Bell Tent

We are getting ready to take our bell tent out for it's first outing this weekend.

Now we have a slight reservation about out new tent.
For a start it is a canvas tent, we have never owned a canvas tent and have read loads about it.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to canvas tents,

A] It must be cured...ie fabrisil or some such.
B] Put it up, let it get wet, dry it out, the canvas shrinks and hey hoo a waterproof tent.

This is a 4m diameter tent, with even the 6ft 4in youngest son able to stand up in it and move around with ease, so it's huge, I am hoping option B is the one that is the right one, otherwise, we will get wet and once the blooming thing is dried out, we will have to find a way to cure it, I'm sure that will turn into a nightmare.

I have found a lot out about Bell tents through searching through the inter-net and it is definitely split into the cures and the not to cures camp.

I don't want to lose sleep over it, we will just have to take the chance that if it rains we don't get wet, although I am planning on taking a gas heater just in case it rains and the tent leaks.

You'd think with it being June, I wouldn't be worried about rain, but hey this is Britain ...it rains, so be prepared.

Talking about being prepared, I have made a list of things to take, well! actually I have made twenty lists, I keep adding and taking away stuff, then remembering something else, oh good grief this is going to be a long week........eek!!!!

One good thing I did decide on was the camp site, which is about 1hours drive from home, if it does rain and our new Bell Tent doesn't hold up, it's not so far to come home.

Bless, my sister, who is coming with us for the weekend. Myself and E, will be going down to the camp site by lunch time and Frances will come down on the train after work.
So it will be down to us girls to stike camp before the big man arrives and as I have never put it up before, I did think it rather brave of her to say she would come and help.
If nothing else it will be a laugh.

I am taking the camera, as even I think this will be funny, two mad old women putting up a massive bell tent for the first time. The rain I can deal with, it's wind I'm worried about, only I don't fancy flying through the air and ending up in the next county.

Anyway, while I have been typing this, I have thougt of about 6 things that need to be on the list...a mallet for starters...how could I forget that!
Then there's at lest 4 things to come off the list...where did I leave that last list?