The Road goes ever on and on; Down from the door where it began;
Now far ahead the Road has gone; And I must follow, if I can;
Pursuing it with eager feet; Until it joins some larger way;
Where many paths and errands met; And whither then? I cannot say.

[JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings]

Wednesday 21 August 2013

A Visitor In The Middle Of The Night!

It appears that Mick’s day went uneventfully today (unless you call losing your leg in a bog an event) and he managed to make it to his maplessly to his night-stop.

Last night was a tiny bit more eventful for him. This is the text message I received at 0630 this morning:

“Got woken by rustling noise in the middle of the night when a hedgehog came to join me. I took pictures and pushed it back out.

Just going to run and scream past the neighbour’s tent.”

Having talked to Mick this evening, it turns out that the hedgehog (a big and healthy one) had a good graze through his food bag before the rustling woke him. Still, in all of those nights we’ve spent in a tent, that’s the first time there’s been a food theft, so we were well overdue an incident, although I had expected it would be a mouse, not a hedgehog, which would be the culprit. Apparently, having moved his bag into the tent, he used his shoe to guide the hedgehog back outside.

As for the second half of Mick’s message, I didn’t ask, but I believe that was a reference to getting his own back on the kids which spent last evening running screaming around his tent (and, for the avoidance of doubt, I don’t believe for a minute that he would have carried out his threat!). Personally, I say that if you choose to stay on a campsite in the school summer holidays, in good weather, in the week leading up to a bank holiday weekend, then you expect it to be full of families and there to be a certain level of noise.

Hedgehog in tent – amazing what you can find with a quick Google search!

7 comments:

  1. I think that's a Photoshop job. That hedgehog is bigger than a St Bernard, or it's a very small tent.

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    1. I think it's a very small tent. If you look carefully, there are vertical blinds in the background and a carpet on the floor. The caption when I 'borrowed' the photo was 'pet hedgehog in tent'.

      I have now downloaded Mick's camera, so I must post the genuine article of hedgehog-in-tent.

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  2. I'm curious as to why Mick had slugs and snails (a hedgehog's meal of choice) as snacks in his food bag...

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    Replies
    1. He says it's because they're a good source of protein and provide a refreshing drink at the same time (eugh!).

      As it happens, he did once carry a slug for an entire day in his food bag before noticing that it was there.

      Delete
  3. I believe Mick can be a bit prickly when he gets woken up in the night. Mm

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    Replies
    1. That appealed to Mick's sense of humour. He laughed when I read it to him!

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