Simply Fostering

Now the holiday can begin

Fulltime Foster Carer - Harriet author of: A Less Ordinary Family

Now the holiday can begin

23rd July

At last – the summer holidays are here! And today….we are going camping! Camping does not come naturally to me, but the children love it so I have made the decision to tolerate it! I have come to learn that camping works best when careful planning has taken place. We are off to a summer festival with friends and have decided to share some of the tasks like cooking.

I have been debating all week whether we should invest in a camping toilet. I have opted not to on this occasion, and hoping the toilet facilities will not be too far from where we camp.

My friend and I travel down with the kids in convoy. Charlie and my friends husband left together two hours before us with the tents. The plan was that they would arrive ahead of us to set the tents up and we would arrive with 5 happy children and the lunch. It all seemed like a brilliant idea until we were due to leave and Charlie called to say that they had been involved in a minor collision. They had been in traffic and when the car in front stopped suddenly. Unfortunately our friend was unable to brake in time and went into the back of the car ahead. Fortunately the car ahead was fine, but unfortunately our friends car was not – they had hit the tow bar and it damaged the engine. They were stranded an hour away from the camp with all the tents inside. We were two hours north of them with no room for tents let alone two more passengers.

They were unable to use their break-down company because, perhaps obviously, they only come out to break-downs, not accidents. After lots of phone calls they finally found a friend who was already at the festival who said they would come and pick them up. The car was left at the side of the road for the insurance company to recover.

So much for the convoy arriving to put the kettle on for a cuppa…instead we all arrived at the same time and this could only mean one thing…I would have to help put the tents up! Nooooooo!

Since the children did not arrive in a happy state (Annie was in her pre-teenage ‘bored’ mood, Lauren had been travel sick on the journey) I took one for the team and took the children off for an hour or so while the others put the tents. Phew got out of that one again.

We arrived back to the camp, the tents were up and the kettle boiling… Now the holiday can begin.

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