Eight Years Ago in May we were in England
living in a cottage called "Blue Row"
in the Cotswold village of Swerford
It was an old cottage compared to what is in Kansas
for it was built in 1802
But to the Brits, it's rather a "new build"!
It started life out as 4 cottages and now is two
We had this half!
Which had a lovely little garden
And we loved to take tea in the garden if we were home
A linen cloth
(bought as a souvenir and used while we were there)
Flowers
And the tea ware that came with the cottage
We raided the garden for flowers
And bought our scones, our cream and our jam!
Scones served properly with cream and jam!
Having been used to the price of Clotted Cream here, I was surprised to
find that it was only 90p (or $1.35 there)
And we always had a container in the fridge.
We didn't have tea in Blue Row's garden every afternoon
But if we were home, we did.
Sometimes more simply
A tray brought everything to the garden
the pot of tea, two scones, cream and jam!
Boughten again. I never did bake a scone in England!
And on rainy days
We have our tea inside.
If tea was at Blue Row, it was usually a cream tea
of store bought scones (sometimes fruit, sometimes plain), cream and jam
When I was up in the city, I stopped by World Market
and brought home a jar
It's good. But not as good as that we bought in England
And it cost way more than $1.35.
Like $8 plus tax!
Needless to say, we don't have it that often at Linderhof!
But today, with real clotted cream, homemade strawberry jam, freshly baked scones
(because you can't get a good scone in Fort Scott)
and a beautiful day
(the storms of yesterday have left)
we had tea in the garden
I got out the Spode. It seems a Spode kind of tea.
Blue Italian. The "cake" plate (upon which the scones are plated) were found
by dear friend (and Andy's Aunt) Jo
They are a treasure!
I brought out a cloth (but alas, not the same one I used in England)
because tea in the garden warrants a nice cloth I think
We're of the cream first, then the jam school
And we take a little milk in our tea
There is nothing better than a real scone (I used an English recipe), with real clotted (or Devonshire) cream, and homemade strawberry jam!
It was a nice respite in the garden this afternoon
And if talk turned to our time in England, it was great to remember that special
Spring when we lived in Blue Row.
5 comments:
This was so fun as yes - I was following your blog then and remember that! What a lovely trip you had and shared. I am going now to search for the closest World Market....probably St. Louis area for me. I haven't had clotted cream from England for 3 years! I want - I want!
Beautiful post and I too remember when you made your trip to England and all that you shared. I love my Blue Italian and am looking for a tea pot at a reasonable price. Like the serving plate too. Carolyn
All so delightful to read the memories & see photos of such a wonderful trip, fabulous tea treats to accompany the memories, no matter which came first today!
How long did you live in the Cotswolds? And why did you ever leave ? We were there last September but only for one month.. I LOVED it...can’t imagine living there it was magical. Hope to return one day.
How wonderful to have lived in England; especially in that area! Your Spode tea is just lovely! I also apply my cream first, then the jam. Your tea is very welcoming, Martha, and I love your tablecloth! Blessings to you, Sandi
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