Tea Time with Jane

Today was such a fun and interesting day. My friend Rita made reservations for herself, Penny and I at the Yorba Linda to have "tea" in the style of Jane Austen. I don't exactly know what I was expecting but it was so much more. As soon as we walked in I knew it was going to be fun an knowledgeable at the same time!

Scattered around the room were several ladies wearing their versions of period clothing during the "Regency" era in England. Some costumes were just plain awesome while others needed a little help!

Rita waded through the crowd and found us a table up at the very front. Once I was seated I realized there were period dancers lined up on the stage!! Oh my, this was going to be right up my alley.

We settled into our seats and shortly were instructed to get our "tea luncheon." 

Our meal consisted of Passties ... a pastry filled with beef, potatoes and veggies in a gravy. Very good and very filling! We also had something the British would call Rock Salad and a strawberry trifle. And of course tea.

 Prior to our tea time meal we took a little quiz located in the Winchester Times. The quiz was to determine which Heroine we were from an Austen novel. Very interesting questions to be sure. Alas, I was to discover I am a 50/50 heroine of Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility and Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice. If you have read Austen novels you will know these two characters are similar as well as different .... that's me, different!

Penny and Rita ready to dig into our lunch ....

While we enjoyed our meal a guest speaker shared his knowledge of 18th century food and drink. I learned a lot about the necessity and health benefits of beer! Yup, beer. Because water was for the most part full of pollutants and diseases it was not readily consumed. The different classes would drink beers, punches made from fruits and alcohol, wines and if you were a "navy" man you probably had developed a taste for Rum! The peasants were the largest consumers of beer while the upper classes and Nobles were more comfortable with wines and punches. Somehow he never got to "teas." 

 

And finally the Village dancers!  These men and women come together one a month in the "village" of Anaheim to enjoy the dances of the 18th century. This was so fun to watch and they seemed to be having a wonderful time as well. I recorded some of the dances but I am just not talented enough to get in into my blog.

Hope you enjoyed my tour of Austen in the 22nd century!