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

962 replies

BoccaDellaNativita · 11/12/2008 21:38

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.

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reindeersnake · 14/12/2008 08:09

Good morning all!

RC calls me Maman because we try to speak as much French as possible between us to balance all the English around us. I agree, though, that 'Mummy' is something quite different. I miss that.

reindeersnake · 14/12/2008 08:12

Just spotted 'Vesna'. That's a really interesting name - what does it mean? Where does it come from?

JacksFirstChristmasMama · 14/12/2008 17:46

It's pretty - I really like it!

JacksFirstChristmasMama · 14/12/2008 17:48

BTW - where's Cuddly? Did you all catch her trying to beat me to the 1000th post on our old thread? I was still laughing when I went to bed that night.

reindeersnake · 14/12/2008 18:40

JFCM - One of my two part time jobs is teaching teachers to teach languages in primary schools. (Sounds a bit like the tutor who tutored the flute, tried to tutor two tooters to toot, etc) Anyway, coming back to what I wanted to say, I don't think that teaching a child any language can ever be 'not much use to them'. It opens their minds to other ways of thinking, to other cultures, it helps them understand their own language and it's fun! At least some songs and nursery rhymes. Having a German Mama will make him feel special (at least it always did me). How close is your German heritage?

christmasteafortwo · 14/12/2008 19:54

Vesna is pronounced Vesnah - (the s is a sss sound not z). It is a South Slavic name derived from Vesna an ancient Slavic goddess of spring. It means "messenger." It is a popular name in Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia where I suppose it has the same feel as Emma to us. A good classic.

The reason we get , , is that we are not Eastern Europeans!!! My dh has a passion for Eastern European countries and when he was travelling through them in his wilder days, before I knew him, having heard this name a few times he decided that if he ever had a daughter he would like to call her Vesna.

Seeing as she was to be born in the Spring and I found the sound of the name to be both strong and feminine I went along with it!

Everyone has "Got used to it now!" But it got some real knocking when she was born!!! - The best comments were "Is that a kind of curry?" and "Well with a name like that and ginger hair... won't she have a great time at school?"

mistlethrushinapeartree · 14/12/2008 21:10

I am glad to report that my knitting project has been finished and I will therefore be able to spend a bit more time in the teashop...

JM - sounds as though we've had more snow than that already!!! A lot of schools were shut for a day recently - and the snow has taken 9 days to go mainly - although ds was still managing to find a few to slide on during our walk earlier today, and that is 11 days on...

T42 - its nice to have something unusual - although ds's name is very traditional although, surprisingly enough, he was the only one with it at nursery, and now, he's the only one with it at school. And there are good family reasons for giving it to him... it was his great grandfather's (and his second name was/is his father's, grandfather's and greatgrandfather's....)

I did have a snigger (at a later date) at someone who, when asked what their baby daughter was called, told me "'Bow' - spelt Beau" I managed not to ask her whether she really wanted her daughter growing up handsome - but its not necessarily something I would want to put on a thread saying have you had a snigger....

MJ did a classic today - woke up at a reasonable time (hurrah!) - then misbehaved in church - to the extent that he wailed very audibly when I told him that he could no longer have the biscuit afterwards that he might have done if he'd behaved - then ran out along the pavement with a friend rather than waiting - so wailed all the way home in the car ( - less than 5 mins) then slammed the front door in my face so was taken up to his room where he failed to go to sleep. Quite good whilst out on the walk, then really annoying when trying to do Christmas cards - not doing what he'd been asked to do etc. We then had to take dh in to do some carol singing in town - ds fell asleep on the way, stayed asleep, I carried him out of the car, still asleep and managed to get some cushions flat on the floor with him still in my arms - he almost woke up when I put him down - and he managed to grab his elephant - then he slept until I woke him up for his supper and went straight down when he went to bed - he would have been so much better off if he had agreed to have a nap earlier on in the day!

I've got some bottles of Cava here - any one want some (I've chosen Cava so we can save some of the better stuff for slightly closer to the seasonal thing that is happening sometime in the future that I'm trying to forget as we've not remotely ready yet) - I'm certainly going to have a glass....

poinsettia99divine · 14/12/2008 21:12

Hello ladies!

Wow T42 what a lovely name Vesna is, and good enough reason! I bet when you go on holiday in Croatia nobody will turn a hair and she'll just be old hat!

by the way, I think wedding photos are a must!

RS - really agree with your view on education - looking at primary schools for Daisyboy and all I hear about are "results" and "test levels" and "achievements" and I say, but what about his education? and they say that's what we've just told you about and I say, no you have told me about passing exams and I am talking about becoming learned... the first school that didn't ask me I signed him up for.... iswim... now, RS I am a bit worried you might be my sister because you sound spookily alike, except she has three kids and no guinea pig but the job thing is very very similar....

I agree about language learning, go with it JM - but I also thing we pass on our heritage in more ways than we know, it won't just be Mama you know JM - when he's 8 foot tall and wearing mountie hats, checked shirts and swinging his axe in the mountains (what, me, cliched view of Canada??) he'll still have a love of stollen and apfel kucken

Right, T42 time you got out of that bath and dried off Mellors did too

poinsettia99divine · 14/12/2008 21:13

what happened to Santababy, Queenspeech, girltalk and shoshe - were they one latte wonders?!

mistlethrushinapeartree · 14/12/2008 21:15

Daisy - I'm not anyway - I'm lactose intollerant for one thing!

cmotdibbler · 14/12/2008 21:29

Hello - I have survived the weekend of massed guests. The children had a lovely time, including massed bouncing on the bed, games you can play with tape measures, and of course the compulsory communal bath. Oldest of them (girl who is just 3) commented 'DS has a willy. When he's older he'll have a big daddy willy..' - cue collapse of all adults in the bathroom.

DS, DH and I all have stinking colds, which of course means that DS has been up in the night lots coughing. And no nap for two days as of course, he couldn't miss the party could he.

Is there any bubbly left ?

mistlethrushinapeartree · 14/12/2008 21:33

Here you go, sounds as though you need one...

cmotdibbler · 14/12/2008 21:36

Thank you ! Although I drank Far Too Much yesterday - I am such a cheap date these days, that 4 large glasses of wine, and two grapefruit vodkas and coke from midday to 11pm counts as too much.

poinsettia99divine · 14/12/2008 21:50

Hi Mistle, I know you are not a one hit wonder, even if you sneak a little Hot Chocolate in MN land - pass the champers

Cmot, glad you survived, we had a good time with our lot too, but one little boy awoke because our roof was leaking and dripping on his bed sod the blooming builders who "finished" work in the summer!

BoccaDellaNativita · 14/12/2008 22:18

Errrm, any cava left?

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mistlethrushinapeartree · 14/12/2008 22:22

Here, Bocca, I've just found another

poinsettia99divine · 14/12/2008 22:29

good good, pass it this way ladies!

By the way, did T42 ever got out of that bath and where is Mellors!

BoccaDellaNativita · 14/12/2008 22:34

Thanks! Should have been a bit more communicative earlier, but was distracted by the sight of Mr Clooney.

Cin! Cin!

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mistlethrushinapeartree · 14/12/2008 22:38

I've not seen Mellors since I saw him furtively go upstairs quite a long time ago

poinsettia99divine · 14/12/2008 22:41

well, as long as he didn't take Mr Clooney upstairs with him....

BoccaDellaNativita · 14/12/2008 23:05
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poinsettia99divine · 14/12/2008 23:10

RATS
scared them off again

christmasteafortwo · 15/12/2008 09:53

Good morning!

  • Bathroom's freeeeeeeee....

...Oh... but wait.... I left my book in there - and wanted to try this new thing out with my hair - and its nearly time for womans hour

By the way thanks for saying nice things about my daughter's name!!!

BoccaDellaNativita · 15/12/2008 10:16
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BoccaDellaNativita · 15/12/2008 11:53

Christmastea - are you OK?

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