Camping with critters...

Spent the weekend at Hopleys in Bewdley. It was the SVR steam rally weekend, so being an avid train spotter (actually thats a lie) I joined up with some friends for a camp.

Arrived about 5:30pm on Thursday and got most of the camping stuff set up before dark (how rubbish, the nights are drawing in already)

Being anti-social we pitched at the far end of the field away from everyone else, I took Rhubarb for this meet. The 5m and 3m bells at the front are Annies

Gulliver arrived shortly after, he goes for the more minimal primitive approach. Not wanting to waste time putting up a kitchen utility he prefers to take the easy option of setting up a tarp...30 minutes later and 420 king poles and voila! (was certainly a time saver..)

Next to arrive was Gumball (also known as gadget man). He soon had the Rosas pitched

It's hard to keep gumball still, he's always raring to go...err wake up gumball...

We left gumball on Saturday and went out for a few hours. When we got back evidently he had showered, been on a bike ride and climbed everest...I'm not entirely sure he looks as though he has moved...

Had a friend stop over on Friday night so the 3m bell got used for accommodation (we had more visitors than people camping)

Friday I woke up to find my kitchen tent had small holes in it...along with my bread...biscuits...smarties and worst of all my jelly beans...I borrowed Homers rat to recreate the scene of devestation

Homer put the vermin in his place for the rest of the day

He also recreated the passage of the critter robbers by visiting everyones kitchen tents (he regularly does this in the hope of snaffling any available food)

A few token pics of Rhubarb in his red and black finery, and the new stove in action

Trying out the old paraffin heater

Visiting the posh relations on the ehu pitches, deb & tez. Tez isn't so keen on the colder camping so got himself tucked in with the fan heater

Saturday Annie and me decided we should go look at the trains (as it was the whole reason in theory for the weekend)

We took the mutts for a walk down the embankment near Arley. Highlight for them was trying to rob the fishermans bait, and even better one had cake

OK Mutts, stay OUT of the water, I don't want a soggy tent...err....obedient as ever...

So for any avid steam train spotters, these next pics should be thrilling

a blue train

a green train

back of green train

a different green train

Arty farty pics

I call this one ...umm...leaves

Now this one doesn't look much, but it took 10 mins for old lady in pink cardy to get out of the blummin way so you have to look at it now

Some old posters with old peoples heads in the way

a gate and a fence and more leaves

More oldies than in Post Office pensions queue. Can see old woman with pink cardy getting ready to ruin my pic in background

Went back and had more beer round camp fire, with more guests, Mr and Mrs Bonzo joined us. Gumball had ingenious survival method of opening beer bottle with just a sheet of A4 paper! We were amazed by prospect and gathered round for demo

You just fold the paper like so...

10 minutes later and you just twiddle it about a bit and latch it under the rim...

10 minutes later...evidently is usually works all the time...

So the finished job!!

A quick tug with the can opener out the drawer and the lid was off

In gumballs defence evidently if you do find yourself stranded in sahara with bottle of beer and top to get off, you need a sheet of stiffer A4 cream card in a 65g weight preferably embossed. Bear Grylls eat your heart out.

Gumball got in touch with his feminine side and showed us his glamping stuff..ok it's only 1 tealight lantern but its a start...

Sunday morning Scep and smoky joined us for cake and coffee before clearing off in pouring rain to see more trains. We leisurely packed up.

Trailer was emptier on the way home, as I was minus the 3m bell I had brought along for Annie, and the quechua was lighter with a few holes in it..

Had a patching session this afternoon, put a patch of a ...hmmm...well dont know what it is, but covered the little rodent chewy hole