A glass of wine sat around the campfire...

[SeaShellsAndTheInlawInvasion]

so I am fed up with the rest of MN (this whole mamazon shite really is the ,last straw), so I am assuming that if any of you are trolling you are showing extraordinary persistence by delving into the thrills of iceytec and are worth chatting to.

So anyway, hi, I am SeaShells, I have 2 dc and have been camping and trapsing through the Great Outdoors all my life. I hang out here as my love of camping is more a love of the countryside and life, and you lot have a similar outlook.

< admires well made fire and tastefully arranged logs with throws>

Oh, ok then!

Gives up

Gives up

Oh dear Quenelle, your first post was OK

Glad you had a good time. Good weather makes such a big difference.

PMSL at sticky, ominous cobb. Today I am going down to basement to sort campoing gear out. Oh yes I am...

Ahh, now we hear about the Cobb's dark side... sticky and ominous, eh? :o

I still have to make a list for Latitude but DD wants to go swimming.... waah!

yes this is the dark side.

All that lovely fat from my burgers and kebabs and sticky chicken things from last night is all beautifully congealed in the moat.

At least after I have scooped it out the whole lot can go straight in the dishwasher (advantage of only going away for one night, no washing up).

That is a good thing - the dishwasher part of it - I would love to just do a one-nighter but will have to learn the art of packing lightly - I am definitely a maximalist camper, I'm afraid...

I'll never be a true minimalist, am more a maximalist but in camping spanx.

Obviously clothes and food can be cut back on dramatically, and all that extraneous shit like blankets, chairs, and buckets and spades.

But even for 1 night you still need the tent, the pegs, all the sleeping stuff and at least something to boil a cup of tea on and eat a bowl of cereal out of.

Is all ways worth when you get there though. The view from my tent this morning was amazing.

We are hoping to get booked in for next weekend, only about 20 miles away but the site looks lovely.

I am definitely a maximalist camper, right down to the solar powered fairy lights and cafetierre!

Anyone know what the weather is meant to be doing in the north of England next weekend?

Sounds wonderful. Where did you go?

And am I mistaking you for someone else, Slubber, or do you have a big canvas albatross-ish tent? I know having the bulk of the soulpad to heft about makes me think twice about a one-nighter, but having said that, the ease with which it goes up does compensate hugely for the bulk.

Hmmm.... you've got me thinking now...

I love the idea of camping spanx (bit inconvenient when you need the loo, though, no?) :o

lovecat - 2 things which make the Trangia unscary ...

1. Don't bother trying to close the proper slidy cover thing. Put the bottom of a mug over the flame to extinguish it, let it cool down and then close the cover.
2. One of these to safely store and pour your fuel.

I use a Trangia because I'm terrified of gas bottles and don't trust myself to connect them safely every time.

Lovecat, where we went....mmm the view was wonderful. The site was not. If it weren't for the view I think we would have buggered off and found somewhere else.

We have a small 4 birth pyramid (3m x 4m) but is still weighs 24kg and packs up big. For w/es we take two small pop ups, HEAVEN to pitch and strike.

Ha, yy camping spanks deffo not good for loo dashes.

Thanks heaps for that, Funtime - an ordinary ceramic/tin mug? (I'm assuming you wouldn't use a picnic set melamine one...)

I lurrve the way the description of that bottle on the GoOutdoors site says "....with a safety cap so you can carry it without spilling or losing your precious meths" (my italics).

Written by a tramp? :o

Cheers, Slubber - with my past exceedingly inept and v. sweary experience of trying to put down DD's pop up sun shelter I think I'll leave the pop ups to the more co-ordinated of us... but I have bought a v. silly yet v. lightweight 3 person Vango Juno tepee tent which pitches identically to the Soulpad, to use as a storage tent when we go away 'properly' so that's a thought.... oooh.....

Sorry, meant to say, I bought the Trangia on offer, not really knowing what it was (before I properly got into this MN topic!), and do love it for its compactness, windproofiness and general 'proper camper' type cred (however I do generally take away a bleuet as well with a little gaz dome thingy so I can quickly boil a kettle without faff), but am terrified of the refilling it when it runs low, as I thought it was out once and it wasn't, and so nearly took my eyebrows off when pouring fresh fuel in....
.

We just got back from a week in Devon and hence I missed all the, um, unpleasantness elsewhere on MN. I am Disappointed and saddened.

