Tea Time in England

Tea Time

Darlene managed to book reservations (due to a last minute cancellation) for us to have tea at Claridge's months ago.  This lavish affair is the site of important birthdays, meetings girlfriends and out of town guests, and a lovely place to take Mummy.  Certainly a very civilised affair.  A huge Murano glass chandelier adores the main room and photos of very young guests such as Audrey Hepburn, Yule Brenner, Princess Margaret et al.., adorn the walls.

We started out with champagne- brut or pink.  This was followed by our selections of tea and a plate of finger sandwiches:  smoked salmon, egg, chicken and cucumber.  I believe because we ate ALL of the sandwiches, another plate was promptly delivered.   Then came the hot cross buns, scones (raisin, apple, plain) with jam and clotted cream, and selection of cakes and tarts.  Yes, the amount of food was excessive and there was no need for dinner.

What I love about tea time in England, is the opportunity to just sit.  It is the prompt to slow down and relax.  Due to this pause, it is also a marvellous time to people watch.  When I was in high school drama, my friend, Carla Smith, and I did the famous tea time scene from The Importance of Being Ernest".  It felt like we had entered this microcosm of British class based society.  One older mother was sitting kitty corner to us with her two grown daughters.  The roles that each played in the family was abundantly clear and the disdain palpable.  All around the room, you could observe a variety of mini series in play.  Good fun.

I particularly enjoyed the daily ritual of Cream Tea.  Choice of your favourite tea (Earl Grey for me), two scones with butter, jam and Devonshire (clotted cream).  Not two much food but a nice little snack and still some time to walk it off.  It certainly made me think of my daughter, who is the queen of the perfect scone.  It was also a necessary way to warm up in the frosty weather of England this Spring.  Hard to believe the flowers and trees were in full bloom last year.