Picnics have long been a part of summer. It is hard to disagree with W. Somerset Maugham’s view that “There are few things so pleasant as a picnic lunch. Even if ants and wasps occasionally join the fun, picnics are the very epitome of innocent pastoral delight.”
This past summer many families able to get together outside, shared picnics in parks, by the river or lake, out in the woods and countryside, or at home on their deck. Picnics have been developing since they first moved from indoor feasts in the 1600’s to outdoors in the 1800’s.
One of my most memorable picnics was in Stratford overlooking the River Avon and watching the swans. We had been invited by friends as their guests to an afternoon matinee. We graciously accepted and offered to supply the picnic lunch.
My friend told me that her sister and husband (known for their snooty attitude) would be joining us. We were warned they would bring and provide their own menu as ours would surely not live up to their exacting standards.
Apart from a false attitude of being superior to us and better than most, the sister had frequently “put down” my friend, nagging her about her public image, making fun of her dress sense . This picnic seemed an ideal opportunity for us to have a bit of fun at her expense.
We carefully made a delicious lunch, which we kept hidden. As we set up our table the sister and husband sat at an adjacent one. Out came the fancy trimmings; a starched white table cloth, matching napkins, cut glass wine goblets, silver cutlery, a silver cruet set, and they laid an elegant table. Meanwhile I pulled out a large can of baked beans, a can opener and four plastic forks handing out one each of us. “Just dig in, help yourselves.”
The snooty couple were incensed by our behaviour, they immediately moved further away having no wish to be associated with such low class people. We laughingly put away our beans, and produced our elegant lunch. For dessert we had made trifles in attractive melamine parfait dishes.
When shopping the evening before for a can of Ready Whip cream to garnish the trifles, we noted the Old Spice Cans of shaving cream were the same size which gave us an idea. We bought both, once home we carefully removed the shaving soap label and pasted it over the Ready Whip label.
As we served the dessert we took a couple of trifles over to the husband and sister’s table. Holding up the disguised Ready Whip we asked if they would like some.
Their horrified look was even greater when we joked “It’s just the same stuff as the cream, but without sugar so it’s better for you.“ Not surprisingly they declined the topping. We proceeded to decorate our own trifles and ate them with relish. As they watched us eat what they thought was the shaving cream, which we had obviously enjoyed we laughed and removed the Old Spice Label revealing the Ready Whip one underneath. They slowly came to realize that we had been having fun, but they were not amused. However, our dear friends loved every minute and could not stop laughing.
I wonder sometimes how mean this was, but it did no physical harm. Usually when someone has airs of superiority it is to cover fear of their own shortcomings. We did hear that the couple became a little less critical of our friend. If our joke in any way influenced this, we achieved our objective. It was the result for which we had hoped.
Most of our more recent picnics, prior to the pandemic have been during our road trips. We would pull off at lunch time at one of the many Rest stops located on all the Interstates in the U.S. They are very attractively landscaped with trees and flowers, clean washrooms, picnic tables, many with fully staffed information desks, state maps and trash bins which were not overflowing. I was very impressed with the cleanliness the spaciousness, and lack of crowding.
We do not do as well in Canada with our busy En Routes, filled with numerous fast food kiosks. When traveling in Ontario we try to find a less crowded choice spots to picnic as our rest stops are like Zoo’s, but the washrooms are often welcome!
During COVID we’ve had picnic lunches on our back deck, as well as wine and cheese with a few fully vaccinated friends.
To me laughter, fun and enjoyment of life are necessary to overcome difficulties. They help me maintain a positive attitude. Small celebrations as often as possible are important to me. So go out and enjoy a picnic before the cold season sets in, even if only in your own garden or on the deck. Picnics of all styles are fun and certainly gained in popularity this year, with or without Old Spice shaving soap.
