Black Friday


There is only one thing against living in a 18 th Century cottage and that in Winter, even in full daylight , the place can suddenly look gloomy and very dark.. This is what the living room looks like at 10 am
It's so miserable that all four dogs with Albert in tow, have taken themselves off to bed.
Chris is still working in London this morning and will be taking his mother to the Ritz for tea. The two of us went a few years back and all I remember was that The scones balanced upon their silver cake stand were ten times smaller than Auntie Glad's and that everything was brightly lit, shiney and " bling"

Looking back on things the experience of tea at the Ritz  was a little over facing but quite magical in as much just occasionally it's nice to do something out of your comfort zone.
Having said that, don't go to the Ritz tearoom hungry.....you'll bloody well leave hungry.

This morning, in the gloom of Black Friday, I had a large cheerful  slice of fruit pie for breakfast
Christine from Chapel Street called yesterday, she had made me one as a treat and with a strong cup of coffee from my thick american coffee mug, it was as good, if not better than anything I had eaten in the Ritz Palm court.



89 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:13 am

    I've never done afternoon or high tea at a posh hotel. I expect it is well left in the 'for the future' list, in perpetuity.

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  3. Tea at the Ritz still sounds a treat. Of course, I'd prefer fruit pie with you at your cottage any day. :)

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  4. Yes, I'd go for the fruit pie too...and meet the dogs. You too, of course!

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    1. They would be all over you ( to get at the pie) of course

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    2. Me Too Me Too ! only if Charlotte OK's it.
      Can I bring The Square Ones ?

      cheers, parsnip

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  5. The kids paid for us to have afternoon tea at The Dorchester a few years ago, very nice but I think a pasty on the beach is more my thing.

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    1. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the ritz but it was a little overfacing

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  6. Concerning "pretending to be excited about your dull life" , I couldn't help but notice that you and I have the same Blue Willow plates. How's that for exciting! (mine, however, do not have a home-made pie beside them).

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  7. I'd like a nice bit of fruit pie for breakfast. I left the spiced beef recipe in the post below if you're interested!

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    1. Already written it down Simone many thanks x

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  8. Fruit pie is my kind of breakfast!
    Our house is very dark, too. Have convinced hubby to convert our screened porch into a sunroom, as it gets sun all afternoon...in progress as I type! Never been to the Ritz....I am frugal and think I would spend my money better elsewhere!

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    1. I'm glad I did it.....
      I would do it again though

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  9. Your life is far from dull as far as I can see, and I don't have to pretend to be interested. Well, maybe a bit too much dog-shit to hold my attention, but that's not as bad as candlesticks, eh?

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  10. You can ask for seconds at The Ritz, we did, and an extra couple of cakes. No extra charge, and I didn't even feel like Oliver. The pie looks good.

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    1. Now he tells me! DUH!

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    2. It's probably considered/hoped that it appears common, but when I'm hungry, I'm hungry.

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  11. Anonymous12:40 pm

    It seems to be the rule of eating out that the price is inversely proportional to portion size. Hungry Horse leaves you bloated like Mr Creosote from Monty Python's Meaning of Life for under a tenner, but if you're eating at one of Jamie Olivers restaurants, you'd better go via McDonald drive-through.
    Pie for breakfast is an interesting alternative to Weetabix - I recall having leftover chicken vindaloo for breakfast on more than one occasion..
    Love the grandfather clock by the way!

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    1. Cold pizza is my favourite breakfast

      The clock has a nice story.....when I was a teen, it stood in my best friends parents house
      When they died I oh so wanted to buy it, but didn't want to put my friend in a difficult position
      When he auctioned the contents of the house, I bought it!

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  12. I seem to remember cream teas being much more generous when I was a kid. But maybe that's just because everything looks bigger when you're small.

    I went through a phase once of eating Dundee cake for breakfast. It was delicious and kept me going for the whole morning.

