The couple, the campsite and the oversized awning.

Hello all

Right, so when I said that I would write more after lunch, I didn't plan on lunch lasting several days. Sorry about that.

I spent most of last week in Cornwall. I adore Cornwall, it's a bit like being in a film. A really good film. I will live there one day. And buy lots of knitwear, even more than I have already.

We have found the best campsite in the world. Now, I'm not going to tell you where it is. I'm sorry. You see, there are probably at least 400,000-500,000 people following this blog (ish) and if you all turn up at once, then we won't get our favourite spot. The shower block will be very cramped, and there'll be no chance of getting our towels in the tumble dryer.

We drove down there in one go. The thing we learned from that journey is that we shouldn't do it in one go. Joni the camper van doesn't like it. She wanted to stop somewhere in the Somerset area, have a little rest, perhaps a pub meal and a sleep. But we ploughed on. We listened to the second leadership debate, we ate travel sweets, we talked about how we shouldn't do the journey in one go the next time. Good times were had.

Now to the campsite. It is the most beautiful place in the whole world. And, almost empty. There is nothing more lovely then jumping out of a camper van (or, sometimes falling out as the passenger door hinges are a bit dodgy) and finding yourself in a clifftop haven of fresh air, wind, usually rain, and the sound of the sea. It's that peace. Heaven.

And the best thing about turning up to a campsite in a camper van is the fact that you don't have to then prove yourself to other people there that you CAN put a tent up in high winds without shouting at each other. You just turn the engine off.

At least, that's what normally happens. But this time it was different. You see, our latest family present from Tom's side is an awning. (now, I have always, for some inexplicable reason, got the words 'awning,' 'urn' and 'aga' mixed up- I have no idea why. It's similar to Robert de Niro, Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, who occupy exactly the same space in my head, and for this reason, I really have no idea which one is which)

This time, I have checked. It's definitely an awning. We've never put it up before and decided to choose this time to do it. We were told it was a bit like a porch, but incredibly difficult to put up, and we should prepare ourselves for a massive test of our marriage, and advised to have alcohol ready for afterwards.

Surprisingly, the whole process was extremely straightforward. This was mainly due to the fact that Tom did it by himself while I unpacked the picnic hamper.

Now, I have often thought that going camping with 18 of my closest friends would be a lovely experience. And, thanks to the BIGGEST AWNING IN THE WORLD, this is now a very real possibility.

Imagine a snail. Now imagine it without a shell, but with a marquee.

There was no way we could fill that space. Even when we put up a table and put Tom's surfboard diagonally on the floor. I kept feeling the need to talk loudly about the 'other people that were arriving soon' to justify such a huge attachment.

Oddly, I learned to love the awning. It was handy to keep things in. Like the miniature aromatherapy herb garden that I bought for Tom as an anniversary present. I might always travel with an awning, and treat it like a giant handbag.

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