Garden Party Of The Year

After a good fried breakfast and lashings of coffee we waddled into Chesham to wander about until the party at 2. Visited possibly the noisest coffee bar I've ever been in - clashing crockery, loud music, screeching children, whirring grinders and blenders (and manky loos). The iced coffee was nice, although they could conceivably have given me something better to drink it out of than the plastic pot the mix originally came in, given that I was 'eating in'. With still an hour to spare, we tried out the George and Dragon inn, which had the nicest character and the cleanest loos, but sadly the mankiest beer.

Finally 2pm arrived, and we toddled off to the marquee we'd scoped out from a distance earlier. The first to arrive, we were welcomed in by a waiter and handed champagne, so assuming that we'd found the right place (or at least a place worth staying in) we settled in to wait for more guests and the happy couple (who were actually married in May, I think, but obviously waiting for warmer weather...).

It was the most amazing bash I think I've ever seen. Swans made of ice, full of strawberries and cherries. Enormous glass urns and jars filled with sweets and biscuits. Table loads of beautiful food. A massive 4-tier wedding cake, festooned in roses and ivy. A string quartet. Even more food, in a second wave of beautiful sushi, followed by yet more trays of iced biscuits and mini-cakes. Unlimited champagne, distributed by a team (flock? batallion?) of waiters (plus, a bottle to take home).