Static activities

The title might seem like a contradiction in terms but all will be revealed.

When people hear I have a caravan they say,
"where have you been?"
"What have you seen?"
When I explain, they go,
"Oh I see," inferring, "Oh how boring."

Nothing could be further from the truth. It is having a base where I can fan out and do a million different things I can't do at home or retreat indoors and create without interruption. When I chose my park I made sure it was in a hot spot for what I wanted to do. For me it was

1. being near my family
2. having lots of onsite activities for grandchildren of all ages
3. being dog friendly
4. being near the sea
5. having a quiet pitch for me and my husband
6. having lots of places of interest to visit
I know I have covered this in my amenities blog but I am just running over it to refresh your memory before I dive inside and talk about things I do when the typical English summer throws a wobbly.

My husband is happy with his kindle whilst I love having practical stuff to do so I borrow a sewing machine for interior caravan projects like cushions and for writing my books I take my laptop. I did think about a portable metal-working lathe for my husband but hoovering up swarf and getting it stuck in the dogs' paws was not much of a plan. He joined a local modelling club and now has the use of one anyway!

I bought a cheap tarp, a couple of windbreak poles, a few tent pegs and string and rigged up a tent on the grass by the van which provides hours of fun for the kids, rain or shine. I put the duvets and pillows under the kids' beds which gives them plenty of play space in their rooms. We created a board game on the park map using tiny Cornish pixies ( I am at Perran Sands in Cornwall) as counters and they loved making up the problems to getting where they wanted to go; move back 3 spaces "granny forget the bathers", "the dog chewed up the activity ticket", "Dad lost the car keys" etc. All you need for this is lining paper, felt tips, a bit of imagination, a dice and some counters. The kids drew pictures on the cushion covers I made and loved sitting by or on their particular cushion. They also loved creating and serving non-alcoholic caravan cocktails with exotic titles like the vamoosing van, the double decker, the tropical tent mix and the flaming fiesta (using cranberry juice). It is also great for kids to cook in a van as you can supervise and direct operations sitting on the sofa! I am working on a simple "work it out in a week van cookery book" so they can help with the catering.

Origami is great if you are good at it. My creations, however, look like someone has just had a hissy fit and screwed up pieces of paper! My guests have taken photos, brought their paints and painted masterpieces as the rain beat down in August. We have done crosswords and played board games, but best of all had time to get to know each other better, away from the hustle and bustle of life in the 21st century with only the sounds of the sea, the rain and the wind to interrupt our conversation.