When someone mentions a tea party, you may be inclined to envision a round table, with teddy bears and dolls seated around it; the teapots containing imaginary liquid and the cakes – though delicious – either invisible or made from play dough. Up until last Thursday, this was the image that my mind conjured using memories and pop culture.
It was just past eleven in the morning, the day rather raining, when I slunk into the Boyd Room, a little apprehensive and hoping not to attract attention. Forcing my eyes up from my feet, (lovely, though they are) I gazed upon the members of the Sweets by Sweets Society, both old and new, setting up the tables for the legendary tea party that was soon to commence. I was struck with confusion at the sheer enthusiasm and yet easygoing atmosphere that bustled around me. This Pokémon condition was soon gone as I found myself part of it all.
My ineptitude at setting up tiered cake stands failed to make me feel any less than at home amongst the wonderful people there. Maybe it was because I hadn’t drunk a cup of tea in 3 days, but I just felt completely at ease, meeting new faces, drinking hot tea and eating delicious cakes, shortbread biscuits, and tiny sandwiches with ‘Eat Me’ signs reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Personally, I consider meeting more people than I have fingers and thumbs to be an achievement, but accompany that with great food and you’ve got something else extraordinary.
For all those guys out there, who think that tea parties are too feminine and pansy: you are missing out. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was far from being the only male present at a tea party. Not that I would’ve minded anyway, because, just between us, it seems that all the pretty girls go to tea parties. Speaking from a less gender-biased perspective, every single person around that table was a quality character. Just because it was high tea didn’t mean that we all held our pinkies out, sipping our tea and hot chocolate; engaging in refined conversation. No, far from it – let’s just say that crumbs flew as laughter erupted.
Now, remember those teddy bears and dolls from before? On this day, I realised that no tea party is truly complete without them. The Sweets by Sweets Society, while a great place to meet friendly creatures of the human persuasion, is also a charitable society. We teach ourselves to bake, we already know how to eat and, at the end of the day, we do it for disadvantaged children. Apart from themselves and maybe a friend or two, people brought toys to the tea party that will be sent to kids who might not have as much as we did at their age. One hopes that our smiles and laughter on Thursday will translate to smiles on those boys’ & girls’ faces. If a teaspoon of sugar makes the medicine go down, hopefully our table full of toys makes some young lives just that bit more cheerful.
I believe that every great experience has something of particular note that helps solidify it in our memories. For me, that was being bestowed with the nickname Chariot. Though not particularly ingenious, (sorry guys and girls) it does have a certain charm to it. It’s not every day that you’re given a nickname from people who were strangers only an hour earlier.
To sum up, the Sweets by Sweets Tea Party gets my seal of approval and I would recommend it to anyone who’s curious! If you were there on Thursday, you’ll definitely see me again. If not, you might see me in the future. Up to you, really.
Forever torn between savoury and sweet,
Charith ‘The Chariot’ Wickremasinghe
