Festival Refuge

Festival Refuge

Copyright Oggbashan August 2020

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

This is a work of fiction. The events described here are imaginary; the settings and characters are fictitious and are not intended to represent specific places or living persons.

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It was the early 1960s. The three of us, Gerald, Brian and me, James, were almost inseparable. We had been together in our final years at school, during National Service, at technical college on sponsored courses, and now as mechanics for the company that had sponsored us. When we started our sponsorship the three of us, together, had taken out a joint mortgage on a large ground floor Victorian flat with an extensive basement. It was close to the college and our later base of work. Even though our parents had helped with the deposit, finding such a mortgage then was only possible because of our sponsoring employer.

We liked to go on a camping holiday together whatever the season or weather but we had a problem. Our tents were ex-Army 14 feet by 14 feet weighing 180 pound as heavy duty equipment with an 80 pound flysheet each. Although we all had small cars, all we could afford to insure as fairly new drivers, even one tent spread between two cars was more than those cars could manage. The heavy wooden poles took up most of the inside of one car, and were too heavy for the roof racks.

When a local cheap car dealer had an old seven tonne van with an extended wheelbase we thought we could convert it into a very basic camper and it could carry two ex-Army tents and other equipment. Because the van was old, slow and needed a total overhaul and repaint we could buy it for a very low price.

Over the next six months we overhauled it mechanically and installed fold up two-tier bunks on either side with two large mattresses suspended from the roof. Behind the bunks we had a kitchen on one side and a shower room/toilet on the other. In front there was a driver's seat, a passenger seat, and behind them a bench seat that would take four adults.

We wanted somewhere fairly close for a trial run to see how our adaptation worked. Gerald, who had a farmer's daughter, Elaine who worked as a nurse in London, as a girlfriend, knew that Elaine's father was working with some event organisers to organise a summer pop festival on his land a few miles West of London. Gerald and Elaine suggested that we could bring the camper to the festival and use it for a long Bank holiday weekend. It was convenient that the particular week all three of us had been on a training course that ended Friday lunchtime. Normally the weekends were our busiest time and we would have expected to be on duty for a Bank holiday Monday.

There would be two problems. If we parked the van in the middle of the camping area we would block the view of many of the festival goers. The other problem was that the field sloped and we would be at an angle. Elaine suggested we visited the farm a couple of weeks before the festival to see whether we could use the van, and if so, where.

One Thursday, a fortnight before the festival's date, the three of us drove in one car to visit Elaine and her father. We walked around the proposed camping area for the festival. At the top edge of the field, near to the boundary fence, was a concrete base for a horse shelter that had been demolished decades ago. Down the slope the base stood three feet high but at the back it was only eight inches. It was large enough to site the van if we could get it on, about six feet wider and eight feet longer. At worst we could bring shovels and make an earth ramp but we had metal ramps that came with the van to put wheeled vehicles inside. If we used those, we could just about drive the van on to the concrete where we would be level and above any rainwater run-off.

There was a horse trough with a water supply including a tap and hose so we wouldn't have to carry water across the field. We would have to leave access to that for other campers.

Positioned there, our van would block no one's view and from the cab we would have a clear view of the stage above all the tents. We agreed a fee with Elaine's father to rent that base and an area thirty feet around it. We would have to be in position before any other campers arrived because the campsite's tracks weren't wide enough, so we came on the Friday afternoon before the campers started arriving during Friday evening and Saturday morning.

We packed that van with everything, probably too much, but we were enjoying having the space and load-carrying capacity. Although the van rode much better loaded than it had done when empty, it was noisy, slow and uncomfortable for the passengers. We were relieved to reach the farm. It took us about half an hour to site the van on the concrete. We had brought metal stakes and tape to mark the area we had agreed to rent but we found that much of it was cluttered with random bits of broken concrete.

