The Graduate show is an opportunity for younger lesser-known designers to get their names and creations noticed. Photo: Hannah Gray

On 8 June 2011 I bravely stepped through the doors of the Earls Court Arena to take my place as part of the George Graduate Fashion Week. Don’t get me wrong, I love fashion and a high percentage of my money is spent on clothes, bags, shoes and accessories, but everyone was so well dressed and so perfectly made up that I felt a little out of my depth.

Graduate Fashion Week started in 1991 after Jeff Banks CBE, Vanessa Denza MBE and John Walford realised there was a definite need for a show that not only broadcasts the talents of students across the UK but allows early on talent spotting. As I walked around the stalls it was obvious that the graduates were nervous. Each group very much stayed in their University stalls hidden amongst fabric and business cards and who could blame them? Despite the fashion show being a huge event amongst the sponsors were Mulberry, Karen Millen, Rimmel London and of course, George. Numerous magazines covered the event, Vogue, Glamour and Now Magazine to name but a few.

Before the show kicked off British Fashion expert and presenter Caryn Franklin pulled all of the graduates onto the stage for a well deserved round of applause. It was brilliant to see all of the designers because, as Caryn pointed out, they don’t often get to experience what the models get put through.

Soon after the graduates gratefully left the stage, the lights dropped and the show began. It was easy to see from the start that a lot of effort had been put into these pieces but a certain quirky, unconventionality shone through that you may not see in current styles. These graduates had the opportunity to let loose and create something different and they took full advantage of that.

The Nottingham Trent University student, Rory Longdon, won the competition with a metallic knit collection. Other winners included Felix Chabluk from Edinburgh College of Art who won the Menswear award and Marissa Owen who won the Womenswear award. My favourite collection was by Lyudmilla Lane from Rochester University which was inspired by the moving sculptures of Peter Jansen and this is perfectly imitated in the flowing movement in her dresses. Lyudmilla was asked how she felt about being in the gala show and she responded by saying “I realise that all the hard work to reach this level is just the beginning, but I am proud of what I have done and excited by the opportunities it may bring.” You can see her collection strut the catwalk in the video below.

Events like this happen across London all the time you just have to search for them. For example the Clothes Show London at Earls Court on 24 June, “Trust in Fashion” at Mayfair on 29 June and the Demur Fashion Soiree at The Rag Factory all in London. All will be beautiful and unmissable events so if you’re looking to attend don’t hesitate to book your tickets as soon as possible.

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The Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, where the exhibition will run until the end of July. Photo:Bixentro / Flickr

What is believed to be the UK’S largest ever exhibition of student’s art and design has opened in East London. There’s fashion, design, photography and interior architecture. And it gives visitors the chance to enter the world of young and unlimited creativity.The exhibition is open to the public until late July.

The First Pint’s Clémentine Blayo has more.

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Knitting and sewing clubs have become the rage in London. Photo credit: Marieke Kuijjer / Flickr

Knitting needles and thread reels have become this season’s must-have accessories. According to recent figures, these traditional hobbies have gripped the UK – classes in dressmaking and crocheting are on the rise, and sales of sewing machines at major retailers are booming. The First Pint went to find out about this surprising new trend.

Every Saturday afternoon in Brixton about a dozen women attend a sewing workshop at Oh Sew, a private school dedicated to teaching the art of needlework. They chat over the whirring noise of machines in a bright, spacious room while putting finishing touches to colourful bits of cloth. Most of them are young professionals who wouldn’t look out of place in Shoreditch or Kensington – a far cry from the stereotype of grandmothers in rocking chairs.

Fiona Douglas, owner and head teacher, says her students are interested in eco-friendly fashion, especially customising vintage dresses, adding that the biggest push is probably the current economic climate. “It’s kind of make-do-and-mend: saving your money, saving the pennies and saving the environment,” she explains.

The ongoing recession is definitely a factor to consider. Rising inflation, soaring unemployment and uncertainty about the future are forcing people to re-evaluate their spending habits. Cash-strapped shoppers are seeking alternatives without compromising their style. With a few minor alterations or different buttons, an old outfit can be completely transformed. Some even think of it as subtle rebellion against the monotony of high street chains.