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  13. I ate maltesers for breakfast yesterday. Life in the fast lane over here. none stop every day. Me and my dyson have a whale of a time. lol

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    1. Malteesers for breakfast....you decadent strumpet x

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  14. My husband is eating pumpkin as we speak....at 7 am! We took a boat ride on the Shannon where they served us scones clotted cream and strawberry jam...large scones! And it was lovely. I have always wanted to have tea with the little triangle sandwiches just to say I had done so. Around here the only place to get this is 100 miles north of us in the "city". I'd settle for a cup of tea or coffee with you and a nice long visit.

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    1. Has he peeled it for is he just gnawing on it?

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  15. If you really want an over the top gigantic tea, the 122nd floor restaurant in the Burj Khalifa, Dubai, does the most spectacular one!

    If interested - GO HERE - http://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2012/05/teatime-at-top-of-world.html to see my pics from the top.

    Be sure to dress nicely though! Very strict dress code enforced, one of our group almost didn't get in wearing running shoes - my hubby had to quickly concoct a 'foot problem' story and Mark had to limp, haha!

    Tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C. is good - but let's face it, all those places are so over-priced it's ridiculous. I'll come for Auntie Glad's scones next time - I bet they're just like the ones my dear late mum made - with homemade strawberry jam to boot! I'll stop at my old Devon home on the way and bring the real clotted cream!

    Enjoy your cottage in any light - I'm jealous, mine's not historic at all!
    Mary -

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    1. It's a long way for a cream tea but I think the view would beworth it
      I am fascinated with skyscrapers.... We had dinner at the rainbow room in New York once which was a delight....

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  16. P.S. My dear Mum was Gladys too - aren't all the best scone makers?

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    1. Robust scones...like chapel doorknobs

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  17. Anonymous1:04 pm

    It's the exact reverse here John...in summer the trees in leaf block the sun and the house is dark inside...in winter with the leaves gone the sun (when there is any) can penetrate into the house and things are much brighter. Pie sounds like the perfect antidote to gloom.

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  18. Reminds me of 'nouvelle cuisine'. We once ate nouvelle cuisine in a very fancy Edinburgh restaurant,then went to a burger place afterwards because we were still hungry.
    Jane x

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    1. I would call it.
      Best of both worlds!

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  19. The Ritz for tea? "How cosmopolitan" and what fun too! :-)!

    I thought of you yesterday when I met the father of a friend who grew up in Wales. He's now in his 80's, and it was a delightful conversation during Thanksgiving dinner and he was so charming. And he told me where I can buy a good Scotch egg, that he told me I MUST try! And he said that "no one made scones like his mum did." --And Auntie Gladys too, no doubt!

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    1. Where about in Wales did he come from Kim?
      He's a trouper if he likes scotch eggs!

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  20. I used to bake scones for the school summer and Christmas fundraisers and was always astonished at the size of the scones I made compared with everyone else's - mine looked like footballs in comparison!! I think I'd be out of place in the Ritz in my walking boots - more comfortable having a flask of coffee and homemade cake on the beach in winter with the dogs stealing my cake when I'm not looking.

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  21. Yeah, it's dark here too. Short days, low light levels, small windows in three foot thick walls. I put fairy lights up in my kitchen when the clocks go back and leave them there until Easter. It's my feeble attempt at spitting in Winter's eye....

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    1. I must have read your mind... Fairy lights have just been draped over the fireplace here

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  22. My house is old for this side of the pond. Mid-nineteenth century and it too, is dark and we are shaded with all sorts of trees. But I love it. As I am sure you love your house.
    I am thinking of a piece of pecan pie for breakfast. Nothing wrong with that, right? I doubt you could pay me to have tea at the Ritz. Not that you would.
    And guess what- I am interested in your life and because it is so much like mine in many ways, it is not dull at all.

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    1. Do you wipe your dogs' bums with the dish cloth like I do?

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    2. Might as well wipe the dishes dry with the dogs' bums.

      Jeez... Bleaching or no bleaching afterwards, why not splash out on a dedicated and exclusive Dogs' Bum Cloth? A cloth originally designed as a dishcloth but decorated with dogs would do nicely (and that's my Festive give hint to those denizens of Trelawnyd who read here)

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  23. Dang! That pie looks good! Great choice!

