I was recently introduced to a local cycling group in Cambridge through a friend of The Secluded Tea Party.  Esther, a PR Guru for Duxford Imperial War Museum is a huge fan of all things vintage, cycling and afternoon tea related… A girl after my own heart ; ) Esther voluntarily runs the “Beg Bicycles“ Cycling group in and around Cambridge, with this particular group being about the beautiful and locally made

As you may or may not know, I am a Columnist for the Cambridgeshire  Journal Magazine and I was lucky enough recently to be given my very  first 4 page article on a tearoom of my choice to review.  Naturally, I went for an independent tearoom, Teacake of Shepreth to be precise, as they deserve a visit on any day of the week! As well as being thankful to Alice, my Editor, for allowing me to give this a go,  I also want to give

I received an email a few weeks ago from a very polite journalist called Adam asking me if I would be able to help him with a radio documentary he was producing about Afternoon Tea and the history & etiquette of this fabulously British ritual. I agreed to chat and he continued to advise me that it was to be produced for the BBC and would be recorded at Betty’s of Harrogate with a full afternoon tea tier to bribe me.

I’m going to share a recipe with you… With autumn well and truly here and my bike rides in the countryside becoming colder and damper by the week, it’s now time to swap my salads with some warming soups for a good old winter warmer.  I don’t want to turn to the wrong sort of comfort food, I’m trying not to eat too much meat or fast foods (or cakes, eek!), so it’s the perfect time to get my b

Today at The Secluded Tea Party, I have a guest blog post from the Chief Scone maker at The English Cream Tea Company, Jane Malyon.  Based in Saffron Walden, Jane