The Glass of Wine, The Campfire and The Awfully Big Adventure

[notwavingjustironing]

We've all blethered on pleasantly on Seashells' lovely previous thread and, with the school holidays approaching, lots of us are about to start our summer adventures( not all of which are in tents....!) This thread is for us all to check back in and generally keep in touch. So we've packed up our Icey-Teks and our Tarps and our Death Socks, gently doused the burning embers of our planning campfire and rinsed out the wine glasses.

We're ready for our Awfully Big Adventure.

Come and talk about yours here (even if you're staying put!)

Lets get a Chara Lovecat!

Hope you get DD sorted for tomorrow. Could she not play at a friend's as an emergency ?

I need to wait til tonight to ring her bf's mum and see if she can do me a favour... otherwise no, all friends away or in same boat as us (but different holiday clubs all over, so lots of logistical aargh for them that I don't want to impose unless absolutely desperate...)

Chara sounds good - loads of room for all the camping tut! :o

Yes, there's room for the tealight chandelier and everything!

Kingsroadie and lovecat about everything kicking off. What an appalling situation to be in. Just watched Alex a life fast forward on Sky plus which just makes it all the more pointless. Don't know if any of you have seen it but what could have been the most depressing programme in the world (he dies of cancer at age 22) was actually one of the most moving and inspiring programmes I have ever seen, basically because he really LIVES life and makes the most of every single second, remaining positive and cheerful right until the end. He even leaves a note for his family to find after he has died saying that his life is perfect and he is happy. What a lesson in what REALLY matters that the stupid entitled yobs on the streets of London could do with paying heed to...

Notwaving I'm bloody loving your plan . Not sure I'm up for the trek from Newcastle to South Wales just now though having only just come the other way but definately seeing how the meetup can sork - us and boys in tents having gin fun and our 2 miserable dhs in the b&b!!!

Let's hope the forecasts about tonight have all been exagerrated. The town where I work has now been mentioned as expecting trouble, fortunately I work on the outskirts and don't have to pass through it. Look after yourselves lovecat, Kingsroadie and MissSal. Remember your personal safety is paramount.

YellowDinosaur get the Quechua, DH's attitude to camping has completely changed since we got it. He's even talking now of getting a roofbox! [over-excited]

Now all we need to do is find other ways of keeping 2yo DS occupied, rather than just heading off at speed towards the nearest road.

Clearly how the meetup can work not sork??!!

x posted Yellow. I didn't watch that programme because I'm not brave enough. What an absolutely inspiring young man though. His parents must be so proud of him.

I had thought that Quenelle which is why it has been on my Sky plus planner for several weeks. You don't actually need to be as brave as I thought because his positivity just shines through and makes you smile even through the tears. I was particularly anxious as my best friend has metastatic breast cancer that she will ultimately die from although hopefully she will have several good years first. But despite that it was still really positive. Understand if you don't want to though...

Sorry to hear about your friend

lovecat if I had a helicopter I would swoop down and bring you all over here. What a stress and a pain to have unavoidable hard things to do whilst not knowing about childcare. If you came down you DH's could stay in my house (it's next to a pub!), or they could come and spend the day with my DH who spends all camping trips acting like a jackdaw, collecting and sorting twigs and wood until by dark we have the best fire ever, he then just sits by the fire lovingly feeding it the appropriate bits of wood until bedtime. What man wouldn't enjoy that?

Just imagine the tea light chandelier with my bunting . We could even fashion ourselves a giant metal chicken over the course of the day.

Hello Quenelle, glad you had a good time with the quechua, ours is the best thing EVER. We saw loads when we were camping, quite often with little flotillas of 1 man pop ups surrounding them like ducklings. I think that will be us as the boys grow up!

Oh Lovecat and Kingsroady, sorry to hear you're still enjoying the wonders of mindlessness too. Ds's nursery closed mid-day on police advice. I was shaking and swearing. Dh could work from home luckily, and if needed, I can tomorrow or I will take ds in with me. There's only so much damage a 3yo can do to an office, right?

A big love-in as Lost's sound much, much better though!