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  24. Still laughing at the dull life bit. What fascinates me about your blog -- beyond that it seems to make me laugh or cry in a heartbeat -- is that most of the time (okay, maybe not the Walking Dead posts, LOL) you find the interest, the important, in what should look like "an ordinary life." Kind of proves that no life is ordinary if only you look, if that's not too heavy a comment. (Or dull, although I don't know how many of us have to deal with badgers and Bastards to the level you do). So, y'know, keep it up. Mary

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    1. That's kind of you to say this......I used to be a career nurse who worked 50 hour weeks and played equally hard on my days off
      I have learnt to look at the small and the mundane
      Perhaps that's it ?

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    2. Yes, probably. But there is something in you that cares to see things too. Plenty of people live full-out, but with blinders on all the way. So whatever it is that gives you your eye, don't lose it. ;-)

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  25. Isn't Black Friday a made up thing after Thanksgiving? You guys don't celebrate Thanksgiving do you? Or maybe you do...you got rid of the pesky Pilgrims after all. And I guess all our holidays are made up, anyway. It always seems strange to me to see pictures of Santa Claus in Thailand.

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    1. I like the thought if thanksgiving, but I guess us Brits do our thanksgiving at Christmas as we traditionally have our turkey dinner then.....
      As for Black Friday.......bloody dreadful cometrical bollocks!

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  26. Can we have an update on Phyllis and Meg please?

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    1. Phyllis looks whiter today
      Her mud coloured Pom pom looks more normal...she's eating but is reluctant to come out of her run

      Meg, hasn't had a " fit" since her cluster of three a few weeks back
      It's the same pattern as before..
      Thanks for asking sol x

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    2. Glad to hear they are doing well. Phyllis is a fighter. Good for her! Maybe Meg is allergic to something...

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  27. The weather this week has been so dreary hasn't it ? I've had my fairy lights on all week ! I think pie for breakfast sounds good, we had porridge and golden syrup. Bet you'll sleep better tonight now you know that :)
    Twiggy

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    1. Twiggy...it brought a smile to my face

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  28. Strange how some "boring blogs" get 100 comments on a regular basis!

    Just like the Ritz, a blog is 5% subject and 95% presentation.

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    1. Story ofmy life
      Mines a case of style over substance

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    2. But style is the hard part, and you're acing it!

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  29. I would rather have been a fly on the wall when you and Bunty went for a 'nice cup' of tea, the other day. What a character!

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  30. Afternoon tea at a posh venue is an experience. But I found it overwhelming.
    And yes, good food at home wins. Particularly food which has been made for you with love.

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  31. Cherry pie for breakfast beats anything else, hands down.

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  32. Anonymous7:47 pm

    This house is really dark also. When the sun does stream in, I grab the broom. Egads. Dirt and dust bunnies.

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  33. Black Friday? Please tell me we haven't succeeded in exporting that across the sea.

    Bright light is my #1 requirement in living quarters. The main reason I moved south wasn't temperature, but getting out from the perennial gray skies that blanket the midwest all winter. Don't think I'd be too happy on the British Isles either.

    Bon appetit!

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  34. I went for tea at Kensington Palace a few years ago and was flummoxed by the menu! When the order came we each had our own tiered stand with sandwiches, scones, and cakes ... that was four lots!

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  35. Light and bling to hide what it isn't.
    Home made is always best. The best thing about going out is no cleanup!
    Have a wonderful weekend, John.

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  36. We've had tea at The Empress Hotel in Victoria BC a few times, it was a favorite of the girls when they were younger. I actually have a weird liking for cucumber sandwiches.

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  37. i hope there was double cream with the pie!

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  38. Though my old house isn't as old as yours, it can still be dark and gloomy. What with doors and windows in what seems like odd places. Never had proper tea before. It would be interesting, but once would do it for me.

