Princess Charlotte's Birthday May 2nd

Hi there! If you are looking for my usual Tuesday Cuppa Tea with it's weekly tea party linky, it was published a bit early...to get there...click on the collage below! 

Otherwise....

May 2, 2015 Princess Charlotte was born...so it's her 1st birthday!  

I'll raise a cuppa to that....Twinings 90th Birthday tea...Have a great week!

Tuesday Cuppa Tea Early, Garden Birds Tea For One, Queen Elizabeth 90th Anniversary Tea

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea! A little early...as a lot of tea related blogs are now posting on Friday...which may mean a change for me as well...tell me what you think...This week...featuring birds again....

To a Skylark

Related Poem Content Details

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Ethereal minstrel! pilgrim of the sky! 

Dost thou despise the earth where cares abound? 

Or, while the wings aspire, are heart and eye 

Both with thy nest upon the dewy ground? 

Thy nest which thou canst drop into at will, 

Those quivering wings composed, that music still! 

Leave to the nightingale her shady wood; 

A privacy of glorious light is thine; 

Whence thou dost pour upon the world a flood 

Of harmony, with instinct more divine; 

Type of the wise who soar, but never roam; 

True to the kindred points of Heaven and Home! 

I was very excited to come across this Tea For One by Roy Kirkham in the Garden Birds pattern...it was love at first sight!

This is my Garden Birds Tea For One! Roy Kirkham, England developed in England in Stoke-on-Trent in the mid 1970s...filling a conspicuous void when the major pottery closures and combining...or gobbling up as some call it...occurred. They tried for a couple of years to make things out of the UK in the early 1990s, but that was not a success, so they are now manufacturing their bone china in England again...woohoo!

This Tea For One has a wonderful collection of garden birds, with a breakfast sized cup and saucer...which is nice, because the others I have had had not had a saucer as well. I ordered 4 from them...one for me and 3  for my website Antiques And Teacups.

It has my favorite Blue Tit, Wren, Finch, Robin and others...so cute!

As usual, afternoon tea is on my table in the sunroom....and I have a few birdy friends as well to tea...

Besides my birdhouse, this is a Hummel figurine my parents brought back for me from Munich, Germany in the 1950s as a souvenir. They had gone for a conference. The little girls is singing a duet with a little bird...I was always a singer, and a professional for a time later in life...isn't she cute?

And then I have my birdy pair shelf sitters...an anniversary gift from my BFF for our anniversary 20 years ago....but treasured! The books are from my Aunt, whom I was named for, who loved birding...

My tea sorta became 2 parts, because I had finished the first part...without my tea...because it was late arriving. But it did come yesterday finally, so...the second part of the tea time....

I had ordered a 90th Birthday tea from Twinings Tea in honour of Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday last week, but it took a couple of weeks to arrive...It's a loose tea and has a wonderful flavor...I really like it!

A blue and white chintz mug to drink it in, and I baked little chocolate cupcakes or muffins, I guess, as they have no frosting...which didn't photograph well at all! On my Royal Albert Moonlight Roses spare saucer hanging around...

I used a packaged Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Brownie mix and added mini chocolate chips. They tasted very good! But I hadn't used the mni muffin gems pan for a bit, and find that, for the 2 of us, they dry out quickly. I froze part of the batch and its a good thing I did!

So thanks for joining me. So...what do you think? Do I:

1) keep calling our tea party Tuesday Cuppa Tea and post on the weekend 
2)or would it be better to change to Friday Cuppa Tea and move to Friday
3) or would it be better to drop the linky and just post whenever???? Inquiring minds want to know...what do you think? All input appreciated!

No Place Like Home

 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Bernideen’s Teatime, Cottage and Garden
Mosaic Monday

Here is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and I do read every one, and can find you to visit! Thanks so much for joining me for tea!

An InLinkz Link-up

William And Catherine's 5th Wedding Anniversary April 29, 2011

April 29th, 2011 was the wedding date of Prince William and Catherine Middleton....

Which was 5 years ago...amazing! The traditional 5th anniversary gift is something wooden, but somehow I don't see that happening, do you????

Happy Anniversary!

Tuesday Cuppa Tea Warwickshire Teacup, Stratford England, A Winner & Pecan Steeler Cookies

Hello and welcome to Tuesday Cuppa Tea. We are back to raining the is weekend here in the Pacific Northwest, so I baked cookies for tea....

