On the 10th of July do come along to the Lewisham People's Day and you will find the Golden Afternoon Tea Company doing what we do best in the Big Top Tea Room. As part of Lewisham borough's biggest festival, we will be serving delish homemade cakes and tea in our vintage teacups to the crowds.
There will be jiving,tangoing, ukeleleying and allsorts going on in the tea room big top, with Spitfire Bounce taking care of the 1940's swing dancing, the Brockley ukelele orchestra and I can't wait to see The Cockney Awkestra , they have human coconut shys and mass knees up to Mother Brown. Seriously just how much fun can there be under one tent?
We'll be there in our retro aprons, teapots at the ready, there will even be a couple of Nippies, as if they've come straight out of a Lyons Tea House!
Come along and say hello, there will be so much to do with 3 other stages and a flashmob dance to
Walking on Sunshine with Katrina and the Waves. And if that doesn't deserve a slice of cake, I don't know what does!
Have a look here for all the info about how to find it plus it's absolutely free!
Finally I have found a way of combining my two most favourite things in the whole world...afternoon tea and musicals! Since a wee young thing, I have been obsessed with musicals, showtunes,MGM, Fred and Ginger, Judy, and Gene...There really is nothing that cheers the heart as much as spending a Sunday with a wonderful film and a scrumptious tea!
So on the 18th of April, The Golden Afternoon Tea Company will be organising our very first Sunday Afternoon Musical, and we thought we'd debut with a splurge, the well loved and fun filled,
splurge-tastic Bugsy Malone!
And as well as watching the film, we will be having a sing-song around the piano to get us in the mood. There will be charleston dancing, a 1920's ' Watch the Birdie' photobooth, cocktails in teacups and of course the most delicious cakes and scones. Too good to miss don't you think?!
So if you fancy some frolics at Fat Sam's Grand Slam Speakeasy, or the Bethnal Green Working Men's Club do pop down on the 18th of April, we would love to see you!
Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend.
The chap and I filled it with flowers, a trip to the flower market(the car broke down, was taken pity on and given a free chocolate bar by a local)then Columbia road flower market on Sunday, traipsed around many vintage clothes shops and stuffed ourselves silly with tons of chocs and cake. Bliss..
My friend, Mrs Lee sent me this most gorgeous vintage Easter card, isn't the picture darling? I bought armfuls of these English grown Narcissi, and with the palest pink hyacinths and snow white lilac the house has been filled with the sweetest perfume.
Best wishes for a sweet and fragrant spring for you all.
Have been journeying up and down the country in miserable weather to rather grim places. The one thing that has kept me going is the thought of all those charty shops to ransack and did I find some treats! There should be a way of describing that little skip of the heart when you spy
a charity shop bargain..a bargain beat? a chazza hic?
I shall post some pics of my finds at a later date, suffice to say I arrived home a lot more laden then I left and was rather concerned about how I was going to sneak the boxes of teasets in without the Chap noticing (I didn't).
Anyhoo, whizzing on- here are some pictures from our recent trip down the rabbit hole, otherwise known as the Mad Hats and Moustaches party organized by Mad Hatter Events to raise money for Prostrate Cancer Research..
'Pologies for the pics not being brill, my camera battery deceived me when it said how much was left, so this was all we managed to snap. It was a simply triumphant night, the girls really did outdo themselves with amazing decorations and huge mad hatter and tweedledee and dum photobooths. Hopefully there will be some more official pictures to share later.
Here I am, queen of the jam tart and teacup..
Can you spy the dormouse in the teapot!! Well it was really more of a hedgehog!
Exciting times at Golden Afternoon Tea Company hq, in a couple of weeks our vintage china will soon be making make it's television debut!
Yesterday we were super excited to be asked to provide an Agatha Christie style afternoon tea for Kitchen Market, a foodie magazine tv programme on the digital channel, Good Food.
After a very quick turnaround for cucumber sandwiches and fruit scones, I packed up a selection of tea sets, tablecloths, two teapots and the silver tiered stand and off we headed to the television studios in North London. Even the pooches came along for the ride- moral support, of course! It was great fun selecting the teacups and plates to give the perfect look, such a thrill to see the gorgeous china put to good use. Out of the teasets I brought, the producers liked an art deco shaped yellow floral pattern, and matched it with pink gilded plates. It looked delightful. The cake stand was laden with cucumber sandwiches, fruit tartlets and rose fairycakes. Perfectly fit for Miss Marple.