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  39. I stayed at the Ritz in London once. It was something I had always wanted to do. We turned up, pissed in a rickshaw. The doorman looked less than impressed. I had a pink flowery dress with a baby pink leather jacket and those shoes with the leather straps that you tied up your leg. Later as we sat in the bar and I staggered back from the ladies, one of the staff asked me if I was staying at the hotel, in a pompous snooty voice. "Yes, I replied, I'm staying with my uncle" with a cheeky wink to make out I was a Tom! It caused a right old fuss which was fun. Then we drank all the clear alcohol in the mini bar and filled the bottles up with water. The breakfast was £75 each so we went to a cafe across the road for a fiver. As our last act of defiance in such a pompous place we went to Ann Summers and bought the biggest, dildo we could find and left it in the bed! That'll learn em. X

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  40. I should have said, pissed, in a rickshaw. We didn't piss in the rickshaw. the fun one can have with a comma!

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    1. Well the prize for the best fucking post comment goes to you..........!
      You are my kinda gal!

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    2. Goodness hope you had fun. I am glad they didn't disappoint you. We usually get what we expect. The snooty staff assume the worst of you and you provided it.
      You went out of your way to rude, crude and obnoxious
      Plus you drinking all the clear liqueur was to pass on to loss to someone like me who really would enjoy one day at The Ritz.
      I hope they charged you. So you could have something else to get "pissed" drunk for. See i have never used that word before and I used it just for you.
      If it bothers you so much don't go there. Personally I would have called the cops on you.
      There is so much in the world to rail against, picking The Ritz is so bizarre.
      Good job your probable ruined someone exciting day.


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    3. Oh gayle, I thought you were talking to me then!
      Whoops

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    4. Ha ha ha, perhaps the dildo loosened up someone a little uptight! X

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  41. It certainly did feel like Black Friday today. At three in the afternoon the cloud cover was so thick that hardly any daylight was filtering through. Only three weeks to the shortest day and then we start climbing back up to the northern hemisphere summer again.

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    1. It's the end of the world....

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    2. Is it?

      Or maybe just the end of the year.

      Yes. Winter Solstice soon. Rejoice and Feast and Be of Good Cheer.

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  42. I'm saving that last picture you put up! Great! I'm a portions size man myself as well, if I don;t leave full then I don't leave happy!

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  43. Re that winter gloom: Low energy full spectrum daylight bulbs are somewhat expensive but very good, with wavelengths that stave off Seasonal Affective Disorder sadness/depression too (http://www.androv-medical.com/section/24/1/full-spectrum-daylight-bulbs) This is not an advert, just a recommendation from a satisfied customer. Much cheaper than silly "Lightboxes" that cost about 70 quid.

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  44. Our house is just the same - I have had the lights on all day today. Come back summer all is forgiven.

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  45. I like to think of myself as a Ritz kind of girl but I HATE scones so think it might have to be fruit pie for me.

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  46. The last time we were in London, friends took us for tea at a fancy hotel in Mayfair. It was fun and interesting and as I recall rather expensive (I didn't pay the bill, but it was something line 30-pounds per person.) Glad I did it, cross that off the list. I avoid shopping on black-Friday, I usually travel home from my parent's home.

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  47. Looking back on things the experience of tea at the Ritz was a little over facing but quite magical in as much just occasionally it's nice to do something out of your comfort zone.

    Every so often, you have to live "high on the hog".

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  48. Love love love afternoon tea. Let you into a secret just ask for more and they will keep topping your plates up

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  49. I had a gift of afternoon tea at a local hotel... I had to ask for a doggy bag !
    Black Friday - took ourselves to a garden centre which does wonderful Christmas displays.

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  50. Anonymous9:56 am

    Our children treated the "best beloved"and me to tea at The Ritz for our wedding anniversary a few years ago; we had a wonderful time. The waiter was charming, we didn't have to ask for extra sandwiches or cakes, they appeared like magic; the scones were bought in separately so they would not go cold while we ate the sandwiches. We were not made to feel uncomfortable at all.

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  51. Oooh pie ... I prefer pie to cake :-)

    I don't like going anywhere too posh, if I can't wear my jeans (the clean ones not the ones I scrabble about in cleaning out the chickens etc) then I don't like going. I WILL wear a posh frock if I want to, but tell me I HAVE to and I will sulk for days!!

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  52. I went to the Ritz for tea and I wasn't all that impressed. All that sugar and refined flour -- blech. Not my thing. I'd much rather have coffee and a peanut butter sandwich.

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