Sunday, January 9, 2011

The Art and Ettiquette of Picnicking

Last night a few friends and I ventured to the opening night of the Sydney Festival. We were not bothered to cater our evening at the festival but I think if we had put the effort (and smuggled in some wine) in it would have made the experience significantly more enjoyable (and saved us for a very average restaurant. See Miss Feather's review of Giardinetto).

As were were lounging around on our rugs we spent the best part of half an hour speculating about what we would eat as a picnic right then and there. Torture? Probably.



For me it is simple; bread and cheese. Chilli jam essential. A nice fresh, fruit platter and some sparkling wine would also go down a treat. This speculation got me thinking about what can make or break a picnic.


Some notes for a successful a picnic:
Don't rush preparation. Take the time to put in some thought - think about what you are taking food wise and make sure you take the appropriate implements. For example - if you take a loaf of fresh sour dough bread you should probably consider a board and bread knife. A good picnic set will also come in handy.

The more rugs, the better. There is nothing worse than people perching on an edge of a rug with their legs hanging out.

Prepare for the creatures - whether they are flies, ants, mosquitoes or pigeons a good picnic will always come with unwanted guests.

Never underestimate the importancee of plastic bags and napkins.


And as a final note - and potentially the most vital - never, ever, put your foot on someone else's rug. It was crowded at the festival last night and there was bound to be incidents of people catching a corner of a rug as they walked by. This was irritating, but understandable. However, a particularly vexing character (let's call him Francois), after hours of blowing smoke in our face and pushing the edges of our rugs, decided that it was a rug free-for-all and put his unwashed, bare foot right in the centre of my rug. I could not help but freak out when only inches to my right this hairy thing appeared out of nowhere.
It was the ultimate picnic faux pas.

1 comment:

  1. I love the sign. We needed one of those! Dam Francois.

    Also some hommus, crackers, grapes, cut up watermelon, salad in a tub and a variety of cheeses. Hmmm cheese. Ok, anything would have been good. And some smuggled wine would have been a treat! Lets do a proper picnic next time!

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