Today’s new tents all fall into the category of good old fashioned, yet incredibly useful, ridge tents – meaning that yet again we have the widest variety of tents in a category of any company in Europe! We’ll start with the Trapper, a couple of lovely little tents from our friends at Scoutdoor. The Trapper I is, I admit, more of a square single centre pole tent than a ridge tent but the Trapper II (pictured right ) is a proper ridge tent with a generous amount of space and an integrated groundsheet making it an absolute doddle to erect. You get over 10 square metres of floor space and a whopping 2.2m of head room all in a tent that weighs just 21kg. Result.

Joining these two tents is the Patrol II, big brother to the Patrol I, which is a simply enormous 4m long ridge tent with three centre poles. Aimed squarely at Scout patrols or serious luxury campers, this is a big tent designed to stand up to all weathers as it comes with a separate flysheet to give it a double skin.

Finally, for today, we have the Pioneer. A lovely little ridge tent with a sewn in groundsheet- shown here with the universal bell tent porch attached (there’s a good reason we call it universal!) Although only single skined and in a lightweight modern cotton (285g) it is still more than adequate for the vast amount of campers (most bell tents are only 285g). The tiny downside is that the groundsheet isn’t that thick but a cheap tarp from B&Q (other stores also sell garden tarps so please don’t think we’re biased) will easily take care of that problem. Huge mesh windows – with flaps so you’re not on display unless you want to be – allow the tent to be aired whilst still refusing entry to all those scruffy badly dressed bugs with undesirable eating habits. All in all, it’s a great little tent with more than enough room for a couple, small family or a scout leader, and offering a wonderful camping experience.

So there we have i. Four new tents added to the Ridge Tent section and all available to buy right now via our online store for immediate delivery (subject to the manufacturer going “Oh….” but as we don’t manufacture in the Far East lead times are always pretty short). If you think bell tents are just so last year (or even older than that) maybe you should consider a classic ridge tent or even, dare I say it, a square tent? Choices – we believe in giving you lots so you can get exactly the right tent for your needs. Still not sure? Then give us a call and we’ll discuss your needs and all the options available – and all without the hard sell. ‘cos we’re nice.

The picture shows what you would think is a standard 5m bell tent but this is made from heavy duty 450g 50/50 poly-cotton mix which means, for those who don’t sell tents and have a slight cotton fetish, that it has a tighter weave of a stronger material (that’s what the polyester contributes) yet is still breathable (thanks to the modern cotton) and can withstand a serious hammering from the weather throughout all four season. No more fair weather camping or being worried about the lashing rain. Available in both a standard version and with an integrated groundsheet – for those who want a bit more security against bugs, moisture, mud slides, floods, sneaky ninjas digging tunnels and other nefarious underground dwelling creatures – this is a top quality tent that, although not cheap, offers superb value for money (is that enough sales pitch now?)

Further details can be found on the website : Aztec and Aztec with integrated groundsheet and this is available to ship now so you can have one in good time for all those camping trips you have planned (subject of course to the manufacturer going “Oh, didn’t I tell you about the delay….” but they haven’t yet – at least not with this tent; new Rangers won’t ship til early March at the moment but we do have a few ex-hire ones – in perfect nick having been cleaned, re-proofed and checked that can be shipped sooner and cost a tad less – ex-hire Ranger), plus it also takes the Universal Bell Tent Porch – what more could you ask for?

We’ve also added a couple of new bell tent groundsheets (from the same manufacturer as the Aztec) so now you have a choice with your 4m and 5m bell tent and which heavy duty groundsheet you take to make it complete so you’re as snug as a bug – hopefully without too many bugs but they’re sneaky buggers so no guarantee is offered bug-wise.

So if you know anyone or indeed if you are interested in an all-season heavy duty bell tent (or any other superb value for money modern cotton bell tent) then drop us an email, hit us up on facebook (not literally unless you’re at a LARP event and see me wandering about) or even be old fashioned and give us a call on the old telephonic device. Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your colleagues and perfect strangers in the street. Or is that just me?

