Dancing through the rain with a smile and good cheer

Bubblesmum

Sun_Addict wrote: »

Tent :eek: Awaits further update.....

SunAddict you might say :eek: but I say :rotfl::rotfl:

The story.......

5 years ago we went to a music festival called Rewind - the South on the banks of the Thames it was great - 1980’s revival, think ra ra skirts leg warmers, if you watched Cold Feet this last series very much like that main stage, silent disco, etc all 80’s themed. Lots of well known singers/ groups, or part of groups ie Kim from Mel and Kim . I lived a very sheltered child/teenage years so basically I am doing things I longed to do as a young adult.

I was/am an eighties girl..... so when we made the decision of my dream of Florence for this years zero birthday wasn’t to be financially.

DH said he would take me to Rewind this year, two tickets purchased, plus two free carers tickets. Then a technical hitch the friends really good campers we thought would come with us, couldn’t - in the end our dear friend who often holidays with us - late 50’s undiagnosed dyspraxia ( falls a lot) former scout - asked to go with us - he is great company puts up with my menopausal irritability, and our only concern is is practical skills :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Last time we begged and borrowed stuff, and we thought we had it covered, we wanted the new type air pro tent to put up, as instead of poles etc we just need a foot pump! The neighbour who was going to lend us his, I sprang a leak last week. He has lent us a pole type.

So first thought was shall we hire one....

Set the picture at Rewind we are in a designated area, all of our own, with the facility to charge our powered wheelchairs and a special portable wet room and toilets - with security it’s away from the main areas where you can hire tents - it’s a bring your own job.

So my initial enquiries about hiring and putting up in disabled area was a trial with the young customer service people at Rewind. Other hire companies don’t hire for festivals and don’t make exceptions ie for secure disabled campsite....

So really we were left with two options:

Use our neighbours tent which was only big enough for us and not our friend and is the lad fashioned type and would be an interesting challenge for two Wobblies and a triple amputee to put up.

Bite the bullet and buy an air pro. However this adds to our current debt, when I’m trying to reduce it!

Reasons to buy:

1. Confident we can put it up!
2. Get one that all three can fit in ( rain!)
3. If a disaster we can resell
4. If a success we can have new adventures .... cheaper holidays while I’m doing my MA ..... friends have already suggested we join them in the Isle of Wight at a Marina campsite, they will bring their small power boat over and take us on a day trip!

Not to - cost..... but then where do we sleep at Rewind !

So we did some research online but ended up at a family run camping shop 21 years vintage with a young man called a Ben, who has been working there since he was 13, for 13 years !

I am going to submit reply before I loose the post.... part 2 what we bought.....

Bubblesmum

So..., we have bought

An ex display model £200 discount :money: 4 berth air pro tent

A double camping bed so I can get on and off it more easily and put my knickers on in the morning ( I didn’t mention the later to Ben ) when he was showing iUs it didn’t tip.

A fold up table which will work with our wheelchairs and has wait for it glass holders cut into the side ( it was in the sale)

A knew igloo ice box so we can take cooked breakfast stuff and cut down on what we buy from food stands.

Plus a few bits and bobs including a yellow plastic egg box - DN rolled his eyes at that..

Still up for debate is a larger gas stove. The Igloo ice box and stove called be used when we hire beach huts in subsequent years in our beloved Southwold....

So we are all set... and it’s rather exciting......

Bubblesmum

Alicia1804 wrote: »

Just had a quick perusal of the thread. Didn't read every entry but I'm intrigued and using you for inspiration haha.

Oh, I saw you mentioned East Anglia. That's my neck of the woods. Have you ever been?

Aye, tent shopping? so camping? That sounds...interesting! haha.

Hello.... thank you for reading my musings... the next few years are going to be a roller coaster of adventures.... and I’m determined to go into my next decade doing it differently.

East Anglia..... DH comes from Diss and his parents are still there in the family home. He left at 18 to go to Uni and never went back ( nor did his brother they are twins)

I was born in Southend, lived in Benfleet, moved to Shenfield when I was 3 left at 18 when Dad was relocated to Surrey.

I am now in my 4th property in Surrey, somewhere on the Thames.... well the houses on the other side of the road are on the Thames we are on the cheap side overlooking the flood meadow !

We often go back to Southwold... next scheduled New Year, and we am to retire there .......

Where about are you ?

Look forward to seeing you here soon.

Bubblesmum

Today’s plan

1. Lay in and catch up on zzzz’s

2. Get up

3. Camping shop

4. General house tidy up

5. Clear emails

6. Labelling for boxes in the Great loft project

7. Trying to eat to SW plan

8. Bed

DebtFreeMonkey

Bubblesmum wrote: »

Hello.... thank you for reading my musings... the next few years are going to be a roller coaster of adventures.... and I’m determined to go into my next decade doing it differently.

