There were cucumber sandwiches at Baddesley Clinton

[JoceAndChris]

This forum is so wonderful in bringing together like-minded people and I've been very fortunate to meet quite a number of you now. (the ones I haven't met, beware!)

These pics of my meeting with yamin (Abi) are too good not to share, and Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-baddesleyclinton) is a real gem, very very sweet and not as intimidating (or tiringly large) as some of the grander National Trust properties. It's also lovely for children with its beautiful gardens and lake, coffer full of dressing up clothes, and play priest hole. Abi and I didn't let the fact that we are rather past childhood stop us from enjoying these delights...

First of all there was a picnic. Smoked salmon pate with cucumber, and caesar salad on Abi's delicious home-baked bread, cheese and red onion chutney, date and walnut cake- all home made- twiglets, hard-boiled eggs (Clara's) with garden land-cress, definite 'lashings' of ginger beer, dips and salad and strawberries, and then Abi's delicious flapjack made with Easter eggs stolen from her children. Of course there were wicker hampers and pretty linens.

Then a nosey around the house:

A quick repair of the stone mullion:

Before moving on to the damaged lime-plaster:

A realisation we were inappropriately dressed, so a change into Tudor wenches needed:

before a final tour of the glorious gardens:

What a lovely day it was! As ever,the guides of the house were a bit nonplussed by our minute inspection of the kinds of paints and plasters used (non-breathing), and our learned pronouncements on the unfortunate stripping of the Georgian paint schemes from off the wainscotting!

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Fab pictures Joce. Looks like a lovely day.

Next time I promise to come and play butler for the picnic(I can bring my gramophone too!) That way you won't be forced to drink what appears to be a tin of supermarket brand cola in the top photo! :shock:

I think we should have a caption competition for the picture of Abi with her finger in the ceiling.

Abi: "Joce, quick. Pass me one of the spare boiled eggs! I think I can stop the leak!"
Joce: "Yes, but are eggs breathable?"

 

[Nigel Watts]

Wonderful!

Some description of the house and occupants here:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42646

 

[Schoolmarm]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Excellent thread and pictures. Food looks yummy but needed another two people to do it justice. :lol:

Robin it was ginger beer, as in "lashings ....."

 

[Penners]

Joce and Abi - I know Baddesley Clinton well, having visited it many times with my dear old parents, who live not far away. I agree that it's a particularly lovely garden. All the better for not being manicured with nail scissors, and being on a human scale. I'm so glad that you had a lovely day.

But how dare you keep that picnic all to yourselves? As a venerable, senior member of this august little group, I do think I should have been offered first dibs at joining the lovely laydees - gawd bless 'em.

Needless to say, it's the food that I principally regret missing. :wink:

 

[Penners]

lashings

Ooh-er - Ppukers do get up to some things, don't they?

 

[Nigel Watts]

Any ideas for a picnic supper? I am going to need to prepare one in a little over two weeks.

 

[Penners]

I see this as your sort of standard, Nigel:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Thank you for all the lovely comments! (and the fascinating link on the house's history Nigel)

Selfishly, I wanted Abi all to myself for the first meeting but I promise to share her a bit more next time! The food, as 'Marm says, needed more picnickers and a gramophone with Robin as butler would have been a splendid addition.

I'll have a think about Nigel's picnic menu, but I like old-fashioned English staples like a really good, freshly baked ham studded with cloves, a hearty cold pie, a peas-pudding, salads.

Copying Benson's Lucia, "Lobster a la Islington" would be a refreshing addition (and you can make up the Islington bit)

This website has lots of interesting ideas:

http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=picnic&section_search_select=%2Ftools%2Fsearchresults

 

[Nigel Watts]

We will be eating the picnic in the interval of a production of Macbeth. Toad and newt stew, then roast bat perhaps?

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: Will there be children there?

A scary picnic then!

Witches' fingers (cheese straws)
Devilled frogs' legs
Tea marbled eggs in soy balsamic mayonnaise (they look like eyeballs) http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tea-Marbled-Eggs-with-Soy-Balsamic-Mayonnaise-107961
Gingerbread ghosts
Caviar moons http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caviar-Moons-104375
Owlet's wing (chicken wings)

We did this for a Halloween party, it was fab. The best thing was the graveyard cake in the middle of the table, the chocolate cake was covered in grass (desiccated coconut dyed green) and I iced Nice biscuits to look like gravestones, piped R.I.P. on them and invited my guests to write on the initials on their enemies! Little bones were scattered all over.

For Macbeth you'd have to do Burnham Wood coming to Dunsinane, you could make the trees out of chocolate flakes with puffy white marshmallows stuck on top (paint green with food colouring)

Oh and if you need any root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark or slips of yew as table decorations I could post you some- plenty in the garden.

 

[Nigel Watts]

Great ideas. It's Verdi's operatic rendition of the Scottish Play at Glyndebourne. No kids and we are going with a couple we dont know all that well.

 

[Moo]

The first time we went to Glyndebourne we came out at the interval to find it was teeming with rain. We ate our picnic in the car - only the ice-bucket stayed outside.
Mind you, some hardy souls carried on regardless, under a canopy of large brollies wedged in the lower branches of a large tree. Very British.
So perhaps Joss's idea of a glamourous gazebo would really be quite practical.

 

[yamin]

Out all day and just returned to this delightful thread! It was a super day out with Joce - we had such a giggle and managed to fit in some retail therapy, an excellent picnic AND some period property porn too. The weather was kind, Joce was (is!) great company and if this is what PPUKers are like, then I reckon we need to have a regular convention, like Terrys TOGs!! We could build it around exquisite picnic fare -

Our starter for 10

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7956912//

Some ideas there for you too Nigel. Penners, Joce and I would have loved you there, but as we hold you in such esteem and statesman status, we dared not open our silly little girly mouths to invite you (plus, waitrose were all out of Scotch eggs, an omission I'm sure Mrs P would allow to happen) :lol:

Anyway, a couple of pics from meView attachment 2

 

[yamin]

Not sure why they came out so small!

Anyway, speaking of outdoor performances - we saw The Hound of the Baskervilles at Hanbury Hall and just as it began the heaven's opened and it lashed down for the whole performance! Top marks to the troupe who carried on regardless, wiht an entirely apt and very amusing humour, given the unignorable precipitation. And top marks to the half of audience (including us, under a network of free drug rep golf umbrellas (knew there was a reason for doing that job!!)) who stayed the course as well!

 

[Penners]

Joss's idea of a glamourous gazebo

Ahem....

 

[Moo]

Oh dear. Mea culpa.

I bow my head in shame.


Sorry Joce and Joss.



Sorry, Penners.

 

[Penners]

Please, Moo. Shame is entirely un-necessary.





Mild contrition would do.

 

[Schoolmarm]

I thought it was the spelling of "glamorous" that was being discussed. :lol:

 

[FamilyWiggs]

I thought it was the spelling of "glamorous" that was being discussed. :lol:

Anyone else would have picked that up 'Marm, but Penners is renowned for his laissez-faire approach to matters of correctness. :wink: