When I saw an event listing for the Chambord Chapter Eight games, I knew within a heartbeat that I had to pick up some tickets. Flamingo croquet and an Alice in Wonderland theme? French-American food from Le Bun? Chambord cocktails in London Fields? OBVIOUSLY yes.

All credit to the event company, because the whole roof terrace at Proof was decked out perfectly. Rose coloured chaise longues, pastel and jewel coloured wooden huts, flower bombs, and the fluffy flamingo mallets as a centrepiece. Mine was called Celine, by the way. There were four different Chambord cocktail options on the menu, utilising ingredients like gin, grapefruit, raspberry and rose. Le Bun had also incorporated the theme, and their usual burgers featured new additions such as Chambord coulis, champagne slaw, and freeze dried raspberries.

Sipping cocktails in the sunshine while overlooking London Fields, we loved having a go at the course. Regular hoops had been replaced by tiny topiary hedges, topped with cocktail shakers, martini glasses and gold pineapples. I’m a big fan of activity based fun instead of just heading to a normal bar, and this didn’t disappoint. Chambord had really explored the silly, French, OTT theme their latest campaign seems to be based on, and to great effect. The whole thing was entirely joyous, and if you’re not a regular croquet player you should have a go at it.

While the Chapter Eight games are over for now, I’d keep an eye on Chambord as I’m sure they’ve got some equally exciting things still to come. I would also strongly recommend heading over to Playground and Proof, as it’s a fascinating space and definitely worth stopping off at. Combine it with a trip to Broadway Market and Hackney City Farm as we did, and you’ll have a delightful day.