Camping

The summer is upon us. Glorious sunshine falls down upon us for literally minutes at a time and people are arranging holidays to far flung places to enjoy yet more sun. We scrape together enough money to stay in the best place we can afford and relax in more luxury and with better facilities than our homes. A sensible move and a way to justify in your mind the months of hard work that have paid for it.

That is, except for a small collective who like to throw away common sense and stay in an over-sized plastic bag for days at a time with no running water, toilets, or beds. These strange, strange people like to go camping. Why?? Why would you holiday in conditions worse than those that you live in at home??? I can just about tolerate tents at festivals. It's a necessary trade off for enjoying music. But away from this, it's just bizarre.

Now, I'm not talking about people who can't afford to go somewhere nice. Of course there should be a form of holidaying for all people. I'm talking about people who can afford better. Who have good jobs. Who have nice houses. People who normally make sensible decisions. I can't work out where in their minds they think that it makes sense to go and pitch up in a field with a load of strangers in close proximity. Campsites aren't some romantic getaway where the wind blows through the hills and the only noise you hear are the merry chirps of birdsong and the flow of a river through a scenic valley. They're a field in a farm with shared toilets (always caked in shit) far away from civilisation and no protection from the weather. A terrible experience.

Your possessions are not safe as a tent offers no security, the floor hurts your back and you'll invariably return back miserable and regretful that you didn't book a hotel. Anyone who tries to argue otherwise is lying to themselves.

We've evolved beyond camping, there's no need to go back.