First Midlands Meet 2008.

[Bushcraft Bailey]

I bought me a DD hammock today, i can't wait to get out and try it out!!

I may have to disappear for a while on the saturday, the misses has made plans to go somewhere, but i will be back afterwards.

 

[Cyclingrelf]

I'm afraid I'm only going to be able to do Sat morn until Sun morn, as I'm studying at the moment as well.

 

[decorum]

No problem - we've been working on the principle of 'real life' comes first and have no concerns about bods nipping in*, nipping out*, just a night/day

* For reasons of sanity it would be preferable to know that you're going though - I've had to search for someone who had gone home without telling anyone

 

[Cyclingrelf]

Great It'll be nice to meet everyone!

 

[Bushcraft Bailey]

I wonder how the weather is going to treat us.......will be nice if it stays like it is now, i know it's cold, but thats gotta be better than rain!

 

[bushscout1]

Are day visitors welcome?

I'd love to come and see everyone and stay over, but the trouble is I'm away the previous weekend & think that SWMBO would give me a proper ear bending if I wanted yet another weekend away! :twak:

I'm reasonably confident I would be able to get a pass to come and pay a short visit though.

Cheers

Jon

 

[decorum]

Hi bushscout1,

Visiting on a day pass is no problem ......

No problem - we've been working on the principle of 'real life' comes first and have no concerns about bods nipping in*, nipping out*, just a night/day

Please be aware that the site does charge a day visit rate. For this Meet it will be £1.10 for 3 hours and £2.20 for 6 hours - the charge is per person (no age limitations).



Hi Bailey - the sun always shines on half the Earth. The problem lies with the clouds that get in the way

 

[woodstock]

Hi guys I may not be on as regular as I used to as im in dispute with BT at the moment and am refusing to pay until they can sort it out look forward to putting faces to avatars

 

[Wallenstein]

Hello all,

Alas I'm walking in the Lakes that weekend, otherwise I'd have deffo come along.

I was up at Rough Close just last week, and thought it'd be a great place for some Bushcrafty activities!

If you've not been to Rough Close, here's a pic... 45 acres of lovely woodlandy goodness

Will keep my eyes peeled for the next Midlands Meet-up!

_____________________

 

[decorum]

Hi all,

I can't remember if I've said which pitch we're booked onto for the Meet. We'll be on pocket site 4; this is the same location as the November '07 Meet and just over the track from the October '07 Meet.



Hi woodstock,

Hope you get it all sorted soon.



Hi Wallenstein,

The Close is, indeed, a great place to play and practice. It's also a mix of 'Ancient and Semi-Natural' and 'Ancient Replanted' woodland (And has also been surveyed as part of the National Inventory of Woodland and Trees (England) - source: http://www.magic.gov.uk/ . Looking forward to meeting you in the future.

 

[T1tch]

Hi decorum

I've finally got round to wading through the thread for the original meet and as a result have a couple of questions:

(Apologies if any of these have been covered in a thread/posting for one of the intervening meets that I have missed.)

Am I right in thinking that we park in the 'campers car park' and hike in? (well stroll - as it appears to be only a couple of hundred metres)

It sounds like there is the possibility of having both a communal, and numerous other fires is this right? I just want to know so I can decide whether to either bring the camping stove, or the Dutch oven – or both if there’s only the communal fire and we are eating some meals as a group.

And on that note, this question is for all:

The idea of a spit roast (as indulged in on the first meet) has really got the juices flowing! - Woodstock mentioned bringing along some wild food and that got me thinking: To me combining bunnies, with a spit roast sounds really tempting.

So I had a word with my local butcher (unfortunately I am not currently in a position to bag my own...) and he should be able to get a few cleaned and skinned bunnies at £4 each. He might be happy to let us have them with the fluff if anyone wants to DIY – but given the location, and the inclusion of kiddies I thought obtaining them ‘supermarket ready’ may be a little less traumatic. No offence meant to anyone - the children could well be better versed in the preparing of rabbits than I am - just the last time I cleaned and skinned bunnies in the presence of children (at their fathers request), nightmares were rife for a few days.

