England

CAMPING

Wild camping. Dont even think about it or as we would say in our family, with a twist of the ankle and a flick of the wrist, “dont even go there, girlfriend”. There is a fear of “travellers”, “gypsies” and “romany” that is taught from the cradle and fed by occasional problems and lots of gossip.

I tell you, the first time thru, with our truck,we were kicked out of 3 campgrounds in a row. Well, actually, at Lee Valley Camping and Caravanning Park they said we were welcome back but our truck was never welcome back because, “it just didn’t look right”. Seriously. I felt a surge of solidarity with the gypsy stories of my youth. I think you can put that word in here. That nasty word of nasty words. That word that ends up in hatred, misunderstanding and genocide. DISCRIMINATION. Uh, maybe I’m getting carried away.

In another place a scared farmer said, “the local government saw you on google earth and said if you dont leave today I could loose permission to have campers here at all.” Now there is some discrepancy in our family as to whether this story originated from the government or the farmer. I, being american and being fully versed in conspiracy theories, KNOW that it must be the nasty government. Grrrr. Hmmmm. OK. So we drove straight from that last campground to the ferry and took the ferry that very nite to France.

I was scared to come back but making the outside of Maggie more presentable with a couple more windows, a paint job and some stickers made all the difference in the world.

Best bet is to join the “Camping and Caravanning Club“. You will get your money back in the first campground. We can go to a certified listing on the outskirts of London and pay a tenner for the whole family. I tell you, that brings a smile to our faces and a sigh of contentment. Just beautiful. That other campground on the outskirts of London, you know the evil one that didnt like our dear Maggie because she didnt look right, dare I mention the name? Yes. Lee Valley Camping & Caravan Park cost us 35 pounds a night before the owner came back from holiday and kicked us out.

Now, in their defence let me say this. Being a family that is…. well…. different, we are hard to put into a box. Alot of people get comfort and security putting people in boxes. This is not necessarily bad. Can be. It is actually sort of a coping mechanism. It can be nice to help people put you in a box so they don’t start twitching or something. Fixing up the outside of our truck and keeping things extra tidy can help being put in a socially acceptable box but not always. We dont have to always tell our weirdest stories. We save them for good friends and our blog.

So, what can you get from this rant? Join the Camping and Caravanning Club and dont feel like it is a waste of time to give some attention to your custom motorhome and… lets say it all together… stay away from evil Lee Valley Camping and Caravan Park.

Oh boy, maybe I shouldnt blog when I am in this kind of mood. Not angry, honestly, just terribly, terribly cheeky.

FOOD

(meat) Pies are a winner. If you can find one of those old fashioned pie shops with mash and parsley sauce – score. Fish and chips. the legends are true. You can go to the chippie and get the fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. TRUE! and wonderful. Now for the really frugal and unhealthy meal try chip butties. You get a loaf of white bread. butter the bread on the inside. Stuff in a row or two of chips and some tomato sauce (ketchup). I was in awe the first time I saw this. You know that even tho you feel very unhealthy afterwards you just gotta try one. You might need a nice british beer to wash it down with.

CULTURE