CARRY ON CAMPING??? NOT ON YOUR NELLIE AND WHY???
Posted: Friday, 04 July 2008 |
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind, the answer is blowing in the wind.
I am forever under-whelmed at my intelligence.
At the divine inspirations which frequently tell me 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good idea (at the time - but rarely is).
And so it was that one of these inspired moments led me to believe that a solitary camping trip to Tiree was a good idea.
TIREE LANDMARK - THE BEAUTIFUL PINK HOUSE.
Fuelled with enthusiasm and a lust for the great wilderness, I packed my tent and the kitchen sink and headed to the island next door.
Undaunted by the gloomy weather forecast of high winds and heavy rain, I boarded the Calmac Ferry with a song in my heart.
鈥淟isten to the sound of the pouring rain
Telling me just what a fool I鈥檝e been
Leaving Coll in warm sunshine and blue skies, I arrived on Tiree to a heavy black cloud, which singled me out and hung menacingly above my head.
WHY PICK ON ME? a black cloud above my head
Horizontal rain and gale force winds quickly followed.
Undeterred by this (foreseen) turn of events I decided against wild camping and opted for the sanctuary of the island鈥檚 official camp site, where at least I could have a hot shower.
Two hours later I was still battling to erect my tent, the gale force wind ripped and tore at the flapping canvas of this 2 bed roomed monster.
Eventually, with the help of some kind hearted fellow campers, who took pity on the crazy woman, the tent was up, but the air bed was down. The foreboding 鈥渟ssssss-ing 鈥 sound of leaking air, which every camper dreads meant I would be sleeping on hard, thistly ground.
THE MAJESTIC THISTLE, (rather prickly on the old bum tho')
There was little protection at the campsite and my carefully pitched tent was rather exposed to the full force of the Atlantic gale, which was now at its zenith. I sat inside shivering and listening to the creaking sounds of tent poles under severe strain. I decided that if the men in white coats arrived, I would go peacefully and not put up a fight.
Happy days !!
Soon a caravan pitched alongside me. Other poor souls seeking refuge I wrongly assumed.. In the window was a sign which read:
鈥淎h, young newly weds鈥 thought I, 鈥渉ow romantic鈥
I was horrified to see in the caravan, not newly weds, but a man, 50 going on 19, leering at me from behind his steamed up window. With a tango-ed perm-a-tan, his shirt opened to the waist and a zero carat gold medallion hung about his grizzled grey hairy chest.
As I pegged down my tent for the 100th time, I pretended that I had not seen his leery, toothless grin nor his reptilian eye which winked in a saucy but revolting manner.
Yikes, a mountain man I cringed, all he needs is a banjo.
DELIVERANCE sprang to mind and I decided to sleep with my clothes on in case tangoman came AKNOCKIN鈥
The hard ground was unforgiving, and my back ached, the two dogs sat atop of me trying to steal what warmth I had. Sleep was elusive, the storm raged on whipping at every tiny chink in my tent. Finally two of the tent poles snapped under pressure and the tent collapsed.
Fearing assistance from Tangoman, I thought beggar this for a game of soldiers and climbed into my car and headed to the hostel.
I returned the next day, gathered up the ripped remnants of my totally wrecked tent and dumped it unceremoniously in the public skip.
I felt strangely liberated. No more tent, no more camping - EVER !! My camping days are well and truly over.
For a further 72 hours the rain and wind continued to lash Tiree. Ignoring the weather forecast had been foolish and had cost me my tent.
The next two nights were spent in a homely B and B where I re-discovered the joys of an electric blanket. I felt so cosy and warm and safe.
Pretty Black House, Tiree.
When I finally ventured out in the car, a bird, fleeing from the storm, flew inside my car. He took up residence beneath the steering column, dried himself off and chirped quite merrily as I taxied him around Tiree. Try as I may to lure him out, he would not budge and became my companion for the remainder of the wet and otherwise miserable day.
Scarinish Bay, Tiree, "Washed up" (a bit like how I felt really)
Thursday, the storm is over and I sit here writing in scorching sunshine. I鈥檓 having a picnic overlooking a beautiful bay. Earlier I had walked to a remote rocky outlet and accidentally stumbled upon a rather large, fluffy chick, totally hidden amongst the rocks. The parents watched anxiously as I moved quickly away.
GULL CHICK HIDDEN AMONGST THE ROCKS
Two gulls deep in conversation, whispered as I passed by...
THE WHISPERING SEAGULLS
A snipe posed beautifully for a photograph. All was well with the world.
SNIPE POSING ON FENCE POST, ISLE OF TIREE
The sunshine has made everything better, the storm is a distant memory.