We were on the Yorkshire Moors at a lovely little place called Birch Hall in Langdale End (which is all near Scarborough) meeting up with the 15th Middlesborough Scouts to deliver the last pieces of their 8m Jurte and do the training. It was cold and damp underfoot but luckily the sun also shone down and took the edge from the day. We arrived just after 10 and I will admit to being quite impressed that the free sat nav app on my phone got me there without any problems (apart from the wonderful ‘Make a U-turn and then a U-turn’ as we drove up the M11 – huh?). The scouts welcomed me in the time honoured way with a cup of tea which was gratefully received. We emptied everything on to the flatish ground, pulled our boots out of the mire – don’t stand still too long – and soon had the tent flying up. This was, I have to admit, an easy training session as the scout leaders gathered already knew their knots and lashings. Luckily, almost like I had a cunning plan, we managed to make a mess up of a few things so the centre had to be dropped and relashed and sorted out before it was up properly (a training session with no problems is no fun!). The small matter of 4 missing guy ropes didn’t help but that was entirely my fault.

Once the roof was up they were introduced to the joys of buttoning which proved to be no match for the 15th Middlesborough and soon it was sitting proudly in the weak sunshine wanting for nothing except maybe a nice fire to dry out the ground and warm the tent up. Luckily they’d also bought a lovely 60cm fire dish and had the foresight to bring along lots of dry wood. After a couple of attempts (it was one of the leaders first try at lighting a fire using proper techniques) there was soon a fire crackling away, sending sparks shooting upwards – don’t worry, they were too cold to do anything by the time they got to the roof – and sending out lots of lovely heat. And that’s where I left the, enjoying their new tent, sat around a nice warm fire, planning and plotting the year ahead.

Gina and I had to get back down to (almost) London so we said our goodbyes and set off. Via Scarborough of course as Gina wanted to see the sea and didn’t think sand would be as bad for her as mud.

Scarborough is, I would say, almost a typical traditional seaside resort – especially in the winter! A bit if sun, a nice sandy beach and everyone wrapped up against the cold but enjoying themselves. We had a quick stop for photo’s and then my phone fell apart in such a way that I couldn’t be heard talking to anyone. 2 months old and kaput! ARGGGGHHH!!!! Luckily a friend suggested a reboot as modern phones are all software and he was right, it helped. And here I am, a product of God knows how many years of IT support and I didn’t do the one thing we always tell people – “Have you tried rebooting?” Duh!

So, a few photo’s later we did the long trek back down the A1 with Gina still poorly – she’s got a very bad neck in case you’re wondering and I’ve now sent her off to the Giraffe hospital (they have extra long beds and pillows, just for Giraffes) to be made better. She’s already informed me that she expects me to make or buy her an exotic scarf to protect her neck in the future and it’s never wise to ignore the demands of sick Giraffes. Hopefully she’ll be better for the next trip away and more inclined to be sociable.

Well, now he’s finished ‘complaining’ I shall give you my side of the story and trip! I’ve hurt my neck! and he STILL made me go on a trip around the UK despite being ILL!! Git! So when I saw the mud at the site (which is a lovely place btw and a great base for Scout groups) and the size of the mole hills – about 50 times bigger than normal which means moles 50 times bigger and moles like to eat Giraffes! – there was no way I was getting out of the car. Plus the wind was freezing! I expected snow any minute and Giraffes don’t do snow. Ever. I was, as you can tell, not in a very good mood, and maybe I was a bit stroppy but I am a girl Giraffe and I am (still) ill with a very bad neck – if you think humans get bad neckache, try being a Giraffe! Hopefully I’ll be sorted out soon and back on my feet ready for the next trip where I will be more friendly. Promise. Gina xxx

Ok, maybe not as dramatic as I’d envisaged but this bag is a bloody useful one. It’s a side pole bag for the telescopic side poles and it can take either 12 or 16 of them making it alot easier to carry and store them. At this point I have no idea if the manufacturer has seen fit to add handles (probably not but we’ll moan at them til they do – just don’t hold your breath) but they have seen fit to make it in a heavier material – 340g cotton – so it will be hard wearing and do fine service for years.

The best bit though is the price. It’s only £25 incl VAT with a £5 delivery charge – a measly thirty quid to make your life easier for years to come – bargain.

I will be buying some for myself as we have several Jurtes with telescopic side poles and I am forever cursing about transporting them myself so maybe pics will appear on the website at some point.

If you’re interested then give me a call as it hasn’t made it to the website yet (maybe by the end of the week)

More new stuff to follow. Well, more stuff that we haven’t advertised before but has been around a while. Yes, I am a bit slow.

