28 August 2009 (Friday) - To BatCamp
|
|
‘er indoors TM went onto Once equipped with Martin & Tony we set
off (via the tackle shop) to Tesco’s. Supplies were bought, and we
then popped into Starbucks. I don’t do that very often. They do good stuff,
but they don’t give it away. And then to BatCamp.
Martin & Batty had set up most of the stuff yesterday, but we still had
the turdis to erect, and a poop-pit to excavate.
Those jobs didn’t take long, and then I put up my new £7 hammock (£7 –
bargain!!) and dozed for most of the afternoon. Once 4pm came, I was conscious that I was
wasting time asleep, and so we got an hour’s fishing in. Relative to what
I’ve had there in the past, I got a couple of whoppers before the afternoon
was done… |
29 August 2009 (Saturday)
- Drinking too Much
|
Despite a late night last night, I was up
before 7am. Seeing as the place was such a hive of industry, I went fishing
for a couple of hours until people woke up. Having seen a heron and a shag (oo-er!) around the pond, I expected the
strange looking bird I found there to be equally unwelcome. But despite my
giving the bird evils, it continued to sit by the pondside,
and it went to sleep. It turned out the bird was a Muscovy duck who lives
there. I wandered back to camp shortly after 9am to
find people beginning to move about, and we soon tucked into sossies, bacon and eggs. A quick dose of washing up, and
then back to the fishing. The pond was only dug out a few years ago, and all
of the fish in it are ones I caught in another pond and fetched over in a
bucket. Those fish have really grown in a very short time, and are breeding. |
|
|
|
About mid day, some
sixth sense told me to return to the camp site. I got there to find I did most of the washing up, but as the
light was failing, I gave up. I’ve washed up in the dark before, and it’s a
silly thing to do. I left it for the morning, and having said goodbye to our
visitors, we sat around the fire until far too late…. |
30 August 2009 (Sunday) -
A Family Reunion
|
Despite a gutful of beer yesterday, I was up,
shaved, yesterday’s washing up done, and fishing before 7am. A successful couple
of hours were spent at the pond before braving the campsite and hoping some
brekky was on the go. Just as we tucked into bacon and eggs, “My
Boy TM ”
arrived with “Daddies Little Angel TM ”.
Both had joined us for the day. This must be the first time since Xmas the
whole family has done anything together. Following brekkie, the first order
of the day was to shift one of the duck houses. Regular readers of my blog
may recall a day last November when I nearly died of hypothermia-induced
shock whilst installing the duck house into the pond. Unfortunately
there is more to duck houses than just launching them into a pond. They
require maintenance. So we eventually managed to get the duck house onto dry
land, and then left it there to drain out. The thing had become somewhat
waterlogged. |
|
|
|
“My Boy TM ” and I then spent a couple
of hours fishing. In his pursuit of leviathans, he would seem to have lost
the art of tiddler bashing, but he soon got the hang of it again. After
dinner we wandered around the fields, and then back to the duck house. The
thing had drained sufficiently to allow four of us to lift the thing onto a
trailer. And then “My Boy TM ” got to drive the tractor
& trailer back to the barn, and that was the last we saw of him for some
time. He then used the tractor to help with muck spreading, to deliver a boat
to one of the ponds, to round up sheep… he developed quite a rapport with
that tractor. Having told me that he would only be along
for a couple of hours, “My BoyTM ” spent most of the day with us. Busying around. His
sister lazed around the campsite with her mother. Both seemed happy, which
was probably for the best. They eventually set off some time in the late
afternoon, and then I went fishing again. This time in the pond from which we
had taken the duck house. The fish were bigger, but the pond was difficult to
fish. There was hardly and space to move about, wield rods or land fish.
Which was a problem as four of my catches needed the landing net. |
|
And then to tea – pork & apple braise. It
has been said that when we camp, we camp in comfort. And last night’s tea was
an example of this. A rather good bit of scoff. Given food like this, I
really don’t mind washing up. And once washed up, rather than going to the
camp fire, we sat, dozed and had a few drinks. But only a few. We were all
worn out, and were all asleep by 11pm… |
|
31 August 2009 (Monday) – All done....
till next time
|
|
Oh, I woke up with such a backache today.
Perhaps sleeping in a tent isn’t good for me? But I was up and fishing before
6am – it hurt to lie down. So I had another go at fishing in the “duckhouse pond”. I had nine fish, six big
enough to need the landing net. And, to be honest, I didn’t enjoy it at all.
There wasn’t enough room. No room to wave the rod about, no room for the net.
I was constantly tangled in brambles. Next time I shall take the chain saw to
the undergrowth. And then brekky – featuring omelette made up
of all the leftovers. It was really great. And then we packed up camp.
There’s something about BatCamp – at a kite
festival we are up early, breakfasted and packed away by 11am at the latest.
Today we were still fiddling around at 2pm. I suppose that because we are on
home territory, there is no urgency. But eventually everything went back into
the barn – that’s camping done for another year. And home to wash the laundry
– in three days I’ve generated loads…. |
There is an album of
photos from this camp that you can view by clicking here
There is another album here