Merry Solstice...!

I didn't make it to Stonehenge this year, they'd decided to have the event on Friday night instead of Saturday (Solstice night.) I had to work on Saturday, and also work have chaged the rules about car hire, making it a lot more expensive for us under-25 employees to rent. :-( So Erik and I spent most of Saturday sat outside the KSR in the sunshine - I went walkies around Cambridge for various things as well - and decided that we would spend the night on Stourbridge Common nextdoor in a tent, with a live fire to cook venison on. We used the fire bowl I got a few years ago when I was doing C15th Battle Re-enactment. I've never used it before as a fire bowl, preferring to keep odds and ends in it. When you tap it, it emits the most beautiful tone, ringing on for ages, and I was afraid that it would lose this if I were to heat it to that extent. But it was languishing in the spare room, totally unused, so I figured now would be a good time to see if it would be affected at all.

I got some venison in Mill Road, at a little butchers there. He held up a large steak, and I told him I'd have the lot if he cubed it. He seemed a little taken aback that I wanted so much, but cut it up for me anyway. On the bench he was working on were two arms, each with what looked like two thumbs and a little finger in a deformed hand - they even had fingernails. When I asked the butcher what they were, he replied 'pigs trotters'... Well I never, I knew pigs were close to humans, organ size and make-up etc, but I never expected them to have _fingernails_...!

As Erik and I were walking back from the pub, the police helicopter was flying over both commons. We have the annual Midsummer Fair on Midsummer Common at the moment, and there's been a lot of trouble with the travellers (bad sort). Most of the boat people who moor up on the common had moved down Riverside. Those who stayed had their boats trashed on Friday night. :-( Erik and I decided to wait until the helicopter had settled down before we headed off to our campsite, as the last thing we wanted was the fuzz telling us we couldn't stay out on the common. Instead we threw open the back door, and played loud music out onto the street. Well, it beats those bloody rowers and their megaphones... I danced on the patio for a bit, then packed everything into the relevant bags (I _love_ my Karrimoor! :-)).

We headed down to the common just at sundown, which was unfortunately obscured by an even cover of cloud. We set the tent up without the customery arguments that my ex and I used to have, and in record time, then tried to light the fire. Having forgotten a few things there were various runs to and from home (it was great just living down the road, even if it was cheating a bit...!) and a lot of swearing as the coals took a long time to catch. Of course, they were really supposed to just smoulder and give off heat, but they weren't really transmitting heat very well to each other. Erik eventually found some wood and, with the help of copious amounts of lighter fluid, got it all burning. :-)

I made kebabs up with the venison, some peppers (capsicums) and onions. Erik cooked them on our grill top over the coals, covering them in mixed herbs, pepper and salt. The burning herbs smelt divine, as did the cooking meat. Not as good as it tasted though! There's something so much more satisfying about cooking out in the open air, over a real fire, than doing it indoors with a conventional oven. :-)

We drank port and cider, ate all the kebabs, some rolls and some cheese. By this time I was exhausted, as I'd been up since 7 that morning for work. We decided to turn in for a few hours, then wake up for the dawn. The best thing about living just down the road is that I could bring the airbed and our duvet out, rather than the sleeping bags that could do with a good clean. I'd already pumped the bed up, so Erik and crashed out, having pulled the firebowl inside the porch to take advantage of the heat it was giving out.

I awoke to the alarm a couple of hours later, and had a look outside at the pre-dawn light. The sky was still blanketed, and bed was warm, so I turned off the alarm, and we went back to sleep. We were outside, that was what mattered. Sometime later I was awoken again, this time by the rain, which proceeded to pour down on us for a good hour. My tent held firm however, and we didn't even get damp. :-)

We got up a little while after the rain stopped, as it was getting rather hot inside. The coals in the firebowl turned out to still be burning, giving off a good deal of warmth. I got dressed and went home (to the loo, it was now broad daylight, and lots of people use that common...!) Erik rang me while I was there and suggested we put more coals on the fire and cook some bacon for breakfast. Cue me trekking around several supermarkets, none of which opened until 11 on a Sunday. Bloody lazy buggers... ;-) Anyway, finally got bacon, a tomato and some more rolls, as well as more camping equipment courtesy of the only shop that was open pre-11... Came back to find a very warm tent and a hot grill, which we proceeded to cook bacon on. :-)

After we'd finished up, we packed everything away again (minimum of fuss! :-)) and washed out the firebowl. Apparently, when Erik put what water we had left on it, the fire exploded ash everywhere. I was off fetching more water, which we used to cool the bowl down and clean it out. Wish I'd seen that! ;-) Oh, and the firebowl still rings like it used to. :-) We took everything home again, and Erik headed for the shower, then went into town.

So, all in all, a very successful Solstice, even if we didn't see the sunrise, and didn't get down to Stonehenge or Avebury again. Hopefully, we'll get a bus soon, and then we'll be able to go road tripping and camping out every weekend. :-)

Today has been sticky, humid and uncomfortably hot. I hope it thunderstorms soon...