COLOURFUL LOBSTER CREELS, READY FOR WORK
I am catching the boat back to Coll tonight at 6.30 pm .
The sun has finally set on my camping days....
Will I miss Camping?
I will certainly miss the romantic notions of camping which exists inside my head:
The delicious smells of bacon sizzling in the pan
Constant sunshine and warm gentle breezes
Soft ground and the fragrance of crushed thyme.
Barbequing prawns and toasting sticky pink marshmallows on the campfire
Waking to the sound of birdsong and stumbling upon a startled hare as he sleeps in the machair.
Being at one with nature,
Feeling wild and free
Will I miss camping?
Yes, I think I will.
Have a good weekend everyone !!
XX
I am forever under-whelmed at my intelligence.
At the divine inspirations which frequently tell me 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good idea (at the time - but rarely is).
And so it was that one of these inspired moments led me to believe that a solitary camping trip to Tiree was a good idea.
TIREE LANDMARK - THE BEAUTIFUL PINK HOUSE.
Fuelled with enthusiasm and a lust for the great wilderness, I packed my tent and the kitchen sink and headed to the island next door.
Undaunted by the gloomy weather forecast of high winds and heavy rain, I boarded the Calmac Ferry with a song in my heart.
鈥淟isten to the sound of the pouring rain
Telling me just what a fool I鈥檝e been
Leaving Coll in warm sunshine and blue skies, I arrived on Tiree to a heavy black cloud, which singled me out and hung menacingly above my head.
WHY PICK ON ME? a black cloud above my head
Horizontal rain and gale force winds quickly followed.
Undeterred by this (foreseen) turn of events I decided against wild camping and opted for the sanctuary of the island鈥檚 official camp site, where at least I could have a hot shower.
Two hours later I was still battling to erect my tent, the gale force wind ripped and tore at the flapping canvas of this 2 bed roomed monster.
Eventually, with the help of some kind hearted fellow campers, who took pity on the crazy woman, the tent was up, but the air bed was down. The foreboding 鈥渟ssssss-ing 鈥 sound of leaking air, which every camper dreads meant I would be sleeping on hard, thistly ground.
THE MAJESTIC THISTLE, (rather prickly on the old bum tho')
There was little protection at the campsite and my carefully pitched tent was rather exposed to the full force of the Atlantic gale, which was now at its zenith. I sat inside shivering and listening to the creaking sounds of tent poles under severe strain. I decided that if the men in white coats arrived, I would go peacefully and not put up a fight.
Happy days !!
Soon a caravan pitched alongside me. Other poor souls seeking refuge I wrongly assumed.. In the window was a sign which read:
鈥淎h, young newly weds鈥 thought I, 鈥渉ow romantic鈥
I was horrified to see in the caravan, not newly weds, but a man, 50 going on 19, leering at me from behind his steamed up window. With a tango-ed perm-a-tan, his shirt opened to the waist and a zero carat gold medallion hung about his grizzled grey hairy chest.
As I pegged down my tent for the 100th time, I pretended that I had not seen his leery, toothless grin nor his reptilian eye which winked in a saucy but revolting manner.
Yikes, a mountain man I cringed, all he needs is a banjo.
DELIVERANCE sprang to mind and I decided to sleep with my clothes on in case tangoman came AKNOCKIN鈥
The hard ground was unforgiving, and my back ached, the two dogs sat atop of me trying to steal what warmth I had. Sleep was elusive, the storm raged on whipping at every tiny chink in my tent. Finally two of the tent poles snapped under pressure and the tent collapsed.
Fearing assistance from Tangoman, I thought beggar this for a game of soldiers and climbed into my car and headed to the hostel.
I returned the next day, gathered up the ripped remnants of my totally wrecked tent and dumped it unceremoniously in the public skip.
I felt strangely liberated. No more tent, no more camping - EVER !! My camping days are well and truly over.
For a further 72 hours the rain and wind continued to lash Tiree. Ignoring the weather forecast had been foolish and had cost me my tent.
The next two nights were spent in a homely B and B where I re-discovered the joys of an electric blanket. I felt so cosy and warm and safe.
Pretty Black House, Tiree.
When I finally ventured out in the car, a bird, fleeing from the storm, flew inside my car. He took up residence beneath the steering column, dried himself off and chirped quite merrily as I taxied him around Tiree. Try as I may to lure him out, he would not budge and became my companion for the remainder of the wet and otherwise miserable day.