So, what do you all think?

 

[decorum]

Hi T1tch,

You can normally get a bit closer to the pitch (kit drop off etc) but vehicles do need to be left in the campers car park for the duration of a stay.
Because our Meets have been quite low numbers we've all been able to use the booked pitch's communal fire place (or right next to it). Because of a long-term problem (history of multiple fire 'pits' per grassed camping area) the site has ruled that, on this type of pitch, everyone who has a fire has it in the designated area - hobo stoves aren't a problem as long as they're used properly.
I use a combination of open fire and gas stove so if you want to bring a Dutch oven and/or camping stove feel free to do so.


My thoughts on the question for all:

Although our spit-roast didn't quite go according to plan it was fun, memorable, innovative and most importantly, tasty (Note to self - you need holes for a spit roast!).

Bunnies sound good to me - I've no idea how many we'd need though. I do think that you're right to ask parents how their children are likely to react to seeing what, to them, might seem like a pet being butchered. It might be best, if it's likely to get a bad reaction, that we consider doing a 'youth activity' at a coinciding time.

 

[xylaria]

My kids love bunnies esspiecally cooked. My eight year old skinned some last year, played puppets with the head and skin when we got home, this sight might disturb some adults.[ i told him to stop because i thought it was just a bit gross ]

 

[Bushcraft Bailey]

My kids love bunnies esspiecally cooked. My eight year old skinned some last year, played puppets with the head and skin when we got home, this sight might disturb some adults.[ i told him to stop because i thought it was just a bit gross ]

Ha ha....and we were worried about disturbing the children!

 

[decorum]

My kids love bunnies esspiecally cooked. My eight year old skinned some last year, played puppets with the head and skin when we got home, this sight might disturb some adults.[ i told him to stop because i thought it was just a bit gross ]

At least he did it to an already skinned bunny



To all,

It's looking like it'll be a cold, wet and windy one this time folks, so remember to wrap up warm and bring the waterproofs (OH MY GOD.....I've become my Mother (Except I'm not dead yet :aargh4: ))

 

[T1tch]

Unfortunately he will not get a chance to reprise the act, as I left it a little to late to speak to the butcher and missed the boat. Sorry.

 

[woodstock]

Hi all how many are booked to attend, nearly settled dispute with BT plus its cost me more money its a no win situation I'll see you all tomorrow or Saturday

 

[decorum]

....how many are booked to attend....

I only give guestimates to the site when booking and on the new booking form has no section which deals with numbers. As far as I can work out the list hasn't changed from this:
1) Decorum - 1 Hammock
2) Humpback - 1 Hammock.
3) Bushcraft Bailey - possibly +1 - Tent (maybe hammock)
4) woodstock + 1 hammock
5) Bodge (Floor)
6) Xylaria - + 2 kids all in hammocks with chicks changing/kit tent
7) T1tch - 1 Hammock
8) Skint - Hammock +1 Tent
9) cyclingrelf - bivvi and tarp.

With the exceptions of:

1) The possibility of woodstocks friend + children coming along.
2) We're now +1 at my end. Much confusion at this end when receiving phone call from non-member talking camping but meaning Meet! (He'd been invited by 'Mr A. N. Other' who had been invited but couldn't come and neither had told me :twak: ). Because the message was passed on to me I'm assuming, for the moment, that it's only +1!.

 

[decorum]

....nearly settled dispute with BT ........its a no win situation I'll see you all tomorrow or Saturday

Good to know the dispute's almost over, just a pity that it's going the way it is. Looking forward to seeing you when you get there.

 

[bushscout1]

Sorry I couldn't make it, although I did manage a quick bimble up my local woods this morning.

How did it go? Did everyone enjoy it? Any pics (to make me jealous)?