Besides the variety of sessions on offer, sewing and knitting enthusiasts have started their own clubs. They arrange weekly meetings at their local pub or coffee shop, sharing balls of wool and slices of cake. Sandra Rhule, a knitting expert, has followed the growing popularity of arts and crafts. She credits this resurgence to Debbie Stoller, an American author who wrote a book entitled Stitch ‘n’ Bitch.

By creating an official online forum, Stoller encouraged people to use the internet to share tips and form neighbourhood groups. Indeed a quick scan of the website shows that there are over twenty groups in London alone. From Chelsea to Whitechapel, hundreds are eager to get together with their kit to make jumpers, socks and scarves. Ravelry and Etsy are other important bookmarks for the tech-inclined.

So whether it is to relax, protect the bank statement or become involved in a social activity, the sew-and-knit-it-yourself culture is back in vogue.

Places to start:
Oh Sew Brixton
9 Brighton Terrace
London SW9 8DJ

I Knit London
106 Lower Marsh
London SE1 7AB

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Pretty surroundings for vintage clothes. Photo credit: Amie Tsang

The word vintage is used to describe dark, complex old wines that improved with age. But with the recent rage for retro fashion, even the 80s shoulder pads are being flogged everywhere from the High Street to chic boutiques. The First Pint takes a look at the best places in London where you can indulge your vintage vices.

Vintage Fairs

Before you do anything else, you need to look the part. Rather than traipsing around from one tiny shop to another, go to a vintage fair where you can find more period patterns than clothes on the floor of Primark.

Clerkenwell Vintage Fair is a must visit for fashionistas on the prowl for a good hat or fur stole. The beautiful Old Finsbury Town Hall is draped from floor to rafter with everything from chintzy dresses to veiled fascinators. There is an alteration service and those wanting to complete their transformation can be restyled at the beauty salon and rent some vintage crockery to take home. Entry costs £4 and the next one will be on 13 March.

Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair inhabits the equally old-fashioned York Hall in Bethnal Green. Established by a television stylist, the fair runs in London as well as many other large UK cities. The large hall makes browsing more pleasant and is an good for thrifty finds. Expect a significant East London hipster presence. Entry costs £2 and the next one will be 27 February. 

These vintage fashion fairs are around every couple of weeks, all year round. Photo credit: Kathrine Anker

The London Vintage Fashion, Textiles and Accessories Fair and the London Antique Textiles, Vintage Costumes, Carpets and Tribal Art Fair are both run by professional events organisers. This is a less economic option, but you are likely to find some real antique gems here. Fairs are run every five to six weeks in Hammersmith.  The next one takes place on 13 March and entry costs £5. Vintage Fashion Fair London also offers a vintage variety in pretty Primrose Hill. The next one is on 13 March, so while you’re in west London, try them both for size.

Frock Me! Another vintage fashion fair. No, really. Just because you’re on Kings Road, the royal hangout, it doesn’t mean you have to dress like Prince William. It’ll be coming to Chelsea on 10 April so treat yourself to a new frock in time for the royal wedding.

Anyone’s who’s wants to give their own wedding a timeless quality can visit the London Vintage Wedding Fair.

Old School Activities

You’ve got the dress. Now you’ve got to embrace the lifestyle.

Those who have been to the wedding fair might want to prepare for their special day by having a old-fashioned hen night. Run by Lekeux Events, there are also burlesque classes and pin-up shoots for those saucy moves you pictured when you tried on that new dress.

Shower yourself with vintage trinket's from London's best fashion fairs. Photo credit: Kathrine Anker

Remember the kids in old American high school movies where they all going bowling, the boys with their quiffs and the girls in their full skirts with poodles on them? You can experience that for yourself at the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes. The bar is made from one of Lucky’s Lanes in Los Angeles and the balls are returned overground. The Lanes are also host to Rock-a-Hula nights and a vintage fair.

If all this seems far too modern for you, go back in time a little or a lot with Bourne and Hollingsworth, who organise soirees for all your outdated needs. You can pretend it’s the blitz and go underground with a brave soldier at the Blitz Party. Go back a little further and drink your way out of the Prohibition era party. Run away to 19th Century Paris with the green fairy at La Belle Epoque. It’s all there in a little studio in Shoreditch. If you’re not too confident on the dance floor, get some dance lessons at Swing Patrol. 

