MORE TEA VICAR ?.................

Ahhhhh..........that age old English tradition of afternoon tea...........

.......isn't it awkward, when you've just moved in and your furniture hasn't arrived, but you made sure that you packed the tea things in the car so that you could have a cuppa as soon as you moved in?...........trouble is, the table hasn't arrived so, what better place to keep the teapot but on your head !!!!!!!!! and , of course, the tea drinking professional doesn't have just one cup ( photograph, courtesy of Rodney Smith)................No self-respecting, gentile Englishwomen would have just one teapot........

.........here's the quintessential afternoon tea....the cream tea.......a .freshly brewed pot of tea, just baked, warm scones, strawberry jam, thick, thick, clotted cream and a skirt with an elasticated waist !!!!!!!........


............ not many of you out there will know about the finer points of making a pot of tea......above is the tower infusing method.....this tradition has been passed down from mother to daughter for centuries !!!!!!!! Oh, at last, the furniture's arrived.......



............builders have great big mugs for their tea but, the ladies would have these lovely pink cups and saucers for their Darjeeling........


..............a big comfy sofa, cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches with the crusts cut off, french fancies,walnut cake, scones and tea.......twenty minutes to let it go down and then a glass of champagne........ I'll meet you there in an hour......... does anyone know how to play the harp ?

.........do you have a pair of kid leather gloves ? It is a pre requisite of the tea procedure....

.......... this is tea at The Connaught in London...or you could go to The Ritz, The Dorchester and many , many more..........

..........take care not to sit on the antique Royal Worcester china.......the maid must have left it there.......she will be getting her cards at the end of the week !!!!!!!...........

.....I quite often have my tea break sitting on mattresses, in a fairy queen outfit, in the middle of a forest with the teacup on my head, don't you ??!!! ( another great photo from Rodney Smith ) Anyone got a ciggie. I think that would finsh this photograph...I'm on the phone to Rodney as we speak !!!!! !!!!!

.........the posh tea drinkers choice...Earl Grey.....not my favourite, actually, although, I have been known to partake from time to time........

......... handmade teabags !!!!!!! I wonder what they bring to the table.......do you think that the tea will taste better.......perhaps they are like Cuban cigars........rolled on the thighs of dusky maidens !!!!!!!

....cakes and sandwiches in an English garden.......and, tea poured out of a retro teapot.........

.....well, there you are vicar......take your pick out of that little lot !!!!!!

Jackie

Obsessed with collecting..........

Are you obsessed with collecting anything and trudge round Antique Fairs and junk shops searching for that special object that you are so interested in ? I don't actually have anything that I collect, but I would love to hear about your collections. I have come back to edit that last comment I made as, looking around my house, I now realise that it is full of collections !!!!! Here is a selection of some of the things that people collect and how they display them .


This doesn't really look like a ' collection '. it just looks lovely

Blue and white china looks so pretty on a dresser and don't the sunflowers add a happy, summery touch ?

Chairs as a collection. Not sure !!

The baskets add a practical touch to collecting and did you know that there are so many shades of green glass ?

Can't get over how impressive these doorknobs look. It's the way they have been displayed.

This is one of the best ways of displaying a collection of photographs.

........and finally, knitting needles !!!!!