This is such a busy time for interesting things for the blog! I celebrated Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday HERE

Celebrated Shakespeare's birthday and death anniversary HERE

And told you about my Right Royal Blog Giveaway HERE and the winner is:

Margie

from Tea In The Valley!

Congratulations!  Please send me your snail mail address and I will get it out to you speedy fast! You can email me using the EMAIL symbol on the left sidebar of the blog. 

I even forgot to mention that April 23rd is also Saint George Day in England...named for their patron saint and symbol, credited with slaying the dragon. The red cross on white is the English flag, rather than the red, white and blue of the Union Jack.

So, because I have been immersed in England the last few weeks and more to come in the next few days, my teacup this week is a Royal Albert with a pattern called Warwickshire, the name of the county in England, just at the north of the Cotswolds, where my Honey's family is from....

The design is from a series called English Country Cottages, and features a typical Warwickshire example. There was a teacup for each county in the series which has been released at least twice over the years that I know of, and I have had all of them at one time or another at Antiques And Teacups...

The back has the local flowers of the county as well....

This is of the more recent series that was released in 1996 and was most likely made in Indonesia...as Royal Albert moved production there starting in 1994-1996...but it is still pretty. And I LOVE cottage teacups! Don't you?

That is quintessential Stratford. We have to pass through Stratford each time we go to the various family homes in the Midlands. Stratford is at the top of the Cotswolds. We could go the motorway route, but it is too stressy  for us as well as missing all the gorgeous villages on the way up from London. Yes...it takes a lot longer, but we usually make the trip in 2-3 days using only A and B roads and avoiding the motorways, stopping at favorite places, like Lower Slaughter. 

The one thing that we don't like, is the A422, I think, has to go through the center of Stratford and crosses a humpback bridge that is a real bottleneck. We try to avoid going through on weekends when Stratford is packed.

Stratford is a great place to visit. The pubs and restaurants along the Avon are lovely. Just don't go during a Bank Holiday weekend. Chaos. At the best of times, the humpback bridge over the Avon is a major bottleneck if traffic is heavy as it is the main non-motorway route through the Cotswolds from London to the Midlands. We are always glad when we've gotten through without losing too much time if we are just in transit...but we always came this way on our annual antique buying trips...MUCH more scenic on the A and B roads than the M roads which are Motorways...the rest are just country roads through the villages...narrow yes, longer, but wonderful...except for occasionally having to stop for a flock of sheep to transit one field to another...

This is the Queen's Head pub in Stratford where we have stopped for lunch.

The RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) has fabulous productions. This is the Royal Shakespeare Theater above in Stratford which is a wonderful year round venue. We have seen Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Helen Mirren and other famous actors at work here. The theatre tour is fun too!

I thought this sign was fun, and certainly shows you the options. All the major Shakespeare sites are quite walkable.

Above is a favorite...Harvard House, the founder of Harvard University who emigrated to escape religious prosecution.

Just outside Stratford is the Bancroft Boat Basin on The Avon River where several canals cross the river. We love canals, and often stop here with a picnic lunch before heading through Stratford...if the weather is good...if not a pub or tea room...ah, such a shame! :)

Okay...now we have had a tour, how about some cookies????!

On one of my embroidered vintage tea cloths, I have placed them on a Shakespeare Country transferware saucer I use for a cookie plate when there is just the two of us for tea. The cookies are called Pecan Steelers, and are adapted from a recipe I found at Harvest Lane Cottage a while ago....

I wanted to make oatmeal cookies, but found I was out of rolled oats, and remembered I had this recipe using steel cut oats...

Pecan Steelers
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine the following in a large mixing bowl...(electric mixer ideal, or cream butter with sugar into crumbs before adding wet)
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar....(I used 1 and a bit of unrefined sugar so as to be not as sweet)
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs softened butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs water
1 large egg

Combine the following into a medium bowl:
1 Cups all purpose flour
2 cups steel cut oats (I used Bob's Red Barn Organic Quick Oats)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
8 oz chopped pecans

Combine, mix well, and drop by tablespoonfuls on an ungreased baking sheet...they spread a bit. Bake 8-12 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Remove immediately to racks to cool.  

I hope you have a wonderful week...says she with cup of tea in hand and cookie in the other! Here are some of the parties I am joining....

