Camp Bestival 2017 as a family holiday

When I tell people I'm off to Camp Bestival I get varying responses. Anything from "festivals? aren't they full of drugs and drunks?" to "how much?! I can't afford that for a few days in a field!" so I thought I'd look at some of the myths around festivals, and explain why Camp Bestival is actually the perfect holiday for you and the kids.

The popular stereotype of a festival is of muddy drunken revellers, peeing on tents and raving late into the night before falling over guy ropes, peeing on your tent and then crashing out on someone else's inflatable bed, only to awaken to a vomit stained sleeping bag, your car keys missing, and it's raining again for the 3rd day. The portable chemical toilets are overflowing and you lost your wallet so you can't buy a beer.

And while it's true I might (have) been to a festival or two that are similar to that (not the losing my wallet bit - I'm very security conscious at a festival) Camp Bestival is very far from this sad damp image. (A big plus point is that the festival site is on chalk, so never muddy!)

Camp Bestival is predominately a family festival. So most people have kids with them. They tend to be happy to have a drink, but take their mummy and daddy roles pretty seriously, so there is a lack of vomiting drunks, in fact, wailing toddlers are more common.

As the festival is aimed at families with kids, there is loads to do for children. So the wailing form the aforementioned toddlers is more likely to be because they can't fit all the fun into their day than because they are bored.

The price of any festival is going to be higher than camping alone, because they are providing a camp site, toilets, water points, as well as activities, musical acts and insurance. If you look at all the things a festival provides it's easier to see it's value for money.

Camp Bestival starts on Friday and finishes on Sunday night, but you can arrive from Thursday lunchtime and camp until Monday lunchtime so actual nights camped can be 4.

There are loads of free things to do. You can bring your own food and drink which can save some money.

Free things include all the musical acts of course, and this year we are looking forward to Madness, Mark Ronson, Louisa Johnson and Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer to name just a few. Surfing dudes will be thrilled to hear Brian Wilson is performing on Sunday. But music almost takes a back seat at Camp Bestival, which Rob da Bank (its founder) designed as part way between a festival and a holiday camp (hence the name), with the holiday camp feel in mind there are Blue Coats to entertain the children in all manner of silliness, an Insect Circus (with real insects), tree climbing and all sorts of woodland and outdoor fun, many different craft activities, comedy acts, Punch and Judy shows, clay modelling, silly science shows, musical theatre, early morning cinema, discos and more! all included in the admission price!

There are extras you can pay for, such as face painting, helter skelter rides, a big wheel or a bounce on the world's biggest bouncy castle too, but the strong minded parent can use distraction techniques to avoid spending too much extra if they are prepared!

For the grown ups there are all of the above (I love the cinema in a tent early in the day with a coffee and a croissant) and a Jam Jar cocktail bar, excellent food stalls, late night discos and stand up comedy.

Camp Bestival is one of the least stereotypical 'festivals' I've ever been to and I love it. We have been going for years now and DD still likes to go even at 17 because she likes the lack of unpleasantness you usually get a festivals, I don't think I've ever seen anyone drunk (Unless you count me tipsy - in which case, it happens every year) and I rarely get a whiff of weed. Security staff there are always polite but firm (ooh er!) and I've always felt safe as a single woman camping with my daughter.

And loos? well a festival loo is really what you make it and most mums and dads seem polite enough to leave a loo as clean as they can. After all - parents are made of wet wipes! The loos are cleaned and emptied regularly and over the years they have improved as festival staff have learned from the odd problem encountered. So yes they are portable chemical toilets, but they are generally well cared for.

So for your money you really are getting a good deal. Why not consider it as a family holiday? Maybe have the start of the week at an ordinary campsite and then finish the week on a high with a family festival that really is first class.

Find out about all of this years acts and grab tickets at Camp Bestival's Website

Disclosure : I'm an official blogger for Camp Bestival and so this year I'm attending as their guest

Easter Plans

It's nearly Easter holiday time! If you are a stay at home parent for any reason you might not feel the same frisson of excitement that I do, but this year I've booked a week off work and so I'm free to stay in bed until noon, drink cava for breakfast and have sex in the garden all afternoon  spend more time with the teen and the husband.

Said teen is a studious soul and currently studying for her GCSEs so I fear she'll be revising a fair bit but I'm hoping I can lure her out for some fun at least once or twice.

