Every camper longs to discover a secret site, an isolated glade they can call their very own. This is one of contradictions in the soul of camping, the desire for isolation pulls against the pleasure of community. For some, the perfect site is an empty field. For others, it is a field full of...
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Wednesday is veggie curry night at home, as we cut down on the amount of meat in our diet. I’ve transferred this family ritual to camp. The Wednesday aspect is entirely optional but the day – being so middling, so unexceptional – requires a sense of occasion to lift it. Prepare garlic and ginger paste...
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I spent yesterday in the British Library with The Campers’ Handbook by THH Holding, published in 1908. A sepia photograph shows us the author at camp; he is a chunky and kindly chap, grey at the temples and with an amenable unkempt moustache, relaxing in a straw boater and collarless white shirt with the...
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We went for a stroll around a camping fair held in a field at the back of Middle Farm, near Lewes. Dozens of tents were pitched for the inspection of prospective buyers, from the Vango Dart 200 – a pop-up festival tent – to the enormous Wolf Lake 7, a grand’s worth of polycotton...
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Prepare this at home before the trip and spoon it into a jar to save you having to pestle and mortar until you are blue in the face outside the tent. If you store this red sauce in a sterilized jar, it can keep for ages. Salsa romesco is mildly spicy and tangy...
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It’s the beginning of Bank Holiday weekend and the traffic into Dorset crawls past accident after accident. On the verge and in the central reservation, the beautiful dandy faces of cars faces have been bashed ugly, as if set upon by jealous brutes. The unlucky participants stand around dazed, compressing bumps and scrapes with...
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Math recently acquired a portable barbeque, the Weber Charcoal Go-Anywhere Grill. It has a pleasingly vintage shape, and is solidly constructed. We spent an afternoon at Homebase checking out the other portable barbecues, all of which felt rather neurotic and liable to fall apart in a complete collapse of nerve. The Weber has a...
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This goes really well with spicy kebabs, tucked up beside a small pile of warm pitta breads. Ingredients 200g carrots, peeled and grated Juice of half an orange 1 tbs white wine vinegar or juice of half a lemon Salt and pepper Pinch of cinnamon 5 dried dates, stoned and chopped 1 tsp honey 1 tbs olive oil Equipment Grater (slice the carrots very finely...
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