Would anyone like a cup of tea and a muffin?

[MadBadandDangerousToKnow]

I'm tired and in need of refreshment.

The tea room is now officially open, serving hot chocolate, tea, freshly-squeezed orange juice and a range of home-baked muffins. Tablecloths and crockery are charmingly mismatched antiques (no Cath Kidston here). We overlook an attractive although somewhat overgrown garden, with a distant view of rolling countryside.

Everyone is welcome but house rules dictate that anyone indulging in fisticuffs will be ejected.

Please come in.

OK - I saw the fascinator-shaped light in the sky, so I knew there was trouble. Lets get T42 out of that place. Everybody had their tea and toast? Let's GO!

Oo - has somebody got keys to the front door?

I think I've found the backdoor ones - that should do, although it will mean that we all have to creep out the back like burglars....

What's the weather like? I thought I might have a nice sunny walk with dog and ds later after I pick him up from school, but its now overcast...

Hmm - good point, MT - it may get chilly. Gloves and scarves are probably the order of the day - has anybody been knitting round here recently?

Right, the JCB is outside the back door, the plan is we go down to the police station, identify Tea's cell, and then ram it.

If there is any negotiation to be done (especially with young, uniformed male PCs), I'll, erm, take care of it......

wwwwwwwwwoooooooooooaaaaahhhooooooo!!!!!!!

After all that I could do with a cup of tea...

bbpants you were amazing - who would have thought to do that with a fascinator to distract the police on duty????!!!????

Mistlethrush - thanks for the sheets - I noticed they were Laura Ashley ones... very pretty and climbing down them was tricky in my Mary Janes - think Bridget Jones and firemans pole - but I managed it in the end!!!!

Actually it was a special branch of the police that arrested me - they are called "The noise Police". They were not worried about the level of noise in the cafe but the cheesiness of the noice I had made had broken quite a few MN laws. The problem was specifically with linking to whispers... The YMCA!!!

To begin with life inside was hard - I made no friends they just kept laughing at my Indian costume and then I met my friend for life... let me introduce you....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cB9hOc7qXA&feature=related

Mr Bojangles has a little rest from dancing and sits down next to the gardener!!!

I may be a newbie and only occasional visitor to this fine establishment, but I don't like to see one of our own in trouble. I just did what I had to do (and to be honest, most of the desk sargeants only looked mildly scared...)

Whilst we were there, I did manage to 'obtain' a large tea urn, assorted crockery and cutlery, and a couple of dented crates of sparkly wine that I thought would help restock the cafe.

You didn't see me, right...

Oh brilliant stuff - I wondered why I had to climb down those sheets when there was a JCB - but now I understand it couldn't be used to rescue me because it was filled with much needed crockery, cutlery and booze!!!

So... bbpants - people have been revealing the story behind their mn name...

Your name is one of my favourite - makes me smile everytime... I am interested...why did you call yourself bbpants??????????

Never mind bbpants, I want to know why "racingsnake"??

Ooohhh... I am so sorry bb, that came out really rude and dismissive and I totally didn't mean it that way!!!!

[grateful for loving and forgiving atmosphere in cafe emoticon]

tea, the fisticuffs in Chat were when someone started another one of those one-child vs more-children threads... it got ugly pretty quickly, I'll see if I can find it...

...but I wanted to say how terribly impressed I was with the cafe's own version of Prison Break, you all awe me!! I'm sorry I missed it, I would have loved to show off my pathetic now somewhat weak kickboxing skills. And I am so proud of you all for liberating some more crockery, we were running out what with all the to-go lattes,,,
later darlings!!!

WOW BB PANTS!! way to go

there was I fannying around looking for small change in the Honesty Box and you just Cracked on

Go MISTLETHRUSH - brilliant presence of mind wtih the sheets

welcome home T42

Passes round HobNobs - the inmates favourite

Hi JM

My name is 'cos MN said use numbers when choosing a name so nobody else has it like that's advice you find is follwed once you're here!

And Daisy 'cos when I was younger I always thought I would name my daughter Daisy. But in fact I have a son

And Divine .... welllll... we can all wish!

Thought I heard my name mentioned as I struggled past with boxes of asymmetrical polygons.

My name is Racingsnake probably much as Little John isn't little. I see myself as slim, lithe and dynamic.

I once manged to zip myself into a blue denim pinafore dress I bought in a sale in Bordeau (not as bad as it sounds, think 'French' not 'pinafore') and felt all of the above. It took me a mere 20 minutes to wriggle out of it again lying on the floor as the zip had seized solid in a desesperate attempt to hold everything in. Sadly the shed skin left on the floor was the slim, lithe, etc, bit of me.

However, once you reach my elevated age, you're just happy to have all your own limbs (if not teeth).

Off home now to be greeted by dd with 'Au revoir, Maman.'

I think DaisyDevine sounds lovely, dear. Sort of 1920's and vampy. And yet strangly chocolatey at the same time.

Not that I personally remember the 1920s.

Quite.

Just thought - could the cafe use 32 not particularly symmetrical coasters?

thanks RS - does your husband wear dungarees?? did you see that thread, had me laughing....

why au revoir? Not bonjour or somesuch? T42 could help I am sure

are the coasters a result of a project?

I'm not sure if coasters are particularly useful to be honest - what with these lovely table clothes!

Perhaps, racingsnake, next lesson they could attach the coasters to headbands (- use this task to cover a few art or dt objectives or at a push literacy - instructional texts) thus creating some fascinators that are always very very useful in this teashop!!!

T42 if you think I am going to wear asymmetrical polygons on my head... well dear, some of us have standards!!!

ha ha ha - I typed table clothes instead of table cloths!!!!!!!!!

Maybe the handmade wiv luv fascinators could be offered to the tables to match their outfits???

LOL re: Prison Break - MT is more subtle than me - she had the brains to bring the sheets (and was responsible enough to have the back door keys so we didn't leave the cafe unattended!). I'm more of your 'ram the place down and make a run for it' kinda gal.

As for my nickname - BB obviously stands for 'big baggy'...as, although I also like to think of myself as a lithe athletic type, I'm actually more of the 'taller lying down than standing up' type

Jacksmama - no offence taken! And I'm sure there'll be another occasion to show off your kick boxing skills. It just seems like that sort of place round here...

As for cafe coasters - my DD LOVES coasters. Frankly, I think she'd be at her happiest this Christmas if every parcel contained one!

that reminds me - my dd used to be crazy about coasters too - really we used to put them on her playmat and she'd lie there for ages just waving them around - once in a pub she chewed the corner off of one!!! The landlord said "It is a developmental proccess humans always start on the mats then discover the Guiness!!!"

Sorry, got a bit caught up down at the police station .

Ds (has a 1/2 day Fridays) has been astounding all adults in the vicinity by keeping up a continuous torrent of questions and talking. I suppose I'm just used to it by now - and the constant why, how, when, where, why, what, I'm hungry, how, why ..s....

Trouble is that he looks older than he is, and he has a very good vocabulary, so people don't expect 3.5yo behaviour from him.

I've managed to find some candles that don't seem to have gone up in price - shall we stick them in last night's bottles and see if we can generate some more of that '70s feel?

Mmmmm... lovely candles!!!

I am feeling quite zen...

Do you mind if we start quietly...???

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Mh-lIoi00

Quiet and gentle start good for me - need to have a proper unwind this weekend...

But I can't wait that long for the rest of you...