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ROGER
& FRANS PAGES |
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The picnic event started when our children were small and we wanted to have a party, but they couldn't stay up late and we couldn't afford it - so we invited all our friends to a picnic instead. That was over thirty five years ago and it has snowballed. 2007 is the twenty-sixth year since we officially started inviting "anybody". Each year now we select a place and a date - send out invites and wait to see who arrives. The basic RULES OF THE PICNIC are set out that the bottom of this page.
THE ANNUAL PICNIC
5th AUGUST 2007 RUNNYMEDE
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The Picnic Cake |
The 2007 picnic was
a great success, the weather was glorious and we had the second best
turnout in twenty six years of picnicking - we counted 95 humans, most
of whom remembered to sign the new visitors book (the old one having
been filled up). Here are most of them posing under the clear blue
Berkshire skies. First to turn up were Sally & Jono, who arrived about 9am. This wasn't really a sign of fervent queuing, but Jono thought he might usefully get in three hours fishing before the picnic. Sadly the River Thames was still very swollen and fast, so he caught nothing. Fran & I were next at about a quarter to eleven - the picnic starts officially at midday so we like make sure we're all set up by then. The first official arrivals were Peter & June quickly followed by Eric & Victoria with Vickie's friends Ben & Danny; then came Alan Byram and Maree, Alex, Emma-Victoria and baby Scarlett together with Emma-V's friends Shonali & Jason in close pursuit. We have had fairly new babies to the picnic before, but Scarlett was just three weeks old and we think this may be our record youngest ever picnicker. |
| Frans work colleagues were well represented this year
with Pauline & Darryl and their three children;
Tracie with her three children; Stacey, Tina & Simon
with Tina's Mum & Dad - June & George. Mike &
Kate brought their three children, David
and Kelly
brought Paige & Skye and Tina, Betty & Mani
were there as well. Lea brought Claudia
and Jing; and John brought Lesley.
Or did Lesley bring John ?
Jenn & Suj came along with Bex, Shimmy, Tommy & Marley, who are on holiday here from their home in Lanzarotte. Richard & Liz arrived with James & Matthew, who revelled in playing with their young cousins. They were joined by John, Hazel & Eddie, who had come up from Poole for the event. David & Anne-Marie from next door came along with Deano & Liz and Debbie & Dave. Their friend Tim Graves dropped by on his way back from his job with Air France at Heathrow, and had to take his tie off because everyone else assumed he was an official and kept asking him the way to loo's and what time the park closed ! George & Jenny from Chiswick arrived. They had come on
previous years with the Radio London crowd; but this year all that crowd
were away at a fortieth anniversary party commemorating the closedown of
pirate radio - so they didn't meet who they expected - but did stay all
afternoon and made very good company. |
 Emma-V with baby Scarlett |
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David, Alan and John |
Alan Byram, already mentioned above, Mick & Janet
and David & Lesley are all stalwart regulars come rain or
shine, but this year we were also blessed with the presence of self
confessed fair weather picnickers David & Angela and
John & Linda. Stephanie
came along too and brought George Leslie with her.
That's a whole bunch of us who have been friends for more than forty
years now. After last nights excitement at Weybridge Mel managed to coordinate Chloe & Emma into collecting their children, Kiara & Tamara and brought them all to Runnymede. The girls had a great time running around. They were closely followed by Vanessa & Matt . Vanessa was still excited by the previous nights gig. David & Eileen arrived, this year sadly without Ben the dog. and Pat - Caroline's mother-in-law - called in for an hour while passing by. Finally Shirley & Mike brought Mike's grand-daughter Hannah All in all that makes 95 picnickers we counted in 2007 -
the roll of honour is : |
| Jono & Sally (2) | Tina, Betty and Mani (3) | George & Jenny (2) | Bex, Shimmy & Marley (3) |
| Ben & Danny (2) | David, Kelly + children (4) | Lesley & John (2) | Shirley & Mike (2) |
| Eric & Victoria (2) | Rich, Liz, James & Matthew (4) | David & Lesley (2) | David & Eileen (2) |
| Alan Byram (1) | John, Hazel & Eddie (3) | Tim took his tie off (1) | Melanie (1) |
| June & Peter (2) | Alison & Paul (2) | Matt & Vanessa (2) | Chloe, Kiara (2) |
| The Wayne Family (5) | Alex, Emma-V & Scarlett (3) | Maree (1) | Emma & Tamara (2) |
| Stacey (1) | Shonali & Jason (2) | Sujhat & Jenn (2) | David & Anne-Marie (2) |
| Tracey's family (4) | Mick & Janet (2) | Pat B (1) | Deano & Liz (2) |
| Tina & Simon (2) | John & Linda (2) | Lea, Claudia & Jing (3) | Debbie & Dave (2) |
| Mike & Kate + children (5) | David & Angela (2) | Hannah (1) | Roger & Fran (2) |
| June & George (2) | Stephanie & George (2) | Tommy Ray (1) |
Sadly no dogs, rabbits, sea snails, or fluffy toys of any nature were declared
We haven't picked a date for 2008 yet, but it will likely be at Runneymede again and the basic rules are as follow......
THE ANNUAL PICNIC RULES
This is a summer gathering - so be prepared for the British weather! The venue is usually somewhere to the West or North of London on a site selected because it has cheap car parking and public toilets as well as some sort of natural beauty. Hopefully it will have water nearby too. We choose a date; tell people... and then wait to see who turns up. The rules are very simple:
1. Anybody can come - and they can bring anyone else they like. Dogs, Grannies, and babies. We even had someone bring their dentist once ! To find us LOOK FOR THE PINK PIG (see below)
2. Bring a picnic. The selection is up to you. Some people are happy with a cheese sandwich, some like smoked salmon and champagne with a white tablecloth. Recent years have seen a proliferation of gazebos and last year we even had one party who brought flowers in a vase to put on their table. A word of warning - most venues we have chosen do not permit barbecues - see "be sociable" below.
3. Be prepared for participating or watching - some people bring toys and games. Among the more unusual things people have brought in the past are a boat, a unicycle and flaming torches to juggle with !. If you're not the sporty type, then there is always a bunch of people who "go for a walk", and if you're like me then you'll want to stay with the gang who just lay on the grass and slowly get alcohol poisoning.
4. Be sociable. We don't mean friendly - although that's a useful behaviour too. We mean have respect for other peoples space. Most venues have local byelaws which often constrain the playing of loud music and the lighting of fires. It's quite usual for the sorts of places we choose to have a ban on barbecues. Some have byelaws about what to do with dog poo.
5. Sign the guestbook not mandatory, but it will ensure that you'll get invited again next year.
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Look for the PIG ! Our family picnic emblem is an inflated pink pig on a stick which we used to use so that the kids could find us in the crowd at open air concerts. Nowadays the kids are grown up so PIG ON A STICK serves a more symbolic role as a totem of alfresco dining ! (This is a picture of the pig resting on the ground - he is normally suspended by his tail from the top of his stick, but we thought the RSPCA would be upset if they knew how we treated him). Many thanks to my great friend Dave Lewis for the pig photograph. |
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Previous years picnics have been: 1994 :
29 people came to Smiths Lawn (Virginia Water)
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