No, we weren't camping - we rented - but I spent the weekend peering desperately through the hedges of all the campsites we passed, looking for a blardy bell tent to show to DH. Nada. There must have been bell tents, or indeed, canvas tentage of any description, in Devon that week, but sadly, not where we were. I got all excited when we passed some AA yellow signs claiming to direct one towards a Camping and Tent Exhibition, and we even followed them blindly, but they must have been refering to an event that had passed. I was so sure we were going to find a beautiful tent, be invited to view by doting owners and then convince DH in a heartbeat that this was the way forward.

I just need to do it, don't I? Order the thing and then turn a blind ear/deaf eye to DH for the next 5 years whenever DH moans about it being heavy/hard to dry/prone to mildew. (the only anti- points I can think up)

Lost, glad to hear DS is over Hand Foot and Mouth - DS1 has had it three times (well, a variant of it, anyway) and was bloody miserable. I had it the first time alongside him. I have never had such a sore throat. Tonsilitis wasn't in it.

Weekend camping feedback good, sounds all very wholesome. We're going (just for the weekend) coming Friday, so keeping your fingers crossed for good weather would be very much appreciated!

This weekend, I've gone full circle with my plans for an adventurous camping mini-trip. Seriously - as in almost bought the tickets - considered Just So, then thought Camp Bestival slightly closer, so better bet, back to Just So (repeat x 100). In the end, I've gone off both - principle sounds good, just not sure it's us.

Soooooo.... my new master plan: I want to go somewhere small in Europe. Not big place, not ready tents, not somewhere we can drive to, as it has to be 5 days max, really. 3-ish hours flight, then rent car, 1 hr max. Now, in my head, there is this tiny patch of grass / sand / xxx somewhere. You can see the (sandy) beach. Lunches: Fish, that morning's catch, grilled in the open, fresh salad. Ah, and grilling done by an old man with lots of laughter lines or a strict-looking head-of-the-family-that'll-make-me-think-of-my-grandmother. Drinking glasses of wine outside whilst ds potters around. If they couldn't speak English, even better. A donkey would be good. I have, you might be surprised to learn , not found such a place just yet. Odd, I know. The search is continuing, of course.

When I do, I will figure out how to get a pop-up tent, 3 si-mats, 3 sleeping bags, a backpack of clothes for the trip, a head-shaking dh and a 3-yo there.

It'll be BRILLIANT. Yes, yes, it will.

I'll end up going to Blackwell, won't I?

What a gorgeous weekend! We've been on the beach and luckily have only burnt myself-both dc are ok, phew!! I wish we had gone for one night, it was too much work though as we are crazy busy at the moment.

I need to master the minimalist quick pack so when the dc are older and more independent we can just go on a Friday night. It feels like a mission at the moment.

Cross posts with the whole world. Lovecat, this made me spit my coffee out. Really. My keyboard will now be sticky and I will blame you:

"I lurrve the way the description of that bottle on the GoOutdoors site says "....with a safety cap so you can carry it without spilling or losing your precious meths" (my italics).

Written by a tramp? "

lovecat. I got a face from the staff member in Homebase last time I went in and asked if she could show me where the padlocks, cable ties and meths were .

The trangia bottle has those sticky out nozzle things so that you can release any pressure build up and then pour out the meths with a really good degree of accuracy. I've done the same eyebrow thing and now always wave a cautious hand over when I've put it out. I use a tin or ceramic mug, usually the one I'm swigging from while I'm cooking. Classy .

to those who've been on the beach. We've been down the allotment with the dc having a 'who can ingest the most mud' contest .

Good tip on putting Trangia flame out with mug. Last time I used tongs to fish out the ring thingy and put the cap on. That also works.

Just back from the beach, sorry Funtime, the sea was really warm and the sand was really hot to walk on, was like being abroad. Met with my friends who we were supposed to be camping with and they said it was idyllic at 8am when they got up, I put my fingers in my ears and went lalalalalala until she stopped.

We have one of these for cooking, as well as low fi charcoal with grill plate jobby, but DH does all the cooking and fire making (very me man make fire when outdoors)

MisSal, did you make sure you included donkey as a key word in your google search, that could make all the difference

Can't claim it for my tip as such uptoapoint. It was passed on my friend's dh who is ex-marines. He saw me faffing with it and plonked his mug on top, grinned and wandered off.

I wondered why it had never occurred to me before .

Hmm, beach, soft sand... Hey lost, can I just come and visit you instead? I'll bring my own donkey.

Funtimes - not a plastic mug, I guess. Presumably one of those stainless steel travel mugs would be fine. >