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Although introduced by the landed gentry in Victorian England, picnics are now enjoyed by almost every social sector, with the possible exception of prison inmates, agoraphobics, people with chronic hay fever and some hermits.
While purpose-designed picnic hampers are readily available, it’s equally practical and much less expensive to pack all your food and necessary accoutrements in a sturdy tea chest or, for parties of more than six, a large shipping container –either of which can be easily transported by a few children or pack animals as long as you’re traveling no more than 100 miles (160.9 km).
The choice of picnic locations is virtually endless, including clifftop ledges (spectacular views but seagulls can be a problem), forest glades (beautifully secluded but ramblers can be a problem), sweeping hillside meadows (idyllically peaceful but combine harvesters can be a problem) and Brighton’s new Amex stadium (extremely comfortable grass but Seagulls can be a problem).
Ideally, picnic food should be kept as simple as possible and in most cases, a gross of pork pies, a large bucket of pickled eggs, a skip of wine or beer and a Jaffa Cake should suffice. For post-prandial entertainment, fairground rides, a hot air balloon, double-barrelled shotguns and a bouncy castle will keep young and old happy and content for hours.