

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
Photography: Hubert Cecil
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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