Back From Camp
When you come back to work after a fortnight's leave colleagues always ask you if you've had a good break. A one word answer to that question would seem rude. Too much information can be tiresome. The trick is knowing how to respond in a way that doesn't cause people's eyes to glaze over.
So it was with me yesterday when I returned to the office in Inverness and tried to explain how much I'd enjoyed a week of touring and camping in the Highlands - all without sounding like the kind of crazy person who thinks PVC groundsheets and alloy tent pegs are a worthy topic of conversation.
But the truth is, we had a great time and I believe I may have caught the camping bug. We progressed from last year's back-garden sleepovers to pitching up in an actual campsite. Our favourite was the Glenmore site at Loch Morlich.
Our two-pod family tent (bought in a supermarket sale two years ago) did look a bit shabby next to the luxury camper vans and canvas palaces besides us. I was slightly envious of those blokes with all the gadgets: satellite dishes, solar panels, lawn mowers.
Lawn mowers? Yes, one man was mowing the grass around his pitch so that the "footprint" of his tent would be smooth.
It seems there are at least two types of campers. Some see their tent or caravan as nothing m more than a place to sleep after a day of fun and frolics in the water or on the hillsides. Others regard their pitch as a home-from-home and try set up as many modern conveniences as possible. I actually saw some kids under a gazebo playing video games projected on to a big screen.
I'm not sure which camp the Zed family will end up in. But come back soon and I'll tell you about that new groundsheet I just bought. No, really.
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