Glastonbury not so Greatness

What a weekend of challenge and tears it has been this weekend, the weekend of Glastonbury when I should be frolicking in a field, covered in glitter in a spangly happy state, instead I found myself in front of a tv huffing and puffing at not being there. I took myself to bed Saturday to have a serious word with myself as I was not a happy Claire.

My journey with Glastonbury ticket buying has been so varied from 2002 – 2013 it changed every year, some years difficult, some easy, some hilarious but without fail I always managed to secure my space for the world’s best festival.  I remember buying my first ticket in 2002 from a local record shop in Glastonbury, I rang them, ordered 8 tickets and that was that. One year it took us 36hrs to get tickets, me and my friends took sleep shift patterns so there was always someone online, we succeeded and all attended for another year of fun and frolics. I worked one year and the ticket turned up in the pose in an explosion of glitter. Then another year I thought I would be away travelling however plans changed so I bought a ticket of ebay of the local milkman and was driven straight into the festival (only to find my friend working the gate as I walked up to show my overpriced piece of paper). It has been many years of lots of challenging Sunday’s – I think one year they went on sale at 11pm Saturday night but it’s always been filled with anxiety and excitement knowing if you win then it’s all worthwhile.

After much deliberation, we decided to take a year out in 2014 to go travelling, we were nearly flying back just for Glastonbury but realised how silly that was. I don’t know if this has been our eternal fate as since then our luck has gone downhill and two years we have missed out on tickets, we attended a wedding in 2016 so we were in a field celebrating which made up for it. 2015 and 17 have been our unsuccessful years and it has been a challenge. It hits a part of the soul that ignites the missing out feeling and watching bands you LOVE when live music is such a big part of your way then it’s a double whammy of gut wrenching sadness.

We had a whatsapp group with other friends to survive the weekend and kept our contact limited to friends there experiencing there first/second Glastonbury. I am sure there are plenty of you out there who has experienced the same or similar feeling so what is my next plan. Well I am in the midst of making one, to ensure ticket purchasing becomes less painful and trying to find a way in for life (easier said than done, hey). 

A selection of over the years shots....

2013

2013

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2002/2003

2002/2003

Wonderful Malham

I first visited the Yorkshire Dales just over a year ago with the famalam and since then I have ventured back there 3 times. It’s such a magic place and holds a special part in my heart. Over the year I have learnt more about the magic it holds and the life within it. A good friend lives in a village close by and being able to become part of Dale’s life has opened another world in this wonderful land.

Our first trip was a family holiday, with my brother being down South we decided to head to the country for the weekend, and the Yorkshire Dales was the chosen spot. My Mum and Ron had visited many times and knew Malham Cove. We stayed in a cottage in the village of Hebden which is a short drive to Malham. Malham Cove is an incredible limestone formation (the same stone as Ha Long Bay, Vietnam), the cove reminds me of the Giants Causeway with its large rock pavement at the top. The limestone cove was formed by a waterfall carrying meltwater from glaciers, as you walk out over the pavement you can see down onto the picturesque village of Malham and can spend a long time in awe of the surrounding views.

The walk to the cove takes you past Janets Foss, a waterfall where fairies supposedly live, up to Gordale Scar another limestone ravine featuring two waterfalls. You then head up over the Dales and along to climb up onto the cove then down to The Lister Arms, a tasty country pub in the heart of Malham Village.

I feel I have been lucky enough to see Malham in many ways, by visiting and staying not just as a tourist. I have been lucky enough to get to know some of the locals and make sense of the life it means to live in a tourist packed part of the UK, I have learnt the frustrations this brings but have shared the joy I find being a tourist, the warmth Malham brings and the goodness it spreads from its idyllic sights.

Each time I find a newness to enjoy and have climbed new hills, taking on Pikedaw, venturing high above Gordale Scar, looking down from a new angle. I have visited secret wishing wells, and learnt about Belted Galloway Cows, I have learnt the different ways of farming and held teeny lambs with no Mum’s. I have eaten wild garlic that grows in abundance and seen deer running wild along the dales nr Janets Foss. I have talked engagements, walking clubs and adopted dogs. I have been with our socks and without and managed a new walk each time or an added addition to a previous walk.

The last time we visited was my birthday and sadly the van was being repaired so we headed back to stay in canvas. We chose to stay at the same campsite we had planned in the van and booked a spot at  Gordale Scar Campsite  it’s a wonderful site, deep in the depths of the dales and a stone’s throw from Gordale Scar, and a short walk from the Lister Arms. The campsite has its pure positives but one thing I love after a hearty walk is a deep soak in a shower and sadly with no facilities it was baby wipes all the way, not as appealing, hey?

We took a big walk on the Saturday, heading to Malham Tarn and around, along Dry Valley then onto the Cove. We spied peregrine Falcons nesting in the cove and spent both evenings enjoying the fine tastes at The Listers. We walked back around 8pm, the sky was wonderful and the paths were so quiet we found it was just us three all the way to Janet’s Foss, we walked through the meadows of wild garlic and took in the deep delicious smells that surrounded us.

