Bong Hoichoi Club Picnic

Pack some inspiration and let’s go for a picnic.

Picnic and travel are in our DNA😁

 Simply sit in the sun or the shade of a tree, take off your shoes, and lie back in the cool grass, all while enjoying delicious treats and the company of loved ones.  It doesn’t really matter where you go for a picnic, just be sure to go, because it’s good for your soul.

I saw a quote somewhere that went something like “Happiness is like a potato salad that, when shared with others, becomes a picnic.” That sure sounds like happiness to me!

National Picnic Week takes place this June across the UK, so it was  the perfect timing to grab our blankets and baskets out of the cupboards and get out to the great outdoors for a fabulous picnic.

The Journey Begins

We decided our picnic venue to be our most favourite place, Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire and it was the 5th consecutive weekend that we are visiting this picturesque place amidst immense natural beauty.

As Hellen Keller well said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all”, we decided to break the lockdown blues and spend a fabulous day together in the lap of nature maintaining the present distancing rules prevalent here in UK .

We were few friends with little Gullu who is awarded as “our best group member for the day”. She has another nick name Pori meaning “fairy” in Bengali , which absolutely justifies her beautiful nature and personality. She is a little angel and how well she organised every single game from the riddles to Dumb Charades for us. She had little handmade surprise gifts for all of us and absolutely won everyone's heart with her delightful gesture and mind-blowing techniques of conducting the games. I have promised to be a part of her every future game, even without a prize😜. She is Anuradha and Anirban’s cute daughter.

Let’s first concentrate on the awesome menu for the day. What can be more delicious than discussing about the menu for a picnic!😋😋When you eat food with family and friends, it always tastes better. As someone said , “Food shared is happiness multiplied.”  Menu for the Day: Doi Mach,  Fried Rice and Lagan nu custard by Suha. And as a special , sweet gesture, Chingri Malaikari for Anuradha as she doesn’t eat mutton. Mutton Rajwala by Rajarshi Teen Kona Porota and Tuna Chop by Anuradha and Anirban Chicken Bread Roll as “Taa”(evening snacks) with Cha by Roshni Raju Da’s special Cha by Raju Da orofe Rajarshi in the most picturesque natural setting😂😂

If you have read my previous blogs, I have already mentioned about interesting stories of Rajarshi’s mind blowing  tea making in his camping stove in beautiful natural settings and our dear friend Anirban has given a special name to this as “Raju Dar Cha yer Thek”, Everyone gathered around the camping stove , having a fabulous “Adda” and sharing unlimited laughter. 

Someone definitely well said,”Count your memories, not calories.” I am sure, every single one of us was making special memories on the day, which was evident from the smiles and laughter on all of our faces. I do not need to mention here that we all had a grand feast with these delicious items.

Suha is such a sweetheart, not only she cooked her delicious Doi Mach, Pulao and the dessert, she was so kind to get Chingri Malai Curry for Anuradha as she doesn’t like Mutton. 

Rajarshi’s Kosha Mangsho or Mutton Rajwala was mind blowing as always and absolutely yummilicious and everyone just loved it. 

Anuradha’s Teen Kona Porotha tasted heavenly with Kosha Mangsho and everyone of us loved the Tuna Chop. We tried tuna chop when we visited them at their home some months back and the chop won our heart on the first place. So we already knew how tasty it was.

Last, but not the least was Roshni’s Chicken Bread Roll, such a palatable “Taa” or evening snacks with Raju Da’s Cha😁

The photography sessions were fantastic in different permutations and combinations amidst the beautiful greenery and natural beauty.😁

Wowww, watch the poses—Kanak and Anirban 😂😜

Are British really obsessed with weather? The weather played such dramas yesterday , bright sunshine to drizzles to a spell of torrential rain. But the changing weather just added up to our fun as we were unstoppable. We enjoyed every bit of the day from relaxing in the sun to squeezing inside the tiny tent of Gullu amidst heavy rain. All the handsome men took refuge under a canopy of trees. What a beautiful experience which only increased the list of our precious memories made together.

Tent with a view ⛺️

How can I even forget about our special mobile companion “Dholok” playing mind blowing music throughout the Day?

Raju Da prepared his first tea at the end of a spell of torrential rain. Everyone was enjoying the beautiful nature with tea. The second batch of tea was in another venue just near by, late in the evening accompanied by Roshni’s Chicken Bread Roll as “Taa”. She happily uttered, “the tea is a saviour in the cold.”

No one was well prepared for the sudden cold in the evening as we were expecting a bright and sunny day. But as Anthony J. D'Angelo said, “Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." All of us brought for sure, our own sunshine which made this day bright and beautiful. We had no shortage of jokes, humours and laughters and created some memorable , happy moments together.

Later, our last stop was the Pitstone Windmill. We never miss a visit to the iconic Windmill any time and this gave us another opportunity to have fabulous photography sessions amidst green wheat fields and blue sky with fluffy clouds. What a beautiful view and a perfect backdrop and setting for photography! We took as many photographs as we could . We had our group photo sessions , then all the gentle men had their own group photos followed by individual family photos in front of the Windmill.

I made sure to take plenty of photographs with Gullu, our photos at the Windmill were so pretty. Anirban gave a special caption to our photograph as the “Duo organiser: the tour and the entertainment.” That calls for a perfect Bong picnic day😁😂

As Babs Hoffman said, “Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and enjoy the journey.” When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Smile as much as you can, then only you can help and make others smile.