Ashley's Naming Ceremony Part 2

On Sunday morning I decided to leave Steve asleep in bed nursing a small hangover, a painful wisdom tooth and the start of a nasty cold as I swung by the Canterbury Players Warehouse to pick up some final costume pieces for our production of 'Tis Pity She's A Whore which goes on this week.  Some of the others were there trying to load the van with the set pieces to get them to the theatre.  It looked tricky and the drills were coming out to take some of the struts off in order to make everything fit.  I felt guilty that I couldn't stay and help but I needed to get back home to shower, change and head to Chilham Village Hall for this little dude's naming ceremony!

Chilham Village Hall is a beautiful C15th timber framed barn located in the Kentish downs.  The entire village seems to have come straight from a fairytale, it is simply the most picturesque village I have ever seen.  It's also 10 minutes from my front door conveniently enough!   We arrived bright and early (and in my case swinging - I was in full 1950's party dress complete with petticoats.  I need to start wearing petticoats more often, they are so much fun!) and started the busy process of setting up and decorating the space ready for the 50 or so guests who were due to arrive in the next half an hour.

Leanne, one of Ashley's godmothers is a dab hand in the baking department and arrived bearing this absolute wonder of a cake.  She is ridiculously talented!   It not only looked fantastic but tasted divine as well.

Meanwhile in the kitchens the grandmothers and grandfathers were busy sorting out the food and drink that everyone had made and bought with them, getting the ovens going at full blast and making the table decorations.  This was a true event of love where everyone got stuck into help to make the day wonderful.  Whoever bought the ham can come again; it was divine with an amazing glaze with a flavour that went right through!  I contributed my Pasteis de Nata, Slutty Brownies and Basil Lemonade, all of which I think went down well!

Once everyone had arrive it was time to get stuck into the proceedings.  The godparents all took their places on the stage with everyone staring up at them and solemnly swore to be a good influence on Ashley's life and not to get him into trouble (too often).   

A candle was lit for Ashley by his parents and the little boy beamed his way through the entire ceremony.  I've only ever been to Christenings, not Naming Ceremonies before and the personal touches in this were beautiful.  Steve read a particularly relevant poem about the sleep deprivation parents feel with their little angels and Ashley must be one of the only children in the world to get a patented Truckle poem!  

I should explain this a little more - our friend Neil is a bit of a wordsmith and at all parties, birthdays and events he writes and dedicates a poem to the lady or gentleman of the moment.  This one was kept particularly clean compared to most (Mrs Truckle made sure of that!).

After a moving video that Sasha had made showcasing photos from the moment she discovered she was pregnant right the way through to the present moment it was time for photo's out in the drizzly weather and then food and drink from the buffet while the children played with the various play stations around the hall.

 

James and Sasha had even organised a Baby Sensory class to keep the smallest tots (and their parents) amused during the afternoon.  I'm still not convinced that the parents weren't having more fun playing with bubbles and what looked suspiciously like light sabers than the children were.

Ashley was one very spoilt little boy with plenty of presents and cards to get stuck into.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar always makes an appearance for some reason at baby events.  There is an appeal from James and Sasha though - if you gave him a pair of shoes with no card can you let them know so that they can thank you!

The last event of the afternoon was the formal cutting of the cake (Sasha did joke that it was like a second wedding!)  10 seconds after I took this picture Ashley reached down, grabbed the giraffe whole and rammed him in his mouth.  If the guest of honour thinks it's time to start eating the cake it would be rude for the rest of us not to follow suit!

Finally, Ashley gave Steve a lasting reminder of the day with his gift.  It was a really special day, one Ashley won't remember unfortunately but hopefully will be able to look back on photos and stories of the day to see how many people he has in his life who love and care for him. 

BasiLemonade

When I was little I loved the Secret Seven books.  My sister was heavily into the Famous Five but I preferred the rough and tough (well, as rough and tough as Enid Blyton gets) edge to the Secret Seven.  It was set in more of a city / town landscape compared to the country setting of the Famous Five and the children went to day schools instead of boarding school.  I was desperate to be in the 'gang' and was delighted when we got a golden spaniel like Scamper.   Unfortunately Shane turned out to be the devil in dog form and after the third phone call from the police station who said he'd been picked up (again), was running up and down the corridors and could we come and get him please, my mum decided that a 6 year old, a baby and a tearaway dog were just too much all at one time, enough was enough and he had to be re-homed.  I wish I was joking but it was basically the dog or one of the kids.

He looks suspiciously angelic here.

Sorry, I went completely off topic there!  Anyway, one Secret Seven book I vividly remember reading involved Peter, Janet and Jack all sitting in their garden with Scamper puzzling over a case when Peter and Janet's mother brings them out a jug of home made lemonade.

I never had home made lemonade when I was little so this seemed like such a wondrous thing; I didn't even know you could get anything other than 7-Up or Sprite (both of which were banned in my house along with other fizzy drinks and therefore held a legendary status).

This weekend I finally satisfied the 20 year craving and made homemade lemonade.  I made a slightly more grown up version though as this was for a friends hen do.  One of the recent trends on Pinterest and food blogs has been Basil Lemon Cocktails or Basil Lemonade of some variety (either with gin, vodka or virgin) and as usual the glossy pictures of glass tumblers filled with homemade lemonade and topped off with sprigs of verdant green basil looked so tempting.

Secret Seven eat your heart out.

12 lemons, a whole bunch of basil and a fair amount of sugar later I had two jugs of homemade basil lemonade.

It went down an absolute storm with the chicks at the hen party.  It's sweet but not sickly and the basil is delicately infused through and really complements the lemon, adding interest to an otherwise standard lemonade.  I know that this sounds a bit daft but it tastes really 'grown up'.  It is also a fantastic thirst quencher and, with the amount of lemons in it, a good vitamin C hit.  We'll just ignore the sugar levels for the moment. 

I didn't get any pictures of the final product. I had made the syrup and squeezed the lemons the day before and left them in the fridge to chill, then about an hour before serving the lemonade mixed them together and transported them to the venue.  I then split the syrup mix into two jugs and topped both up with still water (sparkling here would be amazing).  Before I could reach for the camera most of the BasiLemonade had gone.

Never mind!  These recipes aren't for blogging purposes (although it is handy material) but for people to enjoy!  I will definitely be making this again.

Before I do I may invest in a lemon squeezer though...

Now to find the hot cocoa recipe from Go Ahead Secret Seven!

Recipe (makes enough for 15 people):

2 cups sugar
1.5 cups water
Big bunch of fresh basil
12 lemons
Water
Basil and lemon to garnish
Ice

Mix the sugar, water and basil in a small saucepan and heat until all the sugar has dissolved.  Turn off the heat and let the basil steep in the syrup for as long as possible (I left it overnight).

Juice 12 lemons and refrigerate.

Mix the basil sugar syrup and lemon juice together when you are ready to serve and split between your serving jugs.

Top up with water (still or sparking, add vodka or gin for an extra kick).  Serve over ice and garnish with more basil and lemon slices.