No Place Like Home

 Tea Cup Tuesday 
 Bernideen’s Teatime, Cottage and Garden

Here is the linky for your tea related posts...please remember that it is SSSLLLOOOOOOWWWW but if you are patient...it's there! And I love to read your comments, and can find you to visit! Thanks so much for joining me for tea!

An InLinkz Link-up

Shakespeare's 452nd Birthday and 400th Anniversary of His Death

Today is another special today, there are a lot of them in April......Saturday April 23rd!

Please join me in wishing William Shakespeare Happy 452nd Birthday today, April 23!  Amazing! The most read, memorized, published and produced playwright in history! Now that's someone to celebrate! There are yearly celebrations with parades, special presentations and picnics and this year, more than usual, as it is the 400th anniversary of his death...also on his birthday!

Shakespeare's birthday is April 23, 1564...as his baptism was recorded 3 days later in his parish church register...and the day of his death is also recorded as being on April 23, 1616, on his birthday.

We know the area around Stratford well... My husband was born about 12 miles from Stratford-on-Avon in a small village called Lady Wood and it is the main route...if you avoid the motorways, which we do...to get from London through the Cotswolds to the Midlands where family lives in various villages.

The church above is Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare is buried.

The house above is Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-on-Avon...when he died, he was recorded in the church register as William Shakespeare, gent...meaning he had become a gentleman...a note of distinction.

Shakespeare's monument Holy Trinity Church, Stratford

 Anne Hathaway was Shakespeare's sweetheart and her cottage is is short walk along the Avon from Shakespeare's birthplace and the church. Don't you just love the thatched roof?

Here is Shakespeare's grave and monument in Holy Trinity Church.  The signs were updated a couple of tears ago to metal plaques in blue enamel, but I don't have photos of the new ones, although I guess I could have found them online...He is buried alongside his wife Anne Hathaway, his mother, father and another family member whom I can't remember at the moment.

His grave stone reads...

Good Friend For Jesus Sake Forbear

To Digg The Dust Encloased Here

Bless Be Ye The Man That Spares Thes' Stones

And Curst Be He That Moves My Bones

Great article from Britain Magazine Top 10 Shakespeare Facts

Thanks for joining me for a nostalgic salute to the famous bard, and one of our favorite places....and join me for Tuesday Cuppa Tea linky party with more about Stratford-on-Avon REALLY on Tuesday this time...when I will be announcing the winner of my giveaway for my Right Royal Giveaway which closes on Sunday night, April 24th...to enter...click on this photo or go ....HERE

I will be joining Mosaic Monday with Judith at Lavender Cottage

The Queen As Wonder Woman, New 90th Birthday Photo and Rubens At The Palace

As today is Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday...her portrait as Wonder Woman by Andy Leipzig is a favorite of mine...our Union Jack flag is flying outside.  I have been thinking about our times in England....but first...newly released photo by  Annie Leibovitz at Windsor Castle for the Queen's 90th birthday of her with her great grandchildren...can you spot Prince George and Princess Charlotte? And their darling little cousin Mia...granddaughter of Princess Anne...holding the Queen's handbag....

On our annual month long buying trips to the UK, we always spent a week in London at the antique faires/markets there. Twice we stayed at the Rubens At The Palace, at the corner of Buckingham Palace Road...also because of it's proximity to a favorite place...The Royal Mews

One of the Palace entrances was just across the street from our room one year...

We were in this room....

Another time we were around the corner, and this was the view from the window...with the wall into the Palace in view on the right...

I don't have a photo of the room that time....

This was the Library dining room...and we had a package that included dinner here...we were the first dinner reservation that night as we had tickets to Les Miserables in the West End and had to eat early...

Our package also included afternoon tea which was wonderfully traditional, served in their tea lobby....the hotel had a creaky ornate brass grille elevator and outside the Leopard Martini Bar just off the lobby had this wonderful ceramic leaopard sitting there to greet everyone....

A wonderful hotel...sort of a special occasion hotel really...we loved it!

And this is right around the corner...a favorite place to visit...one of my favorite memories, was our car hire firm delivering our car to the hotel...with a small fold up motor cycle in the boot for the delivery man to ride back to the office after delivery! 

Being a horse lover used-to-be horse owner, I always love visiting the Queen's Windsor Greys...and the Mews is also where all the Royal carriages are kept...including the fabulous State coach....

Basically, we always found time for a visit. Wonderful place if you ever have a chance to visit. Thanks for visiting! I'm off for a cuppa...