And now we go again...

EssexHebridean

Well we lit the fire last night, it made sense as it was already laid having eventually decided against lighting it on Friday evening. Very lovely and cosy! I turned the thermostat back on when we went to bed, and wasn't particularly surprised to feel that the heating had kicked in first thing. 

Saturday was an odd day - the festival at Bedford where we had the meeting was lovely and we really enjoyed that, but the meeting itself was as predicted quite an emotional one -  it's sad to see something that's been a part of your life for so long winding up, in its current form at least. It was fab to see everyone - but again, odd that going forwards we're going to have to make a point of staying in touch with some people as they wouldn't usually be in our "cross paths with" group. Hopefully that will happen though - there is already a plan to meet up with some folk in December so that's positive. Spend wise, much as predicted - small cost for admission to the festival (theoretically we could have got in for free as we were attending the meeting, but that didn't sit right with us, and the cost was honestly tiny!) plus food at lunchtime (only £5, and MrEH paid) and of course our beers...Somewhere along the line food in the evening got forgotten - oops! 

Stopped for the remaining shopping on the way home at T's, I remembered to activate some of my monthly boosts, and we got all the bits we needed, plus a couple of things that we will need later in the month and I can only get in T's. Just over £19 there. Only thing to jump into the trolley on the basis of "Ooh - interesting" was a box of dried fenugreek leaves which is an ingredient I've been missing for a while. Got home and immediately swerved into making rolls for the week and a banana bread - did bump into the more expensive electric more that I would have liked but it was still below the standard rates so happy enough. Managed to get the bedding through the WM on the very cheap stuff so that was a win, and it dried to about 95% on the line too. 

Fuelled MrEH's car up in Bedford - a full 5p a litre cheaper than we'd have paid at home!

This week should be a moderately quiet one I think - we have the final bits to do with the voluntary role to get sorted, just a handful of emails and a change to the autoreply on the email account to direct people elsewhere for information. Elsewhere...
Stuff to do:
- Confirm that we are doing the trial run with the new tent next weekend, and book the campsite if so
- Decide what we're doing about Wolverhampton next month - book accommodation if it's still feasible
- If doing Wolverhampton (A pal's birthday party) then make a decision about the Good Food Show
- If doing the GFS, get the trial offer subscription for the magazine to give access to discounted tickets.
- Prep the last of the beans and freeze - will probably eat some tonight too
- hard boil last two eggs for sandwiches

If we do camp at the weekend then we'll be aiming to make it a fairly budget friendly trip - I might see what I can come up with for some food to take with us, although we may well eat in a pub somewhere on Friday evening and possibly for lunch on Saturday too, and there will probably have to be a supermarket meal deal for sunday lunchtime. Generally though it's really about seeing how the tent performs, and we're both happy to make it a quiet one with a lot of wandering round the local-to-the-site area on the saturday. 

themadvix

You're hardcore, considering camping this weekend! 🥶

EssexHebridean

I'm honestly not - and the forecasted temperatures are making me shiver in preparation, BUT we really want to avoid a situation where the first use of a brand new tent is going to be potentially when we're miles from the nearest G0 0utd00rs store, and more to the point, too far from home to simply pack up and go home if we encounter issues! there is also the issue of having the thing sitting about for up to 7 months before we first using it then giving us issues if there are any problems with the tent itself when it comes to a return...

I've always said that the end of September and the middle of April are about my cut-off points for camping, but needs must! (And on the plus side, I've identified a good pub in the nearest village to the site we're looking at, AND a decent looking chippy just across the road from it...!) 

themadvix

Totally agree about your reasoning.... just not sure I could bring myself to do it at this point! Is there somewhere warm for breakfast nearby? Just thinking that would be the best way to warm up after a really chilly night. We were hoping our teardrop would be ready to test before the end of this year, but we've already come to the conclusion that it'll be early in the spring that we take it for its shakedown - even with solid (wind-proof) walls and insulation, I'm not sure it'll be warm enough (although now you're making me wonder...)!

lucielle

Brave EH brrrr brave! 

L

Baileys_Babe

I'm envious of your weekend camping plans. Have fun and I hope you do not encounter any problems.

EssexHebridean

Haha you're all making me nervous now!  

I suspect breakfast will be the usual bacon & egg butties - that's pretty much our perfect camping breakfast, washed down with several cups of tea! I also plan to take the old sleeping bag as well as the new one - and EEK - I've just remembered I need to get a new inflatable mattress! 

joedenise

Don't forget the hot water bottles!  Think they are probably just as important, or even more important, than a new inflatable mattress.  Use the old sleeping bag underneath you for extra warmth.

EssexHebridean

Some form of mattress is a priority for me otherwise my joints will be killing me by the morning - once I’m in my sleeping bag I’ll almost certainly be plenty warm enough though - and we always have fleece throws ready to chuck over us if needed! 😁

dawnybabes

Could you run an electric blanket off a battery pack ?