29th December 2013

Okay, now this is getting past a joke. Every time I settle back into my comfort zone here something comes along to bring me out of it again. Last night was very cool, in fact I would say cold. I snuggled down under my beautiful mink lion blanket, fully clothed as well and then before I went to sleep I had to fetch my sleeping bag out the boot of the car and opened it up and spread it over me as well. Nice and snug I went off to sleep for a few hours.

I was woken at about 3am by the wind… again. I was not too concerned as I had come through the previous extremely winding night without any problems, but it was still difficult to sleep. I dozed off and on until about 4.45 when it was obvious that the wind was picking up and the gusts were becoming stronger and stronger. As I lay there wondering just how strong my tent actually was one of the guy ropes was pulled out of the ground. Now I had a problem. I knew that the best thing to do would be to remove the fly completely as it offered the most resistance to the wind. The trick though was how on earth was I going to be able to do that on my own? Visions of Mary Poppins floating through the air with her umbrella came to mind. That was ridiculous of course because I would never have the grace and poise of good old Mary; I would go kicking and screaming with no sign of the beautiful serene smile that she managed.

Another guy rope let go, the peg flying through the air. The wind began to get in underneath the tent, I could feel the air mattress lifting and dropping under me. This was quickly becoming less than fun. I worked out that the wind was coming in cycles so I waited for the next strong blow and as soon as it let up I unzipped the tent and clambered out. Thank goodness it had been cold enough to sleep fully dressed!

I thought that the tent looked like a contortionist from where I lay inside… that was nothing compared to how it looked from the outside. The fly had to come off before the wind either wrecked it or blew it away completely. Thank goodness I didn’t have an audience as I was taking the fly down. I am sure that to an observer it would have been quite entertaining; in fact a couple of times I even chuckled myself, or may it was that I was verging on hysteria.
Once the fly was off and stashed safely in the boot of my car I could then take a breath and snap a couple of photos. I had not thought to take photos earlier, but then if I did maybe there wouldn’t have been anything to salvage. After the photos I left the tent to fend for itself and took myself off to the communal kitchen area for a coffee. Thank goodness I became a non-smoker many years ago otherwise I would have burned up a pack in no time. Sharon, the caretaker, came over a while later with a very dry “I’ll bet you didn’t get much sleep last night.” I assured her that I would either have to pack up and go home, move to a more sheltered site or alternative accommodation because there was no way I was going to brave the wind again that night.

The wind continued to blow until late morning. Eventually around lunch time it eased and by mid-afternoon it was almost perfectly still. Just in time for me to take it all down and pack it away and move into a motel style room a little further away from ‘my’ tree but at least out of the wind. I really find the wind to be very unsettling. It sets me on edge and makes me feel very unsettled. I remember having a conversation with my Mum once where she said much the same thing. A gentle breeze or even a brisk one can be very nice but a hard blowing, gusting, continuous wind is not my cup of tea particularly when I am in a tent and have no way of getting away from it.

The day started off in absolute chaos but fortunately serenity has once again been restored.

To be continued…