East Anglia..... DH comes from Diss and his parents are still there in the family home. He left at 18 to go to Uni and never went back ( nor did his brother they are twins)

I was born in Southend, lived in Benfleet, moved to Shenfield when I was 3 left at 18 when Dad was relocated to Surrey.

I am now in my 4th property in Surrey, somewhere on the Thames.... well the houses on the other side of the road are on the Thames we are on the cheap side overlooking the flood meadow !

We often go back to Southwold... next scheduled New Year, and we am to retire there .......

Where about are you ?

Look forward to seeing you here soon.

Oh, Diss? That's just up the road from me. I'm a born and raised Norwich lass.

Great news on the tent front. I get that it's an extra expense but like you've shown, it's a worthwhile investment if it works out.

Hope you've had a good day.

Sun_Addict

I’m an 80s girl too, had the ra ra skirt and big hair :rotfl: Rewind sounds fab xx

The tent sounds pretty good - for a tent Not slept in a tent since the church do in Lathklndale when I was 17 - and that was a VERY long time ago

beanielou

Not a lover of tents :eek:

How is the debt doing or should I not ask? xx

Bubblesmum

beanielou wrote: »

Not a lover of tents :eek:

How is the debt doing or should I not ask? xx

Tents :rotfl::rotfl:

Debt - yes don’t ask :( for reasons the next few posts will explain.

Bubblesmum

So I’ve given up laying in bed trying to sleep, and I’m now on the sofa....

So both of us really tired tonight and so decided to have an early tea and bed.

Healthy tea egg and mackerel salad

Then disaster beloved aged cat, who had insisted for the third time today to jump on our bed or cuddles. Smelt mackerel jumped off landed on hard laminate floor and jarred we think his poorly back legs. Our bedroom is off a main living space - our dining room, effectively the old living space of our bungalow before an extension was put on in the 70’s. He wanted mackerel so to achieve this, he pulled himself along the laminate floor drugging his back legs and his bum, as we think he had jarred his arthritis so badly he was having trouble getting up on his back legs and walking.

What happens - my body reacts to me seeing him do this and goes into spasm.... Beanie I think you can appreciate what that means, immediately can’t eat, and anxiety rising. My spasaming I can only describe, is twitching, an£ how yo7 feel after you’ve run a marathon. This continues for the next three quarter of an hour or so, as it’s obvious that beloved aged c is really struggling to walk on hind legs......:(:(

However he collapses for cuddles and OH combs him which he loves and eventually he is able to get up and in a very wonky manner get to his bowls in anticipation of supper, a matter of a few plodding steps but even so, it tells us that his back legs are working.

So out comes the yoghurt treat, I share one with Miss G ( our youngster ) and mix in a small amount of golden paste for cats - I need to do this and a calm tablet from the vets - the plate or upside down steam pudding lid, is licked to an inch of his life.

He doesn’t move and settles down on the mat next to his bowls, but then his usual habit was to jump on the kitchen chair next to his bowls up to a few months ago.

We retired to bed, after googling, and me gaining reassurance that like humans after rest he will be better and we really need to try and not encourage him onto the bed.

He has been to the vets this week, I dreaded it, as we have a very plain speaking vet, about our age, who believes in sustaining life until he believes quality of life is such, we trust him, he has looked after two of our cats to the end of their lives ( the third beloved Aged C’s sister died in her sleep) and he has dogs one of which is three legged!

So after reassuring us that there is life and he is not in the place to think about end of life.... an x Ray to determine whether it is arthritis or compressed nerves, which would tell him which painkillers etc to prescribe, a blood test to look at kidneys etc, he came back home with a prescription, calm tablets and we needed borderline flea / worm. A bill of £404 ! Fortunately we have money saved we put an amount aside each month instead of pet insurance.

And results, kidneys, really great, heart fab, arthritis in spine about the same, but now arthritis in right hind leg, and left hind knee

having watched him struggle to get up on a laminate floor we have spent over £100 on runners for our dining room...... ( not expensive ones this room is large we are taking 5 metres by 3 metres ish ) so he can get from bedroom/front door to carpeted living room on floor with traction... that’s added to the debt....

Plus he’s back to vets on Wednesday and our savings pot is bare.

Dear readers .... stop press in the middle of this long epistle, beloved elderly C comes into the lounge from kitchen, plodding and wobbly but on his feet, yells, and pulls himself onto our settee, he is now curled up on my lap, contentedly asleep - I fact snoring :):):heartpuls:heartpuls:heartpuls

My body is slowly chilling, I’m not going anywhere am I !

DebtFreeMonkey

Oh, gosh! Animals can break your heart with sadness, eh? Glad the kitty is somewhat back to his (new) usual self and I hope you're all okay.