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Friday, 24 June 2016

DIARY OF A VICTORIAN AFTERNOON TEA


Good afternoon Bloggets. Gosh what a day? Skip by this morning and fast forward to this afternoon. Hub and I went to a beautiful hotel for afternoon tea. Oh my, we entered the place through those revolving doors, haha, all went well with me and Waggatail, I got through and waited, and waited… Well, no Hub and the Little Fella.

 

Heck, it was quiet and I seamed to be in a huge room without staff, customers or doors? Smile. Seriously, and more important, where was Hub? Well at last he came through the doors saying that LF wasn’t too keen on coming through the doors, he is huge though, well, LF not Hub… Well, kind of. Hehehehehe.

 

Then we both stood, hoping for a member of staff to come to us, or someone ask if they could help? No one was there, were we in a derelict hotel? Were we in the right place? Then we heard a person coming through the side door so off we went to investigate. Got through the door. Hub in front with LF and Waggatail guiding me wagging her tail like there was no tomorrow.

 

Hub told me there were steps. How did he know? Because LF sits at the bottom and top of steps, bless him. So up we went and then a lovely gent came to rescue us. Oh it reminded me of the most hilarious story about when Hub and I went hunting for the restaurant in a hotel we were staying in some years ago, oh now it was the most brilliant cringe worthy story ever. So, Hub and I decided to be two independent blind people and head off in the hotel for breakfast. Now we had never been to the restaurant before or the hotel for that matter.  But it was when Hub had his wonder dog Long Chops. Where could we go wrong? What with wonderful LC and our sense of smell for cooked breakfast? We would listen for the sounds of china cups and cutlery, easy, right?

Em. No. not quite.

 

I have my white cane, I decided I was the new Fifi who could, would, and should. Hub asked me if I was sure I wanted to lead the way?

Oh yes, of course, it will be a piece of cake… Or slice of toast…

 

So there was a door. I was sure that would be the way. But it was closed. Well, not locked so I opened it and proceeded to encourage Hub to follow. He asked me if I were sure? I said yes, come on. He asked me again, but then agreed it was the right way.

 

Well, I felt the walls closing in on me but it was my early days of getting around as a person without sight. For some years before I tried but didn’t have the teacher of my Husband that I had then and now.

 

As I felt something to my left and put out my hand. Hub asked. “Fiona, I don’t think this is right?”

Well neither did I. and as I put my hand out to the left I felt something that you do not want to feel when you are looking for the restaurant in a hotel.

 

A bed.

Oh yes Bloggets. We had walked into a bedroom. Hahahahahahaha

 

Question is, was there anyone in the bed? If so picture the scene?

You are just waking up and in your room walks in a blind lady with a cane and following her was a blind guy with a rather confused looking guide dog? Hahaha. So what did we do? Turned on our heel and walked out. I was purple

 

We did find the restaurant and just hoped that we would eat and leave before the people from the room came downstairs.

 

Not as bad as that today so we were escorted to our table and I did a Fifi thing, but no way I am telling what I did, may be one day in another blog when I’m feeling brave. Oh my word Bloggets, you will not believe what I did? Anyway, jog on and when we were taken to our table, oh my goodness. The seats, were so luxurious. There was another group of people at the next table we knew as Hub had arranged for them to be there too. And at our table a lovely guy we know. So then the manager came and spoke to us. He was a good man who told us that the hotel was one hundred and fifty years old and it has just had millions spent on it. We were sitting in the Victorian room which looked over to the cathedral. Oh the room was huge and airy. The feel of the place was just the best, so relaxing and my imagination was taking me back to people who would have frequented that room over a hundred years ago.

 

If I could go into a time machine and go back to the days back, then? What would I be like and what would I be wearing? What sounds would I be hearing? I guessed fine china cups and there would be some kind of music from the Victorian era. People would be in clothes of fine quality men in top hats and ladies in long dresses with long gloves and hats. The conversations would be so different. I painted a picture in my mind of the colours. Reds purples and white laces with the fragrances of wood and possible cigarettes. Old fashioned perfumes of lavenders. One would eat in a different manner and everything would be so slow and methodical.

 

Well, back to real life. We had beautiful tea, leaf tea, I had lemon grass. Then a plate of savouries. Tartlets and a tiny glass of humus.

 

Then we were served with sandwiches followed by cream tea, so cream scones with jam and delectable dainty cakes of all kinds. As well as more tea drinking to be had.

 

Great conversation wonderful environment and a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. A relatively smooth journey home and now reflections of our day, after a sleepless night waiting for the election results and buzzing from the results today, I really feel like this is a great new start for living.

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