Scarinish Bay, Tiree, "Washed up" (a bit like how I felt really)
Thursday, the storm is over and I sit here writing in scorching sunshine. I鈥檓 having a picnic overlooking a beautiful bay. Earlier I had walked to a remote rocky outlet and accidentally stumbled upon a rather large, fluffy chick, totally hidden amongst the rocks. The parents watched anxiously as I moved quickly away.
GULL CHICK HIDDEN AMONGST THE ROCKS
Two gulls deep in conversation, whispered as I passed by...
THE WHISPERING SEAGULLS
A snipe posed beautifully for a photograph. All was well with the world.
SNIPE POSING ON FENCE POST, ISLE OF TIREE
The sunshine has made everything better, the storm is a distant memory.
COLOURFUL LOBSTER CREELS, READY FOR WORK
I am catching the boat back to Coll tonight at 6.30 pm .
The sun has finally set on my camping days....
Will I miss Camping?
I will certainly miss the romantic notions of camping which exists inside my head:
The delicious smells of bacon sizzling in the pan
Constant sunshine and warm gentle breezes
Soft ground and the fragrance of crushed thyme.
Barbequing prawns and toasting sticky pink marshmallows on the campfire
Waking to the sound of birdsong and stumbling upon a startled hare as he sleeps in the machair.
Being at one with nature,
Feeling wild and free
Will I miss camping?
Yes, I think I will.
Have a good weekend everyone !!
XX
Comments
Oh Squidgy, your blog made me laugh! Long live the electric blanket! And good riddance to the tent. Liberation indeed. BTW what happened to your bird passenger?
Jill from EK
you did pick the wrong time didn't you squidgy, glad you found a warm dry place to stay, love the red sky photo,
island threads from lewis
Jill, the bird, which was a starling, stayed in the car for hours, I think he loved the heater blowing on his wet feathers, eventually, I drove back to whence he came. The rain had briefly stopped and I opened a window. He sat by the open window for a while before flying off. A most unusual experience, even by my standards.
Squidgy the Otter from A bit of a bird brain
Anyone who is interested in doing more with their pics/images, should take a look at ANIMOTO.com. This is a free site, where you just load up your images, choose some music, and Animoto do the rest, making a very clever video out of your own images. Loading the photos takes a while and I found loading individually was less frustrating. Unfortunately, Island Blogging does not allow the embedding, but if you have Facebook, or Myspace, well you can produce, star in and create your own video. Just thought I would share that with you M8's !!!
Squidgy the Otter from becoming very animated with..
Loved this blog, loved the sentiments, the memories, the wit which can only be displayed by one who through experience has become wise and good enough to share! Thanks Squidgy!!
LB from fromnotthere
Gosh! You met Mountain Man and he leered at you Squidgy? And he had a 'tango-ed perma-tan', a grizzled hairy exposed chest and no teeth! All those pics he's posted of himself must be stunt doubles!
Flying Cat from outer darkness
I'm in stitches laughing!! I hated camping as a girl guide and reading your blog just confirms my thoughts--camping ==nightmare!! your blog,as usual is brilliant and the photos superbe! i'm glad you enjoyed yourself apart from the tent bit. do you want some of our heat sent over(35掳)in the shade today (saturday 5th july),i'm not putting my head outside before 19h!!
carol from the usual place
I get the same notions for camping but the timing is tricky if you want to avoid the dreaded midges and the howling gale. we've been camping once since having children and baby nearly hypothermic and toddler must have slept for 2 hours in total out of 48! Then somebody collapsed in toilet block right beside our tent and ambulance was required. Scenery was great tho as we were in beautiful Arisaig. Still tempted to try a rerun tho!
Moy from Mull
That is one of my dreams Squidgy, to do exactly what you attempted without the gails, wind and rain. To camp on a remote Scottish Island all by myself and enjoy the kind of solitude that nature offers. Someday!!! Am sure you will have better luck next time.
Lar from France
What a great experience, Squidgy! Lucky you. He probably told all his friends about it :-)
Jill from EK
A bit what I feel about sailing, just now, Squidgy. After a wet and windy pasage across teh North Sea (3 days and nights) we got half-way down Loch Ness before an extra wild gust tore the mainsail and boom from the mast so suddenly we had a spinnaker instead of a mainsail. Quick work with a knife saved the sail at the expense of the ropes that haul it up and down. Ms. Barney and teenage girls took it all in their stride, good work! So back to Inverness for motor and rig repairs, will be complete by 15 July I hope, when I return to Scotland to continue progress towards the Western islands and the softest otter ... you! We used the spare time to visit Orkney but unfortunately EffCee and Mr. Marmers were not yet out of the chink. Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe, Stenness, Scara Brae and Broch of Gurness all in good form, though. Weather permiting about the 20th of this month Coll should haul into sight above the horizon. Fanfare!!!
