OH-- WHAT a day I'm having!

Thanks Mags for asking me to post a guest blog on foodie things. Have to say I am a total blog novice but here goes...

The Mole waggled his toes from sheer happiness...
WHAT a day I'm having!' he said.

Hold hard a minute, then!' said the Rat... after a short interval reappeared staggering under
a fat, wicker luncheon-basket.

What's inside it?' asked the Mole, wriggling with curiosity.

'There's cold chicken inside it,' replied the Rat briefly;
'coldtonguecoldhamcoldbeefpickledgherkinssaladfrenchrollscresssandwichespottedmeatgingerbeer
lemonadesodawater----'

'O stop, stop,' cried the Mole in ecstasies: 'This is too much!'

I love picnics of any shape, form, and, for any occasion.

When the children were small and we lived near about half a dozen fantastic beaches we spent summers having picnics everywhere. Sometimes they were the complete deal and others consisted of a packet of bought biscuits and a bottle of juice thrown in to the car at the last moment, but to my mind they all worked.

My friend, Janet T has to be the one person I know who can really make it all happen. She is Ratty! A day out with her involved everyone arriving and bringing their own picnics which we had and had a great day and just when you thought it was all over and time to get tired, exhausted hungry children home, she would throw open her boot and there would be sausages, baps and a bbq. In no time at all we would be having hot dogs and anything left over from the first picnic. It was fantastic, and transformed what would have been a bit of a nightmare trying to take exhausted hungry children home and then cooking tea and getting them to bed into something so much easier on everyone and meant an extra hour outside.

There is something so carefree about a picnic and yet it needs some organization for a really good one; I just love it. My main riverside picnic happened at the end of a lovely holiday in Devon. We were staying with friends, Anita, Gavin, Saiorse and Finbar – the dog - and it was our last day. The weather was beautiful, really hot and we decided to go to a nearby river where you could swim. Can’t remember anything about the food except for a bulghar wheat salad Anita made with mint, lemons, cherry tomatoes and feta.

We had such good healthy food and then lying around in the sunshine with good friends. The boys were playing – I do think everyone behaves better outdoors – so, so nice , I couldn’t bear to leave . Not only was it so, so lovely but it was the last day of our holiday and we had to leave from this idyll to drive up the main road from Devon on a busy, busy road in the hot, hot weather with no one wanting to even get into the car. So I stalled and stalled until finally even I could stall it no longer and we set off. Up the road when we realized we were under pressure time wise and we put the car under more pressure until a tube burst and we missed the boat! Oh boy – total disaster, stuck on the side of a motorway with a car hissing all over the place and 4 children under 8 in the back seat. Thank goodness for Holiday Inns – found one and had a family room and got off the next day. The boys thought it was the best night of their holiday staying in a hotel so all was not lost.

My complete obsession is to have a really proper picnic in a wood with enough space for a table and chairs, a table cloth and proper plates and cutlery. Have to say I’m still working on that one. It just hasn’t happened yet but will do some time. All I need is Ratty!

(Today's post was brought to you by my favourite Cooking Catherine! Thank you! Tomorrow is Wind in the Willows Day so tell us in a comment if you'll be posting about or around Willows and we'll add you to the Blog Roll for us all to visit and enjoy!)