Back in mid to late May, Pav put up a post over on his forum for a big summer camp, planned for some time in early August. As I had never been camping, I was keen to come along for the experience and some hardcore calor action! We slowly started debating which weekend to go and the location that was mentioned was Rhossili Bay. Pav and a few others had been there before and it was a good place to catch some waves, along with a camp site, right by the beach. With the move over to Facebook, Pav created an ‘event‘ with 10 confirmed guests. However, by the time the weekend came, many people had dropped out. On Thursday evening (2nd), I offered to drive in the 307, as Charlie was ill and could not make it. We had to get there early to book our pitches and setup camp. Early start for Friday then, I had work to do. However, before all of that, I have to give a story about my training session. I had obviously missed the session on Sunday, due to the Arsenal friendly even though the team actually had a friendly, so there was no scheduled training. What I am trying to say, is that it had been a week since I had last had a runabout. When I arrived, I noticed that Chris took hardly any equipment out of his car and there were no cones setup on on the field. Not a good sign. Chris gave me a knowing smirk, that we were in for something a bit different today. The drill, was named, doggies of death (I better explain doggies. This is the term that describes running from one cone to the other but in a staged way, so you run between point A and B, then back to A and to point C. Then back to A and to D. Does that make sense?) Normally they are spaced about five metres apart, on this occasion, we were using the markers of the full size football pitch. This was not good and I barely managed to finished the two runs we had at it, which included a two minute drink break. After this, we had to go a range of drills in two groups of four. It was a race against the clock to complete, for example 200 press-ups, 200 sit-ups between all members of the group. We lost but only just. Then we had to do some running, the length of the pitch and back, I was by this stage not really ready for physical torture but nevertheless went for two attempts, the first being under a minute. Then we had a game of football, we lost 3-1, I was on the side with dark coloured t-shirts. Chris tried his best to raise morale but to no avail, although we did get a consolation goal. Then, the keeper, whom had been training separately asked for us to take shots at him. The drill was simple, pass the ball to the feeder, request left or right foot, the ball is passed back and go for a sweet shot directly at goal, aiming for direction rather than power. I was one of the last few to go and was surprised by how good contact I got on the ball and then watched, in slow motion as the ball looped over the keeper into the back of the net. Earlier, in the day, I had been reading a very interesting article about time over on the BBC News Magazine. Stick with me here, it will be worth it. I understood, only now, how the magicians Berkgamp, Best and Gasicoigne performed their mastery. Envisioning the play in your end is one thing, but being able to have the power to actual slow play down, is something else. While I of course, am many light years (even decades) from the skill of these midfield maestros, for a few moments on Thursday evening. My training is slowly coming to a close, with only two further sessions remaining. The next step, is deciding what to do, to keep myself active and build on the small progress of the past month. A discussion for a blog entry, next week perhaps. An early start on Friday then, I got up around 5.20am and after a shower, packed the car. My sister and I had packed everything I needed late on Thursday night, so it was a case of load the car and wagons roll. A few minutes after 6am, I was on my way over to Caversham. As I knocked on the door, there was no reply, so I tried again. Eventually the door was opened and we began to pack the car. It took over thirty minutes to arrange everything correctly. We had substantial amount of kit to take down, three tents, including my own and some food, drink and equipment. Even so, there was a group of things left by the door for Pav to bring down later in the evening. At 7.04am, we were on our way with a ETA of around 10.14am. I headed onto the M4 and switched the radio from my personal favourite, KISS to Radio 1. It was Scott Mills, looking after Breakfast, so I was happy to listen along. He was hilarious, particularly the Bookshop segment. Thanks to some diehard fans, you can download the best bits! With the radio playing some great songs, including the Freemasons’ remix of Greenlight, the journey went well. The motorway was relatively clear, I had got over my tiredness and was very much looking forward to whatever the weekend had in store. Perhaps the most crucial element, was the bright sunshines and clear blue skies up ahead. We hit traffic around 8.30am, around Newport. Traffic at a complete standstill, I took a call on my TomTom via hands free, it was Pav. He was surprised at the progress we had made. It was 8.36am, precisely, I note from the call log on my N73. We reminded our friend all the bits and pieces we had left for him back at home and anything else we needed him to collect before heading down himself. An hour later, we stopped for some breakfast at Cardiff Gate. A peculiar small services area built onto a business park. We had some pannis and tea, for a fifteen minute pit stop before heading back onto the road. The rest of the journey was stress free, well the motorway part at least. It was the moment we came off the moment, after Swansea that things begin to get interesting. Firstly you have to suddenly concentration and look out for caravans. The distance, as close as we were to the campsite, became meaningless, as we had to travel on winding country roads, which now mid morning on a Friday were quite busy. Sure enough, by 10.30am, we could clearly make out the coast in the distance. We were driving through residential streets now, with cars parked on either side and at times only clear passage for one vehicle at at time. We arrived at the campsite, Hillend around 11am, explained we had friends coming and booked ourselves in. We then drove down to the first camping area, it was surprisingly full. We moved onto the second, drove around and then came up to the entrance for the family enclosure, only to turn around and look for a spot. We choice one by the entrance to the second field, it was big enough for all three tents and three cars, when the others arrived. We then had to unpack the car and begin the task of setting up came. As this was my first camping trip, I let Nigel take the lead and helped as much as I could. The first tent to go up was the daddy, two sleeping compartments either side of a large quite spacious living area. Then, we put up my tent, which took about twenty minutes, five minutes longer than the estimated time on the label. I was quite happy with my purchase from Halfords, although it states it is a three man tent, I think it is more suitable for two.