So how will be compete and thrive in the tough market and times ahead? By putting up our prices of course! All our suppliers are European and run their books annually so January is the time they increase their prices. The last couple of years they, and we, have absorbed some of the price increases but unfortunately that can’t couldn’t on forever and this year it has spilled over to the retail price. Sorry. A number of tents have increased in price most notably the German Scout tents. the problem there is that every bit that makes up a Kohte or Jurte has gone up in price so the overall price for a complete tent jumps quite a bit. Discounts may still be negotiated, though

On the positive side, we’re expanding the range of modern cotton tents we carry and taking on 2, hopefully, 3 new high quality manufacturers so will be able to offer even more high quality, long lasting modern cotton tents that will last for years and years. I’m hoping to get alot of these sorted out by the end of the month but I’m struggling to keep up so no promises. Damn, already falling behind this year and it’s only 13 days old! Getting old, that’s my problem.

We’ve also appointed a new distributor for Eire in the form of The Scout Shop who will be selling some or all of our range (we’re pretty nice to our distributors) as of now so if you’re an Irish Scout group or a resident of that wonderful Isle then give them a call and get a good deal.

We also, last year but we never announced it properly, appointed another UK distributor in the form of Bison Bushcraft run by Roger who is a fantastic guy. He’s also involved in organising The Wilderness Gathering, the original Bushcraft show for all the family which we’ll hopefully be attending this year and supplying a number of Jurtes to be used as spaces. More details to follow when we finally sit down and have a chat about it

The calendar is already starting to fill with events that we will be attending although, as per usual, the biggies are in Germany (ZDL & Drachenfest run by Wyvern Adventures) but LARP wise also expect to see me at the first and last CP events (although event 1 clashes with the RPC in Cologne grrrr.) and almost certainly at the Gilwell Scout Reunion where we’re hoping to have German Scouts living in our tent for the weekend showing everyone what they do and how they do it. A bit like an interactive zoo exhibit We’re also hoping to be over for the UK LARP awards run by another of our distributors, Ian Knope of Having A LARP at the end of Feb which also includes a Kit Fair so should be an excellent weekend.

For those still hoping to find a bargain we still have a few ex-hire Rangers going cheap (£500 instead of £810). This have been cleaned, re-proofed and checked for any damage so are as good as new. If you order one it will ship in February/March so you’ll get it in good time for the opening of the normal camping season. There will also be some extra tents going up in the Specials section over the next week or two as we’re selling off some old stock cos we need the shelf space.

We didn’t spend New year in a tent this year either – another sign of impending old age – and so far, it still hasn’t snowed where we are which is a bit worrying and I’m hoping not a sign of blizzards to come in a few weeks time. We shall see. And Gina has emerged early from hibernation and has already picked up that I never complete her 2011 blog entries and is bitching in the way only a giraffe can. Expect those to be done soon and more details of her travels as they happen (right now she has to decide between a 2 week hike through Croatia or The Wilderness Gathering in August; researching those options should keep her quiet and off my back for a while!) The pic is from last year’s snow bound adventure just so you have something pretty to look at when you’re bored of reading.

This year’s resolution is to actually try and keep up to date with blog entries and news but, if past performance is anything to go by, expect that to fall by the wayside before Easter!

These were manufactured at the start of the year and had a fault with the cotton which has now been tracked, with usual German efficiency, to a fault in the manufacture of the cotton itself where it wasn’t proofed properly. The tents are scheduled to be collected, cleaned and professionally reproofed in the next week or so, after which they will be individually checked and any faults, no matter how minor, repaired, before being shipped out before the end of January.

The usual cost of this tent is £785.00 + £40.00 delivery and these are being sold for £500.00 + £40.00 delivery – a saving of over 35% for a tent which will be as good as new when it reaches you.

Full details can be found on our website under Special Offers

If you are interested then please drop me an email or send me a message via the facebook page (The Cotton Tent Company).

First come, first served and I don’t expect them to hang around for long so get in quick!

Not only were these scouts very good at learning how to put up the Jurte but they also didn’t need to be taught many of the knots – we like scout groups that are practical. But I was still bored. All that lovely grass was tempting me, calling my name in a seductive manner – “Gina, Gina, come and roll on me..” To distract me the 1st Needham Scouts bought out a friend for me to talk to – a very laid back caterpillar with an amazing colourful body – he even put me to shame! Once we’d been introduced, Inga still wouldn’t let me play on the grass and insisted that I behave like a demure Giraffe and not like a trollop – I still don’t know what a trollop is but I’m pretty certain it isn’t a compliment (unless you come from Essex but I don’t understand that comment either!). Luckily she got distracted by the training session and left us alone – so we escaped and had fun on the grass. HA HA HA I got away from Inga and played! Nyeh nyeh!

