One Experience I would have Rewound.

Almost at the end of the month and I’ve never been so busy. The beginning saw us away on hols in Spain for a week, which was amazing and extremely hot at 47 degrees. Fortunately, the temperature dropped to a balmy 41. Seville has lots of interesting places and our hotel was fantastic. Definitely will stay there again, maybe not at the height of summer next time. See my Podcast, highlighting my sights, and the hotel, on my YouTube channel – Carol M. Salter.

Whilst it was great being away, my mind remained in the UK. I’d finished the final write of Aquasapien three Prodigy and needed to liaise with my formatter, cover designer and printing company. I can say trying to orchestrate this via my Samsung phone was a mite stressful. In the end, I did what holidays away from home are made for – I let go and enjoyed the scenery and food.


Leaving the home environment, where ever you go is beneficial. You are physically unable to do those household chores calling to you, from scrubbing the toilet (which I did on my return) and tarting up the garden, to sorting out your next publication. And that holiday needn’t be abroad. Staycations are just as good, be that camping (read further for details on that saga) to staying with rellys.

I returned chilled, relaxed and fired up for completion of Aqua three and continuation of Chicken Wizard, not to mention my latest draft, Between Worlds.

Of course, we didn’t stay home, that would have been too easy. Off we zoomed to our next engagement, the Rewind 80’s Music Festival at Henley. We were camping!

The event itself was officially brilliant, and our six friends were great too. The actual camping? Not so much. Sure, we’d done loads in our 20’s and 30’s, MAG rallies, Crazy Days & other biker events. Those days on a motorbike with tiny two-man tent, bed rolls and sleeping bags.

These days we had a much more comfortable four-man tent with stand-up seating area. Sounds great in theory. Watching my hubby struggle in some strong winds to insert poles into various orifices, then hammer pegs into a solid stone ground, was not so much fun. He bent more pegs than he got in.

Another surprise was the size of the place and distance from A to B. We parked in one field of cars and using my trusty festival trolley moved the first of our goods down through that field, and the next to the entrance.

“Oh,” I exclaimed, “The tents are here.”

No, they weren’t. That field was full. Apparently folk arrived at 4am!!! Hubby yanked the trolley through that field too, around a corner and into another field, which was also two-thirds full. While he set up, I offered to go get our second haulage in the trolley.

Off I crawled, yanking the empty trolley behind me. After two fields I’d had enough. This was not a nice grassy field like we’d expected, this was a stony, uneven surface that looked like horses had rampaged through it – regularly. I collapsed the trolley and hefting it up, held it against my body and continued to walk, and walk, and walk.

By the fifth or fifteenth row, I’d had enough. I threw the trolley to the ground. I couldn’t find the damn car. My little Kiora is a low-to-the-ground car and likes to find herself. This is a common occurrence when I go anywhere. I spend minutes trying to locate my erstwhile transport, flicking my remote back and forth like a metal detector in supermarket carparks.

“There she is!”

I scampered off down the row from where I stood, in the blazing sun, after spying a tiny orange roof in the distance. Running up the rows I reached her, dropped the trolley which by now I’d gone back to yanking and felt for my remote. Nothing.
I couldn’t believe it, somewhere in the gigantic, hellhole of a field I’d lost my key. That did it. The trolley got thrown to the ground – again – and kicked for good measure too. My bag was inside my car, with my phone and all my personal items. I sobbed hysterically and noone really noticed. Well, they did, but you could see their reaction in their eyes, “I’m not going over to her, she’s mad. I’m on holiday.”

After thinking it through, I realised I must have lost them somewhere in the blasted field from hell, all I could do was backtrack, sobbing as I walked. I found them nestled in the grass in row five. By the time I returned to the car I needed the Ventolin, which was also inside.

Its put me off camping, despite by husband purchasing stronger tent pegs today and my niece offering to lend us her blow-up tent. We had VIP toilets (paid extra) which were over two fields away. The arena field was four fields away. I walked 35,000 steps that day, an all time record according to my Fitbit. I felt every single one. Okay, a fair bit was dancing about to Level 42 and Holly Johnson.

Lesson learnt the hard way. Don’t put your key remote down your bra when camping.
 
Aquasapien three now at printers. Potential Launch date 29th October in sight.
 
Chicken Wizard illustrations in progress. Sneak preview of Chicken Wizard himself, next blog.

​Sorry this is a bit longer than usual.

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