'Twas brillig

Good evening, one and all! I hope this post finds you well and enjoying the milder weather while it lasts. A colleague at school mentioned the s*** word today - yes, apparently we may be in for yet more of the white stuff again next week. As much as I enjoy a good seasonal dusting of snow (I was even a tad disappointed not to have a sprinkling on our wedding day in December), now is not the time, surely?! I myself am most definitely not keen to have any more until at least November, please.

I'm sorry not to have shared my highlights with you last Sunday, as intended, but having been rather busy, I only managed the one post ~ my last ~ from my bed, and only just in time for lights out. This week has been a busy one too, so whilst I'm desperate to share lots of odds and ends with you all, I thought it best to save them all for a double whammy of content this weekend, so to speak, rather than squeeze them in in a hurry midweek.

One of the more pleasant reasons for having been so busy, is that Sunday last found me up in London, all mimsy with the borogoves at the Sanderson Hotel, enjoying their wonderful Mad Hatter's Tea! It was such a fun and culinarily novel experience, that I felt it merits its own solo post, rather than a mere cameo in a smorgasbord...

Even without the themed afternoon tea, the Sanderson itself epitomises the nonsensical and disproportional world of Carroll's Wonderland. The interiors are both plain and garish, minimalist yet busy, juxtaposing as they do the tastefully elegant and the conspicuously absurd. Bright white walls provide the perfect blank canvas for an array of lurid, giant furniture, and through the soft, clean lines of a hand-carved chair, for example, you might spy an over-sized portrait of a lapdog. Though it is part of a chain, the Morgan Group (its sister hotel on St Martin's Lane is very similar in style), and this approach to interior design is hardly original, the Sanderson still manages to retain a sense of individuality.

The tea itself was very tasty, and included some quirky surprises, which I won't spoil! The tableware was designed specially, and successfully reflects the Alice in Wonderland theme along with something of a vintage circus vibe. I don't want to go into the minutiae, as it is so worth experiencing for yourself. It would make a great gift. For further details of the tea on the Sanderson's website, click here. Just a few photos to give you an idea of the treats in store that will make you chortle in your joy ~ Callooh! Callay!

pp x

PS Best recital of the Jabberwocky I've heard, by the legendary Christopher Lee ~ what a voice...