Musing Over Afternoon Tea

Whatever happened To afternoon tea Served around four o-clock It used to be a daily ceremony Out came a pretty cloth From an old sideboard drawer To put on a small table Used many times before On to this table Doylies and napkins placed Precisely and carefully There was no need to race Then came the china A person's very best Teapot and cosy And an antique spoon rest Fairy cubes of sugar Along with bowl and tongs Wireless playing softly To the now old-fashioned songs Now to the best part, the spread Oh! the spread Everything home-made Especially the bread Assorted sandwiches, sometimes ham Mostly it was scones with cream and jam Nothing elaborate just wholesome fare Loving-kindness sprinkled there Not a Macdonalds to be seen long ago And preservatives were not so prevalent So, most grew their own vegetables And had gardens with fruit trees Used old-fashioned methods To nurture these They grew organic without realising Healthy, rewarding and very enterprising