[Elfsea] Preparing for Gulf War

[Arabella de Montacute]

>    Your Grace,
>
>    This will be the first Gulf War that we have ever attended and we would
>_love_ to hear your suggestions about how/what we should prepare.
>    Thank you in advance.
>    Your in service,
>
>    Milo and Angelique LeRoux

Greetings

Thank you so much for your kind introduction.
hehe... a bit of explaination is at hand first....the title "Your Grace" is reserved for those people who have served in the society at least 2 reigns as King or Queen.  I have and probably never will be Queen, (although it could happen and would be quite an historic event if it did happen).  I appreciate the field promotion though, and I did not take any offense.

I hope you have seen the previous remarks about how to prepare and what to take.  I will can more at this time.

Being the good girlscout that I am.....

Tarp over and under........

If you are bringing a mundane tent (ie...nylon) they always leak in really heavy storms and some do even in the lightest rain.  Bring a tarp for under your tent.  This protects the floor from protruding stumps and grass and helps keep out the bugs and additional water.  Also tarp over your tent.  it adds an additional layer of air to help with heat, protect the seams from water and helps keep the fabric of your tent nicer longer.  Keep in mind that if water collects on the tarp it will eventually leak through.  Best punch out collecting water as soon as you see it.

Trenching......the differance between a dry floor and a wet floor.

Bring or borrow a shovel to trench around your tent.  look at the slope of the ground and trench on the high side.  This will keep water from going under your tent.  Try to never put your door facing up hill, this only invites water to run inside your tent.

UPON LEAVING WE MUST FILL IN OUR TRENCHES.  THIS IS A REQUIREMENT OF THE SITE OWNER AND IF WE DO NOT THE MERIDIES LAND CREW MUST DO IT.  Many of us didn't last year and Sir Simon wasn't happy.

More about floors......

If you can afford it bring a rug or two for the inside of your tent, and 1 for the outside. It helps keep the sand/leaves/sticks from tracking into your tent and getting in all your stuff. try to put a small tarp under your rug outside, that keeps mud from building on the underside of the rug and helps cleaning the rug after you bring it home.

When to open your tent.........

This one take diligence......open up your tent if it's nice outside during the day.

It gets musty and damp inside a tent, especially in Mississippi.  opening your tent lets it air out.  Open your bedding also, you sweat at night and this dries it out as well.  But as soon as the sun goes down you must close every thing up, if the damp gets back in and it'll be cold.

The diligence comes in if it looks like it's going to rain.  You have to make it back before it gets wet.  I try to watch others tents as well and I'll close them up if it starts to rain.  I hope my friends and neighbors will do the same for me.

If I think of any more I'll write again.

Arabella