Day 1, The Journey (1). 18th July 2002

IT was the journey to the second summer planned trip. All the members of the trip were heading in convoy to where we thought was the camping site in Rendlesham. The people present were (grouped by people in each car);

ť Alan - Went alone, he had the food on board.

ť Jay - He took hendrix in the voyager
ť Rob - The man kept the real site to himself

ť Shields - Taken by rawson who like everyone followed jack's lot
ť Rawson - The passenger driver to shields

ť Eddy D - Forgot that he had shut the window and smacked his head on it
ť Ryan - Laughed at edd when he hit his head on the window
ť Jack - Same again, a loud laugh and continous sniggering

ť Danny G - Taken by lawrences motor
ť Lawrence - The provider of the lift to randy and danny
ť Randy - He was randy in lawrences motor vehicle

They were the people and they all followed myself, jack and edd in hope that we were to find the camp site. Jacks sister who was the co-driver in the car thought she knew where it was and when she described it, it sounded very much like the one that i had been to 2 years ago.

Day 1, Arrival (1). 18th July 2002

We traveled for just under half an hour when we arrived at was to be where the site was, it was not the one that i re-called visiting back in the day. Anyway prices were found out for the pitch of the night. It was Ł9.50.. for 2 people.. per night.. meaning that if all of us were to stay the night it would have cost us just under Ł50!

There was no way that we were going to pay that much to stay for the one night. The group had a 5 or so minute discussion and then decided that we should not stay and we then headed back to our motors and headed to site B, in Shottisham where myself, jay, rob and alan had been 2 years previous.

Day 1, The Journey (2). 18th July 2002

So we were back on the road again heading to what was to be where we had been 2 years ago. Trying to find signs to the place was proving to be rather difficult.

We finally saw the sign post and cheers were all around, hands were waving from out of the car windows and the mood all around was alot happier than when we left the Rendlesham camp site. But then we saw what could be a potential worry to our trip..

It was a mini-bus with people from our old school and maybe for some of us, sixth form to be. They were heading in the same direction to us, the same camp site. We passed the camp site as they turned in and then we turned back and pulled into the site soon after.

Day 1, Arrival (2). 18th July 2002

We all go out of the motors and strolled around abit. Talk was amongst the group of what we may do in the night to the sixth formers tents. Excitment levels were rising and for some couldn't control themselves, mainly eddy.

Again people were asking about the site and how much it would cost to stay the night. The field after all was only being used by the people from our school and we thought that this would be no problem. We were soon to be wronged again.

The news had come back that we couldn't stay at the site because the people we on there already. It would have only cost us something like Ł19.50 between the lot of us to stay the night which was a damn site better than at rendlesham.

The final discision was now about to be made, call off the whole trip and go home without having one single piece of barbequed food or go back to jack's house and use his fairly large back garden as a private camp site.

The discision was in, we were to go to jack's and make use of all the food we had brought, all the sweets we had collected and all the drink that needed to be drunk. We got back into the motors what was to be the final time that day and headed back to where we had started, jack's house.

Day 1, The Journey (3). 18th July 2002

The mood within the cars was to be expected, a little on the disapointed side but then people started to think about what possitive things were to come out of being at jack's. The local area was well known, any spare untensils could be got and the burgers that rawson and shields had forgotten could be collected on the way back.

As long as the 2 previous journey's seemed to take, getting back to where we had started did not seem to take that long, either that or we were speeding all the way home. That could be a possible reason as all of the cars seemed not able to see alan's car anywhere.

This was noted when rawson called me and spent ages explaining that he couldnt see alans car. I found the simple way out of this, the one way that rawson didnt think of and that was calling alan himself and asking.

I did and found out that he had got caught-up at both sets of traffic lights. Meanwhile we had lost visual with jay and hendrix, but edd then said he had seen them far ahead. Another lost car found.

Day 1, Arrival (3). 18th July 2002

We were all soon back at jack's house, and then unloading all of the food, drink and tent from the cars. Shields and Rawson soon came back to jack's with the burgers that they had forgotten, all 36 of of the tesco vaule economy ones.

The time had got to just after 8 and it had been 2 hours since we had left off in hope of finding the site. We had now started putting up the tent after bashing the beach ball around for about 10 minutes.

At the same time jack had started one of the two small disposible barbeques. Alan was not to impressed by the size and cooking force that it had and demanded jack to get his big barbeque. Jack did and alan started on the big one, flame grilling all the sausages and burning them straight away.

Myself and eddy took control of the smaller barbeque and realised that it was at peak cooking performance and used it for the rest of the cooking time it had left in it. We were soon joined by many other hungry peasants who didn't want alan's flame grilled food.

