Coronation chickpeas are a vegetarian version of a very British dish called coronation chicken, which was invented to serve at the Queen’s coronation in 1953. It’s an unusual combination of creamy mayonnaise, curry (I used curry powder, but you could use some form of curry paste if that’s what you have) and sultanas. It’s pretty much a staple at every British picnic. These picnics tend to happen around May since, you know, winter usually starts again in mid-June around here, and then we all go back to looking forward to May coming around again.

Brits have a bit of a reputation for chasing sunshine – the second the sun comes out, we’re out there in our shorts and sunglasses, even if it’s still only ten degrees (celcius!). So you’d better believe there were thousands of picnics and barbeques occurring last weekend when the sun decided to show itself for about two days. It’s gone away again now, of course. That was almost certainly our summer.

The lack of summer weather in the UK is one of the reasons I’m jetting off to France tomorrow. It won’t be anything too fancy; my boyfriend and I are just going to Carcassonne for a few nights to celebrate our anniversary (8 years! Corrrr). It looks immensely gorgeous. Just look! I’m looking forward to lots of wandering around the narrow streets, drinking on patios, practising my French and eating pretty much exclusively bread and cheese. So excited. If anyone has been before, and has any recommendations of places to go (especially things like places to see live music or nice restaurants), you have just over 12 hours to let me know! Otherwise, I’ll be back on Tuesday night. Au revoir!