a summer picnic

If one more person mentions fall or autumn I might cry.

It's still summer!  Albeit, I did have to wear a sweater yesterday.
But, I'm going to enjoy summer until the very last second.

Since we're moving in a few weeks, we want to make sure

to enjoy Blackheath several more times before we go.

There are few things more typically London than a picnic in the park.

First, we popped over to a deli and purchased some food.

Somehow we ended up with all the beige food.  Pork pie, scotch egg  and quiche.

Yikes, not much fruit or veg in sight.  Well, except for a few berries.

 In the form of a cupcake.

We've had this kite in the trunk of our car for ages and I was determined to fly it to watch Matt fly it on the heath.

Unfortunately, there were some issues with the kite.

Luckily, we had this little treasure chest to take our mind off of the kite fiasco.

Travel Retailer World Duty Free has partnered with expert Mixologist Charlie McCarthy to

come up with 23 great new cocktails for their annual Summer Drinks Festival.

They asked us if we would like to try one of them out.  Yes, please.

This was Matt's first modeling gig and he took it very seriously.

Of course, I was paying him in cocktails so he was well motivated.

Being a lover of the traditional Gin & Tonic, gin obviously played a major role

in the cocktail we selected, the English Garden.

Start with 35ml of Martin Miller's Gin and then 15ml of Elderflower Cordial.

Add 100ml of pressed apple juice, pour over ice and garnish with lime and mint.

There you have an English Garden.

We both loved it.  You would think it might be too sweet, but it wasn't at all.

(To be fair, we probably upped the gin measure a bit.)

Very light and quenching, a refreshing alternative to a G&T.

We had a lovely afternoon with our cocktails on a checkered blanket in the sun.

One of the best ways to spend a summer day in London.

And look.... success!

This was the 3 seconds it was actually in air before it went into a crazy death spin.

It was probably closer to playing lawn darts than flying a kite.

If you want to try your own hand at a fun new cocktail,

check out World Duty Free's website for some step-by-step video tutorials.

Before I go I have to address that photo in the bottom right corner of the collage.

Obviously, a) I took it (see the shadow of my hand) and b) I'm not really asleep.

But, still... I think it's cute and we were truly cuddling in the summer sun.

Have you tried any new cocktails lately?  Share the recipe.

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 World Duty Free sent us the ingredients for the cocktail for the purposes of review.  
 All photos, writing and opinions are my own.   
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers. 
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.