In some past life I am certain that I was mother to two delightful little boys who attended Eton College, and I would lovingly attend their cricket matches in my stylish, but not always practical, Saturday dress and parasol. Being the doting mummy, I would pack them home-baked treats to nibble in the shade after their exertions on the field. But alas! One afternoon an excitable Labrador became entangled in my delicately sequined dress, causing me to fling my picnic basket aside. I managed to lose a high heel in the scuffle, and unfortunately (and most unintentionally) seemed to disturb the cricket match while in pursuit of the shoe-wielding pup. George and William were most upset by my behaviour (did I mention that I quite unknowingly picked up the cricket ball to bargain with the lab?), and I hadn't the heart to tell them that their délicieux pavlova was now ruined. So I served it anyway, and this is how Eton Mess came to be!