The programme will be all about the intriguing connection between food and crime. Maybe it's Jack the Ripper's favourite sandwich filling or the best grub to fill up on before a bank heist- who knows? You will have to tune in to find out!
The afternoon tea we created set the scene for a discussion with the prolific crime writer, Martina Cole on Miss Marple and Agatha Christie. As quintessentially English as the afternoon tea tradition, Miss Marple,in tweed, always unravels the murder as she sips from her china teacup.
Love this clip- two scenes of tea drinking within nine minutes! And not to mention the sherry...
Kitchen Market will be aired at 7pm on March 16th on the digital channel Good Food, do tune in to see our afternoon tea hit the airwaves!
We may even have a celebratory tea party, put the fizz on ice!
And if you would like to have an Agatha Christie/ Miss Marple afternoon tea party, here's a helpful guide or contact us to provide it all. Although we can't guarantee any helpful detection work if anything goes wrong!
The Royal Premiere(oooo) is happening right this instant, even as I type, with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter et al tripping down the red carpet to the odeon in London's Leicester Square.
Harumph, my invite must have got lost in the post.
Invite or not, I was fairly tempted to head down there and brighten up this grim and miserable day with some celeb spotting, maybe hand out some Golden Afternoon Tea Company cupcakes, but even a teamaid has her limits and you would have to be mad as a hatter to stand for hours in this hideous rain!
But in just a few weeks time we get to be part of a real live Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Yes you read that right, Lina and I will be creating a scene fit for Alice at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party- Mad Hats and Moustaches.
Taking place on the 20th of March at Jamm in Brixton,we are delighted to be part of this club night that promises to be a tiptop night out.
As well as fantabulous bands and entertaining comedians, there will be actors dressed up as characters from the book and the Golden Afternoon Tea Company will be creating and serving 'eat me' cupcakes and the Queen of Heart's Jam tarts along with cups of Earl Grey tea-tinis to sip.
The Mad Hatter himself will be entertaining the guests at our specially created tea party table.
And the best thing of all about the evening is that it all goes towards raising money for the Prostrate Cancer Charity as part of prostrate cancer awareness month.
The charity raises money for research into the causes, prevention and treatment of prostate cancer.
So you get to eat cake, drink tea-tinis, dance, wear silly hats and raise money for a fantastic cause, get your ticket from Mad Hats and Moustaches- a mere £7.
Do come along!
Next week, we shall be having a week of Alice inspired posts(so much to choose from) to get us in the mood for the film's release on March 6th.
Oh.. we heart Helena, despite what they say she can do no wrong in my eyes!
Here she is with that clever Tim Burton earlier at the premiere.
Have a peek at this clip from BBC news, interviews from the red carpet with Johnny Depp, Helena and Anne Hathaway who reveals she based the White Queen on Nigella Lawson!
Oh ok- here's Johnny.... now that's what I call yummy. Where's the spoon...
There was always much excitement in the Lula house when I was a nipper; coming home from school to find Mother Dearest up to her elbows in floury batter,whisking up a storm.
The flipping would start (I always lived in hope that one would stick to the ceiling) and we would pile them high soaked with lemon juice and crunchy with sugar. Yum yum yum!
As with most things in life, when it comes to the simple things- turn to Delia.
Amazing what a powerhouse of cooking influence she has been, whilst sporting an array of
pudding bowl haircuts!
And the pancake recipe is such a breeze to follow
110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs
200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
50g/2oz butter
This makes 12-14 pancakes.
Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl,
slowly add in the milk and water mixture whisking all the time to obtain a smooth batter.
Scrape down any floury mixture from the sides and soon the lumps will disappear so it is nice and creamy.
(If you have a mixer this can be made even easier by ditching the whisk)
Melt 50g/2oz of butter and whisk 2 tablespoons into the mixture, the rest use for greasing the pan.
Lightly grease a hot frying pan and using a ladle spoon the mixture into the pan.
Tip the pan so it is completely covered, wait till the underside comes away easily with a flat knife
and then the fun really begins..start flipping!
Traditionalists stick with lemon and sugar, but for those more adventurous-
the world is your pancake.
Nutella,stewed apple and icecream, golden syrup or honey..
As I'm sure you know, Pancake day or Shrove Tuesday was the day people used up the rich ingredients, butter, milk and eggs before eating plainer food during Lent.
And sticking with this idea, I have been polishing off the cupcakes leftover from Sunday's Valentine Cinema day like a hoover- oh my poor waistline!
It was another triumph and luckily most of the cakes were snapped up, these were some we forgot to put out,The Chap was meant to take them into work..
Quelle dommage.
I picked up this set of teaspoons at the weekend, couldn't resist the gorgeous art deco design.
Might make a cup of darjeeling to give them a whirl and a stir!
If you find yourself at a loose end this Valentine's Eve and fancy a trip back in time, come join us for tea and cake and an evening watching a terribly,terribly romantic film; a tale of unrequited love, station tea rooms, stolen glances and copious amounts of tea - Brief Encounter of course darling!
We will be providing the tea and cakes for the first Hither Green Cinema event of 2010 taking place at The Station Pub, Hither Green in South East London and we are so very busy preparing lots of scrumptious goodies. Loveheart cupcakes and our devilishly delish Choc and raspberry cupcakes and lots of heart - shaped cakes will no doubt be making an appearance.
The last event was a rip-roaring success- we were practially knocked down in the stampede for the cakes!
A classic weepie, Brief Encounter was made in 1945 directed by David Lean and stars Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard, falling in love but unable to leave their respective marriages and humdrum lives.. it is the most perfect film to watch whilst nibbling on cakes and sipping tea, as the scenes where they meet and then when they part take place in the Station tea room.
Brief Encounter was filmed in Carnforth Station Lancashire and the tea room where it was filmed has recently been reopened and restored so it looks just as it did in the film. You can go and be part of your own Brief Encounter.. just don't be getting anything in your eye!
And it is all so terribly English, I hope we shall all be speaking in cut glass tones by the end of it.
Or at least like this wonderful Victoria Wood parody.. what a hoot!
On Sunday we were thrilled to be providing Afternoon Tea for a fantastic pop up cinema event in
Hither Green, South East London. The day of films was organised by the Hither Green Community Hall and Arts Society which was formed to save the historic cinema building of Hither Green and to raise awareness of the need for a cinema and community hall in the area.
We adore a lovely film so how could we resist..
An empty warehouse was transformed as if by magic for the day and the crowds thronged to see the first cinema event in the area since 1957!
The first film was that wonderful classic and one of my absolute favourites, My Fair Lady.
Is there no finer musical? Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn... Colonel Pickering!! Cecil Beaton's incredible costumes in the Ascot scene and ahh, Audrey's frock that she wears to the ball- good golly makes me weak at the knees! Not to mention the heavenly songs, there was lots of silent singing behind the tea tables!
And of course, what could be more perfect than to tuck into Afternoon Tea as we tapped our feet and sang along.
Although there was not much chance to catch our breath, we were rushed off our feet with queues tailing far far back, phewie.
We couldn't pour the tea fast enough.
We even had to recruit the lovely Matt as an honorary Tea Maid!
We had a scrummy selection of cakes and we were rather carried away with the My Fair Lady theme
Luverly lemon drizzle with crystalized flowers and an enormous chocolate and violet heart shaped cake.
We had lots of apple cakes, thanks to a bountiful amount of cooking apples from a Kent orchard,
an apple and vanilla sponge, apple raisin and walnut cupcakes and a gooey and gorgeous apple and blackberry cake.
Lina made her fabulous lemon and poppyseed cupcakes and don't forget the scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam.
It was all demolished before we even had a chance to take some pics to show.
So here are the best we could get, most of the cakes had been snaffled up!
How perfectly civilized for a Sunday afternoon!
People kept coming back for more and one was even overheard saying this was the most delicious cake he had eaten in his whole life.. We like that lots.
Thanks to everyone who came and the team who worked so hard and organised such a fantastic day, let's hope it's the first of many!
