The whole week before this weekend every weather forecast warned us that it's going to rain. They told us not to plan any braais (BBQs) and they said that there will be very strong winds on Sunday. Did we listen to them? No!!!!! We are strong and we can survive anything. Well, that is what we thought before we packed the car, including 2 disposable BBQs.
It was a Bank holiday weekend in the UK. That means we had a public holiday on Monday. My work rota was also very kind to me and I was free all weekend. That's why Jubilie, Maretha, Henk and I decided to go away for the weekend. Sarah and John joined us for parts of the weekend.
There is a lake not too far from the campsite and we stopped there for our picnic.
That evening Henk and Sarah had to attend a function in London and John had to go home. That is when all the fun started. IT STARTED RAINING!!!!! It started with a soft drizzle that gradually became stronger. We had to stay in the tent and abandon our plan to have a BBQ. We cooked some food in the tent and hoped that the next day would be better. But I have to say that it did not stop raining till Monday morning. According to the newspapers, during the 36 hours it rained as much as it usually rain in a month. 
Every meal had to be prepared in the tent. It brought back memories of a trip through Europe where we had to prepare several of our meals in the tent because of rain.
The Sunday all of us had to be in London for different reasons. I was the first person that was able to return to the camp, but as it was raining I decided to go home and wait for the rest of the group. We drove back to the campsite at around 19:30 that evening while it was still raining. Yes, it does sound a bit stupid.
We had a lovely meal in a pub before we returned to the campsite. By now strong winds were ripping leaves and branches from the trees, but our tents were still standing. We went to bed while it was raining and the next morning it was still raining. It never stopped that night. Water started seeping into the tent from underneath us. Poor Henk suffered the most as his bed was completely wet.
The girls' tent was the smallest tent at the campsite, but it survived the storm and they were still dry and happy the next morning. Another campsite nearby suffered a lot of damage during that night. Several tents were blown away. Our campsite was very lucky as all the tents survived the night.
Yes, both Jubilie and Maretha slept in this tent.
Big was our surprise when we lifted the tent to find about 20-30 earthworms underneath.
All of them trying to escape from drowning. Water came out of the spot where Henk slept when I stepped on it. The ground could just not absorb any more water.
We all had a wonderful weekend, in spite of the rain. It rained for the rest of the Monday and it became very cold. We had to switch the central heating on again. Very unusual for the end of May. We can't wait to go camping again.
Hope you are all well.
Take care
Jaco