Barney from Swithiod not Scotland
Oh Barney, I was wondering what had happened to you all during these awful storms. Fortunately the weather has improved now, although quite windy, and last night I sat atop of a hill watching the most spectacular sunset. The colours were just ... well I cannot find the words to describe them. And guess what M8's, I felt like camping out again, only wild camping this time without Tango the Banjoman lurking in the grass. Hot day, slight breeze, wild camping on the machair, white wine chilling in the burn, good book and a stunning sunset to round off the day. It's a wonderful life !!
Squidgy the Otter from Spyglass to the Ready
You can't keep a good otter down!
Barney from Swithiod moist aorund the eyes
Some otters never learn...
Jill from EK
Our mole in a certain caff in Stromness says Cap'n Barney has a definite twinkle in his weather eye!
Flying Cat from stir crazy
Don't worry Jill, I'm only kidding. No more carry on camping for me. Oh no, I'm orf on my jollies to Cyprus pretty soon, (once the heat has cooled down slightly) A hotel in Coral Bay has my name on a beautiful room overlooking the bay. Mama mia, here I go again !! Okay I know Mama mia is on the Greek Islands, but Cyprus is near enough!!
Squidgy the Otter from No more blonde days
Twinkle in his eye eh??? is it for the Cats or the Otter I wonder...mmmm.....
Squidgy the Otter from Twinkle Twinkle little star
when does yoyr son set off for the "pays basque"??
carol from burst a stitch
Camping is never dull, that's for sure. Great pics too Squidgy.
Carol from IBHQ
#1. Moles, being blind, should not be able to see twinkles. But certain moles, twinkling wildly themselves, might see their own twinkles reflected in the eye of the beholder. A nice twinkle, to be sure. #2. Squidgy, how could you? There are twinkles for cats and twinkles for otters and now, it would seeems, twinkles from moles. Don't worry! enought twinkles for everyone. Join the line there, but the OTTER is first! If she is there, that is. Coral Bay is on no chart of mine.
Barney from Swithiod suprise, suprise
Carols, thank you for your comments. Boy Squidgy is preparing for hols to Spanish Pyrenees as we blog. Barney, you do realise that I am already working on a BARNEY AND SQUIDGY BLOG, along the lines of the OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT WENT TO SEA.... (if you know that one) with a few twists and turns along the way, including a big rod (for fishing) tee hee. Naughty, naughty, Squidgy. (only kidding). Coral Bay is just outside Pafos, Ideal for a sun worshipping otter like myself. Well yesterday was red hot and I spent the day working at the office (ie on the beach). I worked so hard that I fell asleep on the machair and did not wake up until 7 o'clock.
Squidgy the Otter from Creativity+poems-R-Us
Funny how mpu remarked on the mole's twinkle in much the same way...must be a certain je ne sais quoi in the Orkney air!
Flying Cat from endurance test in Durance Vile
The mpu is obviously savvy, please pay my due respects. But I would suppose that the "je sais quoi, exactement..." is rather a function of the mole than the Orkney air. Moles, cats, otters ... IB is certainly a collection of nutters! Squidgy, perhaps a combination of the O & the PC with "The Jumblies" .. you remember, they went to sea in a sieve/And their hands were green and their faces blue..???? quoting from a very bad, ancient memory. Shall we "dine on quince with plenty of mince when we dance by the light of the moon" on the white sands of Coll? Is there a piggy in a wood, with the necessary? I shall be careful to take along a shilling. "Be prepared, it's the Boy Scout's marching song, Be Prepared". If anyone wants the full story of the North Sea crossing they can find it in English under the News section of www.segliskottland.se
Barney from Swithiod recognising wisdom from afar
Nutters??? nutters? who on earth on Island blogging is a nutter? I may be an eccentric loony, but a nutter, oh dear. As for going to sea in a sieve, my face would be green and the air would be blue. There seems to be moles on every island, some islands however, have more moles than others, mmmmm
Squidgy the Otter from Poem is nearly complete ! tee hee
www.seglaiskottland.se should work.
Barney from Swithiod typo sorry
Congratulations to my brother Alan and Fi who got engaged on Saturday BIG surprise for her she thought it was only a Birthday party she was having! Wonder where the wedding'll be? she's from Wolverton or do we prepare Burnside for a wedding? ( person + house) anyway she's lovely! we're chuffed, he's chuffed, she's chuffed
Going of the topic a bit! from Pure Chuffed
A bit???
Flying Cat from atopically yours
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