Guest Blog Post written by Miss Sue Flay from The Secluded Tea Party
This Months' Afternoon Tea event saw us parking up at a very Crafty Venue in the centre of St Neots for a very special edition of The Secluded Tea Party!... What did we get up to at The Secluded Tea Party at Crafty Monkey
My Guests were invited to join me at Crafty Monkey Pottery Painting, owned by the fantastically enthusiastic and fun host, Chrissy Brown.
Chrissy welcomed my 12 guests and talked them through a short pottery painting master class to allow them to get the best out of their time painting a lovely Teacup and Saucer set which had been laid out waiting for them to attack with sponges, brushes, various types of paint and even their finger tips, using Chrissy's favourite book, a finger print design technique. So much fun!
We all sat down for the first hour of the afternoon getting better acquainted and had great fun learning that some of my furthest travelling guests had driven up to meet us from Windsor today on a crawl along the A1 to meet various people along the way!
One guest had even travelled by car, and then train, and then by taxi to get to us - I LOVED her dedication, and I am honoured that my guests are prepared to do this to visit The Secluded Tea Party : )
We had 2 small guests attending who enjoyed getting messy and making hand prints, as well as painting a princess money box to add to the mix.
In fact, this mini guest was enjoying herself so much so, that when we broke off for Afternoon Tea, she stayed at the table to keep her artistic commitment up whilst sipping on a cup of TeaBox's finest and nibbling on a Scone or two - So great to see the enjoyment from the eyes of my smaller guests too!
A separate table had been set up towards the back of the room, where I laid out my Afternoon Tea treats for everybody to sit and enjoy for a well deserved break.
Everything had been baked at my very first session in the kitchens of the Cambridge Cookery School, and what a TREAT it was for me to be able to use dishwashers and the well-equipped kitchen to do this - Such a difference it made.... Completely complication and disaster free : ) A stress-saving opportunity to say the very least!
This menu included Elderflower & Strawberry Cordial on arrival, as well as a selection of Sandwiches, Savoury Onion & Crème Fraiche Ciabatta Swirls, Fruit & Spice Scones served with a locally-made Forest Berry Preserve, Oreo Truffles and a decadent 3 Layer Carrot & Walnut Cake.
Instead of a table cloth, this month I set the table using many different sized and coloured material cut offs, of which had been donated to the Tea Party Table by a new blogging friend. They looked fantastic against the colourful backdrop of the room, and they will be used for a variety of different ideas over the summer too. Perfect.
Tea Box Online have been firm winners when it comes to my Tea Menu, and this month was no exception!
Not only does the lovely Kirsty at Tea Box HQ offer flawless customer service, but the selection of loose leaf tea is ever increasing and as impressive as always.
The Rhubarb & Custard was a popular choice, naturally. With it's sweet and distinctive flavours, you would not even notice that this is a caffeine free option unless I told you.
I also allowed 2 of my guests to sample a small tea cup full of one of their upcoming flavours, Whiskey & Ginger.
Admittedly, I am not a fan of either ingredient, so I allowed it to be sipped by guests who would truly appreciate this new taste sensation. They adored it, and the smell was fabulous, even to me. So here's hoping this one is available to buy later in the year, it will get many guests noses twitching that's for sure!
As per usual, I also sat on the sofa at some ungodly hour last week and created an entirely new IPod Playlist for my Crafty Guests to enjoy listening to whilst indulging, and I would like to thank the very charming Glenn from My Mate George for allowing me to play his fantastic song titled A Nice Cup Of Tea.
If you didn't hear it or haven't yet seen this video, please do check him out. He has placed a smile on many tea lovers' faces these past few weeks, mine included!
This crafty afternoon offered a very relaxing edition of The Secluded Tea Party, and it was a great opportunity for myself and for Chrissy to sit down and get to chat and help our guests with their mini projects.
I could definitely get used to sitting around and enjoying an activity with my guests in the future!.... It makes for a very chilled out Miss Sue Flay hehe.
I can't thank Chrissy enough for allowing us to take over her venue for the afternoon, we all had so much fun and the creative side came out of us all : )
Who knows, perhaps we will make a return visit one day in the future...?
The Next version of The Secluded Tea Party will be offering my guests a Vintage Theme which will not disappoint!
It is being held in a very exclusive venue, with a few surprises to boot, with only 2 Tickets left for this event.... Why not grab them and join us for Afternoon Tea with a twist?!...
Miss Sue Flay
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