Fireflies And Fizz
I adore a good picnic but what constitutes a good one?
Well they’ve been around for years, centuries actually I am sure the Romans had picnics all over the place when found time to stop and take a break from marauding Europe and then of course in Regency times we had Jane Austin and all her famous picnics where the supposed heroine is soundly rebuked by the swoon-worthy Lord of the Manor.
Well really there are no rules to picnics although they’re typically al fresco and away from one’s own abode. However who’s to say having a picnic in the comfort of your own drawing room is against the rules? It so isn’t, but really where’s the fun in that when you could be clambering up hill and down dale to reach the desired location all with ten tones of picnic basket, vino, chairs, table and of course the prerequisite candelabra.
Because yes sweethearts, all good picnics begin with a candelabra. I absolutely adore these terribly unfashionable pieces, why because even if you’re sitting there eating something ghastly like spam sandwiches, a fabulous candelabra will make you feel like you’re eating caviar. By starting with the candelabra and working downwards from there your picnic should take on new meaning.
You see with a candelabra you don’t need flowers, you don’t need lights, you don’t even need a table! Because sitting there on the grass or sand with your chicken leg clutched in your mitt gazing at your other guests around the elegant arms of your candelabra takes the whole event to another level. There is a feeling of refinement, of extravagance, of eccentricity certainly and more than a touch of giddiness that yes we had our picnic around the candelabra. And even when Piers manages to spill his lobster roll down his shirt and Margery steps backwards into the strawberries it really doesn’t matter because we are all illuminated by a sophisticated and timeless light.
There is that juxtaposition of communing with nature, of looking at the magic of fireflies, of hearing the waves rolling onto the shore, of swatting the mossies versus the total excessiveness of your candelabra that should really be residing on an eighteen seat dining table in the great hall.
From a purely practical perspective, they are brilliant! First off you will have the best light around, secondly you don’t need a table because that would be too over the top and thirdly everyone will be jealous of how sophisticated your picnic looks. All by just one single 16-24 inch item. Plus an added bonus if you’re meeting friends say at an event, there will be no need for flag staking, hankerchief waving or worse yet those nasty 90s colour blocked rugby shirts that Tarquin thinks are ironic. No you can just say “chaps, we’ll be the party with the candelabra” – enough said.
One other thing at a picnic that’s really a must have of course is some champoo, champers, bubbly, fizz – whatever your choice of nickname, preferably with a silver icebucket.
So forget all the picnic chairs, the hamper, the blankets, the citronella pots all the usual paraphernalia – grab your candelabra, your silver icebucket, hand out the bottles of fizz to seven of your nearest and dearest and off you toddle to your picnic, rest assured all will be jolly!
Look Gorgeous, Feel Fabulous - Sophie