Stepheny Houghtlin's Blog, page 3

G – A Place In The Garden For Enjoying Tea

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Welcome to letter G and to this year’s Theme:

 The Glories of Tea With Stepheny

To share your garden is a reward for the time, money, planning and work invested in this sacred spot in your world. When designing a garden, you find advice on what to include: whimsey, the sound of water, a surprise around the curve in a pathway, a focal point where an important piece of sculpture or handsome container sits. Provide places to sit and view the garden. If you are lucky enough to have a Borrowed View, take advantage of that.  A garden is a lovely place to entertain. It may be an impromptu set up to sit and eat outdoors or a permanent place.  The following images speak for themselves. I hope they will give you the inspiration to carry your tea things outdoors and experience the piece of heaven you’ve worked hard to create. Enjoy!

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A practical tip for enriching garden soil: Teabags enrich the soil by increasing nitrogen levels. Remove the tags first because they take a long time to break down, especially if they are plastic coated. Here is a quick article on how to use old tea bags to the benefit of your garden.

 

 

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F – Fortnum and Mason

Welcome to letter F and to this year’s Theme:

 The Glories of Tea With Stepheny

 

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The Mechanical Clock on the front of Fortnum & Mason

If you drink tea then you recognize the name Fortnum and Mason. I have stood on Piccadilly Street in London waiting for the mechanical clock to strike the hour when Fortnum and Mason come out their two doors, bow to one another, then return indoors.  If you are unfamiliar with this name,  there is always time for a story, don’t you think?

 

Once upon a time, William Fortnum was a footman in the household of Queen Anne. The royal family’s insistence on having new candles every night resulted in large amounts of half-used wax, which Fortnum resold for a tidy profit. The enterprising Fortnum also had a sideline business as a grocer. He convinced his landlord, Hugh Mason, to be his associate, and they founded the first Fortnum & Mason store in Mason’s small shop in St James’s Market in 1707. In 1761, William Fortnum’s grandson Charles went into the service of Queen Charlotte and the affiliation with the royal court led to an increase in business.

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In 1902, Fortnum’s tea came to boast a Royal pedigree thanks to a blend specially created for King Edward VII. Whether single-origin teas, rare varieties, home-grown blends or contemporary infusions, Fortnum’s tea is still poured today. Today, Fortnum & Mason is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at St Pancras railway station and Heathrow Airport in London, as well as various stockists worldwide.  Today, it is privately owned by Wittington Investments.

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“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.”

― Bill Watterson, The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book

 

 

E – Afternoon Tea Etiquette The English Way

Welcome to letter E and to this year’s Theme:

 The Glories of Tea With Stepheny

[image error]I know I will date myself when I say I am still appalled at the ‘straight from the gym’ appearance people wear on an airplane. It is a far cry from the hat and gloves I wore when  I first traveled. I give thanks that children are still being taught to say, ‘please and thank you.’ I like knowing that my children and a few grandchildren were taught to set a table properly; something that will stand them in good stead long after I am gone. I believe that applying some simple etiquette when having tea adds to the refinement that is another part of the glories of tea. After watching this video, more than once if need be, should the Queen invite you to tea, you will be at your ease knowing how to stir your tea and that you are holding your cup properly. Have a lovely time!

A Short Video with William Hanson, Etiquette Coach and Broadcaster, will put your right.

In giving his etiquette tips, William Hanson talks about using loose leaf tea as opposed to tea bags. Loose tea needs a tea strainer. This suggests another quest, looking for beautiful pieces like these below. I find teabags less troublesome, but still, I have a gorgeous antique sterling tea strainer that my dear friend, Margaret, gave me years ago. It is a treasure that one day will be returned to her children. I have kept it safe and sound and loved it.

