A British Day
Oct. 4th, 2008 06:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bex77We had a very British day! First a fox hunt with the horses and hounds, then high tea!
I snapped a dozen photos you can see at http://www.flickr.com/photos/7632568@N07/2912579957/in/set-72157607563876365/
We drove North and went out into the countryside in Ipswich with the kind folks of the Myopia Hunt Club. What glorious weather - sunny at last! One of the plays in N's Halloween radio show is about a fox hunt, so their excellent director arranged for us to visit a hunt. N. took his fancy digital sound recorder to get some hunt sounds he hopes to use for the play. It was great to get out of the city and wander around a horse farm in the afternoon air.
We parked in the paddock of a huge horse farm, patted the nose of an elegant gray stallion, then watched as one horse trailer after another rolled in and parked. We strolled up the gravel driveway to a pasture in front of an incredible estate home. There was cider and port offered around as the horses gathered. The riders were in full costume - black riding boots, jodhpurs, white shirts with cravats, tailored coats (red for men and black for women), and riding helmets. They were joined by the doggies. There was an opening speech, then the horn sounded and they trotted off down the lane. We returned to the paddock area and watched as they crossed the country side, then each horse and dog vaulted over the low fences around us! They took off across the fields, so we packed up and headed out.
After mucking about with the equestrians, we continued our British day by indulging in afternoon tea at the Wenham Tea House. http://wenhamteahouse.com/index.html
We felt very civilized as we sipped tea from lovely floral china cups, sitting at a window table overlooking their garden. We shared a cup of lobster bisque then a three-tiered display of petite sandwiches and pastries including:
Blueberry and plain scones with Clotted Cream and Jam
Tea Sandwiches - cucumber&cress, tuna, egg, pimento cheese
Tea Cookies - ginger, orange chocolate, chocolate shortbread, almond bar
Chocolate Dipped Strawberry
Pot of blueberry infused tea, a fruity, full-bodied tea full of anti-oxidants
Each bite or sip was a revelation - amazing flavors and textures in each morsel. It reminded me other teas I've enjoyed - in London at Fortnum & Mason, or The Foyer at Claridge's Hotel, or at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia...this was much more humble but still a treat. It is wonderful the adventures that being part of a theater group affords us!
I snapped a dozen photos you can see at http://www.flickr.com/photos/7632568@N07/2912579957/in/set-72157607563876365/
We drove North and went out into the countryside in Ipswich with the kind folks of the Myopia Hunt Club. What glorious weather - sunny at last! One of the plays in N's Halloween radio show is about a fox hunt, so their excellent director arranged for us to visit a hunt. N. took his fancy digital sound recorder to get some hunt sounds he hopes to use for the play. It was great to get out of the city and wander around a horse farm in the afternoon air.
We parked in the paddock of a huge horse farm, patted the nose of an elegant gray stallion, then watched as one horse trailer after another rolled in and parked. We strolled up the gravel driveway to a pasture in front of an incredible estate home. There was cider and port offered around as the horses gathered. The riders were in full costume - black riding boots, jodhpurs, white shirts with cravats, tailored coats (red for men and black for women), and riding helmets. They were joined by the doggies. There was an opening speech, then the horn sounded and they trotted off down the lane. We returned to the paddock area and watched as they crossed the country side, then each horse and dog vaulted over the low fences around us! They took off across the fields, so we packed up and headed out.
After mucking about with the equestrians, we continued our British day by indulging in afternoon tea at the Wenham Tea House. http://wenhamteahouse.com/index.html
We felt very civilized as we sipped tea from lovely floral china cups, sitting at a window table overlooking their garden. We shared a cup of lobster bisque then a three-tiered display of petite sandwiches and pastries including:
Blueberry and plain scones with Clotted Cream and Jam
Tea Sandwiches - cucumber&cress, tuna, egg, pimento cheese
Tea Cookies - ginger, orange chocolate, chocolate shortbread, almond bar
Chocolate Dipped Strawberry
Pot of blueberry infused tea, a fruity, full-bodied tea full of anti-oxidants
Each bite or sip was a revelation - amazing flavors and textures in each morsel. It reminded me other teas I've enjoyed - in London at Fortnum & Mason, or The Foyer at Claridge's Hotel, or at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia...this was much more humble but still a treat. It is wonderful the adventures that being part of a theater group affords us!
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-04 11:44 pm (UTC)They do their best to recreate a true high tea and it's quite enjoyable.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-04 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-04 11:53 pm (UTC)I completely forgot about your initial request when we headed up for drinks - my sincere apologies. Apparently I was busy trying to upset our host today.
Tally ho!
no subject
Date: 2008-10-05 08:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-05 03:49 pm (UTC)