A weekend of camping - on the ground

I didn't expect to say this but, with very full support of family & friends I camped out over last weekend.  We have a lovely Quechua 3-person tent but now the idea of camping on the ground felt like a dream.  To be precise, having camped since I was one year old, it was a dream I feared.

In the end an incredibly supportive Les solved problems such as getting from lying down to standing (and vice-versa) with considerable patience.  Camping also meant if I wanted to go to the toilet I would need something to urinate in during the night so save the convoluted hassle of getting both in and out of the tent, getting vertical and all the rest...  Never mind the potential loss and disruption to sleep to one and all...

We sleep on a Hi Gear double self-inflating camp bed with one quilt below us and another above us. It is really comfortable.

The camping weekend had a purpose - the maintenance of trees planted five years ago in honour of our daughter who died aged 24 (see www.forjane.co.uk).  Practically speaking I was not much help.  With my actions limited to walking from chair to chair.  That is except for providing directions for cooking for the forty people over the camp fire.

With serious help I prepared a chana-dahl curry with rice & nan bread.  All was in my diet (excepting the nan bread which I avoided!)  This meant filling two jam-pans full of pulses and vegetables.  No oil was used, and spices were kept light.  But it did have kale, broccoli & lemons to help keep iron levels high.  Not bad for 40 people!