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!)

So is this lovely weather set to last? Blimmin hope so

I'd definitely be coming but we're going to this folk fest instead, and that's actually what started me along the slippery slope to buying a tent and becoming obsessed with camping stuff and meeting you lot!

Morning morning.

Is this where we are now?

Nowt worse than setting up your pitch and then having to move somewhere else.

We did that once caming in France when I was a kid. Site put our friends on opposite side of the campsite to us, so we just unpegged, got an adult on each of the 6 legs, and walked the frame tent round (canvas in situ with human legs out the bottom) to a pitch next to them.
The French were all " les Anglais
[camping memories]

Talking of camping memories, I can highly recommend The tent, the bucket and me.

Recommended by my mate bramble

Parts of it had me weeping with laughter. How so much misfortune can fall upon one family is quite beyond me.

Great book Slubber, lord knows why I want to start camping after reading that!

Slubber - this will sound like I'm stalking you.... you linked to a lovely site on the Lyn Peninsula and I can't find it now for love nor money (I did ask on the original campfire thread so it'll have been easily missed...or you didn't want to answer!!).

What nice weather ?

I kid you not I am posting from under an umbrella by the pool In The Rain!!!!!!

Still I'm on holiday so I'm going to make the most of it

yeah, I just didn't want to tell you scary.

Not really

Hidre Fawr.

It's lovely, but don't tell anyone else

oh no notwaving! That totally sucks. Positive spirit v British though. Hope the weather improves for you.

I am slightly freaking out here. Am smoking a chicken for the first time in the Cobb with some applewood smoking chips and well, it's smoky REALLY smoky. Like plumes of full on smoke pouring out . I don't know why I had thought that smoking chips wouldn't smoke [dur] but holy cow. I keep hearing sirens and think they're on their way here to douse a house fire.

smoky chicken sounds lovely

still raining in Cala D'or .....

Hi all. I was on last thread but got lost as it moved so quick. 3 weeks until our next camping adventure so will be lurking until then. We are going with some friends who have a caravan so it will be a new experience for us all. Us in our aircraft hangar sized Hi Gear whatsit and them with their plumbing and washing facilities.

Met Office update for Cala D'or

wet and windy with a high risk of a hangover

on the other hand am now intimately acquainted with my Kindle which I absolutely adore!

Sal you were asking earlier up the thread about whether it was easy and it really is. Although I would have had no idea what to do if Chippy hadnt told me. Its miles better value for money than the iphone abroad ie free !

Ooh, that sounds good, thanks for tip. Will give it a try.

Sounds like you're enjoying your trip, rain or no rain. Good wine is the answer to everything - relaxing on holiday with a glass of wine sound lovely.

I, in contrast, spent the afternoon in hell of all hells, Ikea. I detest that place, but needed for cheap storage, throws and other rubbish.

Note to self: buy lotto ticket

Sorry 5ofus, meant to say hi again and then forgot as Ikea fried my brain. Camping with caravanning friends might actually come in handy as have everything close should you need it. I always wonder if people discuss lists first to ensure not doubling up on things like bottle openers, bread knives, etc. Extra space - the ultimate camping dream.

Ikea

I'm sorry for your loss of time you can never get back

You'll all be pleased to know it's stopped raining now. Its just cold and windy.

Goodness, Ikea, you are brave!

We have been walking and pubbing in the forest today-it was meant to be hot but ended up overcast and muggy :(

Hello 5ofus

Hi 5ofus

notwaving am so glad you have your kindle for comfort. Cold and windy sounds bobbins. At least this means in karma weather terms that Bala will be scorchio

Ikea Sal, on a sunday? Poor you.

The smoked chicken a la Cobb was a TRIUMPH. It tasted bloody amazing and was well worth the Indian smoke message plumes. There is absolutely no way you could do it on a campsite without being lynched for antisocial air pollution but at home with the wind blowing in the right direction it's a big winner.

I love Ikea.

I've finally taken my tent down - it's been up for the last week and a half in the garden! The lovely sunshine we had this weekend has made it parchment-like in its aridity, but I'm still paranoid about damp, esp. after Lovecat's sad story. The groundsheet was a bit sweaty so it's been flipped over to dry in the sun (hooray!) and I'm not packing it into the same bag as the canvas. Think I might buy a second canvas bag for groundsheet and poles...

It was surprisingly beautiful going down - lovely billowy canvas, cleaner than I was expected, given the week and a half's worth of bird poo! I don't know if anyone here likes Patrick O'Brien's seafaring novels, but I had a sort of epiphanaic moment - blue blue sky, hot sun and billowing, pristine canvas, and felt as if I could have been on board a tall ship.

Ahem. That was my Wanktastic Moment of the Week. I won't do it again, promise.

Thanks for the warm welcome back

Oooo I hadn't thought of co-ordinated lists

Our friends the caravanners are thinking they're slumming it a bit going with us campers but we are certain we can convince them otherwise

I have however added old nappy FIRE bucket to my camping master list thanks to previous thread. No bunting or candle chandeliers just yet though.

I'll add smoked chicken to the list-smoked pork and fish is very good too! I agree about the smoke-a surprise after all that smokeless Cobb wonderfulness. It's almost like a common BBQ. But much cooler

Urgh, thanks for the sympathy. I hate that place, I'm annoyed before we've even locked the car. This whole disposable furniture idea is of course killing the earth, so I know it's really bad and I should be ashamed, but I think I'm going to buy wardrobe and writing table for ds there. He's only small still, so I don't want to buy "proper" furniture as I need something small for him to use for the next three years or so. After that, we'd need to move to somewhere bigger anyway. Anyway, sorry for rambling on about something so very un-camp-y as you can get!

Smokey chicken sounds most wonderful. Hmm, I'm hungry just thinking of it! How long did it smoke so much? Would you be able to use it with your Cobb in the park, for example? Mind you, I don't even have a Cobb, so heaven knows why I keep imagining these leisurely picnics in the park, Cobb doing it's thing whilst everyone sits around sipping sparkly elderflower juice, champagne with bright red raspberries and little nibbles made by fairies. When The Moment comes, picnic blankets are all spread out, everyone tipsy relaxed, rustic salads in big, open bowls, and then... smokey freshly cooked chicken. Perhaps some baby potatoes also from cob, bit of butter, some fresh rosemary sprigs, salt flakes... Crispy dry white wine. Hmm.

Did I mention I was hungry?

Anyway, before I got carried away with my imaginary Cobb above - would the fire brigade have been called if you tried that in a park?

XPost with everyone-reshape, I like ikea too, once it's home and assembled. Getting to that stage requires some massive arguments, swear words and childish strops

Ha! This is always the way I imagine other people's park picnics to be. Sadly ours are more about constant supervision of 3 DCs of 6,4&2 so are considerably more stressful. One day....

I also love IKEA although I'm sure I shouldn't. Mostly I love putting DC1&2 into the crèche so me and DC 3 can browse round then eat cake in peace. Happy times.

Off to do Cobb research.

yy Sal. Firemen would have been called to the scene. Great torrents (do torrents go upwards) of the stuff coming out of the Cobb lid holes. Park would be out for smoky chicken but in for standard chicken.

Smoking for home purposes only imo.

Any recommendations for sturdy fold away chair/table combos? I keep looking at them but they all seem flimsy and wobbly.

Hello all again! posting to mark my place - only just discovered the new thread and already hard to keep up esp as I am at work today so must keep it brief...

Salivating over smoked chicken and potatoes with rosemary though.

I was in Ikea only the other day buying fleec blankets for our camping trip. £1 each!!!! I like a bargain