Tuesday Cuppa Tea Shelley Daffodil Time, 3 Royal Ladies Out For Tea on St. David's Day

Hi there. I am joining Tuesday Cuppa Tea with Antiques And Teacups and we are sharing a meme at the bottom of the post at least I hope it will work!

My teacup is a Shelley, England cup and saucer in the pattern Daffodil Time. That really speaks spring, doesn't it? The shape is the late Cambridge and it was made from 1940-1966. I just love their landscape designs!   For more info on the teacup at Time Was Antiques, click on the photos.

I chose the daffodil design because last Thursday was St. David's Day which is the national day in Wales with their symbol of daffodils. On Thursday, Queen Elizabeth II, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge went to one of my favorite places in London for tea and to dedicate a new tea room at Fortnum and Mason's on Picadilly.  Because of the day they were presented with bouquets of daffodils, jonquils and narcissus.

This was the first public engagement of the 3 ladies together. The occasion was the unveiling of a plaque that will hang on Fortnum and Mason's commemorating the revitalization of the area of Picadilly and the renaming of the Fortnum, & Mason tea salon as the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon.

Fortnum & Mason for tea is always a must do for us. We stocked their wonderful tea blends when we had our actual antique shop and tea items business before going exclusively online. The company has been owned by the Weston family for over 300 years. My husband is a Weston, but pretty distant relatives of the tea part of the family. Sigh...

Fortnum & Masons has also always been famous for 200 years for thei fabulous hampers that can be stocked to order with wonderful treats and were de rigeur for any type of a picnic, outing or travel. The royal ladies were each given a hamper with individually chosen goodies for the visit, many drawn form the new line of Diamond Jubilee limited edition food items  F&M created for the Queen's special year.

Catherine sampled tea and of course, the chocolates! She admitted to the tea sommelier that she needs to improve when dealing with tea leaves instead of tea bags.
 

Fortnum & Mason's is one of the several fab food halls in London that we go to every visit. Not only to pick up treats and have tea or find take away if we are staying in a flat, but just to marvel at the artistry of retailing like art and just to see what's there. The others are Harrods, and on a lesser scale the Marks and Sparks (Marks and Spencer's) as well. The photos here are from various visits.

 This was a display of Emma Bridgewater ironstone...a contemporary English potter I love!

 This is Burleigh Asiatic Pheasants, a famous English made pattern of transferware.

And of course, we always have tea. The tower was from a trad tea and the other is a smoked salmon plate with scones and clotted cream my husband had on one visit and I forgot to photo my Coronation Chicken with scones and clotted cream for dessert!

So have a wonderful day visiting the fab blog parties and have a cuppa! Darjeeling, please....The Tuesday Cuppa Tea meme sign up is at the 
bottom.

Ruth ~ http://antiquesandteacups.blogspot.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Monday Marketplace

Terri~  http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday

Trisha~  http://sweetology101.blogspot.com/ 
Tea Party Tuesday

Sandi  ~  http://sandimyyellowdoor.blogspot.com

Teatime Tuesday

Kathy~  http://blissfulrhythm.blogspot.com/
Victoria - A Return to Loveliness

Martha~  http://www.marthasfavorites.com/ 
Teacup Tuesday 

Ruth  ~ http://timewasantiquesfamily.blogspot.com

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Bernideen’s ~ http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com

Friends Sharing Tea Wednesday

Angela  http://teawithfriends.blogspot.com/

Tea With Friends

Miss Kathy http://thewritersreverie.blogspot.com

Celia ~ http://www.attitudeivlife.blogspot.com/p/afternoon-tea.html   Afternoon Tea

Ivy And Elephants ~ http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com/

What’s It Wednesday