Camping with friends

Walking to the pub, Kent, June 2021 (picture credit: Mr M)

Despite a number of reviews endorsing the Long Versions, I don't think I can keep up that level of detail, especially when I'm not making notes at the time. So I asked Lola II to submit some notes, which she did, but they seem to be Short Versions. I have to conclude that this is my blog and I'll look after it...

After the triumph of the Afternoon Tea, the next treat that Lola II had in store for me was a camping trip along with some less experienced campers: J&J (from family JJL&J), and a new character for the blog whom I'll call The Bursar, as well as Lola II and Mr M.

We determined to make the lives of the less experienced campers as easy as possible. To start with we made sure there were enough chairs, and Mr M and Lola II brought an extra tent for storage so there was more room for them to sleep in their smaller, less luxurious living space, and we also brought all sorts of luxury food items and promised real coffee (see note 1). This all went down very well. The Bursar's tent was actually more sophisticated than the others, requiring just a minute to erect, and he didn't even bother pegging it down.

After all the tents were ready we went for a stroll around the site before returning  to our pitch for hors d'oeuvres and the first night's meal. The food throughout the trip was important to all of us, and we managed to keep standards high. Here is a full review, with notes below:

Thursday lunch: café meal (just me, Lola II and Mr M) where I selected a holiday treat which contains far too many calories to be allowed in normal life - a baked Camembert. It was delicious, and kept me feeling full for the rest of the day.

Thursday evening: campfire cooking courtesy of Mr M and Lola II complete with olives, cocktails (containing nasturtium flowers) and corn and potato snacks. The main event was grilled sausages, marinated chicken and halloumi in buns with salad (I brought the olives, the salad and some of the snacks, Mr M and Lola II did everything else). Delicious. This was followed by S'mores, which are marshmallows on sticks toasted over the camp fire then sandwiched between biscuits with chocolate. 

Friday breakfast: pain au chocolat provided by J&J and The Bursar. No coffee (see note 1 below).

Friday lunch: unremarkable panini at Riverhill Himalayan Gardens café.

Friday evening: the weather was too unsettled for campfire cooking, so it was Wagamama in Maidstone. There was an allium fiasco (note 2).

Saturday breakfast: same as Friday.

Saturday lunch: pub lunch with burgers, salads, chips. The chips were excellent.

Saturday evening: Local restaurant with speciality mussels - they coped better with Lola II's requirements than on Friday evening (note 3).

Sunday brunch: same café as Thursday, but with the whole group this time. The order included two identical breakfasts, one without chives. The waitress brought both without chives, and told us that the chef "didn't know which one was supposed to have no chives."

Note 1: When the time came for real coffee, the cafetière could not be found. Despite hunting high and low (mostly low) among all the many boxes of gear, Mr M and Lola II had to conclude that it had been left behind. Much disappointment  ensued (not for me, I don't care about coffee) but it was clear that if this was the worst that the trip could bring then it was still a very fine trip.

Note 2: Lola II's intolerance to alliums and peppers has been a constant companion whenever eating out takes place. She has many tales of chefs 'forgetting' and waiters denying that the clear piece of onion on the side of the plate doesn't exist, or is something else entirely. The situation improved slightly following the tragedy of a girl who ate a sandwich that wasn't labelled with an allergen, but mistakes continue.

Wagamama operates on the principle that food arrives as it is ready (rather than all at once for the whole party), so when Lola II's meal hadn't come after everyone else had been served, she predicted that they had made it with onion, then realised their mistake and had to make it again. When it finally arrived her prediction was proved false because it clearly had onion in it and had to be sent back. She was served her meal after nearly everyone had finished theirs. As she requested, it was deducted from the bill.

Note 3: For those not used to eating out with Lola II, the allium business was new and interesting, and many jokes were made e.g. about the onion content of desserts. In this restaurant, however, they excelled on the allium exclusion, but looked a bit taken aback when Lola II asked for a pint of lime cordial with some tap water. It was explained that what she really meant was a pint of water with some lime cordial in it.

Aside from the food, our outings were pretty good too. On Friday we went to Riverhill Himalayan Gardens, which contains some lovely plants, a maze, some sculpture, and the direction that the men's toilets are "behind that tree... obviously not literally." There were various activities for children, and the picture shows two  people who are clearly not children occupying a swing.

After lunch we drove back to the campsite, and I'd arranged to meet a friend and his dog in the Country Park up the road. The more energetic of the party walked there while I drove with my friend's Christmas presents, which I was finally able to hand over six months after Christmas was cancelled. He had forgotten mine, so I'll have to wait a bit longer.

On Saturday we woke to the sound of rain, but when I finally braced myself to go out for a shower it was clear there hadn't been any rain at all, just heavy dew from the trees above. We went for a longer walk this morning, and took a very canny detour to the pub for the lunch with the very fine chips. When we got back later in the afternoon Lola II cut my hair, we all played a board game (picture below courtesy of J), then it was off to the slightly upmarket restaurant for dinner. On Sunday the rain finally started in earnest, but only after we had packed everything up and headed off to the café for brunch, then home. With any luck we haven't put off the inexperienced campers and they'll be willing to do it again (probably with coffee next time).