~Daphne Neville with Rudi the Otter~
Daphne Neville, who is portrayed in the books 'Funnily Enough' Ride the Wings of Morning' and The Making of Swallows and Amazons', has been appearing in the popular Channel 4 programme 'Come Dine With Me', broadcast at 5.00pm every day this week.
She hosted the first dinner party in the fifteenth century mill featured in 'Funnily Enough', preparing the meal in her kitchen, which has changed little in the last fifty-four years.
~Daphne Neville being interviewed in her kitchen~
Her four guests, who all live in Gloucestershire, were treated to tomato and mushroom soup, followed by wild salmon and a 'rumour of fruits'.
Daphne enjoyed entertaining the strangers immensely.
To give everyone a break between courses, as is the custom on the programme, Daphne brought Rudi the otter in to meet everyone.
There was a bit of drama later on when one of the ladies, a stickler for etiquette, took objection to what another guest was saying, grabbed her bag and walked out while Daphne was preparing the pudding.
She never explained herself or said Goodbye, which didn't seem to be in line with her previous words.
Daphne could have bought one pineapple less.
The other guests awarded Daphne 28 points out of a possible 40 for her home-cooked food. The others then entertained Daphne in their homes. She got to taste Jamacian cuisine, Canadian lobster and other tasty food. You may be able to watch the five episodes on ITV Chatch-up by clicking here
