Tea room 16 welcome to Shangri-la

[UniS]

Shangri-la = a hidden valley with beautiful views and crystal streams of course, and some inter-far eastern type of chalet things set around a Serene Courtyard with ever-blooming Japanese cherry trees, lots of refreshing fragrant teas, silk cushions, tinkling tiny waterfalls and bonsai trees, Gardens of Tranquillity etc.

Home to teh 16th Tea room, a haven for those with one or more or less children who like cake, tea, talking nonsense and oggling Mellors ( our handyman/ butler). If its your first vist, pull up a cushion .Mind out for the guinea pigs and other pets and do take care not to squash the teeny tiny naked mowhawk babies ( nmbs
, no longer naked and now toilet trained you will glad to hear)as they go about their duties helping Mellors.

Confused... come on, jump in and have a hot chocolate.

Coo. This is beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Weston-super-Mare.

I shall disport myself on this silk floor cushion and quaff the rather fine Cabinet Sauvignon which Amber found. Who else would like a glass?

Well after being just about entirely AWOL in the Viking Hall, I cannot resist the charms of Shangri-La.

I have divested myself of all worldly goods, centred myself and awaiting the wisdoms of fellow tea roomers to be bestowed upon me.

(Am actually cooking a late tea after coming back for leading the local ladies out on our Tuesday night Mums Runs, started little friendly running group in the village I've moved to at the start of the year, it's great! Meeting lots of locals, but still the only mum of one, where are you all in RL!)

Haha Flowers!! Nothing like WSM! Much prettier here and no sign of mud anywhere!
Mindy Ive just been for a run too, not lucky enough to go with a group, I ran on my own! Feeling fab now though and managing to stay away from DS choccie in the fridge!!
Am enjoying the tranquil, quiet of this tea room and am hoping to stay a while especially as dh is very noisily washing up our tea plates, am thinking he would like me to praise him like we praise our DS when he does something good!!
So what does Mellors look like? Is he worth ogling???

Hello, Mindy. It's good to see you again. I am in awe of the running. Perhaps you could set up a gentle circuit along the mountain path?

I've been wondering. Mellors already has his new uniform but what does the mum-of-one-about-Shangri La wear? Beautiful silken robes (useful for hiding the evidence of so much cake eating) or a lycra leotard for all the yoga and meditation (eek)?

And how far are we supposed to go in divesting ourselves of worldly goods? I notice that the aga has survived the journey. And so too has the aspidistra, which is looking magnificent on the terrace and will continue to do so until happycopter gets here.

Can't face typing my message again, complete with links to the latest snaps of Mellors (eaten by MN); will just settle down on the new silk cushions on the distressed leather sofa.

Ah, Bensmum. You have asked the most pertinent question of all, one that might have taxed even the Buddha. Is Mellors worth ogling?

Well, everyone will have their own answer to that question, but as this is the tea room of requirement (I had to get a passing Harry Potter fan to explain that to me), Mellors will look like however customers imagine the embodiment of masculine (or feminine, according to preference) charm. This is a snap I took of Mellors on the beach at a time when the tea room was located in a beach cafe, but others have suggested that he might look like Sean Bean or Wesley Snipes. I used to wonder whether he might look like George Clooney, but we then pinched a cardboard cut-out of George from outside the Odeon, which Oxeye and I fight over.

Hello all. I'm in my turquoise gauze veil and bejewelled slippers for Shangri-La, a la the page of Nigella's Forever Summer which has been on display in my kitchen since I-don't-know-when.

I definitely don't think the aspidistra is a worldly good, more an honoured member of the tea room (and one which makes a far more valuable contribution than I do).

Mindy, I am continuing on my gruelling schedule of Not Running, a discipline to which I have been devoted to many, many years now. My day has instead seen me going to work, not taking DD to trampolining because she has a Very Bad Cough, 'making tea' (putting pizza in oven), and now attempting to compose a marking scheme for my latest exam question, whilst drinking a glass of rosé. No running has been involved, although I may have broken into a slight trot while climbing the two flights of stairs - we've just moved offices, and my health regime currently consists of climbing an extra flight of stairs and only visiting the tuckshop once a day.

Ooh, good to see you too, DCMB.

Do you think the new tea room will be like a gathering of the clan and will tempt back some of the tea roomers we haven't seen for a while? Has anyone seen Catita, Happycopter or DrivingMissCrazy recently?

And I am on tenterhooks to ogle see Racing's snaps of Mellors .....

Ooh, is Catita MIA? And I don't think I even know Happycopter (good name) - have clearly been gone too long.

I find that once a while has gone by without visiting it's SO hard to catch up. I shall try harder!

silk robes I think. or maybe silk PJs for those like me who prefer not to flash thigh.

just bottled some more ginger beer, lashings of it coming your way soon. hope it will be less excited than the last batch.

DCMB - happycopter is mama to jack, does that help?

I see you have done a great job of the new tearoom, UniS - I am feeling the breeze with a nice loose-ish yet attractive kaftan-with-a-shape - made of cobweb-light silk of course.

