Afternoon tea

Just grinning inanely to myself because I have raisin cream scone dough chilling in the fridge.  I'll pull them out and bake them tomorrow for afternoon tea with clotted cream.  DH and I share a house with his brother, so our "quality time" ritual is Sunday afternoon tea at the kitchen table.  I pull out the china, light a candle, make a pot of leaf tea, and always try and bake a little something.  Even though we work together, it's really the only time we have all week to sit down and just talk, like when we were dating.  It's silly, but I look forward to it all week.  Ross is always disappointed if we have to miss a week, too. 

Does anyone else really love afternoon tea?  Or, alternately, what's your ritual for private time with the special person in your life (especially if you have kids)? 

Does anyone else really love afternoon tea? 

Yes, at Bettys:

http://www.bettys.co.uk/content.asp?storyid=%7BF2EA2E3C%2D0510%2D4FF0%2D8B01%2D1DC085553F92%7D

Yes, at Bettys:

http://www.bettys.co.uk/content.asp?storyid=%7BF2EA2E3C%2D0510%2D4FF0%2D8B01%2D1DC085553F92%7D

My favorite is the Little Betty's in York. Always have to drop in when I am lucky enough to get up there.  Yummy...

That's so sweet Elliejean... not to mention good regular use of your china. 

I like afternoon tea. It is relaxing to be with a person you enjoying chatting with.

I bought a silver tea set when I was in India. I hope to add some china to it one day.

Yes, at Bettys:

http://www.bettys.co.uk/content.asp?storyid=%7BF2EA2E3C%2D0510%2D4FF0%2D8B01%2D1DC085553F92%7D

Oh ya, like we could afford it.
$90 (£45)for afternoon tea for two?// We just got a break $1.96 to the £. so $88.
$6.20 (£3.10) for hot chocolate?
No wonder you say you have a higher standard of living there
But for your poor American cousins it is still "Denny's" @ $6.95 for a grand slam.
No class you say?   
Seriously. You can live with those prices if you forget about the $ cost and remember how much you make in £'s

Oh ya, like we could afford it.
$90 (£45)for afternoon tea for two?// We just got a break $1.96 to the £. so $88.
$6.20 (£3.10) for hot chocolate?
No wonder you say you have a higher standard of living there
But for your poor American cousins it is still "Denny's" @ $6.95 for a grand slam.
No class you say?   
Seriously. You can live with those prices if you forget about the $ cost and remember how much you make in £'s

Just read your post and had to check the menu for myself - notice though that the £45 tea for two contains a lot of food, plus champagne. I'd imagine most people go for the £7.75 cream tea, not the £45 one.

On a side note, the best cream tea I had was at Thornbury Castle, nr Bristol - £7.50 for a pot of tea, 2 very large, freshly-baked scones with cream and jam and 4 cakes!! It was slightly more expensive than other cream teas, but well worth the extra money (plus, you get to eat it in the very same building that Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn stayed in once)!!

I'd imagine most people go for the £7.75 cream tea, not the £45 one.

The £7.75 would be the one I go for, but sometimes I get other things - like lunch.  I didn't even know they had a £45 one.

You can live with those prices if you forget about the $ cost and remember how much you make in £'s

And yes, as how we do earn our living in £££ - why would we worry about how much it is in $$$?

When I lived in the US, I shared an office at work with an English woman. We'd make a point a couple of times a week of taking an afternoon tea break - good tea, dainty cucumber sandwiches and some nice biscuits.  

Here, I generally do have a cup of tea and a biscuit or two around that time. It usually means I've finished all my housework and errands for the day, so it's the start of my relaxy time.

My husband and I love private time together, so with a 2 year old in the house...its mostly spend SLEEPING!!! 

We do enjoy just being together in the evenings though, once the nipper has gone off to bed, its MOMMY AND DADDY TIME! Hoorah!

I've never, in *all these years* done 'afternoon tea'!

I've never, in *all these years* done 'afternoon tea'!

Really?  A cream tea is the sum af all earthly pleasures!! 

Yes, at Bettys:

http://www.bettys.co.uk/content.asp?storyid=%7BF2EA2E3C%2D0510%2D4FF0%2D8B01%2D1DC085553F92%7D

How over priced is that place?!  Looked at the menu in York last week with then OH (now DF!), and she couldn't believe it either!
Complete tourist trap!

It's sort of a York institution.  Although I can't see why you'd go there for anything but tea, really, which is not too badly priced.  There's lots of more reasonably priced restaurants in York if you're looking for a budget-friendly meal. 

Really?  A cream tea is the sum af all earthly pleasures!! 

I don't think I'd go that far!  But it is a nice afternoon activity... with the right company of course!

I inherited my love of tea from my mom, who is responsible for my boringly encyclopedic knowledge of tea (and who owns no less than 10 teapots  )).  I have to watch her when she's here - she won't bother with a scone, but often will just take to the clotted cream with a spoon!