For my own part, looking out upon the future, I do not view the process with any misgivings. I could not stop it if I wished; no one can stop it. Like the Mississippi, it just keeps rolling along. Let it roll. Let it roll on full flood, inexorable, irresistible, benignant, to broader lands and better days.
A lesser known part of his speech from 70 years ago today.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
21) NO SUCH THING AS A FREE HOLIDAY?
What’s a holiday for? A chance to prop open a novel while soaking up the sun? To go hill-walking, rock climbing, sight-seeing or meandering down country lanes, snail-like, in an overstuffed car?
Well, every other parent I spoke to in July had plumped for some form of camping this summer. Whether in a trailer tent, camper van or fully-fledged austerity in a farmer’s field, we each swapped notes on the most effective insect repellent to pack; the best tinned substances to stash away and the worst scare stories on communal shower blocks, then set off in our different directions.
Comparing notes again after the event, we've all enjoyed the great outdoors and the children have roamed free range while picking up a few life skills along the way. The main difference between our holiday and others' was that our accommodation was free. We hadn’t won a competition or borrowed a friend’s place. This was a “barter stay” where my husband and I each worked for 20 hours over four days in exchange for a fully kitted-out bell tent for a week. (I say 'worked' but that's a bit of an exaggeration.... ) In addition, the owners cooked us a delicious barbecued smorgasbord beside the communal camp fire on our last night.
Instead of forking out £635 for that week or £875 for a seriously luxurious lodge at the site, we stripped beds, collected barbecue and wood-burning stove ash, wheelbarrowed new stocks of logs, crockery, topped-up paraffin lamps and tea lights to the tents and beat back a bit of bracken. Normally quite happy to pay our way, we opted for this because it sounded a bit different and we wanted to get a bit of an insight into the running of the place while still having time to explore Yorkshire – somewhere, woefully, I’d never been before.
A quick phone call to the owners reassured me that we could do this while our two sons, nine and seven, played safely nearby and they had a week available that suited us for the one weekly volunteer couple or foursome that they accept.
Jolly Days Luxury Camping is at Buttercrambe Wood, near the Viking battleground of Stamford Bridge, half an hour’s drive from York. It’s been open for two years and is run by architect and designer Christian and Carolyn Von Outersterp. They’d lost a few million running a business in London so their new venture had to work. And it seems to be on the right track.
“We got the idea from staying at a bush camp in Kenya. It had mosquito nets and comfortable beds. We didn’t see why we couldn’t replicate the idea here – all the wonders of the outdoors but with added extras to make our guests’ stay more like a hotel experience,” says Carolyn.
“It’s wonderful to see the city types gradually unwind as they start to soak up the tranquility of a place like this.”
It’s the couple’s relaxed attitude and the little retro chic touches they’ve added that catch the eye. “Welly Boot Way” is a path beside which spare boots are upended on a rack, like flowers, for visitors to borrow. Wheelbarrows for transporting suitcases, logs of wood and tins of beans to your tent double up as a makeshift child’s joyride. There are two white, wooden shower blocks, each with large sinks for washing up; three decent-sized hot shower cubicles; separate sinks with mirrors; a power point for hairdryers; electric lighting and, joy of joys, soft loo roll! The reception tent has a wicker hamper crammed with maps and books you can borrow and an honesty box/IOU book for the posh lollies, lemonade, snacks, hot drinks and charcoal on sale, alongside a mobile phone charging point for online addicts.
The site runs on only five kilowatts of electricity so candles and torches are a must, but that adds to the eco-credentials Christian is so keen to preserve.
“It involves a lot of maintenance. There’s always something to paint, make or mend. We have to replace the bell tents every October because mildew takes hold once the rain sets in, but we source them locally. We also use reclaimed furniture wherever possible, which we simply paint white.”
For lodge-tent dwellers, that furniture includes a four-poster bed with muslin drapes, separate bedroom complete with twin beds, wardrobes, a Victorian slipper bath, a couple of sofas and candelabras, creating a wonderfully romantic setting.
Even the bell-tents, have coir matting on top of wooden decking, cushions, soft blankets, paraffin lamps and pretty bunting slung inside the tent. It feels a bit like cheating - this isn't real camping! So it's a good job there are wasps, woodlice and cooing wood pigeons at dawn to give that authentic sleeping-under-the-stars feel, but that sleep is on back-friendly futons with duvets and pillows.
With a Duke of Edinburgh Award and 17-year military career between us, my husband and I know a thing or two about rucksacks, route maps and rainy route marches. But it was heartening to gradually confine those experiences to memory. We washed the children’s socks, blackened by endless earthy football matches under the trees, and munched barely palatable soya mince bolognaise for just one meal, purely as catharsis. A few hours of restoring eco-order in the undergrowth may have entailed gaining a few blisters but an inner glow from burning calories, rather than a hole in our pockets, was the order of the day.
A canopy, covering both the tent opening and a wooden hut, containing a two-ring gas stove and all our cooking utensils, meant we could barbecue or eat al fresco in all weathers. Frozen rather than hot water bottles chilled our cool box and a wood-burning stove kept us warm.
Meanwhile, many of the younger campers took a break from zooming off on their bikes for a short course in bushcraft and archery under the expert instruction of former headteacher Andrew Middleton who holds regular sessions at the site.
There was also time to wander down The Shambles in York city centre, to visit the Jorvik viking Centre, to terrify ourselves at York Dungeons and munch on fish and chips in the quaint seaside town of Robin Hood's Bay, as well as strawberry picking at the farm shop farm a mile and a half away.
The children loved staying up late roasting marshmallows over the campfire while we sipped wine and got to know our fellow campers. Add because we'd added a bargain into the bargain, we were smiling all the way to the bank! And, by the sounds of it, so are the owners.