We had wanted to erect our tents but took us several hours to make the places we wanted the tents to go free of concrete lumps. We had used some of the lumps to make a more substantial ramp than earth to put the van on the base. We piled the more of removed lumps as a small angled wall to direct any rainwater away from the tents, when erected. We used our shovels to make a ditch uphill from the wall and used the earth to make that wall waterproof. It was nearly dark before we had erected two tents. As we had found before, the three of us found it very difficult to erect such large and heavy tents. Even with Elaine's help it took several hours and a lot of swearing.

The last task was to convert one of our large tents into a split washroom for male and female. We had been expecting that toilet facilities at the festival would be basic. We would be OK ourselves with a toilet, hand basin and sink in the van. Having discussed the toilets with Elaine and her father at our first visit we thought that they would be worse than basic and wholly inadequate. They weren't involved with the festival except preparing the field and clearing up afterwards.

We had dug a soak away as a metre cube pit filled with more discarded lumps of concrete to take waste water from the van and from our washroom tent. We would have liked a larger one but even that size was an effort.

That evening, Elaine cooked for us and her father. We had agreed to help out tomorrow. There would be stewards at the gate to check tickets and direct people to the camp site. The three of us would show people to their marked pitches and help out with tent erection if needed.

We slept very well in the camper, perhaps because we were so tired. We ate our cooked breakfast outside under the extended flysheet of our tent. The morning sunshine was weak and there were signs of rain to come later. That wouldn't bother us. Our van was a waterproof refuge, and we had pitched our tents as if we were expecting a strong gale. We knew, from past winter camping, that if pitched properly our tents would survive any weather.

From noon onwards on the Saturday the three of us and Elaine were very busy helping hundreds of campers find their designated sites and helping inexperienced campers erect their tents. If more experienced campers hadn't helped their neighbours we would have been swamped.

Brian and I were very impressed with Elaine. Although she had never been camping, within half an hour of starting to help us she knew what she was doing. She could wield a mallet effectively; she had a large ball of baling twine that she used to replace missing guy ropes; she could tie knots efficiently and use a knife. She is a farmer's daughter even if, like us, she works and stays in London during the week.

The last arrivals came in the early evening and we were worried about two sisters pitched just in front of us. They had decided to come at the last minute and had bought their equipment this afternoon. They arrived on a scooter and needed our help to erect their new tent. But their very small tent was really a play tent to use in a garden in good weather. It had no flysheet or groundsheet and was very small and flimsy. Their sleeping bags were lightweight. We pitched the tent as best we could but thought that even a moderate wind would blow it away, and any rain would go through in minutes.

Ruth and Andrea were amused by our concern. They thought we were overstating the inadequacy of their tent. They are both fully qualified and experienced nurses and thought we were being over protective males, even if Elaine agreed with us. We offered the use of our large tent if their tent was inadequate, or they could knock on the door of the van if needed. They accepted our offers in principle but thought we were being too pessimistic. But they used our large tent to change out of their jeans and anoraks into their now obsolete student nurses uniforms. They thought, and Brian and I agreed, that they looked much better dressed as nurses. They had full skirted dresses and red-lined cloaks.

"We thought," Ruth said, "That if we dressed as nurses we might find some men who liked nurses."

"This was our full dress uniform as student nurses," Andrea added as she twirled around to splay her full skirt.

"You don't need to look far," I said. "I appreciate you dressed like that."

"Me too," Brian said.

We might have said more except that Ruth and Andrea kissed us into silence. While they kissed us, Brian and I knew they were very attractive women.

That evening there was a concert by some local groups as warm up for the main acts tomorrow. Gerald had gone with Elaine. He would be spending the night in her father's farmhouse. Initially the four of us sat on the edge of the concrete base. We could see over the tents on the sloping field below us and although the performers were a long way away so that it was difficult, without binoculars, to see who they were, we could hear them clearly. We went with the two women to be near the stage. Despite the intention when they put their nurses' uniforms on they seemed very content with the men they had. Brian and I were hugged as if they didn't want to let us go.

