Putting the 'art' in tea-party

A fortnight ago, I flew out to my beloved second home to see Snowy, my sister from another mister. And lady - in fact, not in any way, shape or form my sister except in the sense of souls. Which is also an arguable concept, depending on your belief system. She's a nice girl. I like her a lot, we'll leave it at that.

Upon arrival at her home I was presented with the missive on the right, an invitation to Afternoon Tea. 

Snowy, being of practical and sound mind, had had the foresight to let me know beforehand that there was an occasion in the offing, so I knew I had a suitable frock. I was not prepared, however, for a glittery peacock.

Clearly, this was going to be a good party.

Afternoon tea is a concept that is widely believed to have been the brainchild of Anna Marie Russell, the Duchess of Bedford, whilst on a visit to Belvoir Castle, sometime in the 1840's. In nineteenth century Britain, the normal time for dinner was between 7.30-8.00pm. Because of the gap between breakfast and dinner, a meal called 'luncheon' had been created to be consumed around midday. However, Her Grace had found that the luncheon repast was not enough to tide her over until dinner, so invented the custom of taking tea and some small sandwiches or cakes a little later in the afternoon. She found it so refreshing that she began to invite friends to join her, and they liked the idea so much they began to do the same and lo and behold - Afternoon Tea is suddenly quite the thing in upper and middle class households. 

God bless Her Grace.

The afternoon before the Tea, K-Rob and I sat in Snowy's kitchen, perusing the beautiful The Vintage Tea Party book while our hostess arranged flowers and began to prep the food for the morrow. 


We were informed there would be four courses, including our mascot sandwich, the Huli Huli Chicken Sandwich. Cue paroxysms of joy from K-Rob (seriously, I once asked her if she had to pick between the sandwich and her fiance, which it would be. After careful thought, she told me she loved him so she'd choose him, but she henceforth hated me for even raising it. She also recently informed Snowy and I that she loved the sandwich more than us. See photo for her with the sandwich. Cow). 

Snowy also told us that on the menu would be Heston Blumenthal's Lemon Tart, chilled raspberry soup and a surprise. Almost giddy with anticipation, we took ourselves off to the living room to have some tea and watch Spaced.

The day of the party dawned. Thrown out of the kitchen while Snowy prepared, we took ourselves off to get dolled up, tea-party style. 

And then it was time.


The table was an absolute vision in aquas, blues and purples and the food was PHENOMENAL.

First up, a selection of sandwiches, the much-famed Huli Huli Chicken, the elegant cream cheese and cucumber, the classic smoked salmon and cream cheese and Snowy's own cream cheese and green grape.

GET IN MY BELLY! As the cool kids and that scary man from one of the Austin Power's films says.


Next course was the beautiful lemon tart, followed by the chilled raspberry soup and homemade chocolate cookie and icecream sandwiches. All served with a sparkling mint tonic, apple presse and, of course, tea, and set to a backdrop of thoughtful tunes. 


But did it do the job? Were we refreshed? Did we feel as though the luncheon/dinner minefield had been breached with elegance and style.

Fuck, yeah.

Hats off to Snowy for creating a perfect afternoon. And for very cleverly sedating me with food so I didn't go full-on mental when we went to Marvels: Avengers Assemble later that day.

Here she is, folks, the hostess with the mostess.

So what's the point of this blog, other than more showing off?

Well, according to The Vintage Tea Party book, it's very important that, after you go to a tea party, you send the hostess a note, thanking her for having you.

This is my note.

Thank you, Snowy, for organising, arranging and hosting such a beautiful and elegant occasion. I'm very grateful to count you amongst my best friends and I look forward to many more fun adventures with you in the future.
As long as you keep feeding me.

Love, Mel xxxxx