Tea...for one

Crawling out of the tent, I saw Art, Rodney and Kenny standing beside the cook tent literally doubled over with laughter.

When asked what was so damn funny, their only response was to laugh even harder.

It was at that point I noticed that our large mesh cook tent had been transformed into a large cook tent frame. This was because a good portion of the mesh, that had once formed the walls of the tent, was either missing entirely, or had a huge gaping hole in it.

Every time I asked for an explanation, they just laughed harder and harder, and it was several minutes before they calmed down enough to sketch out the story.

If you happen to read the instructions CLEARLY printed on the underside of the lid on a Coleman Camp Stove, safety warning number three, unequivocally states that you should NEVER, change the propane cylinder if there is an open flame near by.

Without having read any of the safety warnings, someone attempted to change, what he believed was an empty cylinder on one stove, while our other stove, which had been fired up to brew the morning coffee and fry the breakfast bacon, was no more than six inches away. Once the “dead” cylinder was partially unscrewed, the residual gas hissed out (they never entirely empty out, which explains the reason for safety warning number three), and the flame from the other stove arced over, setting both the cylinder and stove ablaze.

Not realising that the sudden blast of heat had melted away most of the mesh in a matter of seconds, the three Caballeros were all attempting to climb over one another, frantically trying to undo the zipper on the tent door so they could escape, when they could have just as easily stepped out through one of the holes where the walls had once been.

They would have done the Keystone Cops proud.

One brave soul eventually ventured back, and managed to toss the stove and rogue cylinder out onto the sand, which likely prevented our entire stock of propane, and the remaining contents of the tent from going up in flames.

I didn’t ask if he used the door this time around.

After calm had been restored, I asked why they bothered to fire up the second stove. In reply, Art just shook his head, and while casting a sidelong glance in the general direction of where Kenny was standing said:

“All this happened because some asshole wanted a cup of tea.”

Special thanks to Art Ross for remembering this story.