We weren't impressed by the competence or the musical ability of this evening's acts. After an hour, when the wind was increasing, we went into the cab of the van. With the windows open we could still hear them but we were warmer and had drinks easily available. The wind was blowing from behind the van so our open windows didn't cause much of a draft. Andrea was sitting on Brian's lap, facing outwards. I couldn't see the stage because I was behind the steering wheel with Ruth astride and facing me. I was very aroused because her panties were on my erection and she was kissing me as her breasts pressed against my chest.

However that increasing wind was causing problems for the tents below us. We could see many people moving around adding more tent pegs, repositioning guy ropes and struggling with flapping tents. Ruth and Andrea went back to look after their tent. They seemed to be holding it down from the inside.

About half an hour after Brian and I had moved back into the van's cab the rain started and Ruth and Andrea's tent ripped apart. They gathered their possessions and rushed into our tent.

I went out to meet them.

"Hello, James," Andrea said. "You were right. Our tent is useless."

"Perhaps you should bring your scooter in to the tent as well," I suggested.

I didn't emphasise that we had expected their tent to fail. They were wet, cold and everything they had, including their sleeping bags, was wet too. They didn't need us to say 'We told you so.'

I wheeled their scooter into the tent and put it right at the back to leave as much space as possible. I invited them into the van to warm up and dry things around our gas stove.

While I helped them to spread items to dry Brian made them some hot soup. They accepted that gratefully while they sat close to the stove drying off. Brian added some more vegetables to the casserole we had intended for or evening meal. Because they had rushed into our ex-army tent so quickly it was only their outer cloaks that were wet. After about twenty minutes they shed them as the inside of the van was very warm. Their sleeping bags also dried quickly because they were so thin and lightweight.

"I think you should stay in the van with us tonight," I said.

"Why not in the tent?" Andrea asked.

"Because I think the tent will be full of other people whose tents fail," I said. "The forecast is dire. And you might be cold in the tent with those sleeping bags. They aren't intended for use when outdoors."

I left Brian with them. I put my wet weather gear on and went out with the mallet and ball of baling twine that Elaine had left with us. Over the next hour I was helping to tie down the tents that were still standing and a dozen people whose tents were beyond repair were now in our large tent. There were six more in the toilet tent and many were sharing in the tents that had survived. Most of them had come on scooters or motorcycles and had small lightweight tents. Those who had come by car had bigger heavier tents, or if not, had retreated into their cars.

When I returned I was soaking wet and cold. Andrea was sitting on Brian's lap. My hands were so cold I couldn't take my outer layers off. Ruth helped me before rubbing my hair dry with a towel. She made me some coffee before sitting on my lap to cuddle me. Even thought I had an attractive woman looking after me it was at least a quarter of an hour before I was warm enough to respond as she kissed me.

"Thank you, James, from us, and from all the others you have been helping," Andrea said.

I couldn't reply. Almost before she had finished speaking Ruth's lips covered mine.

"Why did you risk hypothermia to help people you don't know?" Ruth asked.

"Why are you nurses? I retorted.

"To help others. That's what we do." she replied.

"The same answer applies to us. We are emergency roadside mechanics covering the London area. We help people who need us."

I might have said more but Ruth was kissing and hugging me.

"What were you going to eat tonight?" Brian asked.

Andrea made a face.

"Some Vesta dried meals cooked on our tiny primus stove borrowed from my father. They would taste awful but they are food that doesn't take up much space on our scooter."

"We have a casserole cooking in the oven that you could share. OK?"

"A casserole? That sounds much better. An oven? You have an oven?"

"We have an oven, two cooking rings, a grill and a fridge," Brian said.

"And a toilet?"

"And a shower," I added.

"This seems like a very civilised way to go camping, James, much better than our useless tent." Ruth said. "But why have some tents, not much larger than ours, survived?

I pointed out of the windscreen.

"See that blue one? That's a Vango Force 10, designed for use on Everest. How much did your tent cost, Ruth?"

"Our tent? Two pounds and ten shillings."

