Roll up, roll up for the Cucumber Cinema!

What do you get when you combine Glory Days, Hendrick's Gin, second anniversaries, cucumbers, Hollywood and Gatsby picnics? Why the Glory Days Cucumber Cinema presented for your amusement and pleasure by Hendrick's Gin of course! Rose Jackson, Creative Director at Glory Days explains.

Our latest magazine has a Hollywood theme and when we were thinking about how to bring the glamour that Tinstletown oozes to life for the Gatsby Picnic at Art Deco weekend, we thought of one of our partners, Hendrick's Gin. For those of you who don't know, Hendrick's is a most unusual gin made with infusions of cucumber and rose petals. It's a glamorous tipple and the fit was a natural one. When they agreed to work with us on our gazbeo my mind went racing, thinking about all the fun one can get up to with the humble cucumber and Cucumber Cinema was born!

Cucumber carving on the red carpet seemed like the perfect activity for a sunny Sunday afternoon and we knew that with the prizes we were planning on offering, including the much coveted Cucumber Trophy, Hendrick's cocktail books and playing cards and Glory Days magazines, guests of the Cucumber Cinema would get into the spirit wholeheartedly.

But it didn't happen without a little effort. On Sunday morning bright and early, we rolled out the red carpet (well we very nearly didn't as the red carpet had been left behind in Auckland... but that is another story entirely!), popped up our brand spanking new-ish gazebo and created a Hollywood-worthy Cucumber Cinema set for guests of Glory Days to come and enjoy gin, cucumber carving, music and magazines in the sun. In the end, we had a delightful range of carvings including cars, canoes and cloche hat wearing ladies.

For those that haven't been to Art Deco Weekend before, you won't be familiar with the Gatsby Picnic held on the Sunday alongside the gorgeous yet treacherous Napier beachfront. This offers anyone with a gazebo, an alarm clock (the best spots are snapped up by 6am), and a gang of strong people the chance to set up their very own slice of Deco-themed life for the day. Prizes are awarded for the best looking ones so people go all out bringing their finest china, dantiest sandwiches and heaviest outdoor furniture to scoop the win!

Last year we held an Opium Den themed tent which very nearly killed Claire and I  (and not because we got carried away chasing the dragon I assure you!). My preference is to always buy vintage or second-hand but I learned the hard way that there are some things you just need to buy brand new, a gazebo being one of them! We only discovered on the beach front last year at 5 in the morning (who knew such a time existed) that not only had I forgot the canopy for the secondhand gazebo, but also that many of the parts were rusted and broken when we tried to put the construction together.

Deciding that caffinated sustenance was needed to finish the task, we left our sad excuse for a gazebo for an hour to get some of that much needed liquid morning wakeup juice. Unfortunately the wind was rather fierce last year and we decided over coffee that if, on our return, the treacherous excuse for a tent had blown off to fairer shores we would weep heartily, abandon the whole idea and go home.

Much to our surprise, the Frankenstein frame was still up on our return but as we approached we had a crew of gazebo constructors run towards us with tales of how ours had got airborne, had very nearly taken off into the drink and had required a group effort to rescue and secure. I will repeat the moral of the story once again... mainly for my own benefit. There are some things you just need to buy brand new, a gazebo being one of them!

Anyway, onwards and upwards! We learnt our lesson wholeheartedly last year and this year was a much more pleasant affair! Aside form the Cucumber Cinema, we also held a good old fashioned raffle draw to win one of two fabulous prizes, the Hendricks Hamper containing a range of delicious goodies that pair perfectly with gin (which we will be giving away to other lucky Glory Days readers shortly!), and a Hendrick's tea set, apparently very collectible and worth a small fortune on the ebay market.

Throughout the day we were serenaded by the ukulele group that pitched up next to us, the infamous gorilla hunt called in for a rest on the directors chair and there were photo opportunities galore, the full set of which you can view on our Facebook page. All in all a wonderful day and the perfect way to celebrate our second anniversary! Thank you to Hendrick's Gin for being a great drink and for making such wonderful partners, our guests for visiting and taking up the cucumber carving challenge with such gusto and everyone who dropped in and said hello!