A Birthday Afternoon Tea for Aunt Gwendoline

            Wednesday 20th of August, 1952

Today I took tea with dear Aunt Gwendoline at her house in Hans Place to celebrate her seventy third birthday.  Looking across at the row of red brick Edwardian terraces, and the private central gardens with its wrought iron fence and lockable gate, one could easily forget there had ever been a war just a few years ago.  The same can be said for Aunt Gwendoline’s cook’s access to pantry staples.  The last I heard we were still on sugar rationing, yet when I arrived and was shown into her drawing room by the maid – a new girl I don’t know, although finding and keeping decent help is hard these days – I was met by Gwendoline, her daughters Gertie and Vera and a silver tray of dainty cupcakes topped with cream and decorated with coloured sprinkles of sugar!  Such an almost unheard of luxury!  Any idea of black-market activity was banished the moment Gwendoline offered them to us.  Heaven!  I haven’t had such a sweet treat since 1940, when it seemed our entire lives went on the ration, destroying all sweetness in life - literally.  I was even able to have a second one.  Of course, I can’t tell Valentine.  He will be furious with me, not because I was unpatriotic, but because I didn’t bring the second cupcake home for him to enjoy.  

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The theme for "Looking Close on Friday" for the 29th of December is "food with sprinkles".  Now I know you are going to say that this should be a macro shot, and it is.  What might surprise you is that everything in this photograph, from the carpet, wallpaper and furnishings to the tea set and cupcakes are made up entirely of 1:12 size miniatures from my extensive collection which I use for photography purposes.  Each of these dainty cupcakes topped by sprinkle covered cream is only five millimetres in diameter and between five and eight millimetres in height! Each one could sit comfortably on the pad of my little finger!  Made in England by hand from clay by former chef turned miniature artisan, Frances Knight, her work, like these cupcakes, is incredibly detailed and realistic, and she says that she draws her inspiration from her years as a chef and her imagination.  I hope you like my choice of this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!

Taken on: December 26, 2023

Tags:

Looking Close on Friday

food with sprinkles

miniature

1:12

1:12 scale

dollhouse miniature

dollhouse

toy

antique

artisan

drawing room

occasional table

sofa

settee

couch

salon chair

table

chair

wallpaper

furniture

Georgian

Edwardian

dollhouse furniture

crockery

tea set

white and gold tea set

teapot

teacup

milk jug

sugar bowl

tray

salver

silver tray

silver salver

cupcake

cream

icing

sprinkles

plate

vase

afternoon tea

Bespaq

JBM

Chippendale chair

Empire table

Regency table

carver chair

tabletop

tabletop photography

miniature room

diorama

tableau

cup

saucer

macro

closeup

macro photography

carpet « less

Sets appears in: • Collectables • Looking Close... on Friday!

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Camera: Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, 6.2mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon DIGITAL IXUS 80 IS
Aperture:	f/2.8
Exposure Time:	0.017 sec (1/60)
Focal Length:	6.2mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
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