It's Tea Time

Eleanor smoothed the back of her pink floral dress and took her place at the garden tea table. When it was time to pour the tea, she placed the tea strainer on her cup and while holding the finial of the tea pot, poured the loose leaf tea into her cup. She could detect the scent of Earl Grey.

This brings back memories of tea with my mother. After placing the strainer back into its base, she added a small amount of sugar and a splash of milk, stirring her tea carefully and properly. She then looked at the table settings.

There was a tea cup and saucer, food plate, discard plate, linen napkin, knife for scones and spoon for h tea at her place setting. On the lace covered table was the teapot, a strainer, plate of scones, crocks of whipped butter, fresh whipped cream and homemade strawberry jam, each with a serving spoon.

Her mother had taught her about tea etiquette and how to set a proper table. Her mother was a British war bride and her father was an American soldier. One thing her mother was going to be sure of, was proper etiquette, especially for tea time.

When Eleanor was ten, she and her parents flew to England to visit her grandmother. Eleanor and her mother attended an afternoon tea, hosted by her grandmother.

The table was set with pretty tea cups, saucers and plates, the tea cups had dollies underneath them, There were tier trays of savory sandwiches, scones and clotted cream and jam and a tray of cakes. 

She carefully watched her mother stir her tea and lemon, She noticed what foods were eaten in what order. Eleanor carefully followed what her mother did, how she broke the scones and toped them with jam and clotted cream that she had placed on her plate. How she took small sips of her tea, looking only down at her cup, Eleanor saw that the handles of the tea cups were pointed to three o’clock. 

Every bite was small, no gulping just sips. Tea time is a social time and one did not want a mouth full of food so they could not talk, although Eleanor thought to her self “What would I talk about anyway?” Her mother had taught her well at home but she was still nervous.

When the tea was finished Eleanor let out a quiet sigh when her grandmother said, “Well done poppet, well done” her mother smiled and asked her what was her favorite part of the tea time, “The scones and cream and jam”. Her mother smiled and said, “Mine too.”

After returning home, her mother had taken her on special occasions to afternoon teas, which she enjoyed but what she enjoyed the most was cream tea with her mother and a few close friends. Cream tea offered the best of afternoon tea, with scones, fresh whipped cream, (clotted cream was not allowed to be sold in America) and jam mainly, strawberry jam.

Eleanor smiled at the memories of afternoon tea with her mother and grandmother and took a scone, then put a serving of each butter, fresh whipped cream and jam on her plate, she carefully broke her scone and topped it with the delicious accompaniments . 

Eleanor could smell the tea and the warm scone and the lovely fragrance of the floral centerpiece. The flowers complimented the Royal Albert Petit Point bone china.

Eleanor could feel the warm of the sun on her back as she took a sip of her tea. Cream tea in the garden generally, was a delightful time, the beautiful colors of spring flowers, the beautiful scents of roses, heliotrope, hydrangeas and lilac.

Her mother always made tea time special by setting a lovely table, in the garden, when the weather was nice. She would often braid Elenor’s hair and have her wear her Sunday best, a nice dress, hat and gloves.

Seventy years have passed since Eleanor experienced her afternoon tea, the first one with her grandmother in England. Since then, she would enjoyed inviting friends for tea. She would set a lovely table and wear beautiful ensembles of dresses, jackets and hats. Tea time was a tradition for Eleanor.

Eleanor enjoyed hosting teas She would think of themes for afternoon tea or cream tea. When her mother was mostly homebound, Eleanor would pop over with tea and biscuits, smile at her mom and say, “Mum, it’s elevenses, would you like a cuppa tea?” 

Eleanor passed tea traditions to her daughter, Lily, like her mother did. Lily continued with tea traditions, asking her mother and grandmother for advice from time to time. The first tea party Lily took part in, was when she was six. Eleanor’s mother was there. Eleanor remembered being nervous even though she had hosted may teas. She wanted her daughter to enjoy herself like she did at her first tea. Eleanor knew her mother was proud, when, after the tea, her mother leaned over to Lily, lightly kissed her on the cheek, and said, “Well done poppet, well done,” winking at Eleanor.

 Eleanor took another bite of her scone and another sip of tea. “How may teas have I been apart of? Not just cuppa of tea but proper teas? Numerous, trying to remember the number of teas is like trying to remember how many scones I have eaten in my life," she mused to herself.

Eleanor thought of afternoon tea she had hosted for her friend Millie. Millie was about to be married to her boyfriend of two years, Mike. Mike was a private in the US Army. But before they were to be married he was sent to Viet Nam. Eleanor hosted the tea party to hopefully keep Millie's mind off of the controversial war. They enjoyed talking about Millie’s wedding plans and the dreams of a home and picket fence once Mike returned. Mille shared the letter she had just received from Mike, well, the parts that she could. The letter had taken couple weeks to arrive. That was last time they spoke of wedding plans.

Eleanor’s phone rang that evening, it was their friend,Sue. She shared with her that Millie had received a phone call from Mike’s father. Mike was killed in action.

Eleanor was sad to her this. No tea time was going to bring him back or fill the hole left by his passing in Millie’s heart. Eleanor would let Millie decide when she would want to attend a tea time.

The family had a private ceremony for Private Mike Jones. Millie spoke with Eleanor after the services. “I feel so lost” she said, “Yet one thing that seems to be constant is the lovely teat times you would have for us. I enjoyed hearing how you and your mother had attended teas in London and other places. I am glad you shared those with us”

Eleanor thanked her and thought of how she could brighten Millie’s heart with a tea. She decided to give a patriotic tea, wanting to give Millie a chance to share if she wanted, about Mike. Eleanor asked their friends Sue and Linda about the idea. Linda said, “I think it’s a nice thought, Elie, but maybe you should run it by Millie.” Millie liked the idea of being able to honor Mike and to talk about him. She also thought it would be nice to invite Mike’s mother and hers.

