Chat around the Campfire....

[SeaShellsUnderCanvas]

So last year we had a general chat thread for bragging/nattering/safe havens from when the trolls were out in the main boards! Thought we would start one again as it was lovely!

Thanks Blu!

Hello folks :)

We have just booked sites for 2 nights each for next week so hope the weather improves!

We will have nights at Hurley Riverside and 2 nights at White Mark Farm. I am looking forward to the Farm as it seems to be a fab location with direct access to the ridgeway and a great village in walkable distance.

We are testing our new Motorhome.

Oh lucky you Milliways, if DS wasn't at school I might be tempted to a couple of days away to celebrate!

Although I am not sure if going in a motorhome isn't cheating!

- it is SO cheating but we have done the last 10 years with tents! DS is in 6th form and happy for us to spend a few nights away now and we have friendly neighbours who will keep an eye out. Means he can revise in peace and will join us when we go for a week in half term to Norfolk.

We have also just bought an inflatable canoe to take! :)

Blu - I need to do some hardcore folding practice (when it stops raining) as I'm away with a bunch of scout leaders Bank Holiday weekend. And if I make a tit fool of myself I will never be allowed to forget it

Chippy - it will be your fault if I end looking a right tit, too, since it was you that alerted me to the tent. I'm going to have a go in my garden if i can fit it, otherwise I shall be in a deep disguise in Dulwich Park on day, if you want to hide behind a bush with binoculars learning how not to do it....

It's all very well having helpful web-based instructions, but I don't camp with any wi-fi friendly device.

People - if all goes as planned, my Icey Tek will arrive today.....oooooooooh!

Luckily there is a set of instructions sewn inside the bag

We have the same tent and practised taking it down in our garden before trying it in public. I find that, once you have all the panels folded flat together, it helps to imagine it is a very large one of those promotional frisbee thingies that you twist into an 8 shape and then fold in half so it fits into its little bag.

Does that help?

OK, very re-assuring. We manage with DS's festival pop-up.

(going dwnstairs to see if my Icey Tek has arrived)

Has it?

Hi all. Checking in for the 2012 season. First trip booked for New Forest at June bank hols, then just outside Paris for a week in August. Taking kids to DIsneyland Paris then doing sights (we hope!)

I'm still pondering new tent but always on the lookout for gadgets!

F Felicity - yes it had!

It is very splendid. Enormous, much bigger than my old cool box, in fact bigger than any coolbox I have ever seen, but very magnificent.

Now am waiting for new smaller tent...will the Icey tek fit...fret fret...

Excellent Blu , what colour did you go for in the end?

what size did you get?!!

Hello 5ofUs! Good to "see" you again :)

I'm sorry, I know I keep moaning about the weather, but honestly, I don't like camping in monsoon weather, and a BH in Wales is suddenly becoming a bad idea!

My Icey Tek is 25l, in matt white. It looks as if it should have a polar bear sitting on top, advertising ice cold cocktails, or as if it should be oozing a whispy trail of dry ice from it's mysterious contents.

Seriously I am worrying that it might be a bit big - it takes up a big chunk of the boot.

Hello, I need to make a decision on the first campsite of our big summer tour. Was considering sea barn farm but think Eweleaze might be better.

I am not bothered by the Eweleaze loos. Fires are a bonus but we can have fires at home anyway and there's a little about the safety aspect of so may fires that concerns me- they don't seem to have fire pits/places or have I mis read? We do not have a bell tent or bunting (but we do have a Cobb, may buy an icey tek to help up our camping show off kit). I only own 1 boden dress. I enjoy music/chatting/being sociable but want people to do it much more quietly after 11pm at night.

It looks a lot more our thing than the other site though, so do the plus points outweigh my worries. Also, how many do they allow on the site?

Careful there SeaShells, some of us have to live nearly every bank holiday in rainy Wales

Matt white Blu, very cool

Thank we're going to get all the kit out this weekend and check it for holes/mouldy bits and let the boys sleep on their SIMs. I can't wait to go camping

Hmmm, OldTeacher - is your Boden Dress fireproofed?

Do you think the Olympic sailing will cause the Dorset sites to be booked up?

LiW - I can seeeeeeee that orange wonder, it's behiiiiind you! (I was sorely tempted by orange, too)

Mine's orange! We will never bloomin' miss it! Lol

It's certainly bright isn't it mucho, it's even brighter than my boys' hair and that is saying something. I can't wait to load it up with food, we threw away so much last year when we were away because we didn't have anything in the way of a cool box. The wine was often disagreeably warm as well

(luffs ya)

We have RED and love it. Been using it for over 3 weeks now and v impressed (it is our fridge over flow, keeping my wine chilled)

Well it was booked for the dates we wanted anyway.

So I have booked onto the spare Northdown site. Just hoping now I've convinced myself that the overflow site has the same kudos as the first, with different views. However, the upside is that it was much cheaper so we can buy more ice cream.

LIW - yeah it is bright, scarily so! Warm wine is not a good thing at all!

Seashells, our kitchen isn't big enough to use ours all the time or I would be very tempted to use it already.

Eashells - how many freezer blocks are you putting in to keep things cold?

Oh, I need to pack my Boden dress with the Bell Tent and bunting? Cool!