the web The Book Club Blog

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Canadian Picnic

Apparently the Book Club is set to become a picnic extravanganza. But who amongst us is best equipped to offer picnic advice?

Despite Canadian claims of ignorance on such matters it turns out that the Picnic King was in fact Canadian!

Perhaps some further reading on Picnic Etiquette might be in order.

If that doesn't fill in the blanks then picnichouse.com do a Canadian picnic basket.

Google only found 14 Welsh picnics, as opposed to 39 Canadian picnics, and 50 Australian picnics.

Oddly enough, an Australian has recently written a confession to murdering a Brit over a picnic table.

But fairs, fair. Google found 355 English picnics. Though why frozen old London should be the home of picnics is anyone's guess.

Nevertheless, Wicker & Wine do some rather attractive picnic baskets for the Canadian abroad. Or better still, if you're on the move, a range of picnic backpacks.

Harrods is probably the best place to go for picnic advice.

"For alfresco dining, an extensive picnic menu is available for our customers to select from. The romantic idyll of a picnic set amidst a beautiful rural setting or a great social traditional occasion such as Ascot or Henley, becomes an even more memorable moment with a delightful picnic hamper."

Not sure if "social traditional" rolls off the tongue too well, and they don't mention book club picnics. But then again "during the Second World War parts of the (Harrods) building were requisitioned for military use as the headquarters of the Canadian Royal Navy and Royal Air Force." Fancy that!

However, despite a horrid urban legend (and as members of Team Dustin we know all about these) that:

'Picnic' was a shortening of 'pick a nigger' and referred to an outdoor community gathering during which families ate from box lunches while a randomly-chosen black man was hanged for the diners' entertainment'

It turns out that picnics, perhaps unsurprisingly, come from France.

'Picnic' began life as a 17th-century French word — it wasn't even close to being an American invention. A 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Françoise de Ménage mentions 'piquenique' as being of recent origin marks the first appearance of the word in print. As for how the French came by this new term, it was likely invented by joining the common form of the verb 'piquer' (meaning "to pick" or "peck") and a nonsense rhyming syllable coined to fit the first half of this new palate-pleaser.

Not surprising then, that Google should find 715 French picnics.

There is even such a thing as a French picnic knife.

Does this suggest that we may have a picnic expert in our midst?

By the way, if the terms 'picnic' and 'outing' can cause such offense to African Americans and Homosexuals, can we be confident that use of the term 'barbecue' will not offend Australians? I do hope that 'Book Club' is not a contentious term.

Posted by Nick @ 22:23 GMT

|