Around my Summer in 80 Yays! (or Boos!)

As usual the last few months have been busy with events and school holidays and I haven’t had much time to blog. So, here  is tour around my summer in yays and boos:

Family holidays being of the busman’s variety and combined with working weekends for me. Boo!

Starting camping out in April (the week after Easter) and not finishing until September. Yay? Boo?

The weather this year being pretty good – generally warm and not that wet. Yay!

Medieval tent camping being comparatively civilised (the ability to stand upright, cook indoors without melting the tent, use candlelight, etc) Yay!

Remembering always to take my earplugs with me. Yay!

June
Doing really well at Colchester Oyster Fayre. Yay!

Seeing my old school friend E again. Yay!

Not getting hammered and hungover like last year. Yay!

The heavens opening with a vengance before we’d managing to get the tent packed up. Boo!

Leaving the club hammer behind in my haste to get away and dry off.  Boo!

The sun coming out again a few mile down the road. Yay!

July
Very poor public attendance at the Dorset Medieval Festival. Boo!

Having an excellent view of the jousting and entertainment from our pitch. Yay!

Being next door to the olive seller. Yay!

Gorging on the free tray of pork crackling in bar in the evening. Yay! (or perhaps Boo!)

Nothing really compensating for the event being a complete waste of time and a loss maker.  Double Boo!

The journey to and from Dorset being a total nightmare. Boo!

Deciding never to do the event again. Yay!

Getting free extra space due to our neighbours not turning up at Tewkesbury. Yay!

The music and carousing going on into the small hours. Boo!

Deciding to join in. Yay!

Oppressive humidity during the day. Boo!

Being warm enough to lie on top of the bedding unclothed without discomfort at night. Yay!

Selling loads of stuff and getting some commissions. Yay!

One of the commissions not following up with the promised deposit. Boo!

August
The Artemis Gathering being pretty quiet. Boo!

There being only 5 traders including us and a captive market. Yay!

Doing a lot better than if we’d gone to the other event that weekend. Yay!

There being proper loos and showers on the site. Yay!

There being a really good vibe there this year. Yay!

Combining Firejoust in South Wales with a family camping holiday. Yay!

Arriving before the portaloos. Boo!

There being a gap in the bushes labelled “Gents” and plenty of unlabelled bushes for the Ladies (and proper loos at the caravan park next door). Yay!

The picturesque view over the Bristol Channel. Yay!

Being camped under the flight path for Cardiff Airport. Boo!

Experiencing the weird, twisting susurration from the wake from the larger jets. Yay!

Being a short walk from the beach. Yay!

The beach consisting of egg-sized (chicken to dinosaur) pebbles. Boo!

It not really mattering. Yay!

The event not being as well attended as it might have been. Boo!

Excellent entertainment – Fiery Jack, Jousting, live music, including the lewd and superbly entertaining  Top Shelf Jazz and a jaw-droppingly good Hula girl. Yay!

Seeing my friend A and her family. Yay!
…all too briefly. They bailed after being hit by a few heavy showers. Boo!

The rest of the weekend being warm and sunny. Yay!

Leaving a day earlier than planned due to impending rain. Boo!

Discovering Oak-smoked peanut butter with Marmite. Yay!

Having a really enjoyable long weekend with the family (and some friends) Yay!

Going with the family to Herstmonceux again. Yay!

Spending 6 hours getting there thanks to a trashed tyre on the trailer. Boo!

Getting some knitting done while waiting for the recovery vehicle. Yay!

Having to backtrack in the wrong direction to get a new tyre. Boo!

Getting there before dark, managing to get the tent up and do a supermarket run. Yay!

The beer selection at the supermarket being fairly poor. Boo!

But not that poor. Yay!

Discovering just how good crusty bread and butter tastes when you haven’t eaten all day. Yay!

Seeing the most amazing almost-full Harvest moonrise. Yay!

Children taking off almost immediately to amuse themselves. Yay!

DD disappearing alone for a couple of hours without trace and me getting frantic with worry. Boo!

Finding her. Yay!

Wondering if encouraging independence in the children is good for my nerves. Boo!

DS pestering for additional funds (on top of extra pocket money) to buy a skull ring which he lost the same day. Boo!

The wasps being out in force. Boo!

Them not managing to sting and potentially kill my DH. Yay!

The cloudburst on Sunday afternoon clearing the field of public. Boo!

The weather being otherwise utterly gorgeous. (See previous post for pics). Yay!

Living on perpetual, cooked in the field, curries and them being really good (even though I say so myself). Yay!

Drinking far too much mead. Yay!…er…Boo?

The pitch next door totally undercutting us on readings. Boo!

Not thinking to complain to the organisers about it. Boo!

Actually probably doing better that all the other readers anyway. Yay!

Staying an extra night and exploring the gardens in glorious sunshine. Yay!

Correcting the time (alignment) on most of the sundials. Yay!

Finding Medlars and Quinces and all sorts of  useful herbs. (Must remember that for next year). Yay!

The journey home being comparatively uneventful. Yay!

Finding a really nice pub for lunch/breakfast en route. Yay!

Only having one more event before being able to pack away my sleeping bag. Yay! (or perhaps Boo?)

Looking forward to a weekend away with the family in late September that doesn’t involve me working. Triple Yay!