Something that makes me indescribably happy is a picnic. My childhood was filled with them - simple, carefree meals in luscious gardens, riverine valleys, roadside fields, ancient forests, red sand deserts.... One of my very earliest memories is of my Nana with a tea towel spread across her knees, peeling an apple for me as we watched the sunset gathering of impala, giraffe and zebra at a watering hole. I can smell that air and taste that apple still.
I celebrated my coming of age with a luxurious Edwardian champagne & strawberries affair alongside a mountain lake; discovered love over bread, cheese and philosophy shared on a beach; listened to symphonies soar with friends and family against a backdrop of magical mountains and the flavour of roasted bell-pepper and avocado salad; watched stars shoot through the Milky Way with the taste of toasted marshmallows on my tongue and the scent of cherry orchards in the air; snuggled in a sleeping bag under trees that smelt of resin, wearing every article of clothing I had with me against the cold, and shared a sandwich with a stranger....
So many lovely picnics across the landscape of my life. And I look forward to many more. There's something about the act of such casual yet intimate sharing of food and drink in the open air that makes everything delicious, conversation flow, and hearts open wide. Even when being outdoors is not an option, a carpet picnic with friends is one of my favourite ways to entertain.
In fulfillment of my role as bridesmaid/matron-of-honour later this year I am, along with three others, planning the 'hen do', which will take place in June. There will be about 25 of us and we're going to Stratford-upon-Avon for the day. We'll spend the afternoon cruising up the river Avon, have a riverside or boat picnic (depending on the weather) before heading back into town to glam up, enjoy one of Shakespeare's finest at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and then on to a late dinner and dancing. It should be fun. We've divided the day's events up between us and I'm on picnic-planning duty.
So this weekend I started to formulate my vision. Relaxed, romantic, fresh and fun is what I'm thinking. And for some reason, although I'm not usually a huge fan of them, polka dots and checks in red and white came to mind.
I've never organised a picnic quite like this. I'm excited and delighted. I want to make it special. I'm also nervous of getting it wrong. This is a situation that has so many traditions attached and I would hate to flout convention (which is how I would normally roll) and disappoint expectations.
It needs to be the perfect picnic.
And so I'm open to suggestions. Wide open....
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17 comments:
oh, the beautiful picnic. you've had some lovelies!
I made a picnic mosaic last week...it must be in the air. how about we both plan one for this coming weekend?
What a lovely idea! Love your picnic feel of your pictures too.
I know it will be a fantastic, memorable occasion!
I do did have a granny who peeled the apple above a tea towel spread across her knees. Just my scenery was between the grasslands and the cows.
Hope you have a wondeful picknick. Just put your heart into it and you'll be fine. Great mosaic I just wanna dive into the strawberries. Hmmmm....
Hi Kendalee,
I am with you on the picnic as a great thing! As soon as the sun comes out I just want to get out there with a basket and a flask(as it is still a bit nippy!) I love the idea of a carpet picnic. Your picnic memories are so evocative. As for suggestions-I like Barefoot from Heaven's suggestion! Every year we have a big family and friends picnic in Greenwich park for Andy's birthday and another yearly one in Brighton for a friend's birthday. We all take food and share, there is always too much, I always make something unsuitable for a picnic! It is all haphazard and fun and the guests make it a lovely day.
I love 'intermet'! I shall use that! Glad you are pleased!
Sarah :)
the anticipation...the polka dots...the sunshine
you can do this so well i know!
...
elk
This is such a great post, especially the first two paragraphs which are just overflowing with sensory based memories. I really, really like this!!!!
Oh, love your memories! Reading yours, so many came bursting back to me...
-picnics on our beach biting into sand,
-out in our orchard under the apple trees,
-up in the mountains with my family, then boyfriend, then husband
-and the most elegant of all - my mom's gourmet picnics on Hood Canal at the Philadelphia String Quartet's summer playhouse - a barn.
The last sounds so like your planned event - what a perfect day! If you want, when I get back from Art & Soul, I will send you some of my favorites of my mom's recipes...
oh this sounds delightful! and i thoroughly understand the slight bit of nerves about flouting convention, simply because i'm inept and clumsy when it comes to doing things the way they should be done - so, from someone on the other side of the convention fence, may i recommend taking along more than a few bottles of wine - that will ensure that everyone has a good time, and if something does slip, well, then, no one will remember.
gorgeous photos, too - especially the last one!
Stratford-upon-Avon? Riverside? Sounds wonderful. I had a caravaning holiday there with friends 11 years ago, and it was just glorious :)
YES! Picnics are essential to one's happiness. Which makes me realize I have yet to have one over here in the US. We used to have lots of them when I lived in London and Bath, my favorite ones were on Richmond Green, along the River Thames and during a Van Morrison concert at Leeds Castle. And what a fun job to be planning one for the hen day! Can't think of a better person than you because I am sure you will sprinkle it with lots of creativity. As for me, apart from good wine, I love those slim cans of Pimms for picnics. And one of my favorite finger foods are cheese cubes and grapes on toothpicks, easy to make and very tasty. And some music if the environment allows it. Oh yes, and tealight candles in glasses if your picnic lasts into the night. And for an occasion like this perhaps fresh flowers in old glass jars might be nice. Pillows in old pillow cases (everyone has at least a few of those) maybe somehow decorated for the occasion? Mmm, maybe I am getting carried away. A picnic, to me, is all about comfort, atmosphere, good food, wine & company. Have fun with the planning xo
What a fantastic idea! Here is my idea - I think that some festive fabric bunting in the same polka-dotty and gingham colours will look divine! Tied between trees, fluttering in the wind ... Easy to make, light to carry, re-usable ... But whatever you decide to do, I know you will do it divine, dear kendalee!(PS I remember one very particular picnic, on the grass at the back of a house in London a couple of years ago, with some lovely friends (all of whom I thought I might never see again) ... drinking Pimms ... I can still taste it ... it is one of my best memories of my London trip!)
This is honestly my favourite post that you have ever written. I am there alongside you in every picnic that you have described!
How about using vintage umbrellas to serve the food in?
I too will be doing the matron of honour duty later this year and I too planned a picnic for a late Nov afternoon. As more ideas pop into my head, I will mail them through. Please send your ideas through.
sounds so lovely...I always enjoy reading your sweet memories! Continue to enjoy all our senses darling... ~XO*
I just savored this post. The photos...that red...your description of picnics...beautiful. I was right there.
wow...i do believe you may have made me long for some picnic memories of my own!
and red! sheesh, totally not my color, until today!
it all sounds so lovely!
What an inspiring post!
My last picnic was on a Northumberland beach with my grandson and daughter last year. I've yet to have a picnic in Sweden.
I love the idea of red and polka dots and checks.
I reckon that anything you organise would be just perfect, you have the knack for such things.
As always, your mosaic and your words are beautifully evocative. They conjure pure picnic perfection! I can almost smell the verdant grass and feel it between my toes.
My only (rather mundane) picnic tip is that if you're picnicking sans coolbox/cooler bag (although a staple of the Southern Hemisphere I haven't yet acquired one, even after 12 years of living - and picnicking - in the Northern Hemisphere!) then I find it's a good idea to pop all the beverages that should be served cold into the freezer for a while before heading out to your picnic. Get them REALLY cold (almost, but not quite, frozen), and that way they're at a perfect chilled temperature when you come to drink them later. I find warm beverages, when they would be best enjoyed super-chilled, can put a bit of a dampener on a perfect picnic :)
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