7am wake up, feeling good. Get the boy ready for school.
8.20am push boy out of the door kicking and screaming, blackmail him with empty promises of a download for his Xbox when he gets home. Toddler still in bed..bonus.. drink tea.
8.30am decide to sweep floor, get brush out of cupboard, everything collapses. Pull everything out of cupboard in a strop. Tidy cupboard! Even wiping down the dust pan and brush, vac and bottles of cleaner.. everything looks grubby! Empty overflowing plastic bag holder ( it’s supposed to hold 100 bags… fooking lying twunts) become strangely and manicly obsessed with fitting 100 plastic bags in holder. Fit 25 bags in holder and stuff rest behind the (very clean) bottles of window and surface cleaner.
9am close cupboard door and sweep up a sleepy toddler who is very angry to have found herself waking up alone and not with her mummy besides her with her amazing milk producing boobies!
9.05am sit on sofa wrapped in blanket providing toddler with morning milk!
9.10am cereal is provided and more tea made
9.15am wipe up spilt cereal and tea from rug.
9.20am make mistake of asking toddler what she wants to wear….
9.25am toddler bounces happily downstairs in Minnie Mouse tutu dress, odd socks, two head bands, gloves and swimming cap. I shout ‘good morning’ at 18 year old.
9.30 make tea. Start cleaning kitchen and tidying up after morning chaos.
11.30am shout to 18 year old to wake up and she responds with the response she deserves a lie in as she’s been busy all week. I want to explain a couple of hours work over two days doesn’t warrant a two day holiday .
12noon make lunch for toddler and myself, we snuggle on sofa after to watch ‘we can cook’
12.05pm I see a flashing in the corner of my eye… shit.. migraine alert. Lay head back on sofa and try pretend it’s not there.
12.15pm flashing now has stabbing pain and I think a fairy came and tied a rope tightly around my head. Think through scenarios .. how can I get to sleep this off before it blows !
12.30pm body feels heavy, toddler thinks it’s the best afternoon ever, she is on her third cartoon and mummy is still sat besides her. Text 18 year old
“Don’t suppose you could look after Kitty for me, I have migraine need to sleep it off”
Nothing
12.40pm text again.. the though of standing or shouting upstairs makes me want to cry.
12.50 hear footsteps… 18 year old arrives with questions about her iTunes account.. fake emails detected and dismissed… I ask carefully if she can look after her sister while I sleep off head ache. I’m reminded she has a cold but will do it anyway.
12.55 crawl into bed, best feeling ever . Fall into a deep sleep where the pain of the migraine sits quietly in my dreams .
1pm. “MUMMY ? ” I jump awake ” what’s matter ? Is kitty ok?” “Yeah where is the lid for the blender?” I mumble ” I don’t know I’ll look later” she tuts and stomps off, toddler in tow.
1.05 I fall back to sleep only slightly wondering why she needs the lid for the blender.
1.25 “mummy” I jump awake ” what’s matter” ( head feels like it’s going to explode) ” look we picked some apples” toddler holds put a box of freshly picked apples for me to see. I see them through blurred eyes and mumble encouraging words about baking later. I sink back into a sleep head pounding.
2pm “mummy? Mummy? MUMMY! ” can’t jump up anymore head has been filled with lead. I choose to groan instead ” are you getting up yet? I’ve been looking after kitty all day now and I have to go out” I groan ” you’ve only had her an hour and woke me up three times , can’t you just let me sleep a bit.. get her jigsaws out?” ” I. Have. To. Get ready!” “When you going ?” ” about 6″ “it’s only two now” “MUMMY IVE HAD HER ALL DAY”
2.30pm lay on sofa with quilt and pillow, toddler playing jigsaws.. cartoons playing on loop .
3.30pm boy arrived home..”can I buy the download?”
3.35 boy runs upstairs with my bank card.
3.45 stagger into kitchen to make toddler some choclate milk. Find a blender full of berries with a food processor lid balanced on the top. It remained unblemded… my eyes grate towards a box of apples bobbing about in a water filled toy box.. there is a vague realisation that the very same toy boy was full of bricks this morning.
3.55pm back on sofa, toddler happily drinks chocolate milk. I rub my foot which is throbbing from standing on the pile of toy bricks . I can hear cartoons playing , I’m not sure if it’s in my head or in the room.. I slip into the half awake sleep that all mums do.