I have a few things that I have been wanting to do for a while, and while I know I won't be able to do them all I thought I'd list them so I don't forget and also so that if you had input on whether they were good or bad ideas you could tell me! Ditto if you have reviewed any of them in a blog post - please share! (You can't share here, I switched comments off, but let me know via Twitter or my Facebook page - that would be great - thanks)

First choice for me is Marwell Zoo. We have visited several times now as a family and always love it - even in the cold and rain, though I admit it's better on a dry day so the weather may play a part on this decision. We always learn something new, the cages and environments for the animals are really nice, I especially love watching the giraffes. It's about a 2 hour drive, so takes a bit of planning, but now that we no longer have the dogs at least we don't have to rush home to them.

I am sort of tempted to make the even longer drive to Longleat to drive the safari park, but I'm not sure that DH would stay sane all day in car with DD and me. I do love to watch the large carnivores in the park, particularly the wolves, but DH tends to get twitching and want to be getting on with things, I imagine we would be ill-matched on a safari park visit. I think that might need to be a trip we do when we visit family (who live closer to the park) or when we can camp or stay nearby so we are in the car less of the day.

Next is the Winchester Science Centre. DD and I were there for a blogging conference and so had no time to explore but enough time to whet our appetites. It's easy to get to, has lots of parking and is spacious inside. It didn't look too busy when we were there, but I'm not sure that would be true during a school holiday. Still DD really wants to go, she loves experimenting with stuff, I do wonder though if there is enough there for a day with a teenager? Maybe I could combine it with a trip into Winchester? Have you been? What did you think?

I would also love to make a trip to London. That's a 2 hour train ride away and therefore expensive, I may have to buy a railcard to make some sort of saving, especially since now that DD has turned 16 she counts as a grown up and has to pay not only on the train, but on London transport too - gone are the days of cheap days out to London. If we all go, and if we want to be in London before lunchtime it will cost us over £100 on tickets alone, so anything we do there will have to be free! I have thought about Tate Modern, DD and I have visited and really enjoyed it, DH has yet to experience it so that would be nice. If the weather was good a walk in the parks or by the river would be nice too. I am also looking at driving a large chunk of the way and parking just outside the centre, have you done that? I need to investigate parking and where is cheap, easy and safe! What other free London activities can you think of?

It's been a while since I've been to Brighton as a tourist and so I might think about doing the 'seaside day visitor' thing, with fish and chips on the pier, a walk along the promenade, a trip to the Marina and maybe the Pavilion. I could even squeeze in some shopping in the Laines or Churchill Square - particularly if I don't spend all my money on a trip to London! I know that lovely DD aka the teen, needs some new clothes for college in September and we did promise her a new 'college capsule wardrobe' (ooh there's a blog post just waiting to be written) so that would take up a day by itself.

During the entire week of course I will be drinking more alcohol than usual, staying up later, sleeping in longer and eating more chocolate than usual. It is a holiday after all. What will you be up to?

Come and chat over on Twitter or my Facebook page I'd love to hear from you

Looking forward to 2015

Having looked back over 2014 and looking forward to 2015 I can’t help but think I’m a tiny bit predictable!

So far my plans (subject to change) are looking like this

Starting January with no alcohol, for a month! Yes ladies and gentlemen of the internet, I’m signed up for Dry January to give my waistline a chance to shrink, my purse a chance to refill and maybe my liver to take a holiday! Following on from that my year is shaping up like this:

Spring. In the February half term I’m hoping to visit China Town in London for the Chinese new year and also, at another date, meet up with Motherscuffer for the infamous Pizza Express meal (which I won before she was up the duff and so now I have to drink all the prosecco myself! Which I think you will agree is pretty tragic)
In May I am all booked up for the Elderflower Fields Festival (keep checking my blog for news on tickets for this, I’m hoping to have a competition and some discount codes soon)

Summer will continue the festival theme with a repeat of some of the great festivals of last year, kicking off with Camp Bestival (this year with UNDERWORLD / CLEAN BANDIT / KAISER CHIEFS, and THE CAT IN THE HAT and even DICK & DOM! ),Then Wilderness again, and once more the mad glory of Wadfest – if you have a wacky sense of humour and a Nerf gun (and a tent) you really should join me – so cheap, silly, and kids go for 1p!!

Autumn is looking empty at the moment….plans to be made, DD and I have been toying with some more travel and Iceland is looking like a popular choice, we need to browse some travel sites and books.

Winter will spell my 50th birthday – I probably should have a party – I may also get a new tattoo.

Have you any 2015 plans yet? Or are you just hoping to survive! Let me know what you are up to!