Well, we went to see the A Team film yesterday for our anniversary outing sans miniThumb, of course - and I have to say it was really good fun. MrThumb was a little dubious but we both agreed it was a topnotch film, just what you'd expect from an A Team plot but with extra effects and explosions. The new actors were excellent in the roles - although Liam Neeson is not and can never be George Peppard (mayherestinpeace), he did a good job.

So - if any of you ladies were fans of the tea-time special that was The A Team - go and see the film, it's worth it!

Hhmmm, Mellors....yum....Daniel Craig!! Does Mellors always wear teeny swim shorts??

Oh hello my dears! Fab intro UnisS and congrsts on getting funding for skate park. I am sure it will be good and the lack of fundraisers will not mean lack of users.
You can probably see that I am wearing a silken kimono thingy that transforms into top notch tree running and twirling gear a la Crouching Tiger (I am sure there is a proper name for the art they therein perform). Ooooo excited that this yea room seems to encourage running. Maybe it will work on me. Good for your group Mindy and nice to see you again. Likewise Dcmb. I don't try to catch up just jump back in!
Poor oxboy has nasty burn on his arm but otherwise we're fine

Lavender oil on burn! Really calms it down. Must rush - am actually at Very Important Conference for Teachers of Religious Education.
Oh, and one of my snaps of Mellors seems to have fallen from my over stuffed changing bag briefcase.

I am very much liking the idea of wearing silk pyjamas and then twirling through the air in Crouching Tiger stylee.

Aha, so to Racing Mellors looks like Alan Rickman? He is rather delicious. I once spent a couple of hours in a darkened room with him, y'know.

Bensmum - What you see when you look at Mellors is really up to you. He may indeed be clad in teeny tiny swimming trunks. But on colder days he may be clad in his country squire look.

Is there any jasmine tea left?

Jasmine tea? My favourite...

(along with Yunan, Lapsang, Poushkine, Oolong etc etc)

We have to supply waterbottles for school (why - we never had them as children - we had a water fountain - what's wrong with those????) and, having searched through the overpriced cartoon character ones, I managed to find some Thermos ones that are dishwasher safe and also 'something' free - its the thing that you're not meant to have in the plastic on bottles.... mistlechick is very happy with them as they are a nice colour (red and black) and dh has written his name on one as mistle Thermos chick - and the thermos isn't that far off one of his middle names!

CMot - very at Ben - he looks just the sort that I would have gone for!

Nearly didn't send mistlechick to school today - he has a nasty cough - however, he clearly doesn't feel ill at all - and indeed, when I said I could always pick him up at lunch time he made sure that I knew that he wanted to stay for lunch 'because I always like lunch there, its REALLY Yummy' - which doesn't say much for home cooking - and suggests he's not ill enough to stay off school! I've not heard anythign though, so I'm presuming all's well....

Lovely weather here today - not a cloud!

DCMB - It's all about the commitment and sticking to it, so hats off to you (or in this case, gorgeous silk scarf billowing in the gentle breeze of Shangri-La). We have got a little website going www.mumsrun.com, athough I do need to give it much more attention (want to actually do it properly rather than the quick MS version but like most things, slips down the ever increasing to do list!). Will eventually get one that has much more in the way of news, advice etc going. Should probably include a write up on our personal trainer , Mellors

MiniMindy is just super gorgeous and almost swimming, hooray v proud mummy. Big milestone recently, her friend that she's know since birth (best friend's dd) now has a little sister (other friends are already on no 2 but I thought this might be the one that could affect dd the most). Was concerned that this might start off a 'why don't I have a brother/sister' train of thought but not at all. She thinks she's really cute but essentially quite dull!

Really, Mindy, you should have given us some warning. That picture of Mellors has got me all in a tizzy. I need to lie down in the shade of the shimmering silk parasol.

Am almost ready to peer from behind my cut out of George Clooney to sneak a peak at Alan. He sent a postcard to my nephew once which I wanted to steal borrow for a while. Saw the new Robin Hood last night Fun but a bit Gladiator- lite and the history of Magna Carta is good enough without Hollywood stylee adaptations. But I laughed at Matthew Mcwotsit doing a not as good version of Sheriff of Nottingham as the Great A

thanks racing. We did lavender oil but overnight in his jammies he rubbed all the skin off

This is a lovely place. I like the cushions especially.

Am in Germany, and sulking because the One Good Thing about this airport was the sushi restaurant. Which has closed. Humph. And I have to sit here for another 3 hours while trying to decide what yucky airport food to eat instead.

Any creative ideas as to what me and an awful lot of horse can dress up as on Sunday ? DS is being a knight, which is manageable, but tells me I have to enter too.

I'm hiding in my bedroom as DD and her friend are being quiet downstairs and I don't want to break the spell.

They're silently trashing the house, aren't they?

Have managed two stair trots at work today and eaten NO fizzy cola bottles (cos I skinned the roof of my mouth eating them ysterday).

Cmot - I suppose Lady Godiva is out of the question?

might be a bit chilly

Well done on the fizzy cola bottle avoidance - I love those. Have just had chips and now feel fat