The Diary: Gentleman’s Journal Long Summer Lunch 2023, at Blenheim Palace
Set against the golden-stoned backdrop of the stately build, the Long Summer Lunch lived heartily up to its name – long; summery; and very much a Bacchanalian feast
On Friday 4th August, in defiance of the mercurial British summer weather, Gentleman’s Journal gathered 100 or so of its closest friends on the South Lawn of Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, for its third Long Summer Lunch, which comprised an afternoon of general carousing. Set against the golden-stoned backdrop of the stately palace itself, the Long Summer Lunch lived heartily up to its name – long (many hours, at last count); summery (thanks to the copious yardage of linen on display); and very much a lunch (the delicious grilled lamb chops and salmon skewers made sure of that).
Entertainment came in the form of joyful saxophone licks from the Sax Man himself, but also via The Little Car Company, whose dinky, ingenious replicas of Aston Martin DB5 and Ferrari convertibles zipped around the green undulations of the parkland. Guests – some of who arrived via chauffeur-driven cars, courtesy of Wheely; others in helicopters from Thunder Aviation – included Che Lingo, Thomas Straker, Francis Bourgeois, Andrew Georgiades, Kit Price, Cyrill Ibrahim, William Franklyn-Miller, Harrison Osterfield, Orfeo Tagiuri and Max Chilton, and all were kept thoroughly watered thanks to Rock Angel rosé, G.H Mumm champagne, and MOTH cocktails, meanwhile the good people of Wheely ensured everyone got where they needed to go next in style (namely: Wilderness festival). All in all, a sterling success – and not a spot of rain!
Thunder Aviation
Kit Price, Hugh Laughton-Scott, Naa-Okailey Adamafio and Thomas Straker
Thunder Aviation
Ciinderella Balthazar, Francis Bourgeois, Amy Francis, Daniel Thomas Jones and William Franklyn-Miller
Harrison Osterfield
David Tollemache
Eric Underwood and Harry Briggs
James D. Kelly and Tara Duross
The Little Car Company and Thunder Aviation
Alexander Spencer-Churchill
David Tollemache
Harry Gozzett
Ciinderella Balthazar and William Franklyn-Miller
Marie Hansen
G.H.Mumm
Thomas Straker
Che Lingo, Joseph Bullmore and Rachel Geraghty
Francis Bourgeois and Orfeo Tagiuri
Archie Norman
Marina Hambro and Max Dodd Noble
Andrew Georgiades, Ben Pawson and Kit Price
Wheely
Rock Angel
David Tollemache and Camilla Blandford
George Blandford, Jemima Cadbury and Alexander Spencer-Churchill
Francis Bourgeois
Sax Man
Dennis Okwera and Cyrill Ibrahim
G.H.Mumm
Kevin Flag, George Blandford and Karl Flag
Archie Rutland
Camilla Blandford
Mathias le Fèvre, Harrison Osterfield and Cyrill Ibrahim
Andrew Georgiades and Kit Price
Max Chilton and Chloe Chilton
Ali Gordon and Lydia Millen
Grace Hodge and Harry Gozzett
Want more diary features? Read about the Gentleman’s Journal x Polestar event at Goodwood Festival of Speed…
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