CAMPING WILD AND A TRIBAL TOURNAMENT

Hurray for Friday, the weekend is upon us, the solo parenting stint is over and I'm looking forward to a weekend of fun! To celebrate a dear friend's birthday we're heading across the Severn Bridge to the Forest of Dean for a few days of camping, wild walks, toasted marshmallows and food cooked over a fire pit. Not only is it a great excuse to spend some time relaxing and switch off, but a chance to get in some practice for the Just So Festival next month.

This year will be our first time camping at this spellbinding festival and after reading the lovely Heather's tribal reveal I decided to investigate further. It seems that the stakes are high for this years tribal tournament with families choosing between owls, foxes, frogs stags, lions or fish in the hopes of their tribe winning the trophy.

F immediately chose a side and seems to be quite fierce in his decision, so as the boys go red for fox  I'm left choosing between joining them or standing on my own as a stag or a lion. I can't wait to get making our tribal wear.

Which tribe would you stand with?

A WEEKEND OF WILD

At the moment our weeks are in short of supply of quality family time, what with me working Saturdays and Paul away most weeks. So those slow Sundays are the only time we can cram everything in, and cram we do. Recently due to all the rain, this day has been relegated to: chores, DIY, trips to town, and endless de-cluttering, and in doing this we've noticed an increase in F asking for TV time, and not his usual Abney and Teal teatime slot either, but an onslaught of DVD requests.

So this Sunday after debating his fifth demand of Ponyo or Ice Age 3, I watched him mope off – as much as a three year old can – and stare out the window, and then something clicked. The main difference to this new weekend routine has been the lack of #wildtime, just me, him and the boy hanging out, getting muddy and exploring the great outdoors. A quick glance outside confirmed the grey onset of drizzle, but who cares right? Nature can be fun whatever the weather, as a kid I wouldn't have blinked an eyelid at rain or moody skies, instead it would have made a varied backdrop for my adventures.

Kitting F out in scarf, hat and wellies and me in my lovely new Merrell Boots and Jack Wolfskin parker we headed off to the woods. Within minutes F had a huge smile on his face as he bounded along to the nature playground, where mud covered tree stumps proved to be the epitome of excitement. My new role morphed quickly into a mud monster called Bop who had to chase F to his faraway island, before switching over to a big bad wolf in his rendition of the three little pigs

We explored dens, rode broomsticks, squelched in muddy puddles, foraged for nature's treasures, banged drumsticks, clambered upon felled trees and pointed at the various dogs lolloping past. I was sure that I would quickly want to head home to shelter from the rain but my parker kept me cosy warm with its thermal inner jacket and waterproof skin, making me happy to stay out and play as well as looking cool – there's nothing better than the parker/bobble hat combo to channel that scandi mama style.

As we wandered deeper into the woods and off the trails I was glad that I had worn my Merrell Boots rather than my wellies, with their waterproof full grain leather and waterproof membrane they kept my feet dry and still looked as good as when I first put them on, plus the fleece lining makes them perfect for keeping feet cosy during wet walks and snowy adventures.



Exhausted, with a happy F in tow, we headed home for hot chocolates and jigsaw puzzles, another day under our belt. I'm now looking forward to starting Forest School with F and donning my new mama style, all I need now is a good flask for my coffee.

We were sent a pair of Merrell Boots and a Jack Wolfskin Parker for review purposes only. All words and opinions are honest and my own.

SIMPLE BRAMBLE BLACKBERRY JAM

After reliving a childhood pastime and foraging for wild blackberries last week, I promised F we would spend a rainy day making jam like my nanna used to. Being a total jam novice, I quickly scoured the internet for some easy recipes that we could get stuck into and found a world of jam enthusiasts out there with flavours to match. So after spending a good twenty minutes reading whether added Pectin is good or bad I decided to take a simple recipe and wing it – as always.

