3rd June 2010

Each Christmas my family draw names from a hat and then each buy one nice big present for the person selected. This means you get once pretty decent thing instead of a smaller things. It also saves money when you are the purchaser. It's a scheme which serves us well. This year I drew my Mum. My Mum, when asked what she wants for her birthday (or similar) always replies, 'I don't need anything, don't spend your money on me' and, when very heavily pushed, concedes 'a small thing, bubble bath, writing paper or a new pen' would be ok. So I was faced with finding £30 bubble bath or finding an alternative. Interestingly my Mum actually had the idea (and amazingly she voiced it too!). She wanted a treat instead of a present.

This is a fine idea on so many levels. Most of the people I know have everything they need. They also have almost everything they want... especially everything they want in the £10-£30 price bracket. A treat, and some time, are a lot more fun and don't clutter your house up.

To this end I spent the day with my Mum yesterday and we went to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire and while there we had (an exceedingly posh) afternoon tea!

The Cavendish Rooms, Chatsworth, Derbyshire
Sneaky Coffee-ers: Anna and Mum
Served by: Very well dressed, polite and helpful ladies and gentlemen.
Bought: Our 'afternoon tea' included four finger (crusts cut off!) sandwiches each - egg mayonnaise, cucumber and cream cheese, ham and mustard and smoked salmon. They also brought out extra sandwiches on request. Then there was a scone with jam and clotted cream, a chocolate brownie, a meringue dusted with freeze dried berries or similar and a shot glass of lemon cream. (Re: the lemon cream - I should not have eaten it with my lactose problem. I decided to have a tiny spoonful to see what it was like and it was the most delicious thing ever so I polished off the lot and felt a bit nauseous and bloated for 24 hours.) We also had a glass of rose wine and a pot of tea each - chosen from a list of about 20 tea varieties! It was proper leaf tea too - but we kept forgetting to use the strainer!
Cost: About £15 each - not an everyday treat!
Cafe: Lovely! Proper solid wood (looking at least) tables with comfy bucket seats. Tones of pink and purple mainly. A L shaped room along two sides of a stable block.
Position: The Cavendish Rooms are in the old Stable Block of Chatsworth House. The cafe has glass where the arches would have been so you look out into the courtyard. The rest of the Stable block hosts lovely gift shops and another (cheaper canteen style) restaurant. There is a fountain and some sculpture in the courtyard and lots of people milling about - great for general people watching.
Busy? It was a bit but not in any detrimental way. The clientele were pretty quiet and genteel. In fact - I was self conscious about getting my camera out to photograph the sandwich and cake stand but did it anyway!
Food: The food was great - very posh, very dainty and very tasty.

And? An all round lovely experience. The shops were great for 'mooching' and, being child free we got to have a proper explore of them. Chatsworth gardens are amazing. They go on and on and on and just as you round every corner, you see how much further they continue for. Lots of water features, beautiful trees and planting and, in the glorious sunshine of our visit, it's all absolutely stunning.

Chatsworth House is similarly stunning. Extravagent and rich beyond belief and morality! Touring it, and similar stately homes, always brings out my inner Marxist! These super rich people must have had to develop complicated inner ideology to justify their rampantly privileged lifestyles. Then I am reminded that on a global scale not much has changed - we just don't live in the same locality as the poor propping up our lifestyles in the West anymore.