CARRY ON CAMPING ~ BRIAN ~ TRUE STORIES ?

CAMPING  BOTH MY PARENTS ~ Had been associated with the Scout Movement so when we went Camping it was all according to *SCOUTING FOR BOYS* PUBLISHED IN 1908 !  Wooden tent pegs - just a ground sheet - cooking on a Open Fire and Reveille @ 6am with a BUGLE. It was the 1980's but he preferred a Farmers Field or No Mans Land to Modern Camp Sites with Showers & Toilets & ce Cream !  We had a POLE with a Union Jack which we lowered each Evening & raised each Morning. He were a right Royalist were me Dad ! Enjoy the VIDEO - Dont laff its serious ! It does show Breakfast cooked on a *Gas Stove*. As my Dad would say *Very Boys Brigade !* 

LANGUAGES : My Dad was a bit like Del Boy and in Shops in France in Food Stores it was always *Mange Tous* in Spain *Que Sera Sera* and in Italy *Ariverderci  Roma*. In Germany  (with much clicking of heels) *Guten Tag Mein Herr*. To Orientals (or Persons of Colour) it was always *You Spikka Da Inglish ?*. Some replied *Yes Mate do You ?*. However He was well loved and it breaks the ice. But it did make me determined to be semi-fluent in European languages ! 

COOKING :  My DAD loved an open Fire ! And we always had one despite the Clean Air Act and Notices on sites stating *OFFENE FEUR VERBOTEN !* When confronted by the Site Commandant he would feign apology and say *Scusi Bitte No Spikka Das Deush*. In my Parents eyes a camp *Sans Feu* was just a Field.

MUSIC :  My Family were very Musical - My Dad had a Ukulele and knew all the George Formby Songs ! If we were on a communal site. He would organise *A Campfire Singalong*  One farmer complained it was was reducing the Milk Output of his Cows.  My research has always shown that Classical Music (we did sing *You'll Never Walk Alone*) in the Byre improved the Milk Yield. I think it disturbed his sleep as he had to be up @ 5am for Milking. 

SITES :  We - Stephen & Sharon & I preferred Commercial Sites because we could meet other KIDS but Dad (a staunch Socialist) resented having to pay to Camp in his own Country. All Site Owners & farmers were CAPITALISTS. One night in Yorkshire (Enemy territory for Lancastrians) it was dark and we saw a Gate (unlocked) into  a Field - Opened it and drove in our Vintage Cortina & set up camp in the DARK !  I was only @ 6am next morning that we realised we were on the 18th Fairway of the Harrowgate Golf Club. We beat a hasty retreat before the Club Steward arrived !  Sans Feu et sans Petit Dejeuner !  We did however have *Breakfast @ Bettys Cafe* ! Dad sent a fiver to the Golf Club (anonymously) apologising for the holes in the Fairway at Mums insistence !  Dad was proficient @ Tennis & Cricket but considered Golf (and Crocket) too Bourgeois !  On day near Dublin we knocked on a Farmers Door requesting a Site. The Farmers Wife directed us to the rear Garden (sans Vaches) which was idyllic. We daren't make a fire but to our amazement @ 7am the Farmers Wife appeared wit FIVE FULL IRISH BREAKFASTS and five Mugs od Irish Coffee - There is a GOD (well He lives in The Republic of Ireland !).

RELLY RUFF CAMPING :  When I went Fell Walking & Climbing with my School Mate (Sixth Form) ERIC - Snowdonia - Lake District & Scotland we cut everything to the MINIMUM. No Shaving or Washing or Cooking ! We lived in Tinned Beans - Thick Veggie Soup & Corned Beef. Fruit & Cold Milk ! We had a thin Tent & S Bags. We survive and over a period of Three Years (One Month a Year) scaled every Peak over 3000 ft. He was a Geographer / Geologist and I was a Physical & Biological Scientist. We survived and were a lot Wiser & More mature because of it ! 

MOTOR CARAVANNING ~ PARADISE : You will remember that ANGELA & I spent 12 weeks last Year Touring S Island New Zealand in a VW Campervan.  It not only convinced us that we could happily live together for the next 50 Years but that this mode of Camping beat all the others RUFF or SMOOTH ! We felt like snails - snug in our VW Shell and immune to the Weather and MOBILE !  So when all this LOCKDOWN is over - we have decided to hire a CAMPERVAN and spend an IDYLLIC WEEK in the Lake District and relive our S Island (NZ) dream ! 

Thanks for visit hope you enjoyed my stories ! love BRIAN & ANGELA  💛💛💛