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There is not trouble so great or grave that cannot be much
diminished by a nice cup of tea.
Bernard-Paul Heroux
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Bettys, Harrogate - Saturday 28th September 2013
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Tea Takers
Sarah Ryan
Paul Ryan
Olivia Ryan
Jean Thacker
Kathryn Asbury
Iris Asbury
Gillian Kerrigan
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A return to Bettys, this time to the original in Harrogate to celebrate the birthday of my Mum, Jean. The typical high standards and elegance of these very fine Yorkshire establishments were well maintained and we enjoyed a very fine tea in the company of some very special friends.
Olivia - joined by her mother, grandmother and godmother for the occasion. Kathryn and her Mum, Gillian, and eldest daughter, Iris, were excellent company and it was very lovely to have the opportunity to meet up with them mid-term on a fleeting visit north.
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Bettys, Harrogate
As I have recorded elsewhere in this blog, Swiss confectioner Frederick Belmont, established Bettys in Harrogate in 1919. Immensely successful from the start it was the beginning of a local legend and is still a place that people flock too. Only yesterday I overheard colleagues (who had no idea of my plans for today) at lunch in Sussex discussing a visit to Bettys in Harrogate in hushed tones.
It is still a family business and maintains its commitment to very high quality goods and service, and fabulous confectionery.
Today we sat downstairs in what in known as The Spindler Gallery - an elegant room where every alcove and wall is decorated by marquetry pictures from the famous Spindler workshop in Alsace - another reminder of Bettys European links. Continental scenes are accompanied by many specially created Yorkshire locations and it was very pleasing that we were placed below a very familiar vista.
One significant mystery is why the cafe is called Bettys at all. No-one actually knows, although there are thought to be a number of possible candidates for 'Betty' - which range from Elizabeth Bowes Lyon - later the Queen Mother; a manageress of Harrogate Spa, Betty Lupton, a local doctor's daughter who died of tuberculosis to a small girl who interrupted the first board meeting when the name of the tea rooms was being chosen. In the shop you can buy a book of stories which imagine who Betty might have been - never let it be said Bettys would miss out on a creative marketing opportunity.
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Tea was all that we might have expected. Paul and Gillian chose the Yorkshire cream tea, and rated the scones very highly. The clotted cream and jam was copious and much enjoyed. Others opted for a range of toasted and sweet goods. I had my first pikelets of the odyssey and they were very delicious. This was followed by a raspberry macaroon with fresh raspberries, which was quite idyllic. Paul's only criticism was what he felt to be the excessive bitterness of the coffee, however those of us with the discrimination to opt for tea were well pleased with our beverages.
Mum enjoyed a rarebit scone and engadine cake (layers of meringue and hazelnut) and Kathryn a delicate frangipane.
Olivia so enjoyed her bacon muffin that it was necessary to order a second.
Perhaps the most exotic item, however, was Iris' gingerbread bat.
Beautiful silverware, elegant china and the discreet attentiveness of smart and helpful waitresses - all hallmarks of the Bettys experience - made for a truly lovely afternoon.
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Three Generations of Friendship
Kathryn has been one of my very closest and most special friends since we were in sixth form together. At one stage in our lives we spent much of our time together and in and out of each other's houses. Our mothers were sources of advice, support, welcome and food at all hours and in many different situations. It has been lovely that in the years since we have both moved away from home, started families and had to maintain a more geographically distant friendship that our mothers have become very good friends who see each other regularly, and that whilst we can only get together once in a while our daughters love spending time with each other.
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Twenty-Fourth Tea - Twenty-Fourth Year
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The Birthday Girl
Today is my Mum's 77th birthday, and it has been lovely that we have been able to travel up for the weekend to celebrate with her.
Everyone feels their Mum is really the one who typifies the nature of the maternal role, but I know that it's actually my Mum. Thoughtful, resourceful, supportive, considerate, and utterly loving and giving she is a very good friend to many and lynch pin for her family. A teacher and musician, she has been a role model and an inspiration. Her strength and love has allowed me to become the person I am, and so it was essential that part of this odyssey should be celebration of her too.
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