Up


Crumpets and Tea

And Probably Some Croquet

What - When - Where - Who - Why - Croquet

 

What:

  • Crumpets and Tea are served on a mid-month Sunday in the San Clemente home of Tom Streeter. Includes the patio when the weather is nice. Join your fellow civilized-human-beings for a late-afternoon chat.

  • No door charge. No RSVP. Arrive when you like.

  • We have a grand piano available. If you play, please bring some tea-appropriate music. No disco. No country-western. You get my drift.

  • We offer scones as well as crumpets. Who knew that there were so many scotiaphiles in Southern California?

    • Aye, me sainted grandmother was, indeed, born in the auld country, in Lasswade, just south of Edinburgh.

    • Aye, the scones get eaten far faster than the crumpets do.

  • Bring a friend or two!

  • This civilized tea party is usually preceded by an equally civilized round of croquet beforehand. See below for details.

When:

  • Always from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Tea time, by Jove, just as God commanded unto the Church of England in 4004 BC. See Lev. 3:16.

  • Usually on the afternoon of each month's Third Sunday.

    • One or two months each year, we have to reschedule. Conflict with The Opera, you know. Or it's the same weekend as The Big Party on First Saturday.

    • Heck, we might even be dark some months.

    • We'll announce such things well in advance, both on this webpage and in the newsletters which announce this tea party.

  • Here's the schedule for upcoming months:

    • Sunday, March 21, 2010. Special! This month only! Girl Scout Cookies! Thin mints!

    • Sunday, April 18, 2010.

Where:

Who:

Your hostess (who does all of the work, and who still likes to play tea party just as much as she did when she was a four-year-old): The Goddess Kristine.

 

Why:

Eliza Doolittle sang it best in Without You in My Fair Lady:

There'll be spring every year without you.

England still will be here without you.
There'll be fruit on the tree, and a shore by the sea.
There'll be crumpets and tea without you.
I can do without you.

Croquet:

Play begins at 3:00 PM on the large common lawn behind our home. All mallets, wickets, stakes, and balls are provided.

 

We play four individuals and/or teams. We need at least three guests to start:

  • I play whilst The Goddess Kristine puts the final touches on the tea, crumpets, scones, doilies, and so on.

  • Stragglers will be added to already-playing individuals/teams.

Bad weather?

  • We and our guests step inside, and start sipping tea a bit early.

  • Please click here, maybe about noon on The Day Of The Event, for a reasonably reliable weather forecast.

Play continues for as long as the players feel like it. If you prefer to continue to play after 4:00 PM, when the follow-on tea formally begins, feel free. If the first round finishes before 4:00, then we might well fire up the tea pot a little early.

 

Genteel dispute as to who beat whom at croquet is expected at the follow-on tea. Genteel dispute, I say.

 

Dress code:

  • You might want to bring a hat.

    • That mid-afternoon sun can get intense, even in winter. If you didn't bring a hat, you can borrow one of ours.

    • Warning: Some of our hats are, um ...,  more fashionable/flattering than others.

  • No, you are not expected to wear All White, and your host and hostess generally do not do so.

    • However, we welcome all civilized people for croquet, including Those Who Choose To Make A Statement By Wearing All White.

    • Perhaps guests who arrive at 4:00 PM -- for tea but not for croquet -- will inquire about your garb. What a conversation starter!

 


Top of Page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legalese/Privacy