Best Campervan Awning… ever!

A circus tent for workshops and the awning as a stall

The Outwell Country Road

Last weekend I used my new awning for the first time – I LOVE IT!!!

I got it from Just Kampers a while back having searched for nearly a year for the perfect awning until I finally settled on the Outwell Country Road. Just Kampers were involved in the design of the Outwell range of awnings so you can rest assured they have been created by people who know a thing or two about campers.

Read more…

The Vango Airbeam

Can camping get any easier than this?

Today someone asked me to look at the new range of Vango AirBeam tents for 2011.  They have no poles!  No, they’re not flimsy single-skin pop-up tents, those take a highly skilled knack and the strength of the British Army to fold back into their storage disc bags. These ones actually have inflatable poles!

I see the appeal… Read more…

It’s official – Festivals are good for you!

Destination: Music – UK Music report 16 May 2011

I’m a big fan of music festivals.  I think they’re great.

They support the Arts, they support children’s creative and social development… and now it seems they support our economy in a huge way too!

Today UK Music released the biggest report so far into the economics of the lowly music festival and put figures against the live music industry’s financial contribution.  The results are quite staggering and make for very interesting reading if you’re into that sort of thing.  You can view the full report here.

Feargal Sharkey, Chief Executive of UK Music said: “I am hugely excited by Read more…

Going to a festival pregnant?

Beautiful body painting by Cree and Liz

Of course you can!…

… if you want to.  A lot will depend on how you feel, and on what stage of pregnancy you are at.

All the usual rules apply about eating, drinking, resting, smoking, etc so I’m not going to preach about all that to you.  But there are some things you should pay a little extra attention to.

Belly Painting – get into the spirit of fun and show of your gorgeous bump by getting it painted.  The Face Painters will love the opportunity to unleash their creativity on you and you will get some very memorable photos.

This gorgeous full-body paint was done at the Acoustic Festival 2011 by the immensely talented artists Cree from Creeations and Liz McAvoy from Flashy Faces.

Read more…

Tips for Setting Up Camp

Setting up campYou may not have much choice when it comes to choosing a spot, especially if you arrive late.  However, if you can, consider your priorities for setting up camp. Read more…

Quality family time

There are lots of reasons why our family loves going to festivals, many of which I have discussed on other blog posts, but for us the opportunity of good quality family time is a very important one.

As working parents, it is often hard to make the time to do creative activities together or just to spend time hanging out. At a festival however, time is there to be spent at will. We can spend a few hours getting messy in a craft tent, sometimes under the guise of supervising our children but ultimately enjoying the therapeutic qualities of working with clay ourselves, or indulging ourselves by curling up in a cosy Bell Tent with some knitting needles.

Read more…

Get kids outdoors – give them a book!

Review – Mission:Explore Camping

We got very excited when the Geography Collective asked us to review their latest book.  As if the first Mission:Explore book wasn’t fun enough, they have now released a whole new set of missions tailored specifically to our favourite pastime: Camping!

There are 50 all-new missions included in the book that are guaranteed to get kids both involved in, and intrigued by, their surroundings.  From playing a challenging game of hide and seek in bright clothing to imagining the campsite 1000 years ago, young explorers will have to use every ounce of creativity and ingenuity they possess to complete their missions.

Read more…

Best Campervan Awning… ever!

A circus tent for workshops and the awning as a stall

The Outwell Country Road

Last weekend I used my new awning for the first time – I LOVE IT!!!

I got it from Just Kampers a while back having searched for nearly a year for the perfect awning until I finally settled on the Outwell Country Road. Just Kampers were involved in the design of the Outwell range of awnings so you can rest assured they have been created by people who know a thing or two about campers.

Read more…

It’s official – Festivals are good for you!

Destination: Music – UK Music report 16 May 2011

I’m a big fan of music festivals.  I think they’re great.

They support the Arts, they support children’s creative and social development… and now it seems they support our economy in a huge way too!

Today UK Music released the biggest report so far into the economics of the lowly music festival and put figures against the live music industry’s financial contribution.  The results are quite staggering and make for very interesting reading if you’re into that sort of thing.  You can view the full report here.

Feargal Sharkey, Chief Executive of UK Music said: “I am hugely excited by Read more…

Tips for Setting Up Camp

Setting up campYou may not have much choice when it comes to choosing a spot, especially if you arrive late.  However, if you can, consider your priorities for setting up camp. Read more…

Get kids outdoors – give them a book!

Review – Mission:Explore Camping

We got very excited when the Geography Collective asked us to review their latest book.  As if the first Mission:Explore book wasn’t fun enough, they have now released a whole new set of missions tailored specifically to our favourite pastime: Camping!

There are 50 all-new missions included in the book that are guaranteed to get kids both involved in, and intrigued by, their surroundings.  From playing a challenging game of hide and seek in bright clothing to imagining the campsite 1000 years ago, young explorers will have to use every ounce of creativity and ingenuity they possess to complete their missions.

Read more…

The Vango Airbeam

Can camping get any easier than this?

Today someone asked me to look at the new range of Vango AirBeam tents for 2011.  They have no poles!  No, they’re not flimsy single-skin pop-up tents, those take a highly skilled knack and the strength of the British Army to fold back into their storage disc bags. These ones actually have inflatable poles!

I see the appeal… Read more…

Going to a festival pregnant?

Beautiful body painting by Cree and Liz

Of course you can!…

… if you want to.  A lot will depend on how you feel, and on what stage of pregnancy you are at.

All the usual rules apply about eating, drinking, resting, smoking, etc so I’m not going to preach about all that to you.  But there are some things you should pay a little extra attention to.

Belly Painting – get into the spirit of fun and show of your gorgeous bump by getting it painted.  The Face Painters will love the opportunity to unleash their creativity on you and you will get some very memorable photos.

This gorgeous full-body paint was done at the Acoustic Festival 2011 by the immensely talented artists Cree from Creeations and Liz McAvoy from Flashy Faces.

Read more…

Quality family time

There are lots of reasons why our family loves going to festivals, many of which I have discussed on other blog posts, but for us the opportunity of good quality family time is a very important one.

As working parents, it is often hard to make the time to do creative activities together or just to spend time hanging out. At a festival however, time is there to be spent at will. We can spend a few hours getting messy in a craft tent, sometimes under the guise of supervising our children but ultimately enjoying the therapeutic qualities of working with clay ourselves, or indulging ourselves by curling up in a cosy Bell Tent with some knitting needles.

Read more…