For the sporting man and woman with a penchant for a dry martini, the Chap Olympiad is the hot event of the summer. Even The First Pint’s very own Angry Russian went there last year. The organisers say that the Chap Olympiad is “the chance for one chap to pit his pipe against another chap’s pipe.” Taking part in a spot of umbrella jousting is not to be missed by any traditional gentleman worth his weight in moustache wax. 

If it’s an intellectual challenge you are after, make your way to The Last Tuesday Society on Mare Street. This taxidermist’s treasure trove hosts the Hendricks lectures, where you can be educated on anything from how to be a gentlemen to tantric sex. Those of you particularly keen on the latter might like to keep track of ArtWank who offer vintage porn and scintillating discussion.

Whether you want to be a guy from Grease or a burlesque broad, London’s got something vintage to offer, so go ahead, swap your iPhone for a gramophone, ditch your free Metro for a copy of The Chap and go back in time.

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The exhition is part of the Barbican's Japan season. Photo: Lorenza Frigerio

As I enter the third floor of the Barbican centre, I’m sorrounded by white veils and immersed in the atmosphere created by delicate instrumental music. The predominance of black and white is quite evident: we are “in praise of shadows”, the first of four sections which will take me through the past three decades of Japanese fashion. The exhibition, in fact, celebrates the works of some of the world’s most influential designers, like Yohi Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Junya Watanabe.

The idea of “flatness”, which seems to be very distinctive, is expressed by pictures of some of the most bizarre (yet always minimal) designs laid flat on a white background. There is a sort of disconnection between shape, colours, context…these dresses look like abstact paintings. And, in the words of designer Issey Miyake, the aim of fashion for the 21st century should be exactly that: to “defy and break down categories”. This attitude also applies to the most basic of distinctions – the one between men and women. There seems to be no feminine and masculine, just the attempt to combine imaginative shapes with the chance to express one’s own personality.

Something for everyone

This exhibition is not just for the fashion experts, even to the eye of someone who’s not in the industry, the uniqueness and the craftmanship that’s been put into contructing these pieces will appear remarkable. They have little to do with what we commonly call “clothes” and are by all means pieces of art. Like the paper dress designed by Tao Kurihara for Comme de Garcons and my personal favourite: a paper-filled, hooded coat which its deigner Kosuke Tsumura titled “Final home”.

One of the exhibition's highlights - Final Home. Photo: Lorenza Frigerio

Sudden pops of primary colours and referrals to the Japanese flag led me into new phases. The latest seems to be strongly influenced by manga and by the so-called “cosplay” (i.e. costume play) trend, which developed in the area of Harajuku, Tokyo. Among all these creations you’ll also have the chance to sit down and enjoy Notebook About Cities and Clothes”, a documentary about the life and works of Yohi Yamamoto filmed by legendary director Wim Wenders. This is definitely one of the highlights of this exhibition, which is undeniably peculiar and very enjoyable…even if I’m not too sure there is much more other than pure aestheticism behind it all. In the end – shouldn’t art be so just for its own’s sake?

Future Beauty, 30 Years of Japanese Fashion is at the Barbican until February 6 2011.

You can get your ticket online at barbican.org.uk and save £2 (£8; £10 on the door).

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Pickled herring is one of the many Scandinavian delicacies on offer at the Scandinavia Show. Photo credit: Leesean/flickr

Pickled herring, black rye bread and very salty liquorice. These are some of the delicacies on offer at the Scandinavia Show in Kensington this weekend. Appalled? Don’t stop reading yet.

Although some of the dishes at the peculiar end of the Scandinavian food scale might disagree with your common grub sense, Nordic cuisine has been in the connoisseurs’ spotlight ever since Copenhagen became home to the world’s best restaurant earlier this year.

Now you have a chance to see what the fuss is about. The Scandinavia Show, which is held at the Olympia Conference Centre in Kensington on 9 – 10 October, looks set to be a culinary journey for the brave and curious. And if you’re not adventurous enough to try the funnier sounding items on offer, you can sit back with a beer from a Danish micro brewery, some Norwegian cheese or a dram of Finnish vodka.

The Scandinavian Show is not just for foodies – the show also hosts a large display of Scandinavian fashion and design, and the Scandinavian tourist boards will all be present with holiday offers for those who want the full Scandinavian experience.

Tickets to the show are £8 if you pre-book online, and £16 at the door.

