Winter 'Swanlake' Dinner party.

For our Winter dinner party this year, slightly inspired by our slowly growing, and still to be planted lake, we chose the theme of Swan Lake.

Above: The lake after a week of rain
Below: A video of lake filling. Planting around the lake starts in August.

As you can see from the menu, all the courses or 'acts' have a swan or poultry theme, and the dining room was transformed into the set of the ballet for the evening, with the DVD of the Matthew Bourne version of Swanlake playing in the drawing room:

We tried to capture the theme with the invitations:

But the piece de resistance was the giant swan centrepiece, which our friend Gail made out of chicken wire, plaster of paris and lots and lots of feathers!

Below: The menu in the front foyer.

The Quail Eggs Amuse Bouche
The Pheasant and home made Fettucini soup



The individual portions of Pate with homemade bread balls
The main course, roasted Poussin with seasonal vegetables