My fifteen festive favourites

I’ve been tagged to do my Festive Favourites by Liz at Expression and Confession. I enjoyed reading hers (Cheese!!)  so here are mine:

Favourite Festive Food. A difficult one to start as I love all Christmas food. I like turkey and roast potatoes and parsnips and gravy, stuffing, bacon, even sprouts. But as you can have roasts most of the year without anyone commenting, I'll go with mince pies. I do love a mince pie. This year we've been making our own (though shop bought mincemeat!) as the commercial ones all seem too sweet.

Favourite Reindeer. A what? Hmm can I say a dead one? You can eat reindeer and I haven't tried it yet. I hope it's nicer than moose.

Favourite Day of Christmas. I like Christmas Day. But specifically the afternoon, after the dinner is eaten and cleared away, we can have a mince pie, a glass of cava and sit around the tree and open our presents. Lovely. Then a movie and a snooze, maybe more cava. I can't wait.

Favourite Christmas Song. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen has been a favourite of mine for years, great up beat tune, glad tidings and a reminder of why we are partying. Love it.

Favourite Present:I blogged once about my worst christmas present. My best very Christmas present was my favourite toy as a child, Action Girl and her Horse. Absolutely brilliant. Still prefer her to Barbie and Sindy, and am not averse to having a sneaky game with her even now.

Favourite Festive Film.i used to adore Polar Express and forced my family to watch it every I year. It's still high on the list but recently my husband has converted me to repeated watching of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, with the genius that was John Candy. Not strictly a Christmas film as it's about Thanksgiving, but close enough.

Favourite Festive Cracker Toy. Fortune telling fish. No contest.

Favourite Cracker Joke. Where does a baby chimp sleep? In an apricot. It's my favourite because I didn't get it for years, I think I first heard it when I was about 6 and didn't get it until I was in my 20s lol

Favourite Christmas Decoration. I have a pair of tiny felt slippers that were inherited from my grandma. They are decorative only but of course I tried to wear them as a toddler and then DD tried the same trick. They have many family memories.

Favourite Christmas Candle Scent. Due to reasons we won't go into here, I'm not allowed candles. It's not something I'm proud of. If pushed I'll pick cinnamon and apple,

Favourite Christmas TV Advert. I pride myself on not having seen any (we watch almost everything on delay or prerecorded so we can skip them) but I did catch a glimpse of a family dinner where they were using a gravy boat shaped like the Titanic...I WANT that gravy boat. So who ever that was for, I pick that one.

Favourite Festive Tradition. I still like hanging the stocking with my daughter, and thinking of what Santa will bring, I think it's a shame he never gets to see if she likes what he brings, he always picks good stuff and it can be hard to get things that fit into a stocking.

Favourite Place to Spend Christmas. Home. Though if anyone wanted to send me somewhere warm, all inclusive I'd be willing to give it a go...just to check.

Favourite Christmas Fact. I like the whole St Nicholas story. The mix of fact and fiction that surrounds it.

Copyright: olgacov / 123RF Stock Photo

Favourite Snowman Accessory. A carrot of course, so many places you can use use it...though you may have to add snowballs too.

I’m tagging the following to do their festive favourites and looking forward to reading them!

Rachel at  http://rachelinreallife.co.uk/

Vicky at http://aroundandupsidedown.co.uk/

Chimping Dandy at  http://thechimpingdandy.blogspot.co.uk/

and Tammy at http://tlcukjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

Get blogging and pass it on!!

Festivals, Camping, Spring, Summer. I can't WAIT!!!

So, half an hour of lunchtime left, time for a quick blog about camping and festivals because it's snowing and I am missing being under canvas.

Yes the joy of canvas - and when I say that I'm not euphemistically referring to all tents, I actually own two proper canvas tents. I have a nylon tent too and it's fine, waterproof, light, easy to erect (steady!) but it's not really the same. it doesn't have the authentic camping feel, it has the wrong smell. Ah the smell of a canvas tent, the lovely warm summer smell of the tent as it warms in the sun, or the autumn smell as it dries after rain. Rain which on a nylon tent is noisy but in a canvas tent has an oddly solid 'thump' to each drop, leaving one to assume that the Armageddon of storms is taking place when actually it's a light shower. At least the wind doesn't bend the firm steel poles of my canvas tent though. The canvas might snap and crack like a whip but the tent stays firm in the onslaught of a spring wind.

I am longing to get out in the tent (and to test my new storm kettle!) with my long suffering DD (the darling husband stays home (more sense than TM & DD I bet you are muttering) but it's so close to festival season, costumes are being bought, supplies are being listed (cans of G&T and Pims mostly), soon the tents will be checked.