I know Malham is filled by tourists but for me it’s a special place that steals my heart each time. I know every time I leave I am already planning the next time we will be back, it holds such joy and I know will be a place that forever lives in the depths of my soul.

Eden Festival - Mud and Glitter

We found ourselves venturing to the garden of Eden last week for our first festival of 2017, and our first festival for some time. Eden is set in the Raehills Meadows, nr Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway (Scotland). Eden had been a festival on our radar for sometime as a good friend works one of the dub tents there, so we had heard about the delights a lot from him.

With not getting Glastonbury tickets, and the mixed feelings this brings we decided to descend on some smaller more local festivals and enjoy some new delights.

Eden's line up was a mash up of garage, disco, folk, soul, gypsy punk, dub and dance. It basically had it all and we enjoyed an array of new and old music tastes. The highlights being Gogol Bordello, So Solid Crew, Boney M and a band called Sketch who mixed traditional folk with dance.
I was so excited to see So Solid Crew, for the hillarity more then anything but wow they pulled a great set and the tent was electric with energy and everyone going wild for the garage beats. We even got to hang out with them afterwards which was so funny, a game of swingball, a little photo op and hearing whats ahead for the South London crew.

Sketch totally blew us away, we were ready for bed and decided to bumble down to the main stage, describing themselves as Celidh techno they really got the crowd going and before we knew it we were bobbing around ciders in hand.

I love a good workshop at a festival, Shambala festival is great for this however the workshops always fill quickly. At Eden they run a number of workshops each day, however there on every day so it's great as if you miss it one day you can catch it another. I managed to convince Sam to attend an intro to Indian head massage which was so fun, Sam gained a lot of the benefits, falling asleep as i messaged him. It was great to do something a bit different and the power from the energy boosted us ready for Saturday frolics.

I wished i had spent more time in The Lost Disco area, however we always seemed to be pottering elsewhere, they have a huge flashing dance floor and glitter balls and sparkles all over.
Being in the van was a total delight, we weren't camped with friends sadly as we arrived later, however the festival is only 5000 capacity so it was always easy to find folk. It was a dream having nice sleeps, being warm, coffee and sandwiches in the morning and just the greatness vanlife brings. We made the decision we wouldn't being going back to canvas, were tent lovers all the way now!
The rain poured and the mud came strong but it was so fun and no one seemed too bothered about splodging around ankle deep in mud. We will definitely be back next year for another adventure in the fields of Eden.

First Adventure in the Van - North York Moors

We did it, we got our first trip away in the van, okaies so it wasn't fully finished but that was kind of our plan, encase we needed to make adjustments etc. We had really blasted through working the Easter weekend and were so happy with how far we had come with the help of my Step-pa. 

We chose the North York Moors as our first adventure, we have only ventured here once and felt it was near enough home if anything went wrong but far enough away to be in the wilds of the moors. We had decided we wanted to stay on a farm esk campsite and found out about Low Bell End Farm online, it's a lovely space with incredible views across the Rosedale Moors. 

There was hardly anyone in the field, and the we were so happy with our chosen spot. We positioned the van so we could see out of our window in the morning, the weather was meek at times so we didn't spend too much time lazing around outside, however if we were we would set up a picnic spot to the front/back of the van so we could enjoy the views when not in bed. 

We did get a bit of rain but it was so nice being in bed, snug under the warmth of blankets, hot tea and a good book, we watched the rain pass then headed out for a lengthy hike/ramble

We had picked the Rosedale Railway walk, however didn't have an OS map, Sam takes on map reading and gets frustrated with walking books as descriptions are easily lost. We walked 3 mile extra, after becoming slightly lost and ended up hiking up the moors (after our picnic, massive fail) to reach the top of the Railway walk. However it was beautiful and rugged and the colours were outstanding, the gorse was in abundance and Spring life was flourishing.

This was just after we made it to the top, the walk was a circular and in total we managed 12.5 miles, i think a record for both of us walking and definitely for Socks, she was exhausted after.

There wasn't much we wanted to change on the van either, a few minor things to stop the baskets and fridge moving about but that would easily be done. We also needed to finish the tiling and sink area but apart from that we were really pleased with our first outing and just both felt the calm evoke us as our travelling toes took us outside into nature again. 

I do love a project but there's nothing like enjoying the completed product. 

Project Van Life pt4

We started to build and build we did, the designing of the van we had been doing for some time, we had to change a few things with the addition of our lovely long dog, however we were happy with what we put together and enjoyed masking the tape down to measure out the space.

We had gone back and forth about having a bed that stays out or one that rolls back to being seats. We decided that if we had the bed out all the time it would allow us to relax on rainy days and allow Socks the chance to get up and look out the window/s. We also felt by having the bed out we could have storage underneath for baskets, clothes, fridge etc,

We also know for Socks to travel she would need a space, her spindly legs are so long that without a contained area she would fall all over when in transit. We felt by making a box behind the seats it give her a travel style cot where she could still see us and look out the window. When camped up we could then use the box for storage, placing a lid on it and a cushion for seating area. 

