Explore More Issue 18

CULTURE
Clockwise, from
bottom left:
Lady Carnarvon
welcomes you in;
Highclere Castle in
the snow; estate
staff carry the
tree inside; Lady
Carnarvon wraps
presents by the
fire; turkey is a
highlight of lunch
PHOTOS: © LADY CARNARVON
a breakfast of scrambled eggs,
smoked salmon, porridge and toast.
Then we all head to church for the
Christmas service before sitting
down to a fantastic Christmas
lunch. After lunch we open our
presents and watch the Queen’s
speech – much like many families
around the country.
And how do you celebrate
Boxing Day and New Year?
On Boxing Day we have a
traditional shoot followed by a
warming stew or pie for lunch. On
New Year’s Eve we have a party
with traditional Scottish reeling.
Our guests are welcomed by a
piper in immaculate white spats,
swinging kilt, a bearskin of a hat
and a warm jacket. The first reel
is inevitably the Dashing White
Sargent in which guests have to line
up in groups of three. It is the most
enormous fun and no one is left
out, whatever their age.
Can you describe
a few of the
events happening
this year?
Our Christmas
events this year really
take their inspiration
from the themes in
my book Christmas
at Highclere, from
tips on preparation
and planning, to
decorating and
shopping, singing
carols together,
enjoying Christmas afternoon
teas, and dining with us in the
State Dining Room. We hope
children will come and find Santa’s
Grotto whilst, as a finale, Charles
Dickens’ great, great grandson,
Gerald Dickens, will join us to read
excerpts from A Christmas Carol.
Are there any Christmases that
have stood out for you?
I think the first one Geordie and
I hosted. My five sisters and their
families came to stay and it was a
hilarious experience. The mattresses
were 150 years old and incredibly
lumpy, they all put their feet
through the sheets because they
were so ancient. The hot water
came on at all the wrong times
and my husband looked askance
at the spike in electricity as all of
us blow-dried our hair at 6pm. We
soon worked out what we needed
to update – the most pressing one
being heaters for the bedrooms.
What is your
top Christmas
tradition at
Highclere?
I have to say I love
Christmas Eve when
my husband reads
the poem Twas
the Night Before
Christmas to the
assembled children
sitting around him
on the floor, just
like his father did
before him.
LADY CARNARVON’S FENNEL,
BLOOD ORANGE AND WALNUT
SALAD SERVES 4
I am always looking for colourful winter salads,
and nuts give a much-needed energy boost at
this busy time of year.
INGREDIENTS:
• 2 bulbs of fennel
• 2 blood oranges
• 60g walnuts
• 10ml walnut oil and a further 10ml for a dressing
• 100g wild rocket
METHOD:
1. Peel and wash the whole fennel bulb.
2. Cut straight down the middle and remove the
heart (the hard centre near the root). Now slice as
thinly as you can – we use a mandolin for this.
3. Peel the blood oranges and segment and put
the flesh segments to one side, saving any juice
that comes your way, as this can be used later.
4. Wash the rocket in cold water and shake so it
is as dry as possible.
5. Place a frying pan on a high heat and add the
walnut oil. When hot, carefully add the walnuts
until nicely toasted on both sides. Remove from
the pan and allow to cool.
6. Time to toss the salad together. Take a big bowl
add the rocket, walnuts and fennel and dress with
walnut oil, then gently toss together. Try not to
handle the salad too much, season with cracked
black pepper and sea salt and any remaining blood
orange juice.
7. Divide into four separate bowls and then add a
few blood orange segments to each one.
WINTER 2019 | VIKINGCRUISES.CO.UK 45
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