For delicious simple bramble blackberry jam, you'll need:

900g fresh blackberries
900g white granulated sugar
50ml water
juice of half a lemon

1. Rinse the blackberries in cool water and remove any stalks that might be left over.
2. Place in a bowl and leave in the fridge to macerate over night.
3. Place the berries, lemon juice and water into a large heavy based pan and bring to the boil.
4. Lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until softened.
5. Crush the remaining blackberries with a potato masher and add in the sugar.
6. Slowly heat, stirring at all times until the sugar has dissolved.
7. Bring to a full rolling boil so the surface bubbles and it thickens. Boil for 8 minutes.
8. Remove any residue bubbles off the surface and get ready to transfer into your jam jars.
9. I used my dishwasher on an intensive wash to sterilise my jars and timed it with cooking, however you could submerge your jars in a pot of boiling water for ten minutes.
10. Ensure the jars are hot when pouring in the jam, wipe the edges and seal.
11. Store in a cool dry place.

Nothing like hot buttery toast and jam to keep away those winter blues.

A BLACKBERRY HARVEST

As a child there was nothing I loved more than foraging for fruits on Cleadon Hills or unearthing vegetables from my Grandad's vegetable patch in the back garden. Rhubarb and blackberries were my favourite as there was always a pie to bake or jam to be made. As September rolled into October and the leaves started to turn we would spend an active afternoon, pot in hand, collecting wild blackberries off the bramble bushes that grew rampantly near their house.

This weekend I was excited to give F a taste of my childhood. We took a small tub and headed to Clifton Village where I had found an abundance of brambles on one of our walks. At first F was a bit hesitant but I got stuck in trying to reach the ripest berries without squishing them on contact. He watched on inquisitively and soon we were all weaving through bushes, avoiding the sharp thorns, so dearly protecting its fruit. After 40 minutes and a few scratched arms, we filled our box and headed happily to the park with our bumper harvest and purple stained hands.

I'm a total novice when it comes to making jam, as a child I would get distracted with drawing or playing rather than witness the whole process, so I can't wait to make some jam with F and show him how to enjoy the fruits of the wild.

FESTIVAL FUN AT END OF THE ROAD

 

 

 

So we've finally settled back into normality after an amazing four days at End of the Road Festival and I'm still feeling a bit wiped. F has bounced back into his routine with a skip and a hop while my brain is taking longer to get up to speed, but hell it was worth it. We've been going to End of the Road – without fail – for six years and have watched it grow from a fledgling festival to one of the best on the festival circuit.

Set in the stunning surroundings of the Larmer Tree Gardens near Salisbury, it was a family friendly long weekend full of magic and twinkling lights. F was ecstatic at the prospect of camping as usual and was very keen to help with the mallet and tent pegs, so we hauled our stuff over to the quiet area rather than the family area allowing us to pitch with our friends – this actually turned out better than last year as it seemed to be closer to the main area and there wasn't the thunderous roar of kids going past our tent at 6.30am.

During the day we spent our time wandering through the woods, sitting on blankets in the warm sun listening to music, testing out our circus skills, reading Dr Seuss in the woodland library, watching pirate puppets, eating an enormous amount of amazing food, chilling in the Badger Inn, and spotting the peacocks and macaws that were roaming freely. In the morning we'd grab ourselves some tea and toast and head over to the cinema tent to nestle down to a bit of Disney or Studio Ghibli, while the other of us had a lie in and nursed their head.

As dusk settled in and F danced in pj's and wellies, a more electric and magical vibe took over. We ate dinner by the roaring pit fire, hundreds of twinkling light shone down through the woods, the warm glow of the food stalls and bars called out to passerby's, the light up disco in the woods came to life and the everyone seemed to be buzzing. We both tried out the Silent Disco on alternate nights, exchanging £10 for a set of headphones that switches between two tracks while dancing like a loon and singing aloud to your favourite songs. Only to lower your headphones once in a while to realise that everyone sounds completely out of tune and half of the tent are dancing to a different beat. Hilarious fun!

What made this festival great for me – apart from randomly receiving hand delivered letters by the festival postman throughout the weekend, using only a brief description of what we look like and where we might be – was the chance to hang out with friends, let F explore the outdoors and for us to hold hands and listen to music.

It's the small details that make this such a great festival: from the secret gigs to the art sculptures, the piano room to the hidden showeroke – yes that is a hidden shower cubicle/karaoke booth in the woods, the hay bales and fur blankets that line the floor of the tipi to the post office. The best festival has to be End of the Road.

Early bird tickets are now on sale for 2014, make sure you don't miss out.