June is the month when druids descend on Stonehenge in Wiltshire, UK to celebrate the summer solstice. Midsummer’s eve has been a traditional festival time for centuries when young ladies would indulge in a bit of divination to find out who their future husbands would be and bonfires were lit across the land. But June isn’t just about midsummer. There are other excuses to party too.
Celebrate Elgar and Gauguin’s Birthday
June 2nd 1857 was the birthday of the composer Edward Elgar. Celebrate it by holding a party in his honour at which his music is played. Elgar was born in Worcestershire, a county which is known as “the fruit bowl of England”. It is also renowned for the quality of its asparagus so offer guests food based on these traditionally farmed products.
June 7th 1848 is the birthday of the famous post impressionist French artist, Paul Gauguin. Invite guests to dress up in artist smocks and French berets. Serve French wines and focus menu ideas on traditional French food such as cassoulet and coq au vin. Finish off with a fine French cheese board including Camembert, Brie and Port Salut.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Party
Around midsummer, why not host a party based on the great Bard, William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This play is essentially a love story based comedy full of fairies and Greek aristocrats. Invite guests to arrive dressed up as one of the characters from it such as Oberon, Puck or Titania.
Party food could either be based on a Greek menu in honour of the character Theseus, the Duke of Athens or based on late Tudor period menus. This was the era when the kidney bean and potatoes were first introduced to England so consider cooking chilli con carne or jacket potatoes accompanied by salads and finish off with Apple Snow.
Throw a Tennis Party on the First Day of Wimbledon
The annual Wimbledon Tennis Championship fortnight traditionally starts in the last week of June. So why not celebrate by throwing a tennis party. Invite guests to dress in white tennis gear or Fred Perry shirts and theme the party around the game of tennis. Plan a menu around seasonal salads, Pimms, champagne and, of course, strawberries and cream. Barley water was a traditional drink to serve to the players between sets. Here’s a recipe for it:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of pearl barley
- 4 pts boiling water
- 2 lemons
- 6 oranges
- Sugar to taste
Method:
- Put the barley in a saucepan with the boiling water
- Cover and simmer for an hour
- Meanwhile squeeze the juice from the lemons and oranges and save in the fridge
- After the barley has simmered for an hour, drain the liquid into a bowl
- Add three of the orange rinds and one of the lemon rinds and sugar to taste.
- Allow the liquid to completely cool
- Remove the rinds and add the juice from the fridge
- Serve immediately
Sources:
- The Telegraph online
- To Set Before a Queen, Mrs McKee, 1963
 |
 |
