Camping

Mike and I have just had a weeks holiday and spent the last 4 days camping. We found a camping site in the Guardian which hosted a field of Tepees which you could hire and another field for those wanting to bring their own tents. We took our newly acquired tent and in between rainstorms managed to set up camp at the same time trying to prevent Charlie from pulling it down. We had a great time, Charlie loved camping and slept so well. The weather was not on our side but with cagoules at the ready we still went out and about. We spent an afternoon at Camber Sands which was a trip down memory lane for me as it was beach that I used to go as a child. It is quite a magnificent beach, very very long and wide with huge sand dunes at the back. When we got there it was so ridiculously windy that I had to put my snowboarding hat on to stop my hair blowing everywhere and Charlie nearly go blown over.

We had a great trip round Rye one day with my brother and his wife and a lunch in a lovely bistro and made the msot of the few hours of sunshine that were poking through the clouds. Back at the tent we cooked up steak and chargrilled vegetables on our little camping stove, drank loads of wine and had a very long scrabble competition. It was a great trip.

Fabulous Farms

Over the past week or so we have been overloaded with farm filled adventures. A week ago we took Charlie to Farming World, only 10 minutes down the motorway and you find yourself surrounded by farming excitement. And excitement it was indeed. As Charlie now knows most animal names and noises he went absolutely mad on seeing the sow and her 10 piglets and the miniature goats and sheep. This was swiftly followed by the chickens, cockerels and then the piece de resistance was the amazing owl collection. After saying twit-twoo over and over again the adventure playground beckoned. However in total excitement to get to the slide, Charlie did an amazing slide himself right across the pavement grazing his nose and lip in the process. Not to be deterred, the amazing jumping dome saved the day, for Mike more than Charlie I think.

Moving onto last weekend which found us at the Lounge on the Farm festival which we attended with friends and family. It was a brilliant day, listening to the bands and DJs, eating lovely festival food and drinking beer and pints of Pimms. The weather held out for us and in the end turned out to be brilliant sunshine. Highlights of the day were a band called Sonny J, a friend of our neighbour, a really funky dance band with infectious music and then towards the end of the evening a rare treat The Mike Strutter Band. Yes, I have never heard of them either but the lead singer was no other than Paul Kay aka Dennis Pennis. This was his spoof band, with him as lead vocals playing the part of New York Italian mobster turned singer., It was absolutely hilarious and brilliant, playing punk and 70s covers it was totally full on and all in a little tent holding a mere 100 people.

Charlie really embraced the festival spirit eating Moroccan food, dancing in the fields, stealing peoples drinks and generally going wild. Exhausted he fell asleep in the buggy at his usual time and we wheeled him into the cow shed to listen to the grooves of Sonny J at full volume and not a stir was to be heard. Not yet a true festival goer but one in the making.