Entertaining space can be made all the more so by lavish tents and their near relatives. A good example was the Turkish Tent at Painshill near London about which Sir John Parnell wrote, in 1763: “The tent is elegantly finished ... and painted blue, joining a sailcloth marquee that covers all and is painted white with a blue fringe drawn up before in festoons.”

This exotic effect is echoed by Indian and Bedouin tents by UK company White Canvas. They come with closeable arched doors and fine cotton curtains which draw up into festoons.