Tea Time Treats: Sepia Saturday

This week's Sepia Saturday prompt photograph shows friends enjoying afternoon tea in the garden,c.1920.    I have a good match,though taken earlier around 1900.

An unidentified scene from the postcard collection 
 of the Heritage Hub, Hawick 

                      SO WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS FOR AN AFTERNOON TEA? 

The Kettle 

 I remember this copper kettle (below)  sitting in the hearth of my grandfather's house and I was always led to believe  it was his mother's - my great grandmother Maria Danson, nee Rawcliffe (1859-1919)   I was absolutely  delighted when it eventually passed down to me.

The Best China
Complementing the kettle is this tea-set, which,  (according to her granddaughter), Maria acquired by collecting coupons from a newspaper offer.  
 

Pink seemed to be  the favoured colour for the "best" tea-set and I have pieces from both my grandmother Alice  and my mother's wedding china. 

 My grandmother, Alice English who married William Danson in 1907


 

 

My parent's wedding - John Weston and Kathleen Danson  in 1938

Teapot 

Two teapots - with no family connection, other than I liked them and bought them both in a charity shop to display in my kitchen/diner.

Milk Jug  and Sugar Bowl 

 My mother was a dressmaker, apprenticed  at the age of 14,  and throughout her life tried her hand at a  wide variety of crafts.  Here in the  1960s,  china painting was her choice. 

 My mother, Kathleen Weston, nee Danson

Embroidered tray cloths and table cloths

 
My mother, Kathleen and my Aunt Edith (left)  were both assiduous needlewomen and the tablecloth and tray cloths (below) are just a  small example of their fine work.  

How sad that the art seems to be dying.  I did  try my hand at it in my teens, but I was hopeless at stem stitch, stain stitch and French knots; could just about manage lazy, daisy stitch and best of all cross-stitch which I took up again with enthusiasm much later in life. I must admit I would be too afraid to use embroidered tablecloths and tray cloths,   fearing spills - and that would present another test of my laundering skills!  

   

Dainty Cakes and Sandwiches 

My mother was a great baker and the BE-RO Book was her bible - the popular recipe  book  for housewives in the 20th century Britain, promoting BE-RO  flours.  I still have her copy,  somewhat stained and the cover torn but very obviously used a great deal.   We enjoyed  Caribbean slices, Paradise slices, Victoria sponges, chocolate crispies, coconut pyramids, ginger biscuits and Shrewsbury biscuits, flapjacks, fairy cakes, butterfly cakes. and Eccles cakes   I loved currant slices -  I ignored their school dinner nickname of  "fly pie" or "fly cemetery" - Mum's were far nicer!  I look back at home made jam and jellies with the muslin bag slung between to two chairs to drip, drip.  Home-made marmalade was delicious  - nothing to beat it, despite the arduous task of chopping up all those Seville oranges by hand - no labour saving devices then! 

Friday was my mother's baking day to set us up for the weekend and week ahead - cakes and biscuits with fruit pies or crumbles (apple, rhubarb, gooseberry, blackcurrant or blackberry).  Lemon meringue was my favourite Sunday dessert, along with trifle and jelly fluff (whipped up with evaporated milk). I disliked blancmange but liked Angel Delight.  Sunday tea meant chocolate cake with thick butter icing.

1. 

And today - I cannot resist an afternoon tea! 

The table set for our Ruby wedding anniversary afternoon tea -

no room here on the table for the goodies which came later.

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