4.30pm daughter number two arrived home and babysits. I go to bed for second time
8.30pm wake up feeling like I’ve been run over by a combine harvester. Can her husbands voice and clattering pans.
8.35pm stagger down the stairs to check everyone is ok. Step into kitchen and see the chaos! Sink over flowing with pots. A random apple crumble (still attached to the bottom of the tin) sits on the side in a beach of crumbs that spread across every surface and floor. Tea things are everywhere, leftovers on plates and pans and serving bowls fill the sides.
8.36pm return to bed.
8am wake up with no head ache. Kitty is sleeping next to me in yesterday’s clothes and her tea still around her mouth. I hear everyone getting ready to leave.I am pleased they are all alive and greatful I slept.
9am I’m dressed, showered and energised.
9pm finally sit down after clearing the mess from my ‘night off’ yes that’s right my ‘night off’ not one but two of my brood said I’d had a ‘night off’ it took me a full day to clean the house and mess.
So I’m wondering what will happen when I go away next week for four whole days! Will the house still be standing? The thought of it gives me a headache!
town is famous for been the landing place of Dracula himself. For the real Gothic experience try they fabulously themed 
Maybe you are an arty bod and your festival experiences are all about discovering your creative side by getting involved with workshops and craft classes. If so then get on-line and have a look what is going on in your community. You will be surprised how many workshops and classes you will find. From 
and such! art galleries offer workshops but many of the crafts people you see in the fields at summer need to earn a living in the winter, they will be doing their classes somewhere….check them out on the web! 
for weekends and days away. Run by the lovely Lousia from 
Maybe your a family festival Mama or Papa? do you spend your summer festival weekends discovering and playing with the kidlets? if so… time to find something to get you all back outside… try a bush craft organisation like 
goers and you will find them offering workshops at many of the best kids and craft areas. Outside of festival life they have a coppice in winchester, you can visit and do so much more than they bring to the fields.. try them! Also have a look locally too, there are lots of outdoor adventures to be had, horse riding, foraging, nature trails and even the 
little ones and outdoor winter activities that will keep the field sadness at bay.
e. Just sitting and chatting with your family or friends and slipping into festival time is magic. So…..Get your wellies out and make a picnic, pack the guitar or ukulele if you have them (or a portable stereo if not). Find somewhere green and quiet and go sit, eat, sing and just chat. Invite friends, take the kids and just enjoy. Doesn’t matter what the weather is, just get wrapped up and just… sit! you could even take a tent, throw it up, hang some bunting and spend the day just existing in a field. 
ere. So if it starts raining, sit in the conservatory if you have one, or even the car, maybe just sit in the house, turn off the telly/ radio and open the windows. Just take time to listen to the pitter patter and feel the odd splash. The smell of damp ground afterwards is pretty special too if you allow yourselves to notice..maybe put the tent up or erect a canopy i
n the garden to sit under when it rains… don’t forget to jump in muddy puddles!
When your friends come around for a cosy warming coffee or simply if you are all climbing the walls, just turn everything off, wrap yourself up and go sit outside. We have a couple of benches we built from wood we found at Glastonbury, its so easy to do. just find some bits of wood, some nails and get creative…
treet these days! Need more? why not go the whole hog and dig a fire pit. We have a permanent fire pit in our garden, you can too and they don’t have to be ugly… dig out the turf and fill with gravel or stones, build your campfire and sit on a rug, a rustic bench ( see above) or even bring out the camping chairs. You can light a fire quickly and easily with fire lighters, kindling and logs, maybe just buy a ‘firestarter log’, just light the paper and get an hours worth of flames. Get out the marshmallows and sausages if you are staying out for the night, maybe get on eBay and find an iron kettle and have a steady stream of hot water on the go for brews. Get some fire irons and boil soup or stews. you can stay outside for hours.
You have bonfire night, halloween, christmas eve and new years eve to celebrate , so invite your festival pals and do all the things listed above! get wrapped up, hang canopies, bunting and light a fire, put up a bell tent and light the stove, sit on hand made benches, share blankets, drink warming drinks, play music, sing and dance…. your festival is only a scarf away!
Make use of early bird deals, book time of work and start planning. Maybe add new camping gear to your christmas list…. download a count down App and start counting down the days to your first event
Round Peg festival Mama 