The closest I’ve managed to a picnic this year is a spontaneous but hungover Thursday in Bute Park, cut short by an aggressive headache ignited by the sun. I am holding out for my post deadline freedom where I will eagerly await a window of hot weather to do this practice justice.
I think the enchantment of picnics lies within the slowness and the permission of laziness ritualised, the way it contrasts with the week’s usual bustle and how a day is filled with weightless hours of nothingness.
My spot is picked already- the rolling fields of Dinas Powys. Easy to reach by train or car to then follow the Salmon Leaps Walk and find a quiet spot near the river.
Certainly, the most important part is the menu. Where a simple, chunky, crusty baguette dabbled between a family bag of crisps seems like a delicacy. Even more so when complimented with pungent cheeses and too-garlicky dips, from a rich hummus to a zingy tomato salsa, with something cold and fizzy to sip lazily between bites. Of course, for dessert, a punnet of strawberries coated in a chocolate bar left deliberately to melt in the sun.
I’ll go with my housemates and use the backdrop of our peaceful surroundings to ground us from the chaos of the night before. Our phones will be out of sight and the rhythm of conversation will stretch and sag as the sun declines, fading naturally into the bubbling of the river and orchestra of birds.
We will catch every ray of sunlight possible by rolling up our tops and pulling down our straps, ensuring the sun imprints itself neatly and evenly on our skin. When nothing but crumbs remain, and we have been lulled into nature’s trance, the playing cards will come out whilst someone opens up a book. Eventually, when the urge for an inescapable afternoon nap hits and the presence of each other’s no-effort company has been fulfilled, we will be prompted to return home.
Words by Gemma Gillespie
The past couple weeks in Cardiff have been a delightful yet surprising entrance to a shift of weather – and a welcomed one at that. My friends and I, fearing this opportunity would go to waste, all decided to head to Bute Park to bask in the sun. A very much ‘enjoy it whilst we can’ mentality. However, before settling into a spot with the perfect ratio of sun to shade, we made the necessary trip to Co-op to get supplies.
They ranged from mini brownies and Moretti’s to my accidental but well-received bag of large carrots and houmous. We enjoyed all these snacks on the grass sat in a circle, telling each other embarrassing stories and passing around a speaker playing summery songs, including anything from Frank Ocean to ABBA. Perhaps the most essential thing to bring to our picnics has been a ball. Not being especially sporty myself, I was truly surprised about how much fun it was to go back to playing volleyball and football, just as I used to when I was younger.
We’ve kept going back to Bute Park for times like these, I believe because there’s something so warmly nostalgic about just sitting in the sun and chatting for hours, with friends new and old. Going out for a picnic whilst the weather is as confusingly beautiful as this is something that I think universally makes people want to get out, and I know for sure if Cardiff stays this sunny there’s going to be many more visits in the future!
Words by Ruby Davis
Feature image courtesy of Mason Dahl via Unspalsh.com