Scottie's Farm

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FRENZY by Mark King

ISBN 9781846248771

My mate Scotty is a farmer but not in the sense that most people think of. Farms today in my part of the world in East Anglia are like the huge farms you find on the American plains; they are massive, thousands upon thousands of aches of land growing just a couple of crops that are managed by machines employing the latest technology, and very few human beings.

The farm is owned by a company that no doubt is owned by some corporation down the line somewhere, but it's a very efficient operation, and because of this my friend has a life style that farming generations before him could only dream about, although I must state, he has to work his balls off in summer working fourteen hours a day seven days a week during the harvest.

When we pulled into his driveway Scotty was cooking at his barbecue with a beer in hand with his family around him, and after a hug or two of introduction everyone settled down before we went on the grand tour of the work-shops that were behind the tall hedge which separated his work from his home.

There are no animals on this farm just massive automated solar powered storage and drying sheds, plus the work shop and storage areas for the farm vehicles. The first stop was a combined harvester and what a beast this machine was. It was frightening to stand next to it and reminded me of the Triclops machines in Frenzy that so scared humanity. You have to climb a ladder to get into the satellite controlled, air-conditioned, cabin and as I don't like heights I approached it with caution. My children and wife had no qualms, and were soon scrabbling their way up.

My son was over the moon so it was a while before I could drag all the family away so we could carry on with the rest of the tour. The final stop after seeing all the huge machines in the tractor shed was the repair work shop. Inside was a dune-buggy so while Scotty took the children for a drive back to his garden, the wife and I walked back holding hands while the midday sun beat our backs with it welcoming rays.

We feasted once again on barbecue and beer, and after much hugging, and saying our good byes we made out way home.

It was early evening by the time we had arrived back and unpacked the car. To say I was shattered would be an understatement.. When we settled down I thought everyone would be eager to watch the television, but nobody seemed bothered; it was as if using technology is a habit we get into more than a need, so it's something we could soon learn to live without if needed, again just like Daniel's family in Frenzy.

Regards

Mark. 

The final FRENZY

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FRENZY by Mark King
ISBN 9781846248771












Two nights of sleep Hell and my stiff and aching body slumbered slowly from my sleeping bag. After a bit of rocking and rolling I pushed myself up from the air-bed. By now I was so tired I was happy just to be awake. The previous night after the children had laid down there sleepy heads the wife and I spent another enjoyable evening just sitting in the middle of out tent sipping on our drinks as we read. The birds outside sang there good night songs and for a little while I was under the delusion that I could look forward to a peaceful sleep.

There was a gentle breeze that ruffled the canvas when I got up in the morning that gave no clue to the previous nights gale, but by that Sunday morning I felt as if I had been dragged through the gates of Hell, and back. Like I said it doesn't matter because as long as the children are happy, then you love the situation no matter how much your bones ache.

Another fried breakfast of egg and sausage sandwiches swallowed down with steaming hot tea left no one in any rush to start the task of packing up the car, or taking down the tent. We had to be off the site by 10.00 am but as it was now 9.30, and I was still finishing my cup of tea. I had a feeling we wouldn't be heading home for a while.

I had made arrangements to visit a friends house not far from our camp site. My friend is one of those dieing breads these days; he's a farmer. My son is mad about tractors, and always has been, so when I told Scotty about it he invited us to visit his pad so we could all look around his machinery.

At 10.00 the site staff were on their rounds in their electric buggy, a clear sign for all who hadn't started packing to do so now, and there followed two hours of FRENZY as everyone was roped into clearing the tent then packing it all back into the car. Well I should say more like stuff every thing back in, but by twelve we were on the road to Scottie's farm.

As we drove away the beautiful surroundings of Kelling Heath a part of me was glad to be heading back into contact with the real world while part of me had quite quickly settled down to the slower pace of life which in the week before I went I was dreading.

I can't explain what the attraction is of staying in a flimsy building that has no basic facilities while you struggle to even get a few hours sleep in a cold and uncomfortable bed, but as we drove out the entrance the only thing the family was talking about were the plans for our next camping expedition.

Regards

Mark

Frenzy of a night

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FRENZY by Mark King
ISBN 9781846248771













Saturday night I closed my eyes with the sound of the tent ruffling in the wind. I drifted off to sleep quite quickly. Suddenly I was woken up by one all mighty gush of wind that nearly lifted the tent. I closed my eyes hoping it would be a one off, but the wind got stronger. That wasn't the only problem, two days of mixing large amounts of cider and beef also had a similar effect on my stomach, and there was a constant rumbling of wind inside my sleeping bag as well as outside.