Inga wasn’t going to be amused but the sun was shining and I had a new friend to play with on the grass so I didn’t really care. I should have been paying attention to the training too – that is one of my very important jobs – but sometimes a Giraffe just has to kick back and let her hair down and enjoy the sunshine and the colourful company that comes along. Once we’d tired of playing we settled back, cuddled up and traded stories – like you do. He did ask me very nicely not to tell you much about him and his adventures as, as he says in his own words “We caterpillars, even the colourful ones, lead quiet lives in the main and shun the spotlight of fame as we find it so tiresome to constantly deal with a multitude of fans.” I can see where he’s coming from as not everyone is cut out for a life of travelling, blogging and the constant adoration from their fans worldwide like me.   It’s a pity really as he has been to some fascinating places in his time and it has done nothing to dampen my enthusiasm for getting out and about and seeing the world (as you should do too – feel free to send me pics if you do, too!). We lazed around the entire afternoon while they finished training and had a barbeque. Eventually though we had to go and everything was packed away so we could drive back to the birthday campsite. I was sad to leave my new friends (especially one of them) but that’s the lot of a Giraffe on the road. Inga made some dark comments about multi-coloured babies and Giraffe’s with lots of legs. I think the sun may have affected her as I have no idea what she was talking about.

Anyway, more from me later. I think it’s time for a snooze while I’m chauffeured back to our tent. Can’t wait to tell teddy all about my new friend!

(Note. This event took place at the start of May 2011 but didn’t get written up. So far there have been no developments from Gina’s liaison with the caterpillar but it takes 14 months and they don’t show so we may have to wait until July next year to find out!)

It was odd. But likeable (except a lot of the music which was just plain horrible to me!)

We attended with a friend who was running a Viking village for paying guests on site. This meant a prime position on the edge of the market area and far too close to the main stage for our comfort, but oh well. We arrived with a couple of Jurte’s and some Kohte’s to compliment the Viking tents being used for guest accommodation and soon had a nice little enclosed settlement for the exclusive use of staff and guests. This sort of arrangement is not common at German events, unlike at UK music festivals, so it was as much an experiment as anything else.

Once the tents were up and sorted we actually had very little to do except wander about and enjoy the atmosphere. Like all German events the food was excellent and the beer was plentiful. Some of the music was almost acceptable too. The festival was split into two parts with access to the main stage being via an additional ticket – we declined – but you could sit right outside and listen without any problem.

The best part of the event, without doubt, was the fire show – an absolutely amazing display of dancing and fire in a variety of forms that had the whole audience wowing again and again. I did my best with our little camera and the results can be seen in the Hoernerfest gallery.

Apart from that we took time out and relaxed which given that Drachenfest was only a month away was probably a good thing!

Not sure if we’ll be back there next year as it was a long drive to north of Hamburg and the friend we did the job for is more than capable of putting up the tents himself now so that could have been my only chance to get the full German horn experience – but you never know.

It’s April and I’m running round the UK on a whistlestop tour of customers and events. This morning we delivered a lovely 8m Jurte to Having A LARP where they were setting up for some strange event called Maelstrom (almost certainly one of those odd role-playing things Mark likes so much) and did some very rapid training. Luckily they are pretty switched on folks so didn’t need a great deal of assistance. As they’re planning to use it for a lot of events this year i have no doubt they’ll be pretty good by the time I see them again at Drachenfest in July. We got away as quickly as we could cos I was excited to get to our next appointment with The Folk Trail to deliver an Universal Bell Tent Porch – they sounded far more like my kind of people; and it turned out that they definitely were!

We zoomed down to Glastonbury – maybe Giraffe’s should learn how to drive, I can see how it comes in handy when you need to get about quickly? – and managed to catch the the last couple of people at the campsite before they headed off to that evening’s music session. The Folk Trail (which has now finished but the website of their trip is still up) was a walk from Lands End to John O’Groats by a bunch of very lovely folk musicians taking in folk clubs along the way. Pretty much every evening was another music session in a pub along the route where they performed and were performed to. Mark threw up a kohte for us to sleep in which amazed the watchers as they’d never seen anything packed so small convert into a full sized cotton tent within a few minutes. And then they headed off to the pub. I’m not good with large crowds of new people so I stayed behind and got some rest, preparing myself to meet everyone in the morning. The folk session, according to Mark, was excellent with a packed room full of people armed with instruments and talent proving that folk at a grass roots level is alive and kicking (it proved that way up the entire length of the country too). They stumbled to bed tired but happy late that night.

