Text and pics contributed by Lou
With the corona virus restrictions still in force, we were unable to meet up for the usual IOG Birthday Beer Camp weekend this summer. As a substitute, some us tried to recreate the atmosphere in our back gardens.
I took some time to create my camping area complete with tent, IOG flag (a bit on the skew), barbecue / fire pit (with old IOG programmes as kindling), and of course a good supply of homebrew beer. Others joined in whilst keeping to the social distancing guidelines
Amongst our homebrew supplies lurking in the garage, I was pleased to find some “number 30”, the ginger beer that went down so well at the 2018 camp. The BBQ was soon underway: while the local wildlife looked on: Fortunately there were no free-range chickens to contend with this year, although Rachael did have some in a cage.
And so, as the campfires smouldered away, we bade each other goodnight in the hope that it won’t be too long before we can get together properly.
I slept in the tent (Anne refused). I hadn’t realised until that point that I didn’t quite fit in the smaller-than-usual space so I didn’t sleep too well and in any case got rudely awakened by the dawn chorus. An app on my phone recognised 13 bird species in a 20-minute period.
Cheers, Lou