For the Seventies generation, camping means hiking across mountain tops, struggling against wind and dreaming all the while of three days hence and the next bath.

Modern "camping", however, involves cruising down the autoroute to a sunny part of France, transporting your suitcases from the car to one of the several rooms before heading straight for the swimming pool with its conveniently-located bar and showers. But suppose a cruel and uncaring God were to deny an Irish family their right to in-tent electricity. No hairdryer, no iron, no television, no way to recharge the phone or even the laptop. They would be at the mercy of the elements. Unless, of course, they had the Power Inverter. This device clips on to any car battery, and converts its 15-volt DC current into the 230 AC volts required to run domestic appliances. It delivers to every camping family access to the basics civilisation; like curling tongs and other essentials. Power Inverter, £99 (€126), is available from O'Meara Camping Centres in Dublin, tel (01) 670-8639, and Limerick, tel (061) 326233.

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