The howls of wind kept getting stronger. My daughter had been told by Grand-Dad that he had heard there were gale force winds forecast for parts of the country over the weekend, but the wife and I laughed away her news. Boy o boy were we wrong. Now my wife can sleep for England, a nuclear bomb could go off and she would sleep through it, so when she was also kept awake by the terrible noise of the wind, rustling trees, and flapping tent I thought we may be in for trouble!

A one stage I had visions we would all end up just like in the film The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy is caught inside the wooden shack as it is lifted into the air, and goes around, and around in a cyclone. I expected to wake in the morning, stick my head outside to find I was in a brightly coloured world surrounded by Munchkin men singing in high pitched voices as they danced gaily around the tent.

Dusk duly arrived and I'm still not sure if I got any sleep at all that night; all I know is that once again I was tired, stiff, and in pain. But and as I always say there is always a but, when the children climbed out of their sleeping bags with big wide smiles, oblivious to the previous night storm, and these smiles showed they were still loving every moment of being with their mother and father; once again the memories, frustrations, aches and pains fade away.

Regards

Mark

Camping Frenzy day 2

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www.the-frenzy.com
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FRENZY by Mark King
ISBN 9781846248771












Saturday morning was sunny if a bit damp with a slight chill in the air. I cooked up a breakfast of bacon and egg sandwich's on the single ring gas cooker, and the family settled to enjoy these washed down with a good old cup of tea.

The morning just drifted as I relaxed and read while trying to stop myself from nodding off after my restless nights sleep. The children ran about outside keeping themselves amused especially by chasing off the pigeons that kept inching their way towards our tent looking for scraps to feed from. My daughter came running in shouting 'daddy daddy two of the pigeons are fighting.' I put down the very thick volume I have been fighting my way through over the last couple of weeks, and went outside to investigate. She was right up to a point, there were two pigeons, but they wasn't fighting! One was on top of the other flapping it's wings wildly as it mated with the other. 'Aren't you going to stop it daddy?' I smiled at her and said, 'sometimes it's best to leave nature to it's self.'

I went back to my book. Soon lunch time had arrived but all the family were still stuffed after breakfast, and didn't need anything to eat, especially my son who complained off feeling unwell and was duly sick at the entrance to the tent. I wondered if my cooking the night before had been a cause of it, but he soon perked up. We had planned to go to the beach at Sherringham, but dark clouds came rolling in with the ever increasing wind so we all voted to go to the indoor pool on the site, and spend a few hours there.

It was a good choice as the wind got stronger and brought rain with it. The girls enjoyed the Jacuzzi and steam room why us boys stayed in and around the pool. Afterwards we had a couple of drinks in the bar then returned to our tent as the sun once again appeared. The barbecue was lit once more after much flapping by myself as I went through the same ritual as the previous day, and for a second night running the family feasted on mildly burnt meat.

By this stage I was very tired and looking forward to a good nights sleep. Would my wish come true? You will have to wait for Monday's posting.

Regards

Mark

Camping Frenzy from dusk to dawn

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www.the-frenzy.com
www.bookguild.co.uk
twitter@author_king
FRENZY by Mark King
ISBN 9781846248771











The tent was up, the car unpacked, the sun was out, the children were excitedly keeping themselves busy and my thoughts now turned to feeding the family. We had the use of a single ring gas powered cooker or a miniature barbecue. The hunter-gather wild man inside of me picked the barbecue as the wife enquired when supper would be ready. 'Not long' I replied in hope as I desperately tried to get the damn thing to take light.

I felt like a native American Indian as I tired to make a fire with kindle. I used a paper plate to fan the small flames then slowly added the charcoal. I was striped to my shorts with the sun on my back with a steady supply of cider to keep thirst at bay. During small interludes I imagined what life would be like on the wide open plans.

There was no T.V, radio, phone, mobile, laptop, Internet, or newspapers to connect me to the outside world. After much fanning the barbecue coals glowed a thrilling red with energy that spat and spit as the chunky burgers dripped their sizzling juice over them. The family feasted well that evening, and after a refreshing shower the children were tucked up in their sleeping bags while my wife and I sat down to read, and gentle sip on our drinks.

Drops of rain hit the the tent. Nothing at first to cause concern, but as the sun disappeared and the night sky engulfed our flimsy home it became heavier, and heavier. By the time we both retired to our own half of the sleeping area the sound of pitter patter against the canvas had become a constant torrent. By midnight I was worried we could be flooded out of our tent plus I found it hard to get to sleep. When dawn arrived I was tired, stiff and in pain. To say it's uncomfortable when sleeping in a bag even with an air-bed to cushion you is an understatement, and there is nothing worse then having to get up in the middle of the night during torrential rain to go to the toilet that happens to be on the other side of a field.