We used various size ply for the bed, and 3x2 timber for the frames. My Step-pa came around to help and really shifted us on with the building, it felt exciting seeing it all come together.

We added some hatches into the bed, the longer one for storage and the smaller one for access to the battery. We then placed the table and storage underneath the bed. For us the table wouldn't be used to eat from, it would be more of a storage spot when cooking and a bedside table when in bed. We wanted to not take bags into the van so made a storage spot for baskets in which our clothes would go in. 

We made a cupboard out of timber frame and pallet, i had seen the idea on the interweb and felt it would fit perfect with our style of van. We took the pallet apart, sanded it down then covered it in teak oil. Sam then put the boards together and put hinges on to make three doors. The top we used old scaffold board, which Sam sanded right back and again we stained with teak oil. The big cupboard space will hold the water and waste water and the calor gas. The smaller cupboard would be for cups, teapots and all the cooking equipment. 

We hadn't measure the top, doh, and at one point worried we couldn't fit a two hob stove on, however Sam found an old stove called a Tilly Trojan, he found a guy selling them on gumtree and we got a brand new one that fitted perfect. We also loved its retro style. For the sink we bought a bowl and are going to put a plug hole in and a hand powered tap. 

Decorating came next and i looked in the shed for what i already had, i picked the yellow from our bedroom wanting something bright and then used magnolia for the kitchen area as we are tiling above the sink/stove area. I also used blackboard paint above the door so we could write good camping spots and notes on.

I had made curtains so we got them up and the obvious maps had to go in. I got a great children's map that sat brilliant against the yellow. 

We made a couple of shelves again out of pallets, one for books and the other sits above the sink area with tea/coffee etc on. 

I need to get some better photos of it all complete but will do that in another blog.

Enjoy, any comments, questions feel free to ask, we found so much helpful information on the internet and wanted to be able to share that back. 

Project Van Life pt3

We had a really good weekend in the van this weekend, Sam has been working like a trooper as i haven't been well enough to be in there, however this weekend i found the energy to get outside and really help out and it felt great. Sam has been working on the electrics, he seem's to read about it day and night and this weekend we started to wire everything up (i will do another blog about electrics). I got on with insulating using the loft roll as mentioned in Van Life pt2 ~  https http://claire-yvonne.blogspot.com/2017/02/project-van-life-pt2.html and started to make templates for the ply that will cover the insulation. 

I also started working on the ceiling, Sam had started it but it needed to be finished and it was a job i could do, (electrics i wasn't going near), the panels on the ceiling were actually going to be used on the floor, however we decided there were too femur and felt they would bring some more light and colour to the van if we put them up top. A friend of ours owns the http://welovewood.org/ wood recyling yard and we were in love with these as soon as we saw them, loaded in the car, home they came and onto the van they were drilled. 

Socks even came out and visited us, she normally looks at the van then pootles off but this time she took her time and jumped on in, we were so happy, she took a good sniff around, posed for some photos and looked out the windows. 

Next stage is more of the ply boarding going up, finish electrics then we will start building the frames for the furniture. We know the layout so it's just starting to build.

Crochet Granny Square Blanket

Well it's finally complete, it's been in the making for years and i am so pleased with the end piece, the blanket started when i learnt to crochet just before heading off travelling, i started with a granny square and managed to pick it up easier then i thought. 

When heading off on our 2014 adventure i decided i wanted to still use my hands to craft and felt knitting maybe a bit too much effort so i thought with my hook and a few balls of yarn i could crochet squares in order to make a blanket. So with that.. the blanket started, the yarn was purchased and my crochet addiction started. I crocheted a number of squares when in the Himalayan mountains, the snow capped peaks and the colder air was a perfect place and even better i managed to buy more yarn from local women knitting on the street, I sent a number of squares home, a mish mash of colours, i soon realised there was no colour scheme to this blanket but a whirlwind of tones. 

When i arrived home i looked over my squares and realised there was a number with a brown edging so felt this would work as an outline, i then purchased more yarn to match the colours already crocheted and started to build on my squares. I will admit though my knitting did take over and the squares became nestled in a bag in the corner of the living room. 

I met a new friend last year and my crochet love came back, i started to bring my squares out again and started to see them grow. With buying our van i thought the blanket would be a treat for in there, so instead of the blanket being a work in progress it became the main project and i found myself crocheting away again, my squares building up and the blanket becoming more alive. 

In total i crocheted 143 squares, i must admit they werent all the same size but when i started to join the blanket together it didn't matter, it just felt it made the journey of the blanket and my crochet learning was there in front of me, the good squares and the not so great ones. I wasnt sure on a border so asked some friends and the consensus came back as navy being a strong contender, i decided to go with this and was really pleased with the match, i crocheted the edge carrying on with the treble crochet granny square, i did three rounds and felt that was enough, i was dying for it to come to an end to enjoy it's beauty. 

I am so pleased with the end result and feel the colours work great, it's going to be an ace van blanket and i am already planning another for the house.