Dry January

I'm taking part in dry January this year. For those not au fait with what this entails, dry January is sadly not a guarantee of a rain free month but a chance for people that normally imbibe to ...erm...not.

So for 31 long days I shall be shunning alcohol, no sneaky beer after work, no bottle of cava (and subsequent drunken blog post) on a Sunday after noon, no downing shots until I puke during The Musketeers (well not until February anyway).

What is the point? Well may you ask, it's not long enough to really rest the liver or help my liver function in any way (though I am going to take some milk thistle to see what that might achieve!) and I'm not doing it to raise money for charity (do not get me started on sponsored stuff - that's a whole other post).

I'm doing it because it will be good for me, for me, I'm not saying it would be good for you or you should do it. I hope it will help me sleep better (actually I barely need help there, but maybe I'll be more refreshed from the sleep I do get), I know it will help me save money, at around £5 for a bottle of wine or case of beer I should be £10....£20 .....£30 .... quite a bit better off for not buying it. I also hope it will break the habit of an alcoholic drink each night after work, maybe letting me get back to 'not on a school night'. I'm not a saint or a martyr or better than you, I'm just choosing to not drink alcohol during January.

Why tell us all about it them? Another good question. I think it will be easier and dare I suggest, more fun, to do this as a group with other friends in real life and on social media, also a promise is somehow easier to stick to when you tell everyone about it.

Do you think it's really such a big deal? Well no, not really, I gave up booze no problem for 9 months when I was pregnant and only drank small amounts for the ten months after that as I was breastfeeding, so no I don't think it will be anything other than a minor annoyance.

I'm spending some money on drinks though, just non alccoholic ones. I will be stocking up on Ginger Beer, J2O, sparkling water and various fruit juices, not becasue I think they are healthy but I know I'll get bored of tap water.

Are you taking part? If so what are your reasons? And what will you be drinking instead? I'd love to know.

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?