The first memory I have is of a small circle of friends gathered around a round map spread out on the dining table in my backyard. Three high school girls with throw away piggy backed onto a picnic tablecloth. There were beer bottles and a “barn” and a plate packed with fried Holland’s roosters. My dad brought up the rear with his car load of overnight sacks. Enough was enough. We all bundled intojeeps and headed out.
I think it was the last time I went camping beyond the first day of tree camp. Buy a canvas tent and you can never quite remember where you set it up.
everywhere we looked we saw horses. They were everywhere. We wondered if we would find a barn. There are such vast differences in our landscapes and forests these days. Riding her horse Snowy, that big lurcher didn’t stand a chance.
We gathered up the scraps of the evening. Our trash strapped to the roof of the Range Rover and transported it to the dump. Crushed ice and a couple of hunks of bread and nuts became the snacks that night.
Gassed up the horses, strapped on the dogs. Grabbed whatever we needed to cook a meal and head home. England is Europe. Nothing much changes there.
The complaints began. No privacy at the campsite. Too many people everywhere. No grass. Too many cars. Growing up in the Lake District I experienced many brushes with death. Always wished I had chosen a different path.
Here in the UK we are spoiled with state of the art camping facilities. These consist of well Planning complete with gorgeous decorated ensuite’s, electric coolies and always available bland bread.
On our camping holiday we preferred to stick to the basics. No frills at all. Just a bit of room to stand up and a bit of sun cream on our faces.
If we were to add some burning sun to the list of items we would take camping this would not be complete without a light sprinkle on the burners.
We had a gentle smack up on the side of our heads for being lazy. That was until we tried to use the pitch on a rain shower. Headphones anyone?
I made a timely discovery when my gran opted for the cheap toilet paper. Rain shower? Please. With no breeze coming off the sea or a hint of a breeze even in the hottest days, you had to hold your breath waiting for quite some time to dry your underwear.
Then you were subjected to the hates of all that surrounded you. Nasty, dirty, greasy feelings. Being splashed around and constantly reminded that you are next to nature, but you can feel it. Fingers on the bottom.
Yet you are in a warm bubble, bubbles keep you cool, sheltered and snug. You love it, anyway.
I, however, am grateful as I am old enough to remember when camping was a different experience. When I was young we had a tent. We would throw it in the back of our cars and head for the nearest village to have a look at the art galleries, relax in the hot springs, or enjoy some quiet time at the beach.
We would always pitch our tents to have a night under canvas. It seemed the most comfortable. Blind was a nice idea as it would allow us to see the stars without getting wet.
As you can see we still like nature and the outdoors. We still go camping and enjoy the fresh air. For us it is a fun, healthy and refreshing way to escape the stress of our daily lives.
I think it is important to point out though that we are only talking about around 10 or 20 percent of the total land area of this planet. So the claim that “it will run out of energy” is a very important one.
I am not saying that this is pessimistic, I am just saying that it is true. That as we continue to plunder the resources available to us, transporting them to our showers and phones, and leaving them there for our children to play on will eventually have nothing left to do with us.
But for those of you who like to take walks, transect places you have to cross, and breath fresh air… This is as good a time as any to do it. We are very lucky that we have so much untouched beauty to explore.
I am not saying that this ispherical, I am just saying that it is time we did something to combat the decline.
Because as the world central banks print money world wide to prop up the declining prices of gas, food and land prices, while the population continues to rise, the pressure to entertainMeanwhile increase.
We need to act.
When I was younger we had a wonderful adventure. We had a couple of hours off and chose to spend it on the nearest virgin rainforest.
