Review: Easy Picnic

The breeze subsided. Nothing moved. The hands on my chronometer ticked round to 1pm, then beyond.

It was late. But only by two minutes.

A brown VW Passat pulled up. My phone rang. I answered and a voice said: "I've got your picnic here, mate, I'm parked in the layby in the brown car."

And there my secret-agent/spy/espionage fantasy ended.

It was however, replaced with something almost as pleasant. I had travelled to the bottom of the Isle Of Dogs not to collect top secret documents from my contact, but to test out Easy Picnic's boast that it will deliver a hassle-free al-fresco feast anywhere you care to name provided you give the firm 24 hours' notice.

You pay £25, £40 or £60 and they deliver either their bronze, silver or gold hampers respectively, plus a small delivery charge.

The hamper I received (gold) turned out to be a cardboard box with a wicker pattern printed on the side, but no matter, for it was stuffed full of delicious treats.

As the weather was clement, my companion and I opted to head under the Thames and up to Greenwich Park for some sun, dramatic clouds and skyline.

There we unrolled our regulation standard British-issue picnic blanket (not supplied) and investigated the contents of our box.

They were nothing if not generous. Smoked salmon, almond-stuffed olives, cold meats, cheeses, prawn cocktail, crisps and coleslaw made up the bulk of our main course, supplied with baguettes and butter.

Then came a fresh fruit salad, strawberries and Italian lemon cake, all washed down with lashings of Veuve Clicquot (plastic flutes supplied).

At a leisurely pace it took us around two and a half hours to do the spread justice, which left plenty of time for us to reflect on the beauty of picnics.

London's parks are, in the main, delightful. If you live in the city and find yourself pining for the great outdoors I strongly recommend getting out into one.

And although on sunny days they are sure to be busy, if you step off the path and stake a claim to a small plot, somehow the crowds don't seem to matter.

Sit back and indulge in an orgy of people watching as the world strolls past your tiny patch.

And this is where Easy Picnic comes in. Rather than spending chunks of time slicing and dicing, all it takes is a phone call in the week to make that park experience effortlessly enjoyable.

The firm even delivers to the gates of some central London parks for free. However, the choice is yours.

If you'd rather eat your picnic on the banks of the Thames, in Canada Square surrounded by glass and steel or in your back garden this service does it all.

Go to easy-picnic.com or call 0870 933 027.