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.

Anyone for soup? And ds managed to do some baking in between the Christmas card making, so we have another lot of interesting rolls again... He was on a food theme rather than rockets this time... carrots, parsnips, courgettes and sausages...

I'd love some soup. What flavour is that? It smells wonderful. And fresh-baked rolls too. You're surely spoiling us. May I have that especially crusty courgette-shaped roll?

That would be him - spreading them liberally around the garden again. Mind you, if Mellors offers a rake, he'll do his best to rake them up again At least he's in his all-in-one suit again - it will mean that as long as he doesn't go in too deep into the pond all will be well - and he won't be too wet from falling flat out into that puddle either...

I'm afraid its what dh calls 'garbage' soup - ie all the veg that need using up out of the bottom of the fridge - but don't worry, nothing in it that is not OK to eat... its rather a mix of brocolli, carrots and a parsnip and potato or two...

You do seem to have chosen rather a suggestive roll there...

I hadn't seen the aga in here before - is it new?

I have found this and think it might go here...

love the aga, Bocca, nice touch and we can keep the soup going and warm chicks and things in spring time although I defer to Mistle and CMot on such matters

Thanks for the soup and rolls Mistle, is that a carrot, really!!!

Right, Daisyboy in his waterproof suit has gone out to join MJ for a romp with mellors in the leaves

I'm settling down on that settee!

Has it never been mentioned before that all the tea room's cakes are baked in an Aga? I hadn't really thought about its chick-warming potential - apart from groovy chicks like us, boom boom! - but it's certainly come in useful recently. Where else did the Norland nannies dry off the damp tights after the infamous puddle 'plashing incident?

Speaking of cakes .... voila! Today's cake - a lemon drizzle. Anyone want a slice?

oh, yes, slice of drizzle cake, yum

Might just sit here and have a cuppa before getting Daisyboy in, he seems to be about to light an inappropriate bonfire with Mellors again....

i am worried, she's going to be Prune42 if she stays in the water much longer!!!

T42 kisses revjustaboutbelievesinsanta - Well that is what you get if you stand in the door - look up.... I put some mistletoe there!!! I was hoping on the real George Clooney walking in... but you will do just fine!!!!

It is nearly time for the teashop disco to commence - what do you like to boogie to then???

I'll just dry myself off - I've been in the bath for over a day now - and I will come a throw some shapes with you!!!!

Hi there, Rev. No dispensation needed, papal or otherwise.

This tea room was never intended to be only for mothers of one. It was just that we I wanted a place where it would be OK to discuss our situation - some of us have made a deliberate decision to stop at one, for others the choice was made for us - without anyone yelling 'PFB' or 'why don't you just have another baby, you sub-fertile wuss' at us. But everyone is welcome. Really.

So, please make yourself comfy on the sofa. What'll you have? We have lemon drizzle cake, a selection of muffins and some lovely organic fair trade teas and coffees. And, as the sun is well and truly over the yardarm, we also have champagne.

Hello RevJust

After a trying day, I need some bubbly. And some of that lemon drizzle cake (had some fab LD cake on Sat provided by one of tghe guests made with mashed potato btw).
All of us still ill, DS especially. I have been exiled to the spare bed for coughing, wherin I was joined at 2.30 am by CMOTiddler who also coughed.

I've made some vol-au-vent with some of our leftover turkey - 3 meals in, and there is still plenty in the fridge, so please tuck in

Good to see you again, Cmotdibbler. Come and have a nice sit down. But, prithee, explain how lemon drizzle cake can be made with mashed potato? I am intrigued (and just a tad queasy). While we're in the cooking groove, did you see the tip on another thread today about mincemeat vol-au-vents? I think I may give those a go when I cannot face another mince pie.

I'm sorry that the pestilence has returned to Cmot Villas. I hope that the spare bed is comfortable and that you've taken the best duvet with you. ((Hugs)) and ((supportive pats on the arm)) to you all.

It's this recipe. You would honestly never guess the potato content, and it was very moist.

I have picked the bed with the electric blanket, and the down duvet (it seems terribly posh to have a best spare room, but I plead our teeny tiny cottages in previous locations in which the books had to be triple stacked on the shelves - we had to move for the book shelf room), so until addition of DS to the bed, very comfortable. Alas, he wriggles terribly, and worse, likes to sleep wrapped around me which I don't like. No apparent chest infection though, nor anything contagious, so that is a bonus.

I refuse to make mincepies for reasons best known to myself - and you can't do gluten free puff pastry, so I don't get vav in real life. We were really pleased about the result of brining the turkey at the weekend, and DH decided that we were having turkey on Christmas day and has ordered a posh bird from the farm.