“We’ve now been approached by nine or ten other landowners throughout the UK who are interested in us setting up an identical business for them so we may start to become involved more in that aspect of the business in future,” says Christian.
So, who knows, my ‘little secret’ may soon start to become more commonplace – let’s hope so!
Well, every other parent I spoke to in July had plumped for some form of camping this summer. Whether in a trailer tent, camper van or fully-fledged austerity in a farmer’s field, we each swapped notes on the most effective insect repellent to pack; the best tinned substances to stash away and the worst scare stories on communal shower blocks, then set off in our different directions.
Comparing notes again after the event, we've all enjoyed the great outdoors and the children have roamed free range while picking up a few life skills along the way. The main difference between our holiday and others' was that our accommodation was free. We hadn’t won a competition or borrowed a friend’s place. This was a “barter stay” where my husband and I each worked for 20 hours over four days in exchange for a fully kitted-out bell tent for a week. (I say 'worked' but that's a bit of an exaggeration.... ) In addition, the owners cooked us a delicious barbecued smorgasbord beside the communal camp fire on our last night.
Instead of forking out £635 for that week or £875 for a seriously luxurious lodge at the site, we stripped beds, collected barbecue and wood-burning stove ash, wheelbarrowed new stocks of logs, crockery, topped-up paraffin lamps and tea lights to the tents and beat back a bit of bracken. Normally quite happy to pay our way, we opted for this because it sounded a bit different and we wanted to get a bit of an insight into the running of the place while still having time to explore Yorkshire – somewhere, woefully, I’d never been before.
A quick phone call to the owners reassured me that we could do this while our two sons, nine and seven, played safely nearby and they had a week available that suited us for the one weekly volunteer couple or foursome that they accept.
Jolly Days Luxury Camping is at Buttercrambe Wood, near the Viking battleground of Stamford Bridge, half an hour’s drive from York. It’s been open for two years and is run by architect and designer Christian and Carolyn Von Outersterp. They’d lost a few million running a business in London so their new venture had to work. And it seems to be on the right track.
“We got the idea from staying at a bush camp in Kenya. It had mosquito nets and comfortable beds. We didn’t see why we couldn’t replicate the idea here – all the wonders of the outdoors but with added extras to make our guests’ stay more like a hotel experience,” says Carolyn.
“It’s wonderful to see the city types gradually unwind as they start to soak up the tranquility of a place like this.”
It’s the couple’s relaxed attitude and the little retro chic touches they’ve added that catch the eye. “Welly Boot Way” is a path beside which spare boots are upended on a rack, like flowers, for visitors to borrow. Wheelbarrows for transporting suitcases, logs of wood and tins of beans to your tent double up as a makeshift child’s joyride. There are two white, wooden shower blocks, each with large sinks for washing up; three decent-sized hot shower cubicles; separate sinks with mirrors; a power point for hairdryers; electric lighting and, joy of joys, soft loo roll! The reception tent has a wicker hamper crammed with maps and books you can borrow and an honesty box/IOU book for the posh lollies, lemonade, snacks, hot drinks and charcoal on sale, alongside a mobile phone charging point for online addicts.
The site runs on only five kilowatts of electricity so candles and torches are a must, but that adds to the eco-credentials Christian is so keen to preserve.
“It involves a lot of maintenance. There’s always something to paint, make or mend. We have to replace the bell tents every October because mildew takes hold once the rain sets in, but we source them locally. We also use reclaimed furniture wherever possible, which we simply paint white.”
For lodge-tent dwellers, that furniture includes a four-poster bed with muslin drapes, separate bedroom complete with twin beds, wardrobes, a Victorian slipper bath, a couple of sofas and candelabras, creating a wonderfully romantic setting.
Even the bell-tents, have coir matting on top of wooden decking, cushions, soft blankets, paraffin lamps and pretty bunting slung inside the tent. It feels a bit like cheating - this isn't real camping! So it's a good job there are wasps, woodlice and cooing wood pigeons at dawn to give that authentic sleeping-under-the-stars feel, but that sleep is on back-friendly futons with duvets and pillows.
With a Duke of Edinburgh Award and 17-year military career between us, my husband and I know a thing or two about rucksacks, route maps and rainy route marches. But it was heartening to gradually confine those experiences to memory. We washed the children’s socks, blackened by endless earthy football matches under the trees, and munched barely palatable soya mince bolognaise for just one meal, purely as catharsis. A few hours of restoring eco-order in the undergrowth may have entailed gaining a few blisters but an inner glow from burning calories, rather than a hole in our pockets, was the order of the day.
A canopy, covering both the tent opening and a wooden hut, containing a two-ring gas stove and all our cooking utensils, meant we could barbecue or eat al fresco in all weathers. Frozen rather than hot water bottles chilled our cool box and a wood-burning stove kept us warm.
Meanwhile, many of the younger campers took a break from zooming off on their bikes for a short course in bushcraft and archery under the expert instruction of former headteacher Andrew Middleton who holds regular sessions at the site.
There was also time to wander down The Shambles in York city centre, to visit the Jorvik viking Centre, to terrify ourselves at York Dungeons and munch on fish and chips in the quaint seaside town of Robin Hood's Bay, as well as strawberry picking at the farm shop farm a mile and a half away.
The children loved staying up late roasting marshmallows over the campfire while we sipped wine and got to know our fellow campers. Add because we'd added a bargain into the bargain, we were smiling all the way to the bank! And, by the sounds of it, so are the owners.
“We’ve now been approached by nine or ten other landowners throughout the UK who are interested in us setting up an identical business for them so we may start to become involved more in that aspect of the business in future,” says Christian.
So, who knows, my ‘little secret’ may soon start to become more commonplace – let’s hope so!
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