Monday 30 December 2013

Tea the Thirty-Second

Can the most vivid imagination picture the angels (above the stars) drinking coffee? 
No. Yet, if I were to show them to you over the teacups, 
you would not be surprised or shocked. Would you? Not a bit of it.
Arthur Gray - The Little Tea Book


York Cocoa House, Blake Street, York - Monday 30th December 2013


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Tea Takers


Sarah Ryan
Rachel Hodgson
Alex Farmer

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Another fine York tea today, continuing to make the most of the tea-taking opportunities of the holidays.  It was very important to find an opportunity to have tea with Rachel, who is another special school friend. Having both been busy in our early professional and married lives it has been a further fine by-product of owning our house in York, that we have been able to see each other more regularly, as Rachel, Michael and their lovely daughters, Rebecca and Sophie are fortunate to be proper residents of the city.  Today we were able to leave fathers and daughters enjoying festive relaxation while we had a grown-up ladies tea, and the opportuntiy for longer relaxed conversations.  Alex, now a veteran for whom this is the third tea of the proceedings, has come to spend New Year with us, and with her tea companion credentials well established, we made up a very jolly party.  It was good to introduce friends from different parts of my life and for us to be able to enjoy a comfortable and entertaining tea, in a very attractive and cosy cafe, while the winds howled around the streets outside.




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The City of Chocolate


York is a city whose most notable industry has been chocolate - if that isn't reason enough to live here, I don't know what is.  The trade began in the city in the early 18th Century, and Rowntree's, Terry's, Craven's all blossomed as major chocolatiers and confectioners in the 19th Century.  Whilst the world of big business has changed the nature of many of these old firms, chocolate is still produced by Nestle
in the city and on days when the wind is in the right direction, we can walk out of our front door and inhale chocolatey delight.




The city proudly celebrates its chocolate heritage, with trails, museums, plays and now an annual chocolate festival. In 2011 one York chocolate enthusiast opened the York Cocoa House, which is cafe , shop and 'chocolate school' - it is attractive, quirky and stylish, and in its attractive Georgian town house setting in the centre of town, it is unsurprisingly popular.  We had to wait a little while for a table, but queuing is most suitably sweetened by the provision of luxurious chocolate buttons whilst you wait.





The interior is attractively eclectic with varied tables and chairs, a book-lined room housing their chocolate library and various displays of York chocolate memorabilia.





A large glass counter displays an impressive range of enticing chocolate cakes and biscuits.




A very civilised setting for a winter afternoon.

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We opted for the 'Afternoon Chocolate' afternoon tea menu, which promised an extraordinary array, begining with chocolate savouries, followed by chocolate and cherry scones and a range of chocolate cakes. The pots of tea arrived promptly and we were able to fortify ourselves for the challenges ahead, helped by the delightful accompanying lemon curd truffles.



The savouries were particularly unusual - rarebit with chocolate, crostini with chocolate pesto and chocolate tapenade, and chicken wraps with a chocolate mole (for those, who like me, don't know about such things this, this is pronounced mo-lay, and is a Mexican sauce, not a small chocolate burrowing mammal). 




To be honest, the chocolate was not a strong taste feature in any of these, but they were very pleasant, and the rarebit really quite delicious (the first rarebit of the odyssey, and certainly worth the inclusion). Still, it gave a coherent theme and a novel twist.

I was not sure what I would make of the scones, but actually was very pleasantly surprised - I enjoyed mine very much and the topping of crunchy sugar added an additional pleasing taste and texture. Alex was a little concerned by their crispy finish, but I felt this worked in the particular combination.






Rocky Road, Chocolate Orange and stem ginger brownies topped the cake stand and were generally agreed to be delicious, although we were all rather full by that point.  It was a generous and well-thought-out tea and was very suitable for the setting.

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The Happiness and Sociability of Tea.







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Thirty-Second Tea - Thirty-Second Year





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Another lovely afternoon, and I hope to return to the York Cocoa House - Rachel and I were both taken with the idea of their chocolate workshops, and I am sure there are some very important skills thta we really ought to learn.

Tea and chocolate - a joyful combination.






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Sunday 29 December 2013

Tea the Thirty-First

You remember Cleopatra 
Had a date to meet Mark Anthony at three 
When he came an hour late she said "You'll have to wait" 
For everything stops for tea.
Featured in Jack Buchanan's 1935 film, "Come Out Of The Pantry" 
(Goodhart / Hoffman / Sigler)


Hazlewood Castle Hotel, Hazlewood, North Yorkshire - Sunday 29th December 2013



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Tea Takers


Sarah Ryan
Paul Ryan
Olivia Ryan
Angela Rothbury
Olivia Rothbury


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A beautiful clear winter day and, as the sun began to set, we drove the very familiar road towards Leeds, turning off half-way to follow the winding drive through the woods to Hazlewood Castle.  It is a gorgeous setting and somewhere I have hoped might feature in the odyssey, and provided an excellent location for another important reunion tea.  This time we came to meet Angela, my Latin teacher, and a huge influence from my school days, and her daughter Olivia, who was briefly my colleague at Leweston.


