I’m not going to lie, this is going to be a very emotionally charged blog with some colourful language. If you are easily offended please don’t read any further…..

My quest for more independence has started off very rocky indeed.

I’m honestly feeling like someone’s having a laugh throwing things in my way, like the Trueman show with Jim Carey , just to see how I respond to situations.

I’m writing this listening to Don’t Cry – Guns and Roses (Well it was on when i started writing) . I actually want that song played at my funeral . Not to be morbid but for everyone to remember good times. I try my best in situations to always take the positive and not dwell on the negatives but sometimes……

So it was a very last minute camping trip as it was my daughter’s 18th birthday Party and we are skint.

We scraped the pennies together and booked our favourite place Haven Lakeland.

Before i go any further I have to say that everything that has gone wrong has nothing to do with the site ( apart from the dickheads that must have misread and thought their tent was sound proof as well as waterproof as they partied, argued etc til gone 3 most mornings ) You always get them . Haven Lakeland is still fab and they are improving, modernising facilities all the time. I 100% recommend it to everyone.

So hubby drove us up on Wednesday . Set the tent up and got all the sleeping gear out etc . He then left us to it. He has to work still and he hates camping and bitches and moans all the time about how miserable he is and everyone knows about it so everyone becomes miserable.

Annabelle is nearly 15 then I have Sam 12 Theo 9 Denzel 7 . They know they have to help me and they have been bloody amazing.

The one with the stripey top is a member of staff we met from last year . She doesn’t work here anymore but came to go swimming with the kids because they needed an adult.😁

So Wednesday afternoon I noticed the middle tube on our 8 man tent getting floppy, it was deflating. We (Sam) checked the valve , repumped but it went floppy again☹

Tried contacting Gelert for support regarding spare parts but no response from them .

We thought we’d best try repairing it . We got some gaffe tape from the lovely warden. We found that the valve had small fractures around it. The tape didn’t stop it but it slowed it.

The rain started and it leaked through the tent too. The tent isn’t even that old. I bought it from sports direct it’s a gelert bala 8. It’s an air tent and was bought to make camping easier but it seems that the quality is rubbish.

We get to Saturday and the the zip to close the door on the tent is now broken and I’m actually thinking that it’s a bad dream .

Tuesday 10th April

So we got home …… my whole body aching from having to use my manual wheelchair with the kids and me all taking turns with the pushing.

My Legs are still shaking from being cold for days

The kids don’t seem to feel it the same and that’s all that matters is that they had a good time.

I have learnt to smile even though I often feel like crying . Oh i felt like crying everyday this camping trip. I’ve become an expert this last 7 years. Hence the title of the blog ‘don’t cry’.

Put a mask on for the sake of those you love dearly. It’s not fair that they suffer because you are. It takes a lot of energy but I love them.

Every day that I’m breathing I’ll keep trying to get involved as much as i can .

People often say to people who are disabled or have a chronic illness, you look well etc but that’s because we have some makeup and a smile on our faces. Oh and we got dressed lol.

On reflection my kids had a great time

That’s all that matters. I will recover. Hopefully Gelert will repair our tent and we can plan our next one 👍

I don’t want my kids to cry over me just remember GOOD times and we are going to have plenty still.

*excuse grammar spelling so tired

UPDATE 2ND JUNE

So after several messages, tweets, Facebook posts Gelert finally got back to me about a replacement tube for my tent which has only been used a handful of times and was just out of warranty. Gelert only responded once via this email then nothing.

I have ALWAYS expected more than 12 months out of a tent and I also think that a tent should be build to withstand elements etc and bloody last more than 4 trips before falling apart. I tried asking and asking for the manufacturer of the tent but GELERT won’t provide that .

The problem was the actual valve where you blow the tube up it fractured almost and the others look like they are showing signs of doing the same.

I have been asking and asking Gelert about purchasing replacement tubes as the tent is supposed to make our lives easier and last us for years to come . I can’t afford a new one. The Gelert bala air tent range haven’t been out that long either .

This was the message I recieved…….

The family tent I invested in to make our lives easier is now turning out to be a heap of rubbish and the customer service from Gelert is appalling.

SO MY ADVICE TO YOU ALL IS TO THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU BUY A GELERT TENT AS THEY PROBABLY WONT HAVE THE SPARE PARTS AND THE TENTS AREN’T LASTING MORE THAN 4 TRIPS . I HAVE ALWAYS BOUGHT GELERT AND THOUGHT IT WAS A BRAND TO BE TRUSTED ……HOW WRONG WAS I .

Joanne Quinnell