204TH QUEEN VICTORIA BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION for "Tea In The Garden"

 As I have shared over the years, I

am rather fond of Queen Victoria

and Prince Albert.

Queen Victoria was born May 24,1819 and how thrilling that an entire era is

named after her - not many can 

say that.

You might enjoy watching the BBC

series "Victoria".  I have the sound

track and play it often.

I had made this banner many years back

when we lived in Colorado.

I have several books

about Queen Victoria:

When doing my floral, I tried to

 incorporate the Victorian

era passion for color.  They

put orange with red.

The garden is changing from spring

to summer and I don't look forward

to the hotter temperatures ahead so

this weather now must be enjoyed

to the fullest.

These 2 cups and saucers commemorative

Queen Victoria's Diamond 60th Jubilee:

If you would like to bake these

scones, they are Cherry Vanilla

and the recipe is Marie's at

The English Kitchen:

My math was a little mixed up when

I put on my FB page that this was her

104th birthday today.  Naturally, a lady

quickly straightened me out and I corrected it.........senior moment.

A TRIBUTE TO "THE PARADISE"

 I make it no secret that I am a fan

of Jane Austen BBC films, Downton

Abbey and other Victorian period 

dramas.  I have never posted here about my all time favorite so here goes.

I spent 28 years in retail so I was naturally drawn to this BBC British

drama which came out in 2012 and features the story of  what

is suggested as the first English

department store "The Paradise".

The film begins in 1875.

  Because

another series had more viewers (Mr. Selfridge) they only did 2 seasons 

of "The Paradise" which was a disappointment

to me.

This was Denise's first visit

to "The Paradise":

So the story evolves around the lovely

Denise Lovett (above)who moves from a small town in Scotland to live with her

Uncle Edmund who owns a struggling little outdated business across the street

 from the successful "Paradise". 

 Despite her modest background, 

Denise catches the eye of the owner, 

Moray (a widower)and gets a job

 there in ladies wear.

If you love seeing Victorian clothing

and especially women's hats, jewelry

and dresses, you will be dazzled by

what you see.  Sometimes I love the

costuming and sometimes Katherine Glendenning's dresses with matching

 hats and purses are a bit overwhelming.  She even ordered a matching dress with one for new (by marriage) daughter and 

her one for daughter's doll?

I am not here to tell you the story

told in "The Paradise" but just to say

that the costumes are incredible.  As

for the men, their jackets, ties and

smart vests are absolutely gorgeous.

The building itself is a wonder to

behold but especially the wrought iron

looking gazebo structure when you 

enter the main room of the floor

level of "The Paradise".  Everything

is so beautiful and presented so

lovely.

Here are a few other posts

that I have done of period films.

"TEA AT DOWNTON" by Elizabeth Fellow

 

I have several tea books that have

recipes regarding the PBS series,

Downton Abbey.   This week I started

looking at the paperback copy of Elizabeth

Fellow's book called "Tea at Downton".

Now don't get confused here as Julian

Fellowes is the unrelated writer

of the television series and movies.

To hear her speak through this book is

 to know that you are hearing from 

someone who has done her research.

Some of us who have teas enjoy sharing 

 the story about Anna the Duchess of 

Bedford and the birth of the custom of

Afternoon Tea.  However, Elizabeth

has added other details that I found

 delightful to hear about for first time.

And for those who still struggle with

the institution of Afternoon Tea versus

High Tea, Elizabeth Fellow has a

 wonderful way of explaining the differences.  My husband and I recently watched the shorter series "Belgravia" which actually shows Anna serving Afternoon Tea and comments are made in the film regarding the fact that she is the first to do this.  I found this

so interesting and the fact that Julian

Fellowes included it in the production.  This was the online photo of the actress portraying Anna in the series "Belgravia". 

 What a tiny waist she has!

I have to say that I am not done reading

this paperback but I am really intrigued.

I will definitely be trying some of the

recipes.

These were the very first spring blooms I picked in my front south facing yard today.

The pussy willow out front

 is definitely

starting to bud out.

In closing I also saw this fun

video on YouTube of a quirky

couple who take you to see

Highclere Castle.

THE DOWAGER'S GARDEN

Like some of you, my husband and I

have been rewatching the television

series of Downton Abbey.  I found one

of my favorite spots in Season Four which

happens to be the Dowager Countess

 beautiful garden.

  I saw on line where the house is in real

 life "Byfleet Manor" in Surrey and is for 
sale or at least was for $6.12 million.

I took these pictures with my camera but they

are of my television set as of last night!

I was very sorry the scenes took but a couple minutes and this lovely garden 

was not really shown that much.

  I would have loved to see more.  Too bad Isobel Crawley didn't ask a few questions and let Violet 

expound on her knowledge!

We do see some lovely flowers just the same!

I wish they had sat down on that

 bench for tea!

Then there was the sweet young man who wanted a job helping the garden - thank goodness!  

Well, at least we know that

 the Dowager liked:

Alliums, delphiniums, hydrangeas,

poppies and what else do you see?

JANE AUSTEN'S IRISH PASSION

If you've seen the movie "Becoming

Jane" then you know a little something

about Jane Austen's relationship

 with the Irish fellow Thomas Lefroy

 and maybe you are the one who

 really knows the answer to the

 question:

  was Thomas Lefroy the inspiration for

 Mr. Darcy (Jane's beloved 

character in Pride and Prejudice

 or was it the infamous

 Mr. Wickham who was 

created to be like Lefroy?

With Saturday being St. Patrick's Day

I thought it best to stay on this journey

of Irish tribute and tea time - at least 

for this blog posting.

I do love the clothing of this Regency Period of time.  Do you? The Regency styles remind me of the sewing I did in the 70's when we wore those puff capped sleeves gathered at the top and then drawn in and went down tightly to the wrist.   The empire style had a lovely raised waist.  That sure brings back memories!

Yes, this photo from 2010 in my shop
brings back memories of a Jane Austen
 Tea Event.  I am retired now and both
 of these ladies (Elizabeth and Katrina)
 are now married and 
 Elizabeth on the left has 2 children.
   These young women were delightfully wonderful!

As you can see we have some lovely Irish
Raisin Apple Scones and you can find
this recipe - HERE.  I suggest a little 
more sugar - maybe 2/3 cup.

This tea cozy has Jane Austen fabric:

AN EARLY VICTORIA ISSUE ABOUT GEORGETOWN, COLORADO

My favorite place in Colorado was featured in the second edition of the original Victoria magazine.  I somehow missed the first edition but started my subscription with the winter 87/88 issue.  It featured Georgetown, Colorado and the beautiful Victorian houses there.........

I love the movie that John Denver made

there which brought interest to the little town:

This photo is of one of the pages

in the magazine:

Who doesn't love  Uncle Bud and the Buzy Bee Cab Company. This movie is hard to find...and this is an old video...but I highly recommend it!  I think it is out

now in DVD and we enjoy it at Christmas.