So, now that my house is having work done on it, this camp is my new home!
It’s called Green and Away. It’s a tented conference centre I work at. It probably sounds really dull but it really isn’t! Let me tell you a bit about it. Basically, it is put up by a team of highly trained experts (snigger) for the summer, then used by organisations who pay enough money before being taken down again. While it’s up, we all try to live sustainably by growing our own vegetables and having them cooked by our shaman chef and his team. If you wanted to be vegetarian, this is the place to come! The drinks are locally brewed as well to fuel our evening discussions. The site is just beautiful especially when the sun is out. There are few things better than lieing in a hammock in the fresh air with the sun on you. Here are a few pictures below:
Sunlight on the campsiteThe entrance
Whilst I am forced to be here, I’m loving it! It’s something I’ve been doing for years. Everyone who works here is a volunteer and so we’re all here because we want to be! Here is a picture of the maintenance team setting up our wind turbine:
Justin and Mark on the tower
My job here is fire lighting! Not very environmental but we’re living in a field, so we do need to keep warm at night. We also have showers in which the water is heated by wood fires. Just have a look (bit small, sorry):
The wood heated showers
My typical day involves about an 8 O’clock start for breakfast which sometimes involves freshly baked bread! Then, after a bit of chatting, I’d go around the site checking on our wood stock. If I find we need for wood in particular areas, I go to our main wood area to chop or saw some more wood. If the main wood area is low on wood then I’d get a team together to go into the woods and get together and dead wood on the floor. Sometimes, there are group projects going on like repairing tent canvases or getting bar/kitchen supplies. In the afternoon, I light the fires for the showers and after dinner, I light the camp fires. Sometimes we stay up around these fires telling dirty jokes and singing beatles songs.
But a couple of days ago, I had a major change of scene. I went to the STA explorer meeting in London. The hustle and bustle of Paddington and the tube was quite a shock compared to the camp. I only had time to eat a plate of chips and a few snacks the STA crew had put out for us. I got a warm welcome, which was very welcome after my rushed journey. I was also slightly nervous as I was the youngest of anyone there, and fairly new to the world of traveling and jobs and uni. The others seemed pick up on that and so helped make me feel at home. Molly gave a presentation about the STA explorer setup. It was useful in getting across the logistics of blogging and how to obtain a presence on the internet. But that wasn’t all. We all went for some STA paid for pints at the local pub:
I kept saying to myself “I’d better go to the station to get home” but I kept just staying and chatting. I decided to risk staying for a second pint. We talked travel plans, swapped stories and time just shot by. Like with Green & Away, it was great to see everyone’s genuine enthusiasm in what they did! Eventually, I had to go so Juliette showed me how to get back to Paddington as quick as possible.
Now I’m back at camp, busy with with collecting and cutting wood with the team. I’ve had to write this blog bit by bit during the breaks. It’s now the evening and I’m about to hit the bar. Tomorrow we’re having live music from Dragonsfly (you probably haven’t heard of them but they’re good!) I may or may not release more blogs if I have time. I’ve sort of rolled 2 blogs into 1 here. but if you want to know more about what I’ve talked about, just leave a comment.
