The One and Only Tea Room: Tea, muffins and champagne served at all hours

[BoccaDellaNativita]

Well folks, here we are!

We were on the brink of filling the old thread so I thought we'd better start a new one now. There was a rumour that we were going to be evicted from our old premises, but we managed right at the last minute to get an extension on the lease. So it's business as usual. We're still in our charming old tea room, overlooking our beautiful garden complete with ha-ha and duck pond. And Mellors the gardener.

Please come and join us for a celebratory drink.

snow update - bit of a disappointment, only a few inches. was meant to be snowing all night, heading towards a foot, but seems to have stopped already. still, i expect there'll be some kickass sledding going on tomorrow.

Well, kickassangel, one of the things we do in the tea room occasionally is share, analyse and hoot derisively at such comments. The rest of the time, we just chat, scoff cake and admire Mellors the gardener's manly charms handiwork in the garden.

I am very glad too that squeaver and others succeeded in their campaign for this topic.

And I've just looked at your profile. Is that a genuine aga I see there?

that's our last house in the uk - from the bizarre but fiendishly addictive victoria sponge malarky from a long time ago. i should put up pics of my US house.

for the first time in my life i'm living in a post-war house!! (last house pre-dated parts of the US)it's only 10 years old. we're in the mid west so it's HUGE, and cheap compared to UK!! i am just loving the house, so much space, really easy to find things & don't have 50 million things stacked inside every cupboard so you never know what's in there.

do really need to get out more, though. i'm spending far too much time on mn

oh no. dh demanding 'quality time' together. ffs, HAVE to go and drink a coctail, chat & watch a film.. how much harder must my life get?

Looks at overflowing bin - muffin cases and champagne bottles falling on the floor around it! - Should we think about setting up a recycling system for all these bottles???

I spent all night riding on the beach. I bumped into Mellors who was taking an early morning swim?!?

While out on my ride I met another Mum of one and am hoping she will pop in sometime today to say hello to you all!!!

Must go to work now - bye!

Last day of the cold, they say. I have been loving it - beautiful frosted trees, mud frozen hard so easy to walk on, sunny days ... dh hates it, holds me responsible and is constantly grumbling about emmigrating, so I have to enjoy it secretly.

We need to make some better arrangements for the tea room horse, too. I had to cover it up with one of the tea room paid rugs last night and the drinking water is in the tea room punch bowl. Definite health and safety no-no.

I wonder if today is the day when Jacksmama will drop in again? And DaisyDevine?

That was NOT here the last time I came in. Is it house trained?

Mm, it's a good job we're a virtual tearoom and not a real one, just think - kickassangel's Victoria sponge cake would be in the US and we'd be over here (and other places, as it is she can just send it to the tea via POIP*.

Tea, if you get a chance to give us a more detailed description of Mellors taking his late night swim, I'm sure that would be very, erm, educational.

• patisserie over IP

Hello lovely tea room ladies.

I have asked Mellors to convert one of our many charmingly delapidated outbuildings into a fully-equipped state of the art stables for our horse. What is his/her name, by the way?

Entirely by chance, I happened to be out enjoying the crisp, chill air and the weak wintry sun, having an early morning stroll, just as Mellors was having his early morning swim. Luckily I had my Instamatic with me and so took this snapshot of Mellors. He is certainly very hunky brave to plunge into the cold waters of Tearoomshire Beach.

Now, who'd like a cup of tea? I'll pour.

Milkfortwo looked over my shoulder when I was looking at the snapshot "Look my Daddy" she said and pointed rather excitedly!!!!

I suppose I should view this as good development from when she thought the water pump at the end of our street was her father. What do you think???

Champagne anyone???

I think just a glass or so and a listen to this is important for slowly starting off a Saturday night...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcMsB3mYPMs

Hi everyone...
pass that champagne!

Thanks!
Will now go back and read just about entire thread everything I've missed in the last few weeks.
Missed you all!
xxx

By the way tea - a personal question - is your DH English or French? I was remembering on our first thread when you said you were having a lovely Eurostar romance with him, and it occurred to me that I didn't get whether he's an Englishman living in Paris, or a Frenchman (obviously living in Paris, too... pass me some more champagne ).

