seaman's head. It's still up in the attic 4 years later.
Also got to a site where we stored our 'van only to find that I'd left all the relevant keys at home. Luckily the site warden let us in to the compound and we managed to get the van out and push it on to the site road (could not tow it as we had a hitchlock on.) Luckily or foolishly some might think I had left the 'van door undone. so I left the wife in the van and did a 100 mile round trip back home for the keys arriving back at 2300 in the middle of a violent thunderstorm. After that everything was great.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: the" I know what weve forgotten" moment
although my parents look back on it a little diffrently
