A rather royal picnic

This time last week I was invited to a picnic. A simple request, you may presume, and a lovely one at that.

However, as a result of the HRR (Henley Royal Regatta) Steward’s Enclosure dress code, absolute panic ensued! Now, I wouldn’t consider myself slutty, in fact I can be quite demure on occasions (until I smudge eyeliner/rip dress/move from a seated postion) but I do not own a single item of clothing which falls below my bloody knee! Well apart from trousers. And they’re not allowed either.

A quick scrambling around in my most fashionable of friend’s wardrobe and a suitable vintage dress was discovered, it fell below my knee, and I liked it. The correct length is aided by the fact that said friend is a good 8 inches taller than I am!

Suitably attired I got on with looking forward to the picnic hosted by Uyen and Simon (fernandez&leluu), both of whom I had met at their wonderful supperclub the previous Friday.

The picnic was fabulous, sitting by the river we enjoyed the following:

Tomato and Mozzarella salad, Oysters, the BFG of prawns, copious amounts of Samphire, Donald Russell Salmon, Russian salad, moreish tuna sashimi and a gigantic selection of cheese several of which I thought married perfectly atop a sweet onion Ryvita.

These new varieties of Ryvita were the reason we (myself, Laurafleur, Meemalee, theLondonFoodie, GreedyDiva, SuLin and Fernandez&Leluu) were there, to taste and experiment. Being totally honest, I’m a Ryvita buyer, it’s a brilliant receptacle and vehicle to so many other great things; Hummus, cream cheese, generally all things spreadable…..equally, the new types available are very good. They include Black Pepper, Pumpkin Seed and Oat, Sweet Onion (unanimously the favourite on Saturday) and the Thins.

We also had a lovely dessert of Pears poached in Champagne to which I would lovely the recipe…hint hint!…(Also, Luiz – they are verging on being better than sex!), lemon curd fairy cakes and lots of lush fruit from Broadway Market.

The day was really very enjoyable, lots of Champagne, great food (as is to be expected when Simon and Uyen have a hand in it!), gorgeous Cornishware plates and bowls to eat off (see top photo), outfit spotting and minimal race watching all topped off with a sleepy journey back to London through the countryside. My pictures are pretty rubbish, as usual, so I will just pop a few in to give you a taste for the day!

Thanks again to Uyen, Simon, the girls at WildCard and Ryvita.