Kitchen Essential

The British were passionate about their picnics in the last century. Most weekends they went off into the countryside in pairs or in groups, but the whole experience could besummed up by “grass in the salad, sand in the butter, wasps in the fruit juice and endless flies”!

Despite these various misfortunes the picnic has remained one of thefavourite ways to get together down through the years.

Not every picnic is a picnic, by the way. A couple of sandwiches by the side of the road have very little to do with the original concept. Nearly one hundred and forty years ago picnics were governed by rules of etiquette, for example regarding the kind of people who should join the party. Chamber’s Journal of 6 June 1857 clearly states: “A picnic group should consist primarily of young men and women, two or three older male persons are permissible if they are very good- natured; a couple of pleasant children and one, but only one, nice old lady whom the company should entrust in advance with supervising organizationof the picnic, if possible, and to whom dictatorial powers have been granted in this regard …”.

Well, the town park isn’t Ascot, and today a picnic can be as different as those who are organising it wish to make it. But perhaps you will discover the charm of an outing in the style of olden days. Gather together whatever you can find in the way of old- fashioned accoutrements and invite your friends to a country gathering, turn-of-the-century style.

What to do:

You’re talking table decorations without a table here, so all your guests can get involved. Ask them to bring part of the provender in the form of old glasses, baskets and terrines.

You can put together the crockery, glassware and cutlery and stow it away in a suitable wicker basket. You don’t need a fully fitted picnic basket for this, or a porcelain dinner service. Decorative, rustic china, which combines easily with other utensils, will be just as useful.

If you wrap each cutlery place settingin a napkin, it will be ready for each guest. You can do this at home and it means you have one less thing to worry about at the beginning of the picnic.

Look round your house, and ask friends for accessories from

Grandma’s era: straw boaters, walking sticks, and song books. The nice thing is that these items are not just decorative, they can also be used.

Tip:

Your imagination will help you decide what you should offer to eat and drink; or an old-fashioned cookery book or even Grandma may help, if she still remembers the recipes for picnic delicacies.

Don’t be afraid to ask around so you can come up with a tasty alternative to sandwiches and quiche.

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