Summer's gift *

* in blogspeak it's a giveaway, but I like to think of it as a just-because-it's-summer gift

Windy Day Car Picnic

May 2009

You might have noticed if you've been in this space recently that I've had picnics on my mind? Oh, I do love a picnic! And it seems that many of you share this love and have some great ideas for me to include in my forthcoming big event. Thank you so, so much for sharing them with me! From the very whimsical to the ultra practical, I love them all. I'm definitely going to incorporate them and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.... Fingers crossed for sunshine please!

Although not a requirement for a great picnic, sunny weather does add a certain something and for that reason alone, I do love summer - even a relatively feeble one. Long days, occasionally sunny skies, less than 6 layers of clothing required to keep warm... love it! Worth celebrating. (Sorry UK. You have many fine and loveable qualities. However, summer is not one of your strengths. But still I like it more than your long, long, cold, dark, long, long winters, so thank you for trying.) 

If you've been coming to visit here for a while, you'll also know how much I love a giveaway. So much that I'd have one a week if I could. Seriously. Not much room here for anything else if I do that though. So I've been patiently (okay, not very patiently) waiting for the next season to officially arrive before indulging myself again. One a season seems reasonable? And here we are, at last, in summer, and I've had my first visit to the seaside for the year... so I think it's time.

I was thinking last weekend (as I shivered in the car, despite the glorious unforecast sunshine, sipping flask-tasting tea to thaw my marrow) about what instantly conjures summer for me, even when days are cold and not really very summery. I mean, the spirit of summer... what embodies it? It's not just about the sunshine, is it? I think, as is often the case for me, it's smells that most directly and immediately connect me to a summer feeling. These are some of my favourites:

~ Sea air. Err, no surprises there I'm sure! No matter what the actual season, the clean, ozonic smell of the sea takes me instantly to long, carefree days spent walking on a summer beach. Especially if combined with a subtle blend of vanilla and frangipani, or honeysuckle.

~ Summer sun-dried linen. There are few things more delicious than getting into a bed fresh with the smell of fine cotton sheets and pillowcases that have been dried by the sun. Bliss.

~ Woodsmoke. Reminiscent of barbecues and bonfires under the stars on summer camping trips, this is a smell that also transports me to warmer days, even if it's dark and snowing and the fire is actually in a cosy hearth. The strongest association for me is still with summer.

~ Watermelon. Love the flavour but it's the smell that triggers summer in my soul. And also Christmas. Yep, it's true. The smell of watermelon to me is the smell of Christmas. Growing up in the southern hemisphere we would decorate our tree with blobs of cotton wool to make it look like snow (that never fell, even in Winter) but we'd be floating a watermelon in an ice bath or a swimming pool or a river to keep it cool, because outside it was scorching. No summer picnic or Christmas Day for me is truly complete without a bit of watermelon.

So what about these picnics then? What makes for a great picnic?

Although it's true that the setting and the food and the smell of outdoors all contribute, what really makes a picnic memorable for me (as is true for most occasions) is who I am sharing it with. Even bad food tastes better if the company is good!

I've enjoyed big crowds, small groups, cosy twosomes and even picnics alone. And I recently enjoyed my first imaginary picnic in the blogoshpere, with a lovely friend (who isn't imaginary). What fun. 

I think I'm going to host a virtual Midsummer's picnic here in June and you'll all be invited, so get those picnic baskets ready...

But who would I invite if all my friends and family were unavailable (it has been known to happen) but everyone else on the planet had no better plans than to meet and share a picnic basket with me? My fantasy/celebrity picnic guest list? Hmmm.... Let's see.... For today at least, it would include:

~ Nelson Mandela - always first on any dream guest list I create and I reckon he'd enjoy a picnic, don't you? What great stories he could tell, with wisdom and humour, and he is apparently an irrepressible flirt. A little harmless flirting adds to a great picnic experience I feel.

~ Stephen Fry - always good to have at least one extremely large and witty brain in the mix and he makes language sing in even the most ordinary of conversations. It'd be lovely to just sit back and listen to him and Madiba chat.

~ James McAvoy - oh no, wait... he has a prior engagement in Virginia, you say? That's a shame 'cause a slightly shy but incredibly talented actor with a Scottish accent would be a good addition but, never mind, I'll invite him next time. 

~ Hugh Jackman - easy on the eye and the ear. Yes, yes, this is one of those superficial and gratuitous just-because-he's-gorgeous additions to the list. I think at least one of those is allowed? Before he hit the big-time, I remember seeing Hugh Jackman in an Australian movie called Paperback Hero and, although not a great movie, he had a certain twinkle that stuck with me. I most recently saw him again in Australia, and I have to say that for me he has that slightly-rough-but-cleans-up-nicely-too appeal. And it's apparently improving with age.

~ Baz Luhrmann - thinking of Hugh and Australia, just reminded me... Baz Luhrmann's movies tend to divide crowds down the middle, like Marmite or marzipan. People either seem to love what he does or hate it. Very few seem entirely indifferent. Or at least this is true of those I've polled. I love it. Romeo+Juliet, Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge are some of my favourite movies, and now I'd add Australia to that list. Very self-concious and highly stylised but I enjoy that about them, because he does it so well. The homage to genre and attention to detail is inspirational. And I'd love to have the opportunity to speak to him. So Baz'd be on the list. (I also love Marmite and marzipan. Although not together.)

Jeesh, my list is growing and I haven't even started on all the women I'd like to add. Jane Goodall, Keri Hulme, Helen Mirren, Michelle Obama... 

Okay, I'll rein myself in. I'm in ramble mode now. And you're probably wondering about the giveaway?

Well, here's the plan... 

Between now and next Friday, the 15th of May, please leave a comment telling me:

~ What instantly conjures summer for you? A smell, a flavour, some music, a favourite dress, barefeet... Whatever it is, I'd love you to share it with me.

~ What's your perfect picnic experience? Whether it's a memory, a regular occurrence, or still on your picnic wishlist... what's on the menu and where is it set?

~ And finally, who would be on your fantasy picnic guestlist? It can be as long or as short a list as you like.

In the usual way, I'll draw a name randomly from my imaginary hat - probably a straw sunhat this time - on May 16th, and the winner will receive a little personalised picnic-related gift from me in the post.

I do hope you'll play...

And I wish you a very happy Friday!

♥