"The Vango Force 10 cost more than our large ex-army tents. Lightweight equipment costs more if it is any good. Your father's small Primus stove cost about thirty per cent more than a standard large one. And that orange tent? That's a Black's Good Companion which cost about the same as our ex-army tent. It will survive when cheaper ones won't. The Vango will survive anything. The Good Companion? Probably the worst weather we'd ever see in the UK. Your tent was intended for kids to play in on a summer day in a back garden. It wouldn't keep out a light shower."

"We should have bought a better tent but we didn't expect to sleep in it -- just cook and use it as a storage base for our things," Ruth said.

"Not sleep in it?" I asked.

"No," Angela said. "We hoped to find some unattached men and sleep in their tents. We think we have found some, and they are feeding us as well, much better than Vesta dried packets."

Brian and I might have said something but we couldn't because we were being kissed too effectively.

During the meal we continued the discussion about tents.

"Why do you have such large tents?" Ruth asked.

"We brought them to help Elaine and her father," Brian said. "We thought the organisers hadn't provided enough toilets -- they hadn't and also some people's tents would be damaged by the weather, forecast to be bad."

"That's not what I meant, but that is appreciated. What I intended was why did you buy such a large tent anyway?"

"That?" I said. "We wanted to go camping all year round so we needed a strong tent that could survive winter storms. We couldn't afford a Vango Force 10, and because we are large we would need three of them -- far beyond our means -- and at least two Good Companions or a largish Blacks' tent such as a Stormhaven. The Blacks tents were too costly but an ex-Army 180 pounder was strong enough and cheaper than one Force 10 or even than a single Good Companion. But we hadn't appreciated how large it would be. We needed all three cars to transport one tent. The tent went in one, the flysheet in another and the tent poles in the third. That meant petrol for three vehicles."

"So that's why you bought the lorry?"

"Not at first. Yes, it is cheaper than using three cars but the renovation was expensive. The problem we found with the larger tent was drying it if it got wet. A smaller lighter tent would dry in hours. The heavyweight tent took days to dry in our basement. That is why we bought a second one. The lorry was a bargain and we had the skills to sort it out. Even so it took us six months and this the first time we have used it."

"Sort it out?" Ruth said. "You have made it into a home from home. You even have the kitchen sink. This is civilised camping."

She looked out through the windscreen at the rain still lashing down.

"Even if I was in a good lightweight tent I think I'd be miserable. In here? We're warm, dry and eating a proper meal.. We don't need to go out in the rain to use a toilet. Or for anything. It's all here."

After the casserole, which the girls enjoyed and said so, we discussed sleeping arrangements. Brian and I had double sleeping bags. Gerald would be with Elaine in the farmhouse so his double sleeping bag was available. Brian and I could sleep on the fold down bunks. Ruth and Angela could share Gerald's sleeping bag on one of the mattresses.

The women objected. They wanted to share a double sleeping bag, Ruth with me, and Angela with Brian.

"There might be a problem," Brian said reluctantly. "Neither James nor I wear anything at night. We'd both be naked."

"So what?" Andrea said. "We'd like you to wear a condom even though we are on the pill. We would just wear our uniform dresses and nothing else. Our student nurse uniforms are for seducing men. They're obsolete otherwise. They're cotton and unlike our normal uniforms don't smell of disinfectant, just our perfume. The skirts are large enough to lift out of the way. The bodices unbutton and we won't wear bras or panties so you'll have plenty of access. We wanted to find men at this event. We have and we want you. Any objections?"

We weren't given much opportunity to object. Ruth kissed me and Andrea kissed Brian.

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Later we were snuggled into the double sleeping bags with a nurse resting her body on us so she could kiss us. I was soon unaware of what Andrea was doing with Brian as my head was squashed into Ruth's cleavage as she wriggled her breasts over my face. I couldn't see sideways because her unbuttoned bodice shrouded my head.

A short time afterwards Ruth had flipped her skirt up and impaled herself on my erection. I wanted to reach her breasts with my hands but they were entangled in her skirt. Ruth squealed several times as she reached a climax before she produced one in me. She slumped against my chest with her hands holding my head. I went to sleep as her hands gently stroked me.