It had been eight years since we last camped - some time before my stroke. We'd thought about it a few times since but never had the impetus to actually go. So when Julie invited us to her birthday bash at Hindleap Warren we decided this was it. Neither Alison nor I are particularly good sleepers so we planned just a single night under canvas (well nylon these days). If we didn't sleep well, we could always head home and get some rest there. Besides, Julie's husband, Gerry, is one of my oldest friends and it's good to catch up with them when we can.

We set off for the Ashdown Forest on Saturday morning and arrived at the site just after lunch time. We were in a field in the middle of woodland, well away from anyone else so it made a good spot for a party. There were about a dozen tents of varying sizes already set up when we arrived because some had come down on Friday to spend the whole weekend there. As there were several more tents expected, we quickly selected a spot which didn't slope too much and started to pitch the tent.

It had been such a long time since we last camped that we struggled to remember how to get the tent up. But we eventually managed it, by which time people were coming back from their afternoon activities. So we headed for the beer tent - it was a bit early at 4pm but it didn't seem to worry anyone else. So we decided not to worry either. Although we didn't know many of the crowd, they were all very friendly and we soon found Gerry, Julie and their two boys. We also found an old friend Jamie, with whom Gerry and I shared a flat in the 80s and whom I hadn't seen for about 12 years. He and his wife now live near Winchester so hopefully we will get to see them again before too long.

We were soon tucking into a massive barbecue (there were so many sausages that we were still eating them for breakfast next day) and as it got colder we huddled nearer to a huge roaring bonfire. We had a good evening talking, reminiscing, listening to a couple of guitarists and gazing into the bonfire. Amazingly for this summer, it stayed dry although we were all creeping closer to the fire to ward off the cold. Eventually, Alison and I retired to our tent but we're told the revelry went on for another 2 or 3 hours. We were tucked up in our sleeping bags with earplugs in and sleeping surprisingly soundly.

The next morning was a mixture of sun and showers but we spent a couple of hours hanging around drinking coffee, eating leftover sausages and nattering. Eventually we packed up between showers and set off home, tired and with a few new aches but grateful to Julie for giving us the impetus to give camping another try.