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i
saw Batman standing by a tree p
- i - s - s - i - n - g Batcamp 25 - 28 August 2006 |
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Do
you remember last year we'd planned to set up on the Thursday night, and all
sorts of things cropped up to stop us ? This year we
didn't even load the cars until mid Friday morning,
and we were all set up by mid afternoon. |
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One
of our number (a bit of a novice when it comes to camping) wasn't too
sure about how to set up his tent and so was grateful to have his tent put up
for him. However he was very keen to be given useful
jobs around the camp site, not wanting to appear to being guilty of "fart
arse-ing around™". Little
brother wasn't fooled for a minute. |
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Saturday's
weather wasn't all that it might have been, and for that reason only our
Webmaster was glad to be at work in the dry, but he'd rather have been in the
pub for the traditional Saturday BatCamp pub lunch. He
was doubly miffed to miss seeing two friends who are soon off to foreign
parts. |
Batcamp isn't Batcamp
without the scoff - here's the head chef's lowdown on what was going on in
the kitchen tent |
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Chicken
Fajitas Ingredients Diced
chicken Peppers Onions Fajita
bread White
Wine Mixed
Italian Herbs Cooking
instructions Slice
the peppers and the onions. Put
a small amount of oil in the wok (I used a wok Mum) and heat it, add
the diced chicken and start stirring like a mad thing. This is the point when
you work out that the heat is too high so turn it down a bit and stir less
madly. At
the same time stir fry the pepper and the onions, do them in separate pans as
you don't want the flavours to mix (and I don't like peppers). Go
back to the chicken and see if it is looking anywhere near done, and add a
generous measure of white wine. Allow to simmer. Enlist
some helpers because although you have two hand, you have three pots and can
only concentrate on one of them because you have drunk too much of the wine
you should have used for the chicken. Back
to the chicken add a bit more wine and let it reduce some more, then add some
Italian mixed herbs. Let that simmer some more. Warm
the fajita bread. Scream
"Food Is Ready!!" put some chicken in the warmed
bread add onions and peppers wrap and serve with a pre-made yogurt dressing. |
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Spiced
mince meat pasta with potato Gratin. (aka.
Spag bog with cheesy chips) Ingredients Mince
Meat (Beef I think) Pasta Potatoes Pasta
Sauce Cheese White
Wine Oxo
Cube And
what I forgot to put in Onions Garlic Cooking
instructions Before
you start I recommend that you enlist some help. I tried to do it by myself
and got all stressed out half way through so I had to hit the bottle then. Grate
some cheese this will be used later. Peel
and slice the potatoes in to 3.7mm thick discs. Throw the discs into a pot of
water and set them cooking (How long you ask, well I haven't the foggiest
the girlie types told me when they were ready.) Next
dump the mince into another pan with a little oil, heat it up and start to
get the fat and water out of it. Drain the rubbish out and put in lots of
white wine (well as mush that is left the you haven't already drunk due to
your nervous breakdown.) After
it is been going for a while add the pasta sauce and
stir in breaking up an oxo cube or two. (this
where the garlic and onions should have gone in but I didn't have garlic and
I forgot the onion's, hell by this time I had forgotten my own name.) Boil
up the pasta (Thanks Martin) while the girlies start to sauté the
potatoes that were boiled. When
the pasta is ready bung it in with the mince and sauce add a bit more wine (if
there is any left and some mixed herbs). Nick
the potatoes that have been sautéed by the girls (before they are nicked
by the hungry campers) and arrange them on top of the mess so that they
cover it completely. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top cover and allow to
simmer for a few mins or until the cheese has melted. |
Serve
up with a nice merlot and wait for the ooo's and ahhh's from the starving campers who would have eaten
anything by this point and said it tasted good. |
Meanwhile
there was still a lot of "fart arse-ing
around™" to be done.... |
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Our
WebMaster was back just in time for dark. There's
something to be said for the old adage about red skies at night - the clouds
were incredible for about two minutes, then it all went dark. Well,
it would do - we were in a field !! |
The
bad, the worse and the ugly sat around the fire until the early hours
drinking far too much.... |
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....
whist others wrapped themselves against the chill night air, poised to leap
into action should the need for"fart
arse-ing around™" arise. |
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Sunday
was a lazy day, spent making the most of the sunshine. Scoobies
don't tie themselves, and fish don't catch themselves, you know. |
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Fishing
is always popular at Batcamp, and for once the
early morning fishing patrol was up earlier than the cows, who didn't start
moo-ing until half an hour AFTER the first fish was
caught. |
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It
was good to have some friends join us for a spot of fishing on the Sunday
afternoon. Whilst
El Presidente's father in law is an accomplished
fisherman, his brother is something of a novice. |
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A
striking family resemblance |
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In
the meantime the "fart arse-ing around™" was temporarily abandoned in favour
of going to the loo.... |
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or tidying up the tent ....... |
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Oh
- and we has a drink or two as well ! |
There
is an archive of photos from this camp on-line which you can view by clicking here.