Eleanor took another sip of her Earl Grey and thought more of the patriotic tea time. 

Once the ok was given, the girls spoke with Mike’s mother. Mrs. Jones was pleased at the thought of honoring Mike and allowing this time for his fiancé, friends and herself to share. Eleanor asked Mrs. Jones if she could provide couple pictures and would share with the guests funny stories of Mike. Eleanor talked briefly of Mike’s service and patriotism, but mostly kept the afternoon light.

She had instructed her guests to wear something patriotic. Navy, white or red. She fixed a low centerpiece of white stock, red roses, and blue hydrangea. With a couple American flags in amongst them. Eleanor placed a nice picture of Mike nestled next to one of the American flags. She had red napkins, tea cups and plates trimmed in dark blue on a white linen covered table.  

She served foods of savory to sweets. There was a tiered tray of mini BLTs and small triangle chicken salad toped with a blue berry and tooth pick. She had scones with fresh whipped cream and strawberry jam and the last course was small petit fours decorated with red stripes or blue stars. 

They laughed at the stories Mike’s mother had shared They laughed at the ones they never knew and at the ones they did.

Everyone at the table was very aware of the public opinion of the war. Most of them felt that their grief could not be shared openly. But they felt safe, safe at an afternoon tea. Eleanor was glad she could give her friend, Millie and Mike’s mother a safe place. The afternoon was drawing to a close, Eleanor stood up to speak and said, “It doesn’t matter what others believe. We know that your son, Mrs. Jones, your husband-to-be, Millie, was a hero. He loved you, he loved his family his God, and he loved this country. When many were running from, he ran toward the battle. He was and is and always will be an American hero and we remember him fondly. Lets stand and take a few moments to bow our heads and remember Private Mike A. Jones”. Everyone stood and bowed their heads.

Eleanor finished eating her scone and took another sip of tea. She breathed in the floral scents and felt the sun on her skin. She thought back of all the tea times she, her mother, her daughter, and her friends had shared.

Eleanor had enjoyed hosting tea with her dear friends Millie, Sue, and Linda. Making personal occasions memorable with special afternoon tea or cream tea themes.

Afternoon tea honoring Mike was not the only memorial tea as she like to call them, that she hosted. In 1972 she hosted a memorial cream tea for their friend Linda. Linda was killed in a car accident one month before Christmas. Sue, Millie, and Eleanor shared memories, sipping tea from cups trimmed with holly leaves and berries and eating scones full of dates and dried cranberries. Linda had always enjoyed tea at Christmas. 

Eleanor enjoyed teas with her mother. After her mother was home bound, she would have elevenses, a simple ‘cuppa’ tea and some biscuits. Her dear mum had now, been gone, twenty years. 

Eleanor recalled how Millie and Sue did their best to host a memorial afternoon tea for her mom. They had a tiered tray of small sandwiches, scones with whipped cream and jam, and little cakes. Her mother’s middle name was Heather, so the girls had a centerpiece with lavender and heather throughout. They used colors of lavender and soft grey. Eleanor remembered how she wanted to cry at how sweet the girls were and how they incorporated things to remind her of her mum. 

She chuckled to herself when she thought about the tea cup handles pointing every direction but 3 o’clock, She could her mother say, “Don’t embarrass your hostesses, they are doing their best, just turn your cup discreetly when sipping your tea.” Eleanor’s mother was always polite and discreet even in correcting Eleanor’s early tea etiquette mistakes. Eleanor never told the girls of their faux pas.

Eleanor hosted teas for happy occasions as well. In 1970 she hosted a bridal tea for Millie who was marrying a nice man, Ben, an airline pilot. Eleanor used Millie's wedding colors of pastel blues and greens. Eleanor had a centerpiece of white mini roses, Bells of Ireland, (Ben was Irish) and baby’s breath. She served little ham and Irish cheese sandwiches, along with chicken salad finger sandwiches, scones with cream and jam, and small white cakes and green grapes. Millie, thoroughly enjoyed herself. Linda and Sue did too. Linda said, “Ellie, you must promise us that you will host bridal teas for us too.” Eleanor smiled and said, “Of course I will.” Linda was gone less than two years later.

Last year, she hosted elevenses tea for Millie and herself in remembrance of Sue. Sue was the sunshine of the group, and since it was spring time, Eleanor decorated the table with yellow daffodils, served Sue’s favorite biscuits, (shortbread cookies). She had tea pot of black tea and an accompaniment of sugar, honey, lemons, and milk. They fondly recalled how Sue would love to hear Eleanor and her mum say, “Cuppa tea” instead of “cup of," and how she liked the informality of elevenses. 

Eleanor and Millie spent the afternoon remembering Sue. They reflected on Linda, on Eleanor’s mother, and some on Mike and his family. They chatted about Millie and her husbandBen and their family. Life had brought them together and through many chapters. And dare say there were probably a tea marking each major and even minor occurrence, sad or happy.

 Spring again, today, Eleanor silently enjoyed memorial tea for her last child hood girlfriend, Millie.Millie had passed peacefully in her sleep the week before. 

Eleanor said,“What a sweet friend and sister Millie was to Linda, Sue and myself.” As Eleanor stood she said,“A moment of silence for Millie” then she, alone at the table, bowed her head.