Tea for Tuition

My University gals have returned to me.
Sort of.
One, back from Bristol, wants as much work as possible to raise the funds to take her horse to University with her next year.
The second, back from Cardiff, has done a couple of shifts before flying out to Thailand for a month.
The third, back from Cambridge, dropped in for tea this afternoon before she takes up her holiday job in the Alps. She says she'll be home in September.

A big day.

Today.

25 for lunch at 1215 before they leave for a tour of the church and crypt.

10 invigilators for lunch (from the local High School).

31 for dinner to celebrate Charlie and Matt's second wedding anniversary.
Which means it's two years since we catered their wedding on that glorious day in that glorious marquee.

How time flies.

In tents.

Yesterday was interesting.
Four of us started at 7.30 making sandwiches, wrapping cakes, florentines, brownies and the like for a catering stall within the grounds of Witley Court.
This weekend there's a Victorian Garden Party taking place. They have musicians and actors, games and trails and short talks on things like body snatching and Victorian etiquette.
We had put up two (borrowed) gazebos near the spectacular fountain.
It was all to be ready at 11am for the start of the event...
Except that at about 10.30 a gust of wind tore one gazebo's pegs out of the ground, lifted it up and smashed it into pieces.
Fortunately the food stuff hadn't been brought over at that point so no cake was harmed.
We moved site. To the other side of the fountain.
We set out our stall.
We made coffee and tea, and sold sandwiches, strawberries and cream, cakes and even Pimms to Court visitors, some of whom were dressed in appropriate costumes. These were members of a Victorian society who were seeing two of their number renew their vows in the Church after 30 years of marriage and who made quite a spectacle as they walked through the grounds (some of them now clutching authentic Victorian rippled take-away cups).
It wasn't my busiest ever day.
Nor the best weatherwise.
Fortunately the tea room was busy.

Today we do the whole thing all over again.
Minus the broken gazebo. I hope.

Crumbs

I was asked earlier this year if I could provide coffee and biscuits for a very large coach party.
Of course I said yes, and had an instant image of custard creams. Before I knew what I was doing I told them we would provide coffee and HOMEMADE biscuits.
The night before they arrived I was cursing myself.
The day of their visit I was patting myself on the back.
They were really appreciated even if some of the biscuits weren't exactly regular and a few decidedly misshapen.

So, fast forward to yesterday.
Yesterday was smashing.
Twenty eight (including Andy the coach driver) from Oakengates Age Concern group in Shropshire had a day out. We served them coffee and home made biscuits when they arrived.
Again the homemade element hit the spot.
Then they went off for a talk in the church about its history and returned at 1pm for lunch.
We served our first strawberries and cream of the season to them.
They went off to see the 2pm fountain.
They came back for more tea and coffee.
They bought plants and bottles of elderflower presse and Andy drove them home.

These midweek group visits are rapidly becoming a favourite.

In the USA a few years ago I saw a sign outside a restaurant which said everything was "Ho - made". I shall not be putting up such a sign in Great Witley.

Always right.

"What's the soup of the day?" they asked.
I told them it was asparagus, made at the tearooms using the crop grown in the village.
There were wrinkled noses.
"We don't like asparagus" she said and continued to study the menu.
Now I know some people don't like asparagus, but I also know how good our soup is. He looked at me and could, I think, sense my disappointment.
"Oh go on then," he said, "I'll have the soup."
I told him he shouldn't have it if he wasn't going to enjoy it. There were plenty of other lovely things on offer. But would he like a little taste of it just to see....
I brought him a small amount in a ramekin.
He tried it. 
His wife finished it off.
They both ordered soup.

Hot potato

Today, as every day, we put the new potatoes into a pan to cook.
Ten or fifteen minutes later they were drained and kept warm, ready for lunch.
On the first quiche order the salad was prepared and then the coleslaw and new pots added and went outside to a lady in the sunshine.
Who fortunately had a sense of humour.
Her new potatoes were raw.
The gas hadn't been on.

When I went to speak to her to apologise she was utterly lovely.
She says she's coming back again tomorrow.
I shall personally check those spuds.

On another table outside a couple pulled out a folded page from last year's Essentials magazine which featured the tea rooms and stories of various customers-of-the-day. I suggested if they wanted that accolade then they had to do something pretty eccentric (like eat a raw potato). The gentleman suggested he might serenade everyone in the garden.
That would have done it.
He didn't.

Sun specs

It's been a very long time since the forecasters gave us so much good news.
Sunny and dry all week.
Have ordered more of everything.
Hope I'm not just seeing the world through dark rose tinted glasses.

Not everyone's cup of tea.

A wonderfully busy weekend (which started with a BIG Friday).
Today there was a 5pm concert in the church, as most Sundays.
Today the choir sang the music from the Coronation (60 years ago today) and a former vicar who lives in the parish shared his memories of being a choirboy in Westminster Abbey when the Queen was crowned.
A family of 3 generations was leaving the tea rooms just before the concert began.
I mentioned what was going on and suggested they might like to see it. It was only going to be 45 minutes long, I said, and might be a good way to finish their outing.
"What do you think, mum?" the oldest member of the group was asked, "would you like to hear that?"
"No, I don't like coronation music," she answered, "I prefer something more bouncy."