In the morning I met them all including the lovely Cara the dog who was also doing the entire walk and writing the occasional blog entry about it too! The porch we had delivered, and even modified there and then so it was even more useful, was to both provide shelter for the front of the bell tent that they were using and a space for Cara to sleep if she was too muddy or smelly to be in the tent. Quite mean of them really; we animals deserve our luxury’s for putting up with you lot!

I was given a lovely badge – which I still cherish to this day – and the group willingly posed for pictures with me. Phill, who had arranged the porch posed by the van and then everyone wanted to join in so we had a wonderful group photo too. The people walking the Folk Trail were lovely and I hoped we’d be able to see them again before they finished and maybe even walk a few miles with them but it ultimately turned out not to be as we just ended up too busy this season to squeeze another visit in. Breakfast was served and everyone said their goodbyes while tents and gear were broken down and quickly packed away. I waved them goodbye as they headed off on the next leg of their journey from Glastonbury to Emborough. We then had to pack ourselves back in the car for our next long round trip – Glastonbury to Birmingham to Peterborough. Phew, we really rack up the miles when we’re in the country these days.

The stop in Birmingham was quick and easy with the tent getting repaired there and then – sometimes he can be quite efficient and organised – before we headed off to stay with friends for the night.

Thursday saw us back on the road again, running about sorting out price lists (which he had forgotten so not that organised after all!) and driving down to the Curious Pastimes event near London. I like some LARP events (mainly the German ones where I have a big bed to hide in and teddy for company) but the one’s in the UK tend to be sleeping on the floor and I don’t like getting dirty so I either sat on a chair or hid in the tent. We Giraffe’s also suffer from soul-lag so I needed some time for my soul to catch up with me after several days of running around. So what did he do while I was resting? Only wrecked his leg running into a fight! Idiot! So now he had to sort out big tents and limp – and at his age that’s not much fun. Oh well, serves him right for trying to enjoy himself! Despite that the event seemed to go well and I did enjoy the remarkable long version of the Dirty Goblin Song performed by Mark and Toby when they were somewhat drunk one night!

Tuesday saw us off to a ‘secret’ meeting with a very special tent that I’m still not allowed to talk about despite the fact it was several months ago and then it was time to get very excited as Inga was arriving – with teddy! Much as I enjoy being on the road and meeting people, I do miss sharing it all with teddy. Inga was supposed to drive over in Wallis (our lovely Moggie Minor) but they’d messed up the MOT dates so instead she flew in and we collected her at the airport before going off to stay in a nice B&B. The point of the visit was now the 160th birthday party and 1st Needham Market Scout’s training session for their new Jurte. Oh, and some wedding or other. It all went very well, especially the training which can be seen in the Photo Gallery but by the time that was over on the Sunday I was ready for home. So that’s where we went on Monday – especially as the RPC in Cologne was looming in less than a week and we hadn’t packed or planned anything!

Folk Trail & 1st Needham Market Scout’s pictures

Next year is already shaping up to be busy with large sections of June, July and August already blocked out and tentative events for May and September hanging about with a pleading puppy-dog look in their eyes begging to be nailed down and gone to. We shall see. As per normal a lot of events are jostling for position, shoulder to shoulder with one another which doesn’t leave a lot of time for either checking and repairing tentage or even getting from one event to another. As it stands the first event of the year may well be the UK LARP Awareness party run by our friends from Having A LARP (find them on facebook) but I have yet to persuade Inga that we do want to travel to the UK when the weather is rubbish. Mind you, it won’t be much better here as we’ll no doubt have snow and thick ice on the ground – it’s very pretty for a few weeks and then it just becomes annoying as hell – especially when you have to clear the path outside your house everyday.

All the events we’re attending or thinking of attending, will be posted in the Events section of the Info site so you’ll know where you can come along and beg a cup of tea from or have a general chat or gossip about all things tent shaped.

Just to whet your appetite (hopefully), here’s a few pics of what to expect this week as I continue the scramble to document 2011 before it ends – it’s going to be a close run thing!

The Folk Trail                                                   Gina gets frisky at a Jurte training session          Possibly the best fire show ever