We were minding more than our P’s and Q’s as we were seated at the most elegantly dressed table, complete with fine china, three tiered cake stands and more cutlery than we thought possible to use on afternoon tea. Not wanting to reveal ourselves as completely uncultured philistines, we took our cue from the resident manners guru, Michaela Launerts from Etiquette & Co who gave us some of the do’s and don’ts of high tea.
Do …
– Place your napkin on your lap with the fold facing your knees (so that when one blots ones lips the unsightly lipstick marks are hidden on the reverse side of the napkin)
– Add sugar to your tea before milk
– Hold your champagne flute by the stem only and place it down to the right of your water glass
Don’t …
– Hold your pinky finger out when drinking tea (and we thought we were being so fancy)
– Allow your spoon to clink on the side of the cup when stirring sugar (quite a challenge)
– Ever use a knife to cut your scone (surreptitiously slide aforementioned knife off the plate)
Etiquette has served as a code of social behavior for centuries and is enjoying somewhat of resurgence, perhaps as a backlash to the social scourge that is the mobile phone. We’re seeing a return to the good old-fashioned values that promote the art of conversation, social graces and formal dining etiquette.
Feeling confident with our newfound social skills, we were left to enjoy the feast and admire the new Ted Baker Residence collection of six divine candles and diffusers, each named after the ‘scent of a city.’ Not surprisingly, our fave was ‘Sydney’ … inspired by the ocean air and sea salt, but hey … we’d be happy to authenticate the other scents in London, New York, Miami, Tokyo and Athens. The candles are all hand poured in London, beautifully packaged and available exclusively from David Jones.
The Carousel would like to thank Two Quirky Birds for this article.