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Beautiful china tea strainer

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A beautiful china tea strainer

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Beautiful China Tea Strainer

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Antique Gorham Silver Strainer

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Antique Silver Tea Ball

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A pewter tea strainer

 

D – A Downton Abbey Tea

Welcome to letter D and to this year’s Theme:

                                              The Glories of Tea With Stepheny

A hotel with a literary connection interests me. I’m glad the O. Henry Hotel was recreated in Greensboro after the original was raised. The O. Henry is named after American writer and Greensboro native William Sydney Porter, whose pen name was O. Henry. The original Hotel was built in downtown Greensboro in 1919  ‘A lot of famous writers,’ said one guest, ‘have houses they once occupied preserved in their honor, but O. Henry lived most of his life in hotels.’ The O. Henry was the fall 2019 destination for a Downton Abbey Tea. Three of us anticipated the occasion for weeks.

Through the doors and past the main desk we go. 

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The Main Desk

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Through the front door

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Menu

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Lovely long tables for the guests.

 

On Display, China and Service Pieces Used Throughout The Series

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Delicious tea food

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Scones

 

 

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Delicious Selections

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Artist in Residence painted Downton Abbey throughout tea and given by raffle

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A lovely setting

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A lovely cup

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Flowers throughout

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A tableau of Downton Abbey guests

If you have an opportunity like this, don’t miss it. Plan the occasion with friends who are both the sweet and savory in our lives. This post is dedicated to Mary and Jane in remembrance of the Downton Abbey Tea

C – Collecting China -Tea Cups, Tea Pots and Service Pieces

Welcome to letter C and to this year’s Theme:

 The Glories of Tea With Stepheny

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Few Americans take time for afternoon tea, but collecting teacups is a passion for many. Finding room and displaying our collections can be a quandary. Most of what we collect, admire, and display is behind glass, occasionally taken out for a party. Though tea tastes best from a proper teacup, people stand at the kitchen counter with their favorite clunky mug in hand and a tea bag string hanging over the edge.

I was blessed to grow up with parents who were collectors…books, and beautiful antique porcelain. Both things exposed me to a lifelong addiction, although for a long time books far outpace the occasional china piece I buy. However, it is that you display your collection, on simple selves or in a cabinet you searched far and wide for, collectors constantly expand their expertise, contributing to the interesting people they are. When you are feeling guilty that you have bought again another teapot, think of the following quote that gives you permission.

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“The whole point of collecting is the thrill of acquisition, which must be maximized, and maintained at all costs.”  – John Baxter, A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict

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B – Bone China

Welcome to letter B and to this year’s Theme:

 The Glories of Tea With Stepheny

 

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Tuscan Vintage Tea Cup & Saucer Gold Border

The main difference between porcelain and fine bone china is the inclusion of up to 50 percent bone ash in the porcelain mixture that makes up bone china. China is also typically fired at a lower temperature than porcelain, which is double-fired at very high temperatures. Bone china has a warmer off-white color than porcelain. The words bone china are often marked on the underside of a piece of bone china. Porcelain looks bright white to the naked eye and it is more durable and weighty when compared to bone china. Recognizing the difference between bone china and porcelain is all about the ingredients in the ceramic mixture and its firing process. The first firm to develop a reliable recipe was Spode in 1799. It is specifically an English development. Germany, France and the rest of Europe stuck to their older, more traditional Chinese porcelain recipes (no animal bone).

Some people bet on a horse because they like the name or think the horse is pretty. In collecting china, you may feel the same way. As long as it is pretty, that’s what matters. To others, the manufacturer of china is as important as the pattern. There is a way to verify the authenticity of a piece of bone china. Generally, bone china is registered by the manufacturer and you can find its trademark, number, and pattern name under each piece. Over time these can become difficult to read.  If you hold a piece of bone china up to a light and place your hand behind it, you should be able to see your fingers through it.

Select one of these lovely cups and let’s pour some Lady Gray and enjoy it.

