Sunday 26 February 2012

The first picnic of the year


We’ve got a bit of a thing about picnics in our family. My mum was so evangelical about them that we used to picnic in all seasons and in all weathers. From rain-lashed, windswept beaches to sunlit Dorset fields, she chose picnic spots with an expert eye and reckoned that food always tasted better when you ate it outside.

Sometimes she’d unload a wicker hamper, old patchwork tablecloth, china plates and glasses from the back of her bright green 2CV and lay it all out on the grass. Other times she’d manage to stuff a whole picnic into the capacious pockets of her blue InWear coat. My husband still talks about the time, soon after he first met her, when we decided to walk to the beach at the lost village of Tyneham (above). As we sat on the pebbly shore, gazing at the boats tacking back and forth, she promptly produced hot cheese and tomato rolls, seasoned with mustard and wrapped in tin foil, and a flask of coffee for four out of her pockets.

And now, all these years later, my children are just as enthusiastic about picnics as my mum. So when we woke yesterday to discover that the grey skies and freezing temperatures had miraculously disappeared, they suggested an impromptu picnic. We hurriedly assembled a lunch of soup, rolls, cake and coffee and strolled down the road to Oxford’s lovely University Parks.

We walked to the middle of the park, stopping to admire the spring crocuses and snowdrops and passing dog walkers, Lycra-clad runners and parents with babies in prams. We chose a picnic spot near the river and marvelled how even in the middle of a bustling city, you can still be on your own. Then we glanced to our left. On a pitch in the distance, two teams, one sporting pale blue, the other navy blue, were charging around at top speed. Hundreds of cheering spectators seemed to have materialised from nowhere and a little marquee was selling T-shirts and hoodies. We looked again and burst out laughing. I don’t quite know how we’d managed it, but we were right in the middle of the annual Oxford v Cambridge mixed lacrosse varsity match. Did you know such a thing existed? No, me neither.

6 comments:

  1. oh yes - we were picnicking today too! It was so sunny I think some of my freckles have come out! I love that bit about your mum's coat - and those sandwiches sound delicious (I'm earmarking that for my next excursion).

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    1. A picnic in France sounds heavenly, Cari-Jane. And those sandwiches are brilliant - you just make rolls with cheese and tomato, put a little mustard in, wrap them in tin foil and then stick them in the oven for ten mins or so, until the cheese has all melted. They stay hot for ages!

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    2. Yup, def. on my 'to make' list - and perfect for those 'still rather chilly out' kind of picnics.

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    3. Yes, maybe not for picnics in high summer. Let me know what you think though.

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  2. Oh Emma this blog was delightful to read for two reasons...my first car was a 2cv and was my favourite ever. and we were talking about your Mum yesterday. One of my friends was an avid follower of hers when she was a columnist? for the Daily Mail? She cut out an article/piece that Linda wrote about mothers and their children that I now often quote. I think it goes something like this:
    'A mother is only ever as happy as her unhappiest child' It is so true for.

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    1. Hi Sheena. It's so funny that your first car was a 2CV. My first two were as well - the first green, the second blue!And it's lovely to hear that you were talking about my mum. She was brilliant in every way.

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