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The earliest records of buildings on the site are found in Domesday Book, which relates that Sir Mauger the Vavasour resided in the Hall of a Thane at Hazelwood (which is just a lovely phrase to type - these opportunites don't come often enough). The Vavasour family, in a feat of impressive continuity, then lived here until the early Twentieth century, with a Thirteenth century scion applying to the king to be allowed to crennellate and fortify his manor, which made it officially a castle.  Parts of the original castle remain, augmented over the centuries to form a mixture of styles and adjoining buildings that are a very attractive conglomeration.  It is an idyllic setting.




The family remained Catholic following the Reformation and the Castle remained in Catholic hands even when sold in 1908. In 1971, having been sold to Carmelite Friars, it became a retreat house. This was its use when I first knew of the place as a teenager. We were told at school that they had amongst their relics the skull of St Luke Kirby, the martyr after whom our form was named, and there was talk that we might visit it, although sadly that was never achieved.

The Castle was sold again in 1996 and was renovated to become a country house hotel.

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We took tea in the library, book-lined with Jacobean dark wood shelving, and a fire burning in the stove at the base of the baronial fireplace.





Tea was very pleasant, sandwiches, scones and clotted cream and a nice selection of cakes, including a fine tarte au citron.  Paul felt it was a little ungenerous - only one type of sandwich per person, one scone and small cakes, however, in their defence, I think the standard of the goods was high and it was very reasonably priced - I certainly had eaten very well and thought that all aspects rated highly on the Ryan tea assessment scale.

Paul rolls up his sleeves for serious work:


Olivia (the younger) opted for toast for which she gave an entirely positive review.



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As mentioned above, Angela was my Latin teacher at Notre Dame High School in Leeds from when I was thirteen.  She taught me both Latin and Classical Studies for A-level and inspired in me a great love for both subjects - I am very aware as a teacher myself, how much she influenced the way I teach, and how I understand learning.  She was also always enormous fun, and it was really lovely to spend time with her again today and to enjoy her excellent company.




I say she taught me throughout my time at school, but there were a notable few terms when she was away on maternity leave - I remember, when we were told the news that she had a new daughter called Olivia, thinking 'what a lovely name' - then stored that thought away for future consideration.

Somw twenty years later, a couple of years into the Graduate Assistant scheme at Leweston, I was really excited to see that one Olivia Rothbury had applied - it was immediately clear from her application that she had to be the person I suspected.  Having professionally handed over the decision-making to other colleages, I was delighted that she turned out to be obviously an outstanding candidate and came to join our team.  Inevitably, perhaps, a chip off the old block, she is a natural teacher and we were very lucky to have her. 




I remember it was particularly entertaining, and a unique experience, to be able to unnerve an interview candidate by saying "actually, we have met before - I babysat for you when you were two..."


Angela has only recently retired from Notre Dame and so it was good to catch up on news and to hear how much things have changed there now. Both Rothbury ladies were exemplary tea companions and I am so pleased they were able to join us.

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Thirty-First Tea - Thirty-First Year






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Mothers and their Olivias






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Saturday 28 December 2013

Tea the Thirtieth

Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures
 which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o'clock, 
warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, 
curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, 
whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.
Thomas de Quincey

36 Well House Drive, Leeds - 26th December 2013


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Tea Takers


Sarah Ryan
Paul Ryan
Olivia Ryan
Jean Thacker
Margaret Griffith


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Time for tea at my Mum's, in the house where I grew up. We moved to 36 Well House Drive in summer 1988 and it was the home of my late teens.





A suburban semi of no great architectural beauty, but an important formative place for me.

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Tea on Boxing Day was a great opportunity to add festive joy to tea and indulge in gingerbread and other Christmas baking experiments.

Lemon drizzle cake (perhaps not strictly Christmassy, but my favourite cake, and baked in a novel tin and glittered, so it definitely counts!)



An opportunity to try out new Ikea cutters for 3D biscuits




Iced Christmas biscuits, Mars Bar 'munch' and some very lovely brownies made by Olivia


Of course, it wouldn't have been afternoon tea without scones and clotted cream so Mary Berry's recipe came back into its own.  Foolishly I forgot the strawberry jam but we had lemon curd and blackcurrant jam as options, which were pleasing if not ideal.




Saucer crackers were pleasing...




...if a little difficult to pull.



The quality of the jokes was predictable




And some people thought it was appropriate to gesture with them  - tsk!




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It was lovely to be able to use my Grandma's tea service for tea (bought by my Mum for my Grandparents 25th wedding anniversary in 1959, my Grandma having always longed for a rose bud tea set). When I was a child this was something only ever brought out on high days and holy days and it is a clear mark of this being a 'proper' tea party.




Another significant artefact for the occasion was our family teapot - bought by Margie before I was born the teapot (with it attendant hot water jug, milk jug and sugar bowl) - for me it is in a way the archetypal teapot for all its seventies styling.





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Thirtieth Tea - Thirtieth Year







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Margie is my Godmother and is more 'family' than many relations.  She and my Mum met when teaching in Liverpool in the mid-fifties and have been close friends ever since.  She has been a crucial support and provider to our family over many years - she took me on my first trip to London, took me to Austria and Venice, read AA Milne poems to me more times than any adult should have to, and was a key figure in my childhood. 

The best part of sixty years of friendship and they're still smiling...



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