Sunday passed in a haze of sunshine and champagne at the Gatsby Picnic. Everyone was decked out in their best 20s/30s finery, to enjoy sandwiches and cakes on the lawn area at the gorgeous promenade, which has blooming flower beds, outdoor pools and the Sound Shell stage area, all built on the rubble remains of old Napier, after the earthquake in 1931. Some groups even had proper bone china tea sets and old gramophones playing music of the era.

Our day certainly started with a pop, when I opened the champagne and the cork bounced off my forehead and landed on the next group’s picnic rug. Oops.

Angus and I spent the day with our friends from Melbourne, Pete and David, and we had a scream telling each other funny stories and getting tipsy. We had intended on having a good walk around, but the afternoon passed so quickly that before we knew it, it was 5pm.

This is when we decamped to the Masonic Hotel and managed to score a table on the terrace, where we did lots of people watching. The guys coined the new phrase ‘tart deco’, referring to some of the older ladies flaunting their assets in flapper outfits.

They also told us the story of a woman they met wearing a fur stole, which she had said was ‘a bit of old dog’. Hope not!

It was a little disconcerting though, seeing so much real fur on show, including a woman who had draped her fox fur stole, including head, legs and tail, over the back of her chair. That’s one thing I wouldn’t like about the 20s/30s era.

We stumbled back to the holiday park at some point when it was dark and I reluctantly put away my deco outfit, hoping that I’ll get to wear it again sometime soon. I’ll even persuade Angus to dress up next time ;0)