Sorry Quenelle, I should really refresh before I post! Really hope there isn't trouble where you are tonight.

SeaShells, thought about you today. You might as well go to Durban now, way more peaceful than London. I tried using that argument when suggesting a visit to Syria, but apparently I'm exaggerating ever so slightly.

Sorry to hear about ds nursery shutting MissSal. Its is a mare when childcare arrangements fall through isn't it? We don't have any family locally and when things go pear shaped we just have to get on with it. SO far both mine and dh's work have been understanding and thankfully it hasn't happened much... Pmsl at you 'there's only so much damage a 3 year old can do in an office' your 3 year old is obviously calmer than mine!!!

Here's hoping for a more peaceful night tonight for everyone... MissSal, Kingsroadie, lovecat an hope it doesn't kick off for Quenelle or anyone else for that matter! Not heard any rumours about Newcastle but fingers crossed where I live is unlikely to attract any attention (being on the outskirts of the city with only 1 little local shop nearby and plenty more accessible places for the thieving little bastards looters to kick off

So sorry to read that some of you are having to deal with this shite at close quarters. I'm the original Woolly Liberal but am struggling to understand Why.

I've not seen a Quechua pop-up in person but I have drooled over seen them online. I like their vaguely pagoda lines.

Lost, what a lovely offer. Everyone on this thread is so fab. I'd be off like a shot, but we live in rural Oxfordshire and I can't see it happening here. Though who knows, anymore?

A RL friend (tho she's on MN too, I'm sure of it) mentioned she was off to Eweleaze in Dorset next week, for her own Inaugural Family Camp, and I am all . Still trying to organise a few nights but getting DH a couple of days away from work (it's flexible for him but he's hard-pressed at the moment) is vv hard.

Thanks guys - seems to have calmed down again now so fingers crossed it stays so but am safely at a friend's house now. Hope everyone else is okay and nothing too close to home...

It's reached my city now but hopefully will be contained. I think there will be no chance of the free reign that was given last night by the police.

Hope you don't mind but just had to pop in to say I hope you all stay safe. It's very difficult to comprehend the madness but thinking of all of you on this thread that are affected.

Yellow, yes, it's so difficult when you have no-one else to help out, really. I often tell my sister that she'd better appreciate my mum or I'm coming over and stealing her. I'm not completely joking.

:-( notwaving.

and thanks winefairy. :) Hope and pray everyone is safe.

Hope you all have have quieter and safer night tonight .

Popping a few more hobnob and marshmallow snacks on the fire.
Hope all of those disrupted are undisrupted soon.

Today have been canoeing and then doing some very important lying down in the sun to prepare for return to dark and looming north later this week. All this nonsense and madness seem surreal.

I am liaising with a poultry breeder to sort some fertile eggs for my lovely big fluffy girl to sit when I return. She's been broody for my entire holiday and her flock mate is keeping her company. Sheila the Sussex will go into the box of shame to break the broody spell whilst mrs Doyle sits a dozen eggs. She hatched for me at easter very successfully, bless her.

Evening all. Stay safe everyone. Lovecat - given the shite in Manchester tonight would they not postpone DH's meeting do you think?
Been watching twitter mostly - this pops up regularly:
Great quote from Waterstone's employee on the news: "We'll stay open, if they steal some books they might learn something"
and also this sign on the door of the Subway.
Funtime I'll have a large pint please
Good luck with the hens brambles - what does the box of shame entail?

Evening all, just popping by to wish you all a quiet night :( news made grim watching tonight.

Hi wine fairy :)

Jetli-love those quotes, I love the humour!

Bramble what chooks you got?

I go back to work thurs eek :) we have also just accepted an offer on our millstone old house for pittance so fingers crossed the sale goes through :)

Love the subway one.
D's diabetes is rioting big style tonight and I'm having trouble keeping his blood glucose levels up. It's going to be a long one.

Box of shame is a cat carrier with a wire lid, inverted, put on bricks in the run for the air to circulate under with food and water in. Hen is put inside to cool down and lose the ability to nest. It is akin to exorcism.

I have 2 cochin, a
Ught Sussex, araucana, legbar and two hybrids.