Show Opening Hours
Saturday 9 October 10am – 6pm
Sunday 10 October 10am – 5pm

Getting there

The Scandinavia Show is located at:

Olympia
Hammersmith Road
London
W14 8UX

The easiest way to reach Olympia is by tube. Take the District or Piccadilly lines to Earls Court then change to the District line service to Kensington Olympia.

Click here to see an interactive map of the area.

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Fashion takes over London's nights for one time only. Photo credit: Fabbio / Flickr

Put on your Burberry coat, take your Balenciaga bag out of the closet and prepare for 2010’s biggest fashion party. Fashion magazine Vogue presents a variety of fashion events during London’s Fashion’s Night Out, which will take place in the West End on September 8. It will bring together editors, models, musicians and designers in a unique celebration of the industry to put their best heel forward.

Fashion’s Night Out (FNO) is a one-night special event honouring the forthcoming Fashion Week around the globe. Hundreds of stores will host festivities that will allow shoppers to enjoy a fashion party atmosphere while checking out designer goods.

From New York to Madrid to London, this is the second time that FNO is taking place and  it promises to be as successful as last year. The 2010 edition, full of stylish surprises, is aiming to be equally legendary and inspiring.

What’s on at the Night Out?

London’s favourite designers, models and stylists will help you find just what you’re looking for. Retailers across the town will host special events also for people without full wallets.

The evening’s entertainment will include a free in-store gig of rock band Arctic Monkeys hosted by Urban Outfitters and the launch of Manolo Blahnik’s new Liberty pop-up store. Selfridges will also host a number of activities including a Q&A with designer Peter Pilotto and free express manicures by Chanel.

The First Pint recommends these events for you:

• Giorgio Armani (51-53 New Bond Street) will be hosting a cocktail evening with Vogue UK editor Alexandra Shulman.
• Urban Outfitters (200 Oxford Street) will host rock band Arctic Monkeys to play a live set in the store.
• Agent Provocateur (6 Broadwick Street) will show its Autumn ’10 campaign video in store and will play host to DJ Pandora’s Jukebox while serving champagne to shoppers.
• Banana Republic (224 Regent Street) will be giving advice to shoppers from their in-store personal styling team.
• Burberry (21-23 New Bond Street) will surprise visitors with a British band that is yet to be confirmed.
• Selfridges (400 Oxford Street) department store will host the launch of Lily Allen’s Lucy in Disguise clothing label.

For more details check out the Fashion’s Night Out website. Happy shopping!

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Hackney Wick styles

Hackney Wick flea market is a far cry from the heaving Sunday masses of Spitalfields. On a smaller scale than its Shoreditch counterpart, it offers a more informal and relaxed atmosphere and is nowhere near as commercial.

The market is just a five-minute walk from Hackney Wick station. It has been held in a number of different locations in the area but White Post Lane is its current home. The day that I visited was, according to organiser Luk Man Hon, one of the quietest yet. Previous events have hosted live music and performances and hundreds of bargain-hunters, though it’s hard to imagine it ever being chaotic – Hackney Wick is just a little bit too out of the way for the hordes to really descend.

The stalls (often someone’s wardrobe spread unceremoniously across the pavement) can number up to thirty on a busy day. On sale is the usual mish-mash of flea market staples – clothes, accessories, books, records and household wares with women’s clothes making up the bulk. There have also been Thai massage, food-stalls, DJs and even fortune telling at past events. Most of the sellers are based in the area which is home to a large artist’s community so there’s plenty of colourful, random stuff to route through.

One of the best things about the market is the dirt-cheap flea market prices – there was a suitcase full of clothes selling for 50p per item, a rail of five-pound dresses and haggling is always an option. The only negative is the journey – Hackney Wick is not very well-connected. If the overland rail isn’t running (which it wasn’t last weekend), then check TFL for bus services – the no 30 and 26 will take you there.

If you’re interested in either buying or selling at the next event join the facebook group – reserving a space costs a fiver and you need to email Luk Man Hon at FLEAMARKET@VINYLPIMP.CO.UK beforehand.

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Shini Park's "Park and Cube" has taken the fashion blogosphere by storm. Photo credit: Soo Kim

South Korean fashion blogger Shini Park has kept her feet very much on the ground despite the success surrounding Park and Cube, her blog and pet project. Her non-obsessive, DIY approach to fashion renounces the materialism of the industry and tries to keep clothes simple, returning the act of dressing and shopping to a more innocent place.