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Vintage English SHELLEY Fine Bone China Tea Cup & Saucer

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Vintage Tuscan Fine Bone China Tea Cup and Saucer, Naples …

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Antique Aynsley bone china tea cup set red

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Vintage Shelley Violets Fine Bone China Tea Cup by …

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Elizabethan Fine Bone China Tea Cup and Saucer Green Gold

 

A – Afternoon Tea

                                  Welcome to letter A and to this year’s Theme:

                                                          The Glories of Tea With Stepheny

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Tea – Washington Duke Inn – July 2012

Consider this your invitation to join in the glories of tea during April, the month of the AtoZ Blog Challenge. Using the 26 letters of the alphabet, you will find that our time together will cover different aspects of the long tradition of drinking tea. Art, china, recipes, hotels, mysteries. Even if you prefer coffee, I hope the breath of the subject will bring you back while out blog hopping. I’m delighted to entertain you with information, friendship, and lovely tea parties. Let’s begin by remembering our first teacups as little people, be they tin like mine or china that was hard to break.

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Afternoon Tea

 

Afternoon tea is not the same as high tea. “High tea was what servants of a large house ate at around 6pm after the upstairs had been given their afternoon tea. The servant’ s menu would include a large joint of meat, slices of thick bread, potted shrimps, a big cake to share, and ale. It was eaten at a proper table, rather than a lower, coffee table, and so it became known in the servants’ hall as ‘high tea’.” You are familiar with an afternoon tea that has a variation of tea sandwiches, scones, and something sweet.

 

To this day I drink my tea with milk and sugar as I did when a child. In England, this is known as ‘white’ tea. We will learn more about Etiquette in a few days,  but while on the subject,  do you add milk in first or last? The proper custom is to add the milk last, although the servants of a large house who used to drink from unrefined clay mugs which could crack when hot tea was poured, added milk in, before the tea was poured to act as a coolant. Those above the stairs of the house drank from fine bone china or porcelain so the hot tea wasn’t a problem. For the letter, B we will talk about bone china. Do join me.

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Afternoon Tea

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Afternoon Tea

 

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.”

Henry James              The  Portrait of a Lady

 

2020 A to Z Blog #Challenge – Theme Reveal

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The Glories of Tea With Stepheny

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The Downton Abbey Tea in Greensboro, NC with Friends. 2019

My first cup of pretend tea was from a child-size tin teacup that included a teapot, creamer, and sugar, and three more cups and saucers. It was the right number to serve tea to my dolls while jabbering away to them as any three-year-old might. Playing ‘tea party’ led to giving larger tea parties when I grew up. I’ve had tea in lovely hotels known for their service and delicious offerings, in tea shops dedicated to this tradition. I’m about finished with a third novel where a famous tea room in New York and London are featured.  I’ve taken granddaughters to tea, go out with friends for tea.  I have been invited to friend’s homes with table settings and food that Queen Elizabeth would pronounce charming and delicious. While in England I vowed that once home I would continue to make tea each afternoon. Like a lot of my good intentions, that didn’t last long.

Throughout April,  I will use the 26 letters of the alphabet to write about the glories of tea. It will include posts on collecting china teapots and teacups, tea locations, art, recipes, etiquette, books, and other surprises. In years past I have written about gardening, historic inns, and hotels, bookstores in the world. I loved every minute of it. For a year I have been researching, tucking photos, artwork, quotations away in order to write about the glories of tea for this year’s #Challenge. I hope you will find it a pleasant spot in your day while blog hopping, making new blog friends, learning new things.

My first A to Z was in 2013. I have only missed one year since. It has made me a better writer and blogger because the #Challenge exposed me to how it is best done featuring interesting information, with uncluttered, easy to navigate sites.  Keeping the posts short has made my word selection keener so that now I say more with fewer words. (Not in person, however.) I still follow and enjoy the blogs I’ve discovered during the #Challenge.

It is my hope that taking tea with me in April will enrich your appreciation on the subject beyond a cup of Earl Gray! Consider this your invitation to join me for the glories of tea.