The tent was up in about 15minutes after a period of time where the poles would not go together. By about 9 'o' clock we were all eating food and playing football in the light summer evening sun. It was to be another hour or so until randy to the field of football as randy united.

NOTE: Randy had been on the drink for some time and had become light headed, whether he agrees or not he was.

At around 10:30 drinking had become a main priority of myself and most of the others, alan was on the softer stuff all night only ever making shandy. The night was beginning to show as darkness was almost upon us.

By this time the disposible barbeque was cooling down and lawrences old tech work was put onto the barbe to create a small make-shift fire. Only small bursts of heat and light were produced from the small beast but it was good enough.

As the time was passing by, and midnight approached and small games of football were played on the space in the grass and around the fire memories and stories were exchanged.

Day 2, 00.01am. 19th July 2002

At midnight people were all still awake and not showing signs of making a long night of it.. Jack did a good job of keeping order among the group as people were still being well behaved even though people had been on the drink.

It was now very early moring and i think i can remember the people who went to tesco, they were edd, shields, lawrence, rawson and rob. They went to get some extra provisions they felt they needed. Back at camp, we all sat around the make-shift fire and then noticed that jack had slipped away to under the golf net to crack open the other disposible barbeque.

Pretty much eveyone went over there and saw that jack had slipped some bacon on the grill. Demand was high but jack left it to the people to do there own as he joined the rest by the fire.

Time was passing and then we turned to look at where the people with the new barbe were and then saw a mass of bellowing smoke come pouring from beneth the golf net. The fools had started burning all types of materials. It left the whole area in thick smoke.

The smoke soon filtered away and normality was then resumed once again. The people were still at tesco and then we remember the can of cat food we had brought from tesco, we put it into a roll and it looked as if it was tuna. It was ready for the unsuspecting person, it was waiting for lawrence.

They all got back from tesco at about 3:30 i think. The we waited a while and then gave the roll to lawrence, he did not want it but he took a bit. Fooled again but then the fun was over.

Again people started to settle down and then jack, rawson and danny went into the tent to stay. The rest stayed outside by the fire which had now been upgraded to one of jacks old main barbeques. It had the main source of coal which then had to be changed to all dead and dry sticks and plants that were found around the garden.

We managed to fuel it until about four thirty/ five with the dried out plants and so on. Then we got to knackered to move and had to revert to last sources which was Shields toilet roll. That gave the new fire about 10 - 15 minutes of extra life.

At about my bench that consisted of shields and edd was disturbed of chat by edd who had fallen asleep, he then got attacked by about 3 mosquettos and work up straight away and jumped off of the bench. At the same time woke jay and rob on the other chairs and also lawrence who was on the floor.

It had got to the point where you had to think what would the point be in sleeping now, you may as well just stay awake and that what we did apart from edd. We just sat there and occassionally came out with some words random and then properly talked again when alan got up to go for a slash. That was the end of the night from then onwards.

We all crashed into the tent at around twenty to seven causing chaos and yet still danny, jack and randy did not wake, not even stir. Jack did at one point his trade mark thing he does when heis asleep and that is to sit up and stare and then go back to sleep. Classic.

Photos and videos from within the tent provided morning entertainment within the tent. As the sun rised so did we. Alan got up and got the barbe going again and slapped the chicken drum-sticks on. This time not flame grilled, a properly done job.

As the chicken was being cooked and the barbe being used for the last time, the ball was kicked around half heartly by the knackered souls from within jacks back garden re-named jack's camp site for the one night.

Danny, randy and edd managed to stay in bed for the longest and then they all rised after the iced milk bottle was put on them, water was sprayed at them and the football kicked at them.

As randy arose he was not to happy and he got out the BB-Gun and started shooting people mainly lawrence, The gun was passed around a fair bit and a faie few people got shot, hendy in the arm, edd in the back, randy himself, iain in the legs chest you name it and myself just inside of my left knee-cap.

With no real injuries all was well and people started to pack up. Hendy got out his free mountain biking uk kagole which i think took posession of and still have now.

Day 2, 8:00am. 19th July 2002

I believe the first people started to go around this time, it was alan and danny the first people to go. The tent was now packed away after an easy session of taking it down. Games of target practise with the football took place and mainly kicking the ball at the person with the red kagole - or me.

Tiredness was not felt for much of the morning but i and the others knew that it would hit them as soon as they sat down and put the tv on. It has that effect on everyone.

Overall although we did not make it to the site like we thought we may do it was still a memorable trip - all though the trip was not that far away, and there were some very funny moments through the whole night.

Who know's, maybe there will be a second camping trip before the end of the summer, actually on a camp site if we plan it properly. I wouldn't count out the possibility of The Camping Trip 2 just yet.

Article Written by Ryan - KENTs
ryan.kent71@btopenworld.com