Perhaps it’s this light-hearted, humble take that has given her cult status among fashion bloggers. From being an amateur fashionista two years ago, Shini’s prestige has now given perks such as an invitation to Paris for a private viewing of Coco Chanel’s original apartment to exclusive bra fittings and viewings of Ted Baker’s latest lingerie range at Debenhams. Not bad for a graphic designer that has lived in South Korea, Austria and Vienna.

Unexpected fame

Shini’s clean, smart and young fashion blog Park and Cube, which turns only two this November, quickly caught the media’s eye after a post on how to jazz up a pair of short trousers by adding chains to it. She never anticipated that her hobby-turned side project venture would draw such worldwide interest.

But Park’s eye-catching DIY ideas led to various mentions and features in numerous lifestyle and fashion magazines across the globe from French Vogue, Vogue Girl Korea, Milan’s Pig, China’s Way, UK’s Company and Sportsgirl. She will also be featured in Vanity Fair’s annual style issue in September.

Fashion lovers were interested in her unique style instinct for the latest ‘must-haves’ and ‘how-to’s of the season. Her focus on practical, DIY fashion gives everyday women access to high-end runway styles with an economically creative touch.

“It’s very relatable,” she told The First Pint. “When you’re a young girl, you always want to try things and make your own bracelets and necklaces. It touches a spot in any girl.”

Believe it or not, Shini Park admits that fashion sense doesn’t come naturally to her and she does have to work at it.

“You can definitely learn style and fashion,” Shini says. She relates it to learning how to create colours in art school by mixing shades. “You learn through experimentation,” she says.

London is her favourite source of this inspiration, whose fashion she describes as “experimental and colourful.”

“In London, you don’t have strict rules about balance, such as a loose top with tight pants…” she says. “There are no rules like that and I love that. Because not everyone looks like a model and basically anyone can wear anything.”

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Breaking tradition

Fashion is about defying convention and Park achieves this in a different, more natural way. Her wholesome, humble image is a breath of fresh air to the often stuffy, self-important circles of today’s unforgiving fashion scene. At a fairly young age of 22, there is a reserved wisdom and maturity tucked away in her calm voice and feminine demeanour.

Instead of a predictable degree in fashion, common to many in the field, Park graduated this summer with a BA in Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design – a school known for its prestigious fashion studies. Graphic design was the most sensible choice for her, having designed websites since she was 16. She never looked to fashion as a career because of the unstable nature of the business.

The loud and trendy fashion scene among students at her university was also quite new to Park who was raised in Poland for most of her life. A year after she was born in South Korea, Park and her family relocated to Vienna for a year and a half due to her father’s job. She spent the next 16 years in Poland before moving to London for study in 2006. Her parents still live in Poland.

Small town life in Poland was quiet and slow, as was fashion and trend-setting. “But because it was slow, in a way it was refreshing and classic,” she admits.

Her fashion interests peaked in London but she noticed that most of the blogs were “idolising materialism and getting to be really shallow”. While the old fashion blogs painted a two-dimensional, square image of the fashion world, she was inspired to start Park and Cube, by adding another depth to to the industry. It’s no coincidence that the cube is part of her blog’s title.

Style, influence and inspiration

Park’s earliest sign of a fashion conscience was at 14 when she made doll-sized paper versions of her entire wardrobe to try on her dolls. This spirit of constant reinvention continues today as she is likely to sell her wardrobe from last year in order to start anew.

She describes the process of putting an outfit together: “I usually start with one hit piece, say like this [points to her shirt, a recent DIY project using safety pins] and then build around it. I had to change my trousers three times today… I couldn’t get out of the house!”

“And the shoes always come last.”

Admitting her obsession with shoes, she adds: “I need to sell some of my shoes.”

Park is still defining her personal style but does know that “it has all to do with class and modesty. For her, this means staying away from anything too revealing due to her Christian beliefs.

“Christianity is not just a religion for me,” she says. “It’s an identity – which is difficult because fashion equals materialism but I’d like to try and work around that.”

Chanel and the future

Most recently, Park developed a new-found appreciation for legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel as she was invited by Chanel headquarters this May for a special private viewing of Madame Coco’s original apartment.