The final tent to go up, was for Andy and Helen, the final couple in our group. We then put in all our gear inside the tents and made a list. We had spotted a Tesco Express, part of an Esso petrol station about twenty minutes up the road and were going to go up and stock up on food for the weekend. Nigel and I had a drink, while Div made a list. In between, we had called Pav to let him know we had arrived, found a spot and were very much just waiting for him to arrive. We then headed down back towards civilisation, stopping at a local independent store, rather than the world’s fourth largest retailer. We stuffed our trolley full of food and all the essentials we needed, including screw drivers to assemble the barbeque. We then headed back to the car and finally emptied the car of all the groceries. I assisted Nigel in putting the barbeque grill together. Not bad for £9.98 from B&Q! To celebrate a successful job done, we had some chocolate cakes to celebrate. The weather had taken a turn for the worst and it started to rain, so we moved back into the main tent. It was late afternoon and although we spent a bit of time chatting, I decided to go to my tent and rest. I had brought my Zen along, so listened to the radio and then some mp3s, while resting in my sleeping bag. I was started to quite enjoy the camping experience but there was so much more to come. Around 7.30pm, the rain had cleared and we went for a walk to stretch our legs. We headed up the hill to the camp entrance, Nigel received a call from Em, they were stuck in traffic and were about an hour or so away. We headed back down to the tent, as it there was some light rain. To my surprise, cars were still coming into the camp area, some people turned away, some being offered what limited pitches remained. Surely it was full by now. We got back into the tent and I sat on the air bed. Using my super powers, I kept my super hearing on alert in the background. I then heard the distinct voice of Helen just walking past my car. I rushed out the tent to greet Helen and Andy. Nearly all the party were here, they went back to the entrance to pay their fee and grab their car. Their arrival made me feel better, Pav & Emily were about thirty minutes away, so the barbeque could start very soon. The M3 pulled up at around 8.40pm, I went to the gate to meet Pav, and also explain we had already paid for the pitch. This of course was slightly bending the truth and we got past the security at the entrance. Pav parked up the M3, emptied out the luggage and the barbeque could begin. The food was good, with Chef Nigel looking after feeding the troops, we also got some drinks out of the cooler. This was the life, this was what camping was all about. Enjoying the company of my friends around the warm flames of the grill. After food, we were all stuffed and ended up moving into the main tent and chilling out while we had some more drinks. Pav handed me his Dad’s Sony CyberShotU DSC-P12. I then started snapping away, as I would do for the rest of the weekend. At around 12.45am, I finally retired to my own tent to sleep. Although I listened to BBC Radio FiveLive for a while before finally drifting off to sleep. I woke up a few times during the night, disturbed by the wind howling against my tent. It sounded as if there was someone outside walking around. However, it was just my imagination going wild. My sleeping bag was comfortable but I kept stirring throughout the night. It was wet and windy outside, not the great weather we had hoped for. I woke up initially around 7am, but actually got up around 9am. I could hear Nigel checking with the others if I was awake. I got up, went over to the washrooms to wash my face and then came back to our main base camp for breakfast. It was Nigel’s Cafe open for business, with bagels on offer. Breakfast went down very well, I was quite hungary and it hit the spot. While we were eating we planned what to do with the day. Surf was up, well for some. Andy, Pav & Helen headed to PJ’s Surf Shop up the road to rent some surfboards, body boards and wet suits. When they got back, it was about midday, Helen was in Pav’s lap on the back seat of Andy’s beemer. This was so they could fit the two surf boards across the passenger seat and diagonally across in the saloon car. Someone should have bought a roof rack! Pav was excited and Andy, after a cigarette was ready for some action!

