Tea for .... 80?!

Apologies for the lack of a post last week but we had our first visitors over from the UK and life was a bit more hectic than usual.  It was so lovely to see everybody and we had a fabulous 10 days of sightseeing, eating & drinking (of course) and lots of laughter.  Now that they have all gone back though, it seems very quiet - I even miss Boothy's constant wittering & early morning singing in the shower!

I also managed to slip out this week to attend the first school PTSA sub committee meeting for the Mother's Tea event in December which I was 'volunteered' to help with.  Blimey, what an eye opener that turned out to be!  Based on previous PTA events in the UK,  I was thinking that everybody would be charged with making a pile of sandwiches each, a plate of scones and a Victoria sponge etc., but it turns out I was WAY off the mark.  As the newcomer to the group, I decided I would take a bit of a back seat for this initial meeting and just observe until I had worked out how the land lay.  That turned out that was a very wise decision!

The committee 'chair' was a very bouncy South African lady, who skipped into the meeting room in a sparkly pink gym outfit, complete with immaculate hair and makeup, and after introducing herself, cheerfully went on to declare that she and I (the 'Brit') probably had the most expertise when it came to tea.   Oh God.  I am thinking she has probably never read 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'?  **cringes and sinks down in chair in an attempt to make self look smaller**
I have to say that whilst she seems very nice from the short time I have spent with her, I think she may have her work cut out persuading some of the 'veteran' PTSA members to go along with her proposal for this year's tea, judging by some of their faces as I glanced around the table.   Well, this is going to be entertaining!

I suppose, when I think Afternoon Tea, I think more Betty's Tea Room - comforting chintzy decor, piping hot tea poured into flowery china cups (with not necessarily matching saucers), giant scones (rhyming with stones) with lashings of clotted cream and jam, followed by hunks of homemade cake (you can tell I am a Northern Lass!).  Miss South Africa, on the other hand, was clearly thinking more, well ... a cross between tea at The Ritz and George Clooney's wedding.  She set the scene ... a vision of classic elegance in white, gold and silver; crisp white linens; fresh white flowers - orchids, roses, peonies; caterers; servers; fine bone china (all white of course); an 'uplifting' speaker ... etc. etc.  Ah.  I noticed with some amusement, the eyebrows of some of the existing members of the committee rising higher and higher as Miss S.A. continued.   It transpired that they had been responsible for organising the Mothers tea in previous years, which from what I could gather had been more 'Blue Peter' than 'Martha Stewart' and clearly didn't meet with Miss S.A's high standards.
"How are you going to cover all the costs?" one of them asked. Before adding rather smugly, "we didn't really have many costs last time as we brought all our own crockery and each committee member decorated their own table etc."
15-0.   Your serve S.A.
"Oh, well, I would like to have all the tables looking exactly the same ... which is far more elegant than a mixture of odd sets of china and decorations... "
Ouch!  15-15.
"We're not looking to make a profit. We just want to make sure that we cover our costs and the Mothers have a lovely time and get value for their $50"
Sorry what?!? ... For a minute there I thought she said $50! Haha!
So apparently I had heard correctly. $50?!?... for tea and cake?! I would be expecting David Beckham to ride in on a big white (obviously) unicorn for that!! ....... **sighs dreamily gazing out of window** ... sorry, was lost in my own little fantasy there for a minute  ... where were we? Oh yes. $50!!!!
It turns out though, that the Blue Peter version two years ago had been $45 which incredibly, everybody had been OK with and so nobody batted an eyelid at that part.  Good grief.
So, I guess I am still slightly confused.  If this isn't a school fundraising event, or even in aid of a local charity, then why would anyone want to pay $50 for what is essentially tea and cake in a school library?  Well, I say afternoon ... it's actually scheduled for 11.30am - 1.30pm  (don't even get me started on that!).  Perhaps, I have misunderstood and all will become clear after the next meeting (not holding my breath though).

Each member of the team was then tasked with getting quotes for caterers, servers, hire of crockery and flatware (took me a while to work out that that is cutlery to you and me), and also fresh flowers (assigned to me) ready to take to next week's meeting, together with suggestions for a speaker (can't wait to hear what they come back with for that!).
One member of Team USA (rather bravely I thought) suggested that maybe teapots filled with a small floral arrangement might look nice as table centrepieces?  Unfortunately, that idea was quickly smashed into the net by Team S.A. as having been "done to death ..."  Oh dear.  15-30

Whilst the proposed menu is as I would expect for an afternoon tea  ... finger sandwiches, scones with jam & cream, cake, petit fours etc., the beverage suggestions were a little strange to say the least.  Team USA wanted iced tea and pots of coffee, in addition to jugs of hot water (which would invariable be luke warm water) and an assortment of individual tea bags placed on tables.  Ugh!   That's not how you make tea!  Thankfully, Team S.A. overruled and it was agreed that proper teapots filled with English Breakfast tea (as Twinings is really the only half decent tea you can buy here) would be served at the table. More raised eyebrows from Team USA.  15-40

Team USA then rallied with a last ditch attempt to revert to the Blue Peter approach ...
"How do you propose to cover the costs if we don't sell enough tickets for the event?"
Fair point ... 30-40
"Well in that scenario, we may want to consider asking for donations ... or I will cover the costs myself if necessary".
Game to S. Africa.  New balls please!

I really can't wait for next week's meeting - its the most entertainment I have had since we have been here! To be continued ...

All that talk of tea has made me thirsty ... think I'll go and make a cuppa ... Sainsbury's Gold Label in case you're interested  ....

TTFN!
Bev x