“Every collection has been inspired by something in that apartment and it hasn’t been changed since [Coco Chanel] died. She still lives on.”

Park plans  for the future includes contributing to a blog for a PR agency which will have a travel diary feel to it from a fashion angle and is most likely to start from Paris.

Meanwhile, Park and Cube will remain personal and DIY in nature, including the beautiful photography of every post which is all self-produced and edited by her.

Shini’s 5 smart fashion tips

Buy damaged items – If an item is reduced in price because of it is damaged, buy it because it may just be a matter of just, for example, sewing the buttons back on.

Think beyond what’s hung on the rack – You can always add something onto your shirt to make it your own.

Don’t throw away old clothes – You can always revamp it in some new way.

Go to charity shops – Grab the basics for your DIY projects at second-hand stores.

Visit more ‘blog shops’ – Fashion bloggers often sell items they don’t want any more on their blogs. You may find exclusive items no longer found in department stores! “Another woman’s trash could be your treasure,” says Shini.

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The Chap Olympiad, a return to the UK's elegant past? Photo credit: Maja Kucova

We Russians, angry or not, have a rather funny perception of England and its dwellers. It’s largely formed of 19th and early 20th century novels – Dickens, PG Wodehouse, Agatha Christie etc, all widely available in the USSR in superbly done translations by some of the best Soviet writers and poets – and the classic screen version of Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series.The latter is so great that Her Majesty herself bestowed an OBE on the leading actor, Vassily Livanov. And all the while the Soviet-British relations were neutral at best.

But we somehow insisted on thinking of England as of some retro-themed fantasy land stuck in the times when everybody was buttoned up and mannered and calmly humorous whatever the circumstances. This notion is, of course, centennially away from the current state of affairs.

I’m running a Russian-language blog about Britain and London as a separate country within her and it’s moderately popular (about fifteen hundred subscribers at the time of writing). But what really pushed my blog upward in the ratings was the translation of an old article from The eXile, undoubtedly the best and sincerest newspaper in Moscow which owed its glorious existence to the sole fact that no one at the Russian Minitruth at the time could read a word of English (for a story of The eXile as concise as practically possible see this article from Vanity Fair. It was about chavs, the English counterpart of Russian gopniks, the kind of proletarian youth that wears tracksuits with massive junk jewellery, binges on cheap liquor and pollutes the gene pool by means of rapid and almost instinctual procreation.

So the chav story became an instant hit on the Russian internet, having been reposted at least two hundred times so far. Almost everybody’s image of Britain seemed to have been hopelessly shattered. Could it really be Sherlock Holmes’s grandkids or the Hugh Grants of the world who are pissing on walls after downing six super strong lagers at a children’s playground? I almost felt a collective sigh of relief. We (Russians, internationals, whatever) aren’t that different from the rest of the “civilised world” after all. Others (mostly those who have never been in England or at all abroad) were utterly disappointed and really angry at me for ruining their dream.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR. Photo credit: Maja Kucova

Rekindling a Chap’s dream

But alas, not too much is lost, apparently, thanks to a wonderful thing called The Chap Olympiad. It’s run by a magazine appropriately titled The Chap which is all about fancy retro dressing, fabulous moustaches, shaving with razor blades and smoking pipes. So the Chap Olympiad at Bedford Square on Saturday was like being in a park full of Bertie Woosters and Pauline Stokers. In fact, I looked quite out of place in my dull plain clothes and not in an impeccably stylish tweed suit.

It’s funny because there’s no aristocracy in modern Britain to speak of, and most of these people are common office clerks in their normal, non-retro mode, but it still all looked incredibly organic. It’s probably some kind of a genetic memory, because when a Russian holds a Victorian-themed party, everybody ends up looking like a constipated Dracula. And if it weren’t for party spoilers like me and a couple of other journalists in crumpled jeans, you could really forget that you were indeed in 2010.

Anyway, the Olympiad part consisted of silly but quite fun “competitions” like bicycle jousting with umbrellas for lances or moustache tug war, but most people seemed to be more interested in a beautiful weather and a good opportunity for a picnic. The only things that were sort of disappointing were the low turnout of the barbeque stall and one lady who knocked over my gin and tonic and didn’t even offer to buy me a new one. I mean, that happens all the time, but probably wouldn’t in the fancy era they all pretended to live in. I will definitely go again, but not without proper preparation this time.

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