Saturday 30 January 2016

Tea at The Original Maids of Honour

It's been a while since I did a proper post on a tea trip. The main reason being that most of the tea places I have tried recently really haven't been worth posting about. However, a couple of weeks ago, a friend and I decided to try The Original Maids of Honour, which it turned out I couldn't not mention! It's is quite a well know tearoom which has been around since the mid nineteenth century, but I hadn't been to it before as it is all the way out in Kew. All I can say is that it was definitely worth the trek to get there!!





Proper sized tea cup. Not one of those tiny ones which can only hold a mouthful. 

Rather a pretty one too. :)

I would have preferred the tea pot and milk jug to have been china and not metal, but otherwise all was fabulous. :)

Delicious food. Fabulously light and fluffy scones, yummy chocolate flake cake, and lovely ham and cucumber sandwiches. (They usually give a wider selection of sandwiches, but I am rather picky when it comes to sandwich fillings, so they kindly offered to give me a plateful of only the ones I liked!) 

A Maid of Honour - the recipe is a highly guarded secret. Of course I had to try one. Not much to look at, but was a deliciously lemonny tart type thing with lovely fluffy pastry. Absolutely scrumptious!! :)

Outside they had two wonderful old delivery vans. 




So the curtains are looking very tattered,the carpet could be less psychedelic, and the loo needs to be refurbished, but those are just cosmetic things. The food is delicious, the staff are polite, friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere is fabulous. I half expected to see Miss Marple walk through the door as it looks exactly like the tearooms shown in various tv adaptations! It is the perfect place to go on a wintery afternoon, and without a doubt one of the best teas I have ever had in London.


Tuesday 19 January 2016

Regency Picnic at Mompesson House

This post is unfortunately evidence of how appalling I have become at posting! It seems to be a talent of mine!! I can't even remember when this event was, though for some reason September is coming to mind, so September it shall be.

So back in September :) , Mompesson House (National Trust) in Salisbury, put on an exhibition of artefacts from the 95 version of Sense and Sensibility. It was to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film, as the house was used as Mrs Jenning's London residence. For the opening weekend the NT invited a local regency group to have a picnic in the garden. A few friends are in the group so I was invited to join. 

Compared to most National Trust properties, Mompesson is on the small side, and has a relatively small garden. It's really just a lawn, but a decent sized one. So we arrived with our food and lawn games and took over the garden for a lovely afternoon of eating, game playing, dancing and chatting.
Unfortunately I didn't end up taking many photos of the picnic as we were trying to be as historically accurate as possible for the public.

One of the picnic tables. Everyone (except me!) bought baskets full of amazing regency food.

An delicious flummery . I made an eighteenth century version of a cheesecake for the occasion, but of course left it at home!! :)

A few fellow picnickers playing a game of Battledore.

At one point in the afternoon I escaped into the house to view the exhibition. I have been around the house before so my photos mainly concentrate on the costumes and artefacts from the film.




Colonel Brandon in the Drawing Room (So sad about Alan Rickman)

Tea caddies!! There were a few gorgeous items around the house that were too just pretty not to take a photo of. :)

Coffee set, but still pretty. :)

One of Elinor's ball gown's



Underclothes, which I think are Victorian. (Not entirely sure why they were part of the exhibition. Maybe they are on display all year round).

One of Marianne's outfits  



Mrs Jenning's bonnet

An embroidered handkerchief of Edward's. Sadly I don't think it was the original one he gave to Elinor.

Fanny Dashwood's bonnet

The rest of the photos are of a few original Regency items that the house owns.




Would love this fan.






Sunday 17 January 2016

Exploring Kingston Lacy - The First and Second Floors

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!! 

The tour of Kingston Lacey finally continues! :)

The main master bedroom

Bedside table. Love the phone and hot brick. 

The adjoining bathroom



One of the guest bedrooms

its adjoining dressing room. The the cupboard to the right of the fireplace, also doubles as the servants entrance to the room - a semi hidden staircase! 


Photos of the Bankes children taken in a studio

Ralph - the last member of the Bankes family to live in the house.

Lady Bankes's bedroom 




One of the famous Tent rooms. It is meant to look like the inside of a Napoleonic tent, and was a very fashionable way to decorate, though apparently very few examples survive. They were originally guest rooms for bachelors, but became the children's bedrooms when they grew out of the Nursery.

Though for some reason one for the tent rooms had been staged as a night nursery.


There were even plaster tassels hanging from the ceilings!