afternoon tea: is it still done?

[Steve Ashton]

The previous poster was correct. Here in Victoria the Empress Hotel does indeed serve a fine afternoon tea. Three stack server, china cups and one person at the table allowed to be 'mother'. Very fancy. Served in what used to be the lobby full of old world romance. And also very touristy and incredibly expensive. But for a once in a life time experience, not to be missed.

In fact there are many tea rooms around town. Not all are tourist places as a tea break in the afternoon is still a staple of many peoples day.

(And here is a fact I learned after coming to Victoria. Afternoon Tea and High Tea are two very different things. Afternoon tea is a light snack with cold sandwiches and sweets. Sort of what would normally be called a coffee break. High Tea includes cooked items such as small meat pies. More like luncheon.)

In the municipality of Oak Bay, just east of downtown, it is said that they are "More British than the British". The border of Oak Bay with the rest of the city is known as "The Tweed Curtain". Imagine if you will one of the quiet villages of Britain in the 1950's.
A Mk V or VI model Jag parked at the corner, a black bicycle with wicker basket leaning against the building, and ladies resplendent in their pillbox hats and brollies.

If you wish to take your tea while sitting on the 'green' watching the lawn bowling with the bowlers in full white flannels you may do so. If you wish to take your tea at the parish hall there is that opportunity too.

So you folks in the UK may have forgone tea for the hectic modern world but please remember that there are still places where the refined things of life are still practiced and held in reverence by at least a few people.

Of course they do have standards so won't allow this coarse re-tread American anywhere near Oak Bay. But I can see it if I squint through the trees from my upstairs window.