But that doesn't matter and the memory of a restless night soon melts away when the children wake up with big smiles on their faces that show they are loving every moment of being with their father and mother.

Regards

Mark

Camping Frenzy day 1

markkingtheauthor@gmail.com
www.the-frenzy.com
www.bookguild.co.uk
twitter@author_king
FRENZY by Mark King
ISBN 9781846248771









After posting Friday's blog I set about with helping the wife to pack the family car with all the gear, and supplies we would need for our three day camping adventure. It didn't start well as there were more items to squeeze into the car than could fit in. I thought I knew best what needed to be done, and my wife thought she knew best. After five minutes, and a good tongue lashing from my other half, I decided it would be best to leave her to it while I tidied up the house inside, and double checked that windows were locked etc.

It was now 13.50 and we set off. I drove and by 14.00 the children had been picked up from school only to disappear under a mountain of bags that had been stacked on the back seat as well as crammed into the boot, and every other free piece of space there was in the car, including on my wife's lap as he she held onto the food supplies that were to last until out return on Sunday evening.

The journey took less than an hour. My son had fallen asleep and my daughter only started to moan about her uncomfortable position when we were within reach of our goal. By 15.10 we had booked in at Kelling Heath, and parked at our pitch site.

I think camping sums up life generally; periods of expectation followed by moments of hell interceded with brief fragments of joy, pleasure and  pain, but ultimately a desire to be somewhere else at that given time, preferably by a pool side in some hot, sunny country thousands of miles away.

I experienced hell to start with. I unfolded the tent as a big grey nasty cloud came over the horizon. By this time the front seats of our car were clogged with items we had moved from the boot. When the heavens opened sending down a torrent of water I had no choice, but to stay in the open, and get drenched to the skin. I tried desperately to erect the tent, but next the gods sent a gush of wind so strong the tent decided to take on a new form, as a balloon. It tried to free itself from my clasp so it could disappear over the tree tops, but I fought back with all my strength, and as I bent down to try and hammer in a restraining peg I heard an almighty tearing sound! I looked between my legs and could feel the air on my buttocks (and see them too) as it dawned on me I had a massive hole in my favourite jeans. What made it worse was that other than a pair of shorts, and swimming trunks, they were all I had to wear.

I lost it.

I threw the hammer on the floor and stood there just like Charlton Heston in the film 'The Planet of The Apes' when near the end of it he screams out to humanity while standing under the half buried Statute of Liberty; "what have you done?"

As quick as the cloud appeared it was gone and the sun came out, my shorts went on, and hell disappeared as a small fragment of joy, and pleasure, seeped through me when I stood back, and surveyed the newly erected tent that was to be home for the King family for the next three days. As I wrote at the beginning these are only brief moments until the pain comes, but that story is for Wednesday's blog.

Regards


Mark King

The Long Weekend

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www.the.frenzy.com
www.bookguild.co.uk
twitter@author_king
FRENZY by Mark King
ISBN 9781846248771









By 2pm today my car will be packed, the children will have been picked up early from school, and the family should be on its way to www.kellingheath.co.uk as we are off for a long weekend of camping. I should be excited but my enthusiasm has faded over the last week alongside the deteriorating weather.

I've been on a bit of a downer this week as my mood clouded over as quickly as the grey and blacks that came rolling in with the chilly wind. I couldn't figure out why? My new book Frenzy has reached the top 5% Kindle sellers on www.amazon.co.uk. It's now on sale throughout the world via various web based sites, and it's been getting excellent reviews on sites like www.goodreads.com and others including some on Amazon in America. There have been excellent articles printed about the book in the media at www.massmovement.co.uk and www.icenimagazine.co.uk plus the local media like Paris Life, Thorpe Directory, and the Town Council Magazine. If you type in Frenzy by Mark King into Google search a whole three pages pop up connected to the book so I've started to make my presence felt on the Internet. I've even pushed Mark King from the band Level 42 onto the fourth page, wow.

The closer I got to the weekend the deeper my mood became, and I couldn't figure out why! I should be full of excitement at the prospect of getting away from it all for a whole three days with no T.V, phone, mobile, newspapers, Internet access, laptop, then it hit me! The thought of loosing contact with the wider world is like a smoker giving up the fags or a drinker going on the waggon.

Will I be able to survive or will it be three days of hell? I will let you know on Monday.

Regards

Mark