The weather was dull, grey, overcast and at times slightly wet. However, we all headed down to the beach, it was still quite busy, considering the weather. Most of the campers had come for some surf and were not going to let a little bit of drizzle get them down. We grabbed a place on the beach while the others headed down to the sea. We pitched up a small beach tent and had some more drinks. I had a little rest, but did not actually go to sleep. There was a hint of sunshine, as the the clouds cleared briefly to let the golden rays through. However, it did not come back out.

Around 3.30pm, we headed back to camp. Our surfer dudes wanted a shower and had to return the kit by 5pm. At camp, we had a little tidy up, while Andy and Pav went to return the gear. We opted for a light snack, rather than having a big meal on the barbeque. Pasta was the on offer and it was very good, along with a desert of Fox Classic biscuits. By now it was just after 6pm and we all retired to our tents for some rest. I only wanted to rest for about an hour and actually did not go to sleep. I got into my sleeping bag and listened to some music on my Zen. I was tired and was actually looking forward to going home. I was woken up around 7.30pm, the sun had come out and we decided to head down to the beach, armed with a Early Learning Centre cricket set (for ages between 5-8).

I really enjoyed the game, maybe more so because I am in the middle of my fitness course and am actually in the mood for doing active things. We took it in turns bat, bowling and fielding. I had a great period bowling, taking a consecutive four wickets (one directly, three with catches). Sorry, must sound I was taking a silly friendly game on the beach far to seriously but I am gaining a little competitive hunger inside. After cricket, the sun was starting to fade and the tide was coming in. The rest of the group headed back to camp to get dinner started, while I went for a walk down the beach with Emily. We walked quite far down the bay, away from the crowds. It was the first time meeting with sand flies. We turned around and walked back. I annoyed Emily by constantly thinking the sand dune on our left was the exit to came, when we were actually had quite a distance to go. Back at camp, we enjoyed some food before once again, talking and drinking through to the small hours. At 11pm, we were told to switch off the music, Helen had plugged her iPod into small battery powered speakers which was on random repeat. Once again just before 1am, I went off to my tent to go to sleep. We awoke on Sunday to lovely sunshine, it was glorious! The great weather we had hoped for had finally arrived. We changed our plans and decided to head down to the beach for the early afternoon. Breakfast first though, with Emily taking over duties. It was a lovely bagel once again and once again I was stuffed. We headed down to the beach, it was extremely busy. Once again, we pitched our tent and had some drinks. The sunshine was beating down, so I decided to just lay down on our mat. This was the life, lovely weather and just enjoying the sea breeze. It was hot, extremely hot. Emily, Pav and Nige headed to the sea, while the rest of us just enjoyed the beach. Div continued to read her book. I was actually not looking forward to getting back to Wycombe. I could stay here for much longer. We eventually did though have to leave, pack up and head back to the camp. We started operation clean up, which took less time than I expected. Suppose, it is much easier with more hands on deck. The tents came down, the barbeque was packed away and then it was a case of loading the 307. It did not take that long at all. We had decided while down on the beach that we would pop over to the pub up the road for lunch before heading home. The King’s Head has a patio and we sat outside in the sunshine to enjoy our lunch. Table 44. The food arrived quite quickly and it was the fuel I needed for the drive home. Div wanted desert but I wanted to get onto the road as quickly as possible. The compromise was an ice cream at the first services on the M4, as I would need to stop for fuel. We followed Pav out of the pub car park and on the road back to Reading. As we got onto the motorway, he was behind us on the slip road. It would be the last I would see of him. We listened to BBC Radio One. Firstly the UK Chart, just to see who was number one. It reminded me Sunday afternoon’s of my childhood. Driving down from a weekend with family in Nottingham or Hertfordshire, we would always listen to the countdown in the car. As part of their six weeks of summer, they were in Zante. David Pearce, broadcast live with Dance Anthems. He opened his show with DJ Sammy – Heaven. The perfect song to end a perfect weekend. Don’t you think? I got home just after 8pm. I was completely shattered. Then I realised I had another challenge ahead of me. Write this blog entry and upload all the photographs.