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Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Lady Glenconner's Picnic Papers - Butlers and avocado soup: how the posh picnic
Lady Glenconner's Picnic Papers by Anne Glenconner (Bedford Square £10.99, 304pp) You might expect a picnic with a princess to be a glittering affair where you wash down caviar sandwiches with glass after glass of champagne, all in the shade of some great palace. However, if your royal hostess was Princess Margaret, you were more likely to find yourself wincing as you politely tried to swallow her picnic favourite: avocado soup. Lady Glenconner, former lady in waiting to the princess and self-described 'dedicated picnicker', has compiled this delightful book celebrating the very British obsession with picnicking. The contributors, all friends stretching from royalty to TV stars, each share a picnic tale, and the occasional recipe to add to Lady Glenconner's hamper. Lady Glenconner's life, as revealed in her fabulous memoir Lady In Waiting, has been stuffed with enough glamour, grandeur and tragedy to rival even the most dramatic episode of Downton Abbey. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that she has collected such an extraordinary list of friends in her 92 years. Most of the picnicdotes are a far cry from the rest of us eating pork pies and drinking warm prosecco in one's local park. Colin Tennant, husband of Lady Glenconner, also shared his wife's fanaticism for al fresco dining. Once at Glen (their Scottish country estate) he arranged a picnic at the loch for his eccentric uncle, Stephan Tennant, who thought the colour of heather vulgar. The only solution for such a problem was, of course, to organise hundreds of blue paper flowers to be stuck on the hill to mask the offending purple. 'So much better, darling boy' was the thanks from his uncle. Princess Margaret wouldn't picnic without her butler and, even then, thought that a proper picnic should be eaten indoors while seated at a chair. I would have thought this was called 'eating a meal' but who am I to question her royal highness? Peculiar tastes are rife in the upper echelons and Lady Glenconner shows that the greatest way to understand the eccentricities of the upper class is by glimpsing into their hampers. A staple feature of picnics provided by Princess Margaret's friend Angela Huth? Strawberry and chicken soup. No thanks! However, it's not just titled folk who share their picnic secrets with us. Graham Norton reveals that he too remembers picnics as an indoors affair, albeit sat in a car in Ireland rather than the Banqueting House of Hampton Court. His father would say all that was needed was a patch of blue sky 'big enough for a pair of sailor's trousers' and if you could see at least one tree, your meal would be transformed into a picnic. There are tips on picnicking while airborne, what to do when eating with a maharajah and how to wash up your dishes (all good picnics are served on china plates) if you find yourself stuck in the Sahara. From Hampton Court to the Himalayas and from Mick Jagger to Winston Churchill, this book is a movable feast of delightful anecdotes. If you want to discover what the great and the good are like at their most relaxed, then look no further than the Picnic Papers. Essential for every picnic hamper this summer.
Edinburgh Reporter
5 days ago
- Climate
- Edinburgh Reporter
Delayed start to coastal rowing event
Skiffieworlds, the world championships of St Ayles class of coastal rowing, was due to get underway in Stranraer on Tuesday after strong winds caused the beginning of the international event to be delayed by 24 hours. Some 200 rowers from 79 clubs had signed up for the event including the likes of Eskmuthe from Fisherrow and Portobello's Eastern Rowing Club. Others travelled from much further afield, notably Australia. However, organisers had little alternative but to call a halt as a northerly wind blew directly down the eight miles of Loch Ryan making it difficult for the St Ayles coastal rowing boats to launch off the beach. Topher Dawson of Scottish Coastal Rowing, one of the Chief Umpires of SkiffieWorlds 2025, said: 'We are obviously very disappointed to miss scheduled racing, but safety comes first and we are rescheduling all the categories of racing across the rest of the week when the weather forecast is excellent. 'This is the biggest ever skiff event, and due to the size of it, rearranging the schedule is like a gigantic three dimensional jigsaw puzzle so that people don't have to race too many times in one day. 'Accepting that the weather is unpredictable is part of coastal rowing, and you just have to take it as it comes.' Stranraer is hosting the largest gathering of St Ayles coastal rowing boats in history, with a record-breaking 79 clubs competing. The coastal rowing event takes place from 6-12 July with 2,000 rowers competing with teams travelling from as far as Australia, USA, Canada, and South Africa, alongside several teams from the Netherlands and a strong contingent from across the UK and Ireland. Follow the action as and when it happens here on the Facebook page. Photo Colin Tennant Photo Colin Tennant Like this: Like Related