The first festival I'm off to is the Magical Faery Festival in Findon, Sussex. Sounds delightful, a fine excuse to dance skyclad or in ethereal faery garb to mystical music in a field of green. Here's hoping for fine weather, fine food, fine wines and average toilets.

Many people are put off attending a festival due to the whole 'portable chemical toilets' thing, I can sort of understand that but the first festival I attended was Eastern Haze, DD was 8, it rained and rained, no one could get lorries on site to clean the loos, by day 3 the poop was a foot higher than the seat (who looks at a pile of poop in a festival toilet and thinks "hmm if I hover I can squeeze another one on there"?) and after that, all festival loos appear amazingly clean! and just in case of disaster we take the 'ShitBox' (never had to use it but it's a comfort to know it's there) and Sheewees of course!

After the Faery Festival DD and I are off to Glastonbury of course - and we are so excited we can hardly breathe. More of that in later blog posts.

Then we have tickets booked for Camp Bestival, a true 'middle class mummy' joy of a festival, eco loos, baby changing and breastfeeding tents, Pims on the castle lawn, Jousting, flowers, art, literature, ballet and some good old fashioned music. Love this festival to pieces and will be taking painted festival tent, as we will to the Faery festival - not so sure about Glastonbury, I'm a bit concerned about tent safety (and my lovely canvas being weed on, so may buy a new cheap yet funky tent for Glasto)

And then only the next weekend we will be off to Wilderness, smaller but just as lovely, boating on the lake, smoothies for breakfast, flushing toilets. A gorgeous festival.

And at each festival you find me, erecting the tent, sometimes with help from DD, making it look easy (considering I'm 'only a girl' and then having a celebratory beer.(top tip here - always erect your tent at least once before you go - it saves looking like a tit that has no clue what they are up to and checks no bits are missing!)

Spring, Summer, Festivals, Camping. I simply cannot wait. Are you coming? Should I bring extra Pims?

Camping, fabulous (semi-wild) camping

So, DD and I met up with my brother and his children and we all went camping at Dernwood Farm. It's sort of wild. There are flushing loos, running (cold) water and it's pretty busy but it's just a field, no marked pitches and you can have real fires (which was one of the main reasons we picked this site and was a great addition to camping)

There is a long walk from the car park but that's a big plus as there are no cars on the actual site to worry about. No danger for the kids and no car noise. (and safety for the many toads on the site)

We visited Hailsham Leisure Centre on the one day it rained and the girls had great fun on the flume and in the pool. We also did a quick bit of charity shop shopping.

On  the Sunday we went to Hastings and the girls played on the extremely windy beach.

On the Monday wewent to Heathfield for the french market (in full moustache mode), made candles, bought bread and generally had a fab time.

And every night was fire and marshmallow night.

Now we can't wait for our next adventure!

Jubilicious

Well, the Jubilee was a bit of a wash out in our house. DH is failry anti-monarchy so the bunting was subdued (allowed on 'my side' of the house only!) and poor DD came down with a horrble cold on Sunday afternoon causing her to want to stay in bed (on a holiday!!) 

The cold also meant that there was no chance of a trip to the Arundel Lido on the Monday. A Monday where we also had a street party invite which due to cold and rain we also didn't attend. All in all a rather sad Jubilee. 

We did however, find time to bake some jubilee cakes, and make most of a sock bunny using instructions from here, although we are out of stuffing now so he is pathetically skinny until our ebay order arrives.

Red(ish), white(ish) and blue(ish) cakes

 

We also found time to watch the rather fun Jubilee Concert, causing merriment in the house when DD said "At least Cheryl Cole isn't on the bill" only 3 minutes before Miranda Hart announced that Cheryl would be singing with Gary Barlow! Our fave bits were Jessie J, Tom Jones and the light and firework displays, we also enjoyed Grace Jones (talented on the hula hoop) and Madness who are just always fun.

How was your Jubilee? What did you get up to? Did you love it or loathe it?

And a Trip to Brighton, that wasn't work

So sunny we went to Brighton as Tourists on my day off last week, We went on the pier, ate seafood, and generally did touristy stuff.

DD and I went on the roller coasters at the end of the pier - I screamed like a girl and it was fabulous. DD was thrilled that one of them had a loop and as she had never been on an inversion coaster before she was beside herself with excitement. We went on, sat at the front and loved it! she wanted to do it again, but at £4 each I called it a day.

Here are some pics from our day. What is Mr Tattooed Mummy looking at?!