Video – Learning English : My Fulbright year in England

So, I’ve been on yet another adventure. I would say it was a tea adventure but that’s not the whole story. My colleagues and I were invited to have the Fortnum and Mason experience through London Universities International Partnership. Prior to coming to the UK, I had never heard of Fortnum and Mason’s (F&M). However, knowing this day was coming up, I asked friends and family in the UK about F&M and the first thing they usually associated it with was their tea. So, off I went to have a dandy time drinking tea. However, I’d just come from the lovely Betty’s of York and had fabulous tea there, so I didn’t think there could be too much more to having a cup of tea.

Well, as you can tell from my title, having tea at F&M was just on a whole new level. Like, they seriously took it there!!! Ambiance, elegance and great quality is what I experienced during my “afternoon tea” at F&M. So, I still haven’t said much. By now you may be thinking, seriously! Hot water and crushed herbs provide ambiance and elegance? Well, let me take you through my Fortnum and Mason’s experience. Afternoon tea was my highlight, but the whole experience is one I wouldn’t have otherwise fathomed.

Well, I was concerned that I missed the tour because I went to the wrong F&M location (huge indicator I’m not British). Luckily, the second tour group didn’t start so I hadn’t missed a thing. Upon arrival, this is what is saw:

And this! And this! And this!

So , my first thought to myself was , “I thought I was just coming for some tea! “As I looked around, I recognized that Fortnum and Mason’s was not just about tea, but it was also about an experience.

I think the best word I can use to describe my initial experience is, fairytale.

To get a feel for what I saw, check out this quick panoramic video clip below, however, this is only ¼ of the ground floor. There is just so much to see.

Once I snapped out of fairytale mode, I found my way to the “Drawing Room” on the fourth floor. But before I tell you about that, check out these beautiful spiral stairs, with a beautiful view from each floor!

So, i made my way to the drawing room. Again, I was taken by surprise. Like I mentioned earlier, this was tea at a whole new level! Upon entering I encountered what looked like a beautiful restaurant. But simply stating restaurant won’t do any justice. The initial space I walked into was called The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. Just a little FYI, Queen Elizabeth II recently celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2012 marking her 60^th anniversary as Queen over 16 sovereign nations.

So it’s clear F&M must have named the tea salon to commemorate the Queen. Apparently, the royal family also receives various “supplies” from Fortnum and Mason’s. I’m not surprised by this at all. If I were the Queen, my midnight snack would definitely consist of one of the chocolate wonders I found on the first floor.

My midnight snack face:

Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon

Yes, there is such a thing as a tea bar!

The Drawing Room

This room had two beautifully set tables for myself and other LUIP student ambassadors. I understood that the room was filled earlier, but we were lucky enough to have our own private session. So by now, you must realize that this is more than just tea. This is tea at Fortnum and Mason ! To be more specific, we had afternoon tea. In the 1800’s, afternoon tea was a typical light meal (before dinner) among the wealthy class served between 4:00-6:00 pm. Now, it’s customary for just about anyone.

Afternoon tea usually consists of a variety of baked goods. Of course, my new found favorite baked good is clotted cream and jam on a scone. Having a cup of tea accompanied by a scone, jam and clotted cream is called “cream tea”. We were told to simply enjoy it and not worry about the calories. Best advice I’ve ever heard!

Here are the pictures that capture it all!

To learn more about what we ate, check out this video that better describes the goodies on our table. The speaker is Dr. Andrea Tanner who is the F&M internal archivist.

We were a happy and content group

Here are some pictures I took on each floor

After our presentation by Dr. Tanner on 300+ years of F&M history, we were led on a tour by staff to view the rest of Fortnum and Mason.

Fortnum and Mason prides itself on providing quality products and we were invited to taste the Fortnum and Mason difference. The lower ground floor had a delicatessen, savoury groceries, meat and fish, fruits & vegetables and much more:

Ground Floor : Biscuits, Chocolates, Hampers, Coffee, Confectionery, Tea and tea accessories etc..

First Floor: Candle room, China, Teaware and dining, Cookshop, Crystal & Glassware, Silver & Antiques and more..

Second Floor : Bath and body, handbags, beauty rooms, cosmetics, perfumery, jewelry room etc.

So, this was my Fortnum and Mason experience. It was more than tea! It was quality, history, great service and ambiance rolled into one evening.

As a part of our venture to learn about and celebrate the Chinese New Year, one of the LUIP student ambassadors tried to teach us to say Happy New Year. I’m so grateful that she was so patient with us! It’s certainly not easy learning to speak sounds you’re not accustomed to hearing. I can’t say we all got it right, but the effort was a great reminder of the challenges others may face when learning a new language in a new country.

The video above was taken at Er Mei, a Chinese Restaurant in China Town, London. However, before reaching the restaurant , we were welcomed with an atmosphere ripe with celebration. The streets were crowded with people, vendors and performers. The lines for some restaurants weaved around the building’s corner and children ran around throwing “snappers”.

As I traveled through the street, I was given a red envelope. I usually wouldn’t take random envelopes from random people, but given the environment, I was certain that it was associated with the New Year Celebration. The only problem was that I had no idea how to read it ( see below). However, I later found that it meant something similar to, “ Welcome to the New Year, get ready for good luck”.

This of course fits perfectly with the New Year theme which is a time for ,”good fortune, happiness, wealth and longevity” (read more). In fact, the red envelopes traditionally are given with money included. However, that was not my luck. My envelope had a coupon to save money on kikkoman soy sauce!

We then went on to enjoy lunch at Er Mei and later explored the various performances throughout China Town.