Midsummer
We went to the big 
yesterday. I had to chose between that and the pick nick with Thamesreach at a cool Elizabethan place, and really, I think I would have rather gone to that one but since the Tigger had had his eyes on midsummer (or Swedish day, as he calls it) for moths I didn't have that much of a choice.
Midsummer in Hyde Park is a very large pick nick with a very small may pole in a corner. It mostly consist of groups of friends in their early 20's. To a passer by it is hard to see the difference between this party and a normal pick nick, that is until people start forming a ring round the may pole and pretend they are small frogs. It must look so odd for the English. Tigger made the comment that it looks like tribal dancing, and I suppose, in a way, it is.
The day didn't get off to a good start. As I woke up the skies were grey and it looked like there was a promise of rain in the air. I disregarded this fact and headed to the kitchen to make the traditional strawberry cake. The recipe called for melting white chocolate into the whipping cream and then whipping it lightly. After 15 minutes using the electrical whisk there was still no difference and I gave up. There wasn't gonna be a cake today. After a bit of moaning about how whipping cream always fails me I decided to pack the sponge cake, the strawberries and the white chocolate cream separate and bring it as it was.
Once at Hyde Park, we found a nice spot to sit down and I started to make the traditional flower wreath for my hair and found that I'd forgotten to bring some string to tie it all together with. Well, the nice organisers had some to spare so I soon got it done. The weather had picked up and the sun was coming out in all it's glory and soon it was getting pretty hot, no rain could be seen at all. The food, a mix of traditional Swedish midsummer food and some normal pick nick food, was nice and at least the first bottle of wine was cold. The "strawberry short cake" turned out to be really nice and in the end we had a nice day in the sun.
I can only hope the guys at Thamesreach had as nice a day as we did.
Though it has to be said, days like these are "the more the merrier" and seeing all the large groups of friends made me think of friends back home having celebrated midsummer the day before and I missed them sorely.
yesterday. I had to chose between that and the pick nick with Thamesreach at a cool Elizabethan place, and really, I think I would have rather gone to that one but since the Tigger had had his eyes on midsummer (or Swedish day, as he calls it) for moths I didn't have that much of a choice.
Midsummer in Hyde Park is a very large pick nick with a very small may pole in a corner. It mostly consist of groups of friends in their early 20's. To a passer by it is hard to see the difference between this party and a normal pick nick, that is until people start forming a ring round the may pole and pretend they are small frogs. It must look so odd for the English. Tigger made the comment that it looks like tribal dancing, and I suppose, in a way, it is.
The day didn't get off to a good start. As I woke up the skies were grey and it looked like there was a promise of rain in the air. I disregarded this fact and headed to the kitchen to make the traditional strawberry cake. The recipe called for melting white chocolate into the whipping cream and then whipping it lightly. After 15 minutes using the electrical whisk there was still no difference and I gave up. There wasn't gonna be a cake today. After a bit of moaning about how whipping cream always fails me I decided to pack the sponge cake, the strawberries and the white chocolate cream separate and bring it as it was.
Once at Hyde Park, we found a nice spot to sit down and I started to make the traditional flower wreath for my hair and found that I'd forgotten to bring some string to tie it all together with. Well, the nice organisers had some to spare so I soon got it done. The weather had picked up and the sun was coming out in all it's glory and soon it was getting pretty hot, no rain could be seen at all. The food, a mix of traditional Swedish midsummer food and some normal pick nick food, was nice and at least the first bottle of wine was cold. The "strawberry short cake" turned out to be really nice and in the end we had a nice day in the sun.
I can only hope the guys at Thamesreach had as nice a day as we did.
Though it has to be said, days like these are "the more the merrier" and seeing all the large groups of friends made me think of friends back home having celebrated midsummer the day before and I missed them sorely.