By Maranna Gabriel
Avoiding the January gray, and the dreaded perils of cleaning a post-holiday fridge, I dusted off my pale face and set out on an adventure. And why not? It was to be High Tea at The Empress Hotel in Victoria, of course. I had been thinking of it for some time. Come walk with me.
I wandered past the Parliament Buildings with a totem pole….
along the inner harbour…
...past a man moved to wear a crown on his head beside a WWll statue...
and who for some mysterious reason diplayed this message as he sat cross-legged...
...to the Emily Carr statue on the hotel grounds with her monkey on her back…
...to where the primulas are planted… or are these called cowslips?
...beyond a grand fountan and alongside the solarium...
...to where a pianist sat and played a merry tune…
... drawn to the fire with the harbour beyond...
... only to have a white linen napkin swished across my lap and where I was hovered over by a plethora of servers. The china is very nice, I thought.
The hourglass timer told me when the tea was weak, medium or strong.
I started with a little salmon number, but I was told I really must begin with the bottom layer of the tier given it was still warm.So being mannerly, and wishing to be polite, I did.
The conversation quickly turns to lemon curd, this is the clotted cream, and this sandwich over here is made with Coronation Chicken and has curry. All terribly sensible. I was interested they didn't use a tea cosey, but rather the tea pot is placed over a candle in a ceramic container. Who knew? You heard it here first, don't forget.
All in all, it was a wonderful tea and an uplifting experience. The end. Except for the part about still having to clean the fridge.