Tennis court tent society at Mallala

“How was the tent?” was one of the first questions my husband asked me during my time at the Flinders Uni Mallala Field Methods Field School (ARCH 8801).  The question arose because of the minor dilemma I had suffered when deciding whether or not to lug my tent to Malalla from Sydney. The Archaeology Department kindly offered one of the Uni tents to aid my plight and, despite my immediate vision of a 2 man pup tent over used by successive generations of Uni students, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I would be comfortably housed in a brand new 3 man dome tent.  Excellent!  Dilemma over.

Our ‘Tennis Court tent society’ at Mallala  was a delightful conglomerate of shapes and sizes, all forming a temporary society consisting of strangers sleeping next to one another, separated by the merest of thin nylon walls.  One of the largest tents, occupied by gentleman Matt, was a suitably impressive family size tent, allowing the luxury of a full standing position (see picture 1). Gentleman Matt appeared quite proud of his comparatively king-like structure as seen by his Napoléonesque poise for the photo.

Next door to ‘de Palais Matto’ and previously lived in by Jessica, stood the saddest member of the Tennis Court tent society. A pup tent of dubious nature which had been ‘borrowed’ (see picture 2). Not only was this tent the smallest tent on the block but it failed its prime directive; to stay up and provide shelter. The disappointment is obvious on Jessica’s face.

Jessica was able to abandon the premises within a couple of nights of our arrival thanks to the preparedness of Rhiannon. Thankfully, as picture 3 shows, a newer, roomier abode at the other end of the street put a smile on Jessica’s face.

The Tennis Court tent society was not without its famous residents. Temporary refuge was sought by visiting ABC Radio journalist, Ann. Embracing the spirit of BYO ideology, Ann’s imported lodgings brought lightness and colour, as did her very presence, to the tennis court society (with the possible exception of her fashion choices in pull overs)(see picture 4).

Regretfully, the assigned word limit of this blog prevents me from further espousing my thoughts on the  Tennis Court tent society, but special mention must be made of Bob’s true blue, real man swag (picture 5) and, of course, I must assure you that my lodgings, courtesy of Flinders, were extremely comfortable. However this doesn’t stop me from pondering an upgrade next time round. Where did you get your tent from Mick?