As summertime begins in Britain, people startto feel the urge togo outside to eat. People love to havea picnicwhenever the weather is good enough, especially people with children. It’s a great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Even in the centre of London, on a sunny day, the parks are full of office workers eating their lunch outside on the grass. That might be a pretty basic picnic – ashop-boughtsandwich and a bottle of water.

But if people are planning a picnic on the beach or at the park, they would probably packa cool bagwith a whole variety ofhome-madesandwiches, snacks, cake, fruit and soft drinks. They might have a picnic rug to sit on, and paper plates and cups. Another item which is useful isa thermos flaskwhich keeps hot drinks like tea or coffee hot, or cold ones icy.

University students enjoy having picnics, and usually take along some kind of sports equipment, such as aFrisbeeor ball in order to burn off some energy after lunch. British student picnics usually involve drinking beer or wine too!

For small children the idea of a teddy bear’s picnic is popular – each child brings theirteddy bearalong to ‘enjoy’ the fun as well.

Some people love to have a veryelaboratepicnic, and reallygo all outto make it an occasion. For a veryposhpicnic you’d need a proper picnichamperto hold the food complete with chinacrockery, metalcutleryand real wine glasses. A picnic could be a romantic occasion, but only if it’s in a quiet attractive spot, not in a busy park with lots of children playing nearby!

In that case there might bechampagneor chilled wine to drink, andgourmetpicnicfare, either home-made, or bought from a localdelicatessen. Crusty bread, dips, paté, and strawberries with cream for dessert make for a moresophisticated al frescoexperience.

Of course, you can never reply on the British summer weather, so taking an umbrella along might be a good idea just in case!