gifts

From Custard Creams to Afternoon Tea?


 

Wondering what all the fuss is about Afternoon Tea?

You can remember a time when a packet of custard creams, or chocolate fingers were produced as a treat in the afternoon to have with your tea in your favourite mug, so what’s the big deal?

 Custard Cream             Image from Wikipedia

As our pace of life becomes busier and faster, this Victorian tradition is becoming more and more popular, maybe this trend is a sentimental longing for a period in time when sitting and chatting with friends and family face to face was seen as a valued pastime.

Dainty sandwiches, warm scones, artistic cakes served on tiered cake stands, silver service and china tea cups, are a novelty. And for anyone with special dietary requirements, my being a coeliac, has never been an obstacle to getting delicious food, in fact it’s even better as I get my own cake stand, everyone else has to share theirs.

I love making a day of it and travelling to sample menus in different parts of the country, in hotels, castles, historic buildings and going to places that you wouldn’t normally see.

It gives you a chance to admire the architecture, décor and is also a nice way to sample different establishment’s menus. Some hotels have started combining it with a spa day.

Afternoon Tea for two, is a great gift if you are stuck for an idea, or want to give something different for Easter, Christmas, birthdays or any occasion really. I have given Afternoon Tea gift vouchers as presents and they have always been received with delight, and you might even be lucky enough to be invited as the plus one.

So where did this tradition begin?

In 1840 the seventh Duchess of Bedford, Anna, who was a close friend of Queen Victoria has been credited with starting the tradition of Afternoon tea in England.

Anna Russell, 7th Duchess of Bedford. Image from Wikipedia

At this time people ate just two meals a day, breakfast, and dinner which was served at eight o’clock.

The Duchess became hungry around 4pm, so she asked for a tray of tea, bread, butter and cake to be brought to her room.  This became a daily event that she enjoyed so much she invited her friends to join her.

The Duchess  introduced the concept to Queen Victoria, and in the 1880’s it became such a fashionable social event that ladies would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between 4pm and 5pm.

Jam or Cream First? Image from Wikipedia

Jam or Cream First?

So are you a jam or cream first on your scone person? Do you pronounce scone like ‘tone’ or ‘gone’? Do you hold your tea cup correctly with your fingers curled underneath? These are just some of the fun debates that have developed around the Afternoon Tea Ceremony over the years.

Whatever way you like your Afternoon Tea, I hope you enjoy the experience, especially the company you spend it with, that’s the best part, the shared fun and memories.

Custard Cream                  Image from Wikipedia. Afternoon Tea Dromoland Castle, photograph Louise Harrison

Feel like a Goddess on Mother’s Day?


As you eat your cereal and burnt toast in bed, which was lovingly prepared and carried on a milk sodden tray to your bedroom by your little ones this Mother’s Day, do you feel like a Goddess?

Yes? There’s a reason for that.

In Europe the ancient Greeks and Romans celebrated mothers and motherhood and held festivals in honour of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele.

So remember you are a goddess as you clear up that mess in the kitchen made by your children’s heart-warming efforts to give you a treat.

Later, Mothering Sunday, in Europe, fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was a religious day when people would return to their mother church for a special service.

Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition became a more secular holiday, and eventually merged with the American Mother’s Day which was founded by Anna Jarvis in 1914.

Carnations or Roses?

White carnations, are associated with Mother’s Day in the US because they were the favourite flower of Anna Jarvis’s mother, because the carnation does not drop its petals. This symbol of the carnations hugging the petals to its heart, Anna likened to a mother’s love, as they hug their children to their hearts, because their mother love never dies.

Afternoon tea or face cream?

So what would be your favourite Mother’s Day present? It has been said that the gift of time is the most precious gift you can give someone special in your life. A spa day? An overnight stay? Afternoon tea? Shared experiences like these mean shared happy memories.

Flowers, perfume, beauty products, chocolate, shoes, clothing, a watch, jewellery, are also great presents to show your appreciation. There is something to suit every price range now, depending on how much money you have in your pocket.

“I believe the choice to become a mother is the choice to become one of the greatest spiritual teachers there is”. Oprah

To all the spiritual teachers out there, have a great mother’s day, you deserve it.