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This little girl reminds me of a time when my tin tea set was in use.

The Tea Party

I had a little tea party

This afternoon at three.

‘Twas very small-

Three guest in all-

Just I, myself and me.

Myself ate all the sandwiches,

While I drank up the tea;

‘Twas also I who ate the pie

And passed the cake to me.

― Jessica Nelson North

Mary Poppins: Then and Again

[image error]The movie, Mary Poppins came into the lives of children in 1964. It was the first movie I took my son, Bo, to see when he was deemed old enough to sit through and enjoy the magic of the story. We drove from Cadiz, Kentucky to Nashville, TN (84 miles straight down I-24) to see the film for the first time. I wouldn’t expect him to remember, but I have never forgotten this trip or many times thereafter I have seen the film.

Mary Poppins is a 1964 American musical fantasy film directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Walt Disney, with songs written and composed by the Sherman Brothers. It is based on P. L. Travers’s book series Mary Poppins. The film, which combines live-action and animation, stars Julie Andrews in her feature film debut as Mary Poppins, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, and Glynis Johns featured in supporting roles.  It received a total of 13 Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture – a record for any film released by Walt Disney Studios – and won five: Best Actress for Andrews, Best Film Editing, Best Original Music Score, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Song for “Chim Chim Cher-ee”.  Mary Poppins is considered Walt Disney’s crowning live-action achievement and is the only one of his films which earned a Best Picture nomination during his lifetime.

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]I met the announcement of the new release of Mary Poppins Returns with uncertainty, but faith. How could any attempt at recreating this charming and delightful film be possible? But what if it is as good? Netflicks was as far as I traveled to finally see the second film. Set in 1930s London, twenty-five years after the events of the original film, the film sees Mary Poppins, the former nanny of Jane and Michael Banks, returning one year after a family tragedy. Released in the US, December 19, 2018, it one of the longest intervals between film sequels in cinematic history, at 54 years.

It isn’t my age that worked against the film because the little girl within is alive and well, still able to suspend belief in order to believe. Anyone introduced to Mary Poppins and her world for the first time will be pleased. But I was sorry to feel that the animated scenes weren’t as much fun. It’s hard to beat having tea on the ceiling! or riding your merry-go-round horse off into the countryside. By comparison, there weren’t as many ‘if only this was possible’ moments. However, I will remain forever grateful for the music.  It received four Academy Award nominations, two for Best Original Score, Best Original Song (“The Place Where Lost Things Go”)

We all must learn to hold the losses and changes in our lives. It is with great thanksgiving that I now know where lost things go. I am immensely comforted and touched to have found this out because Mary Poppins Returned.  I forgive any difference I may have with the second film and you will too.

 

 

 

 

 

Where Have You Been Billy Boy, Billy Boy?

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Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?

I have not been idle only absent from posting on this blog while writing regularly on  Mainstreetrockymount.com,  about architecture and preservation, the revitalization of Rocky Mount, NC. that includes the Saving of Main Street. The theme of this blog is Honoring the Past, Building a Future. It has been a wonderful experience that has enriched my life. I’m also finishing a third novel – A Garden of Sweet Disorder. I never forget you, and appreciate that you continue to keep reading what has already been posted. I’m going to renew my efforts to come back ‘home’ to you. Hold that thought and go and enjoy your books. What would our lives be without them?

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I wanted to check in with a Churchill quotation that you will enjoy too. It was posted on a Facebook page I follow, The Queen’s English. I am going to follow through with Churchill’s suggestion. As I cast my eyes across the titles and where my books reside, they form the backdrop of my life and tell you a lot about who I am. You will know me by my books!

 

 

[image error]“If you cannot read all your books…fondle them—peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, set them back on the shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so that you at least know where they are. Let them be your friends; let them, at any rate, be your acquaintances.”

~Sir Winston Churchill.