By now, most of the guests and more than a few of the parents, enjoying the opportunity to just be themselves around others of a similar status and enjoy playing with their children rather than having to be “on” for the public and maintain their celebrity personas, were joining in the game of croquet with the flamingo mallets and furry balls that were supposed to be rolled-up hedgehogs but which closer resembled, as remarked upon by many of the adult, Tribbles from Star Trek! The game was total chaos, of course, with the equipment being ridiculously unsuited to their purpose and very few of the players having any idea how the game was supposed to be played anyway but this all just added to the fun, with little Strawberry stalking around gleefully yelling “Off with their head!” at all and sundry.

After being informed that everything was ready for the cooking to begin, Melanie gathered up her cast members then let Julie know it was time for everyone to gather around the performance area. Happy to hear this and starting to feel rather hungry, the guests all gathered around the edge of the designated area, sitting on the warm grass with the children at the front and the adults behind them, apart from a few little ones who preferred to sit on their parent’s laps. The only one not on the grass was the birthday girl herself. The heart-shaped throne had been brought over from the table and was now positioned front and centre to watch the show. Strawberry sat imperiously upon it with her parents stood behind on either side.

A hush fell as Gemma, as Alice, stepped forward to begin her partially scripted, partially improvised speech.

“Good afternoon, your majesty.” She gave a polite curtsey. “I am most troubled to have displeased you so that you wish my head cut off, but I hope that your enjoyment of my meat will make up from my failures enough that you will remember me with some fondness?” Strawberry stuck her nose in the air, enjoying being in character every bit as much as the cast members, and gave a shrug as if to say “We shall see!”

“If it please your majesty,” Gemma continued, “we are preparing what we hope will be a lavish feast for your birthday but before we are cooked, my fellow ingredients and I would like to perform for you.”

“Very well!” Strawberry gave an imperious wave of her hand. “You may continue!”

Two of Melanie’s team, dressed as playing card soldiers, wheeled the cast-iron cooking pot forward on its casters, the gas ring beneath attached to the overall structure and the fuel bottle concealed in a box built onto the back. It really did look like something straight out of a fairytale, the sort of pot that a wicked witch might cook children in if they went wandering alone too deep in the woods!

“Your majesty, my lords, ladies and honoured guests,” Gemma took on the role of master of ceremonies, “may I please introduce the first ingredient of your feast, the Mock Turtle!” She stepped aside and the party guests applauded as Tania stepped forward.

“Your majesty!” She gave a deep bow, speaking once more in the deep, resonant voice with which she had introduced herself to Julie, “My lords and ladies and other honoured guests! Since I am to be soup, I would like to sing for you a song all about…” she hesitated. “Soup!” This skilful piece of comic timing earned her a chuckle from the adults in the audience. She cleared her throat, made a show of humming a not and doing a few rather laborious vocal warm-ups then launched, operatically and completed unaccompanied, into her song.

“Beautiful Soup!” she crooned. “So rich, so green! Waiting in a hot tureen! Who for such dainties would not stoop?” She swayed gently as she sang, wafting her arms in a way that befitted her performance style. The song as printed in the book was actually very short so, as rehearsed, she sang it through twice. “Soup of the evening!” the song reached its climax the second time around. “Beeeaaauuutiful Sooouuup!” She took another bow even more theatrical than the one she had opened with and the happy audience clapped and cheered for her, many of them also giggling but all thinking of the big black pot and what was about to happen!

“That was wonderful, wasn’t it?” Gemma stepped back into the middle, engaging with the audience as she joined in the applause and Tania took several more bows. “And I’m sure it made everyone hungry for some yummy Mock Turtle soup?” Various assurances were called out from the audience. “But oh, my dear Mock Turtle!” she exclaimed, putting her hand to her mouth as if in shock. “That shell would be far too crunchy! We wouldn’t want anyone to hurt their teeth now, would we? It should definitely come off before you go in the pot!”


To be continued...