Hi Jacksmama

Anyway - Here is a choccy brownie for you - It is really very good to see you back!

hugs!!!! Ha ha ha!!!!

Well I think he is French but he thinks he is English...

He has always lived in France but was brought up by an English Mum so feels very English.

So really he is a bit of both!!!

Thanks for the chocolate brownie, yum!

It's really good to be back. Don't worry about the cold, everyone here has one and I've succesfully dodged it so far!

I actually have another question and I know that it's absolutely none of my business but on our original thread you mentioned you thought you'd never be able to have children... why is that? Tell me to mind my own business if I'm trespassing, it's really just curiosity.

((((HUGS)))) back!!!

Any champagne left, please? I have been wasting money saving the UK economy and am frozen!

Funny thing to remember, JM! It is nothing novel inspiring! Just that my hormones have never been very balanced which day to day gives me naturally oily skin and greasy hair (luckily I have found some great hair products but I am always in search of the magic skin treatment), dodgy periods ( I hate saying that even to other women) and because of this me conceiving naturally was thought to be next to impossible by my GP - oh how wrong was he bwaaah haaa haaa!!!

Oh well - more champers anyone???

Shall I make a coal fire Bocca????

Here you are darling!

Great. I'm freezing. Again I managed to lose three gloves today! (I have been wearing them two pairs at a time). Far too cold for champagne - any Gluehwein? In honour of JM's return of course, complete with her German heritage.

Nice to see you, too, Don'tCallMe, but I don't feel I know you well enough yet for spontaneous ((hugs)), so let me give you a quick embarrassed rub on the upper arm.

I agree we need to think of a name for tearoom horse. Maybe something along the lines of Glenghetti?Earl Grey?

I'm sure Mellors will know what to do with horses, with his estate managing background, although didn't he say he was a gamekeeper? Probably knew a few stable lasses, though.

Tea, I had been wondering if dh was French or not, but I am never sure what the protocol is on asking personal questions if people don't volunteer information. I am glad JM leapt in in her refreshing Dominatrix style. (Otherwise we would probably still be calling each other by our surnames and vous-vouing each other (so to speak).)

Oh God - I say 'tu' to the wrong people all of the time!!! Recently I said 'tu' to the taxi driver I had just met - I was so embarrassed I apologised all the way across town!

I almost died when DH pointed out to me the cheese seller at the market I had been 'tu'ing because she is very friendly always 'vous' me!!! He said don't worry - everyone knows the English get it wrong - they find it quite sweet - like when you muck up une and un all the time - they love that too!!!!

Well, surely we can tutoyer each other in the tea room? I think we have known each other long enough!

racingsnake - You are quite right! Why is it that those Peruvian gloves (which I rather like - I like the hats with ear flaps even more) always have sludge as one of the colours?

jacksmama - So glad to see you again, especially when you're in dominatrix mode.

I do think we need to build up the fire. Luckily, Mellors has done pleny of wood-splitting recently so we have a huge pile of logs just outside the back door.

Shall we open another bottle of champagne? I've filled the bowls with twiglets and other snacks.

My mother-in-law always calls me vous and I tend to forget and say tu. (I never apologise, because I'd get even more embroiled in the language. Dh gets exhasperated with me making 'un' 'une' mistakes, but I maintain the it is the French language which is at fault. I mean, it is obvious that 'milk', 'blackbirds' and 'honey' are intrinsically feminine.

JM, you haven't told us about your Christmas. Have another glass of champagne and tell all. By the way, have you noticed the horse. You can't really miss it, tied to the washing line for the night.

Your mother in law calls you vous, racingsnake? Is that customary? Or is she frightfully grand? Inflected languages, eh? I always loved that, according to the strict logic of German grammar, a girl was neuter.

Tea, now that we are on 'tu' terms, why exactly does Milk think that she was sired by a hydrant? Is there some ghastly family secret?

I have no idea - but thinking James Bond is her Father is surely a big step in her development?

Did I tell you we have an interview for the billingual school? - Well since then DH has been more keen to talk to DD in French. At the moment she seems to get anything she wants as long as she says it in French and ends it by batting her eye lids and saying "s'il te plait, Papa!"

vous - for a MIL does sound rather formal I call my MIL by her nickname!