Agas are great for reviving baby lambs btw - you can tuck them into the warming oven

Hi cmot - get well soon x x x

Milkfortwo listens carefully about the lamb and then puts racingpig in the oven to see what will happen....

Bocca - what music shall we have???

Aaaah - I wondered where Jacksmama was....

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/telly_addicts/667005-Does-any-body-elses-do-sit-though-Nigella-making-constant

She is busy being on the telly being sexy!!!

BOCCA!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE IAN DURY!!!!

Did you know that for a while he was going out with Bubbles from Absolutely Fabulous...

They had a massive arguement and he smashed a window!!!

The next day the old lady downstairs, not realising she was Ian Dury's girlfriend said something to Bubbles like "Did you hear Mr Dury break his window last night? I do believe he hit it with his rhythm stick!!!"

Bwaaaah ha ha!!!!

Have we got reasons to be cheerful? Or Geraldine (I'm in love with the woman at the sandwich centre, if she didn't exist I'd 'ave to inven' 'er!!) fab fab stuff, hey???

Christmastea! So glad to have hit upon one of your faves. I was always an admirer of Mr Dury but admit I had hardly any of his records - one of the gaps in my record collection is that I don't have New Boots and Panties

In another life I would have loved to have gone to art school, especially if Ian Dury had been there (which he wouldn't have been as I am not quite of that vintage). I can't find footage with Mr Dury, so here are the Blockheads with Phill Jupitus filling the great man's shoes.

Love that line about Geraldine, by the way. Kind of reminds me of

There's a guy works down the chipshop swears he's Elvis
Just like you swore to me that you'd be true
There's a guy works down the chipshop swears he's Elvis
Well he's a liar and I'm not sure about you

(from memory so please excuse any errors or omissions)

Hello all (whoops, that came out in Nigella's posh accent) -

Welcome Rev! Nice to see you snoozing on the sofa--!!

Bocca, apropos of yesterday's posts - I have to ask, what is an Aga? And a ha-ha? At first I was too embarrassed to ask but then thought, if I can't ask in the tearoom, where can I ask?

Lovely to see the rev here - drop scone for breakfast? Just found a bowl of three-day-old batter in the tea room fridge which looks delicious. (The batter, obviously, not the fridge. That would be just silly.)

Maybe I'll just take RC out to give this to Mellors' chickens out at the back of the overgrown garden. Obviously poultry remind him of his game-keeper days.

Jacksmama - do they really not have agas and hahas in Canada? Why, I had always imagined Mounties returning home, leaping (obviously on a horse) over the aga around the homestead and settling round the haha to dry their stockinged feet ...

DaisyPoinsettia, I would love to be your sister, but fear that I am probably not. (Nb, also not Christmastea's mum, although probaly old enough.) Where does your sister teach teachers to teach?

I do realise I am alone here, so musings will disturb nobody.

Hi JM - I counted three threads on mn about your tv appearance - most people were a bit at the effect you had on their husbands but all agreed they would try your mincepies!!!!!

Great rev is still here!!!! WAHOOOOO T42 backflips across the room to celebrate to this track...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=a37bBm8pXSk&feature=related

Half way through she gets distracted by Reindeersnake's christmas porn and nearly lands in aga - luckily the red and white fascinator she chose to wear today (v festive, hey) has a spring like decoration on it that pushes her back up onto her feet and really saves her life!!!!

Today is a very happy day - boiler man due in under one hour - hot water for teas!!!!

Bocca, I think of him as the boilerman of human kindness!!!!!!! This is because (while we are on the subject of quirky clever singer song writers) we don't get milkmen in France....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Goxm0x4dTw

Is there any llc left - my favourite!

We had tea in a NT tearoom when they were especially celebrating gardens and had some 'root vegetable' cake - it had carrots, parsnips and potatoes in and was delicious. Have lost the recipe though

MJ is singing "Bear in a pear tree" (as in the 12 days of Christmas ) if you wondered what the slightly untuneful noise was comign from behind the sofa.

Went carol singing last night - I thought we would be going round singing outside or in pubs etc, but found it was actually an extremely smart do, with lavish decorations and food (eg none of the cheeses were less than whole (OK, but they were not the foot across variety - just the 8" or equivalent ) when they were originally put out, there were probably 8 different varieties, and possibly two of most of them) so felt somewhat underdressed - but made up for it with the singing

I've got an appointment later on with a consultant in the allergy clinic and have to try to persuade him that I do really need to know whether or not I am allergic to both aspring and ibuprofen as well as paracetamol and codeine as it would be quite helpful to have some form of painkiller that I can use... And being told that I'm more likely to be allergic to them than the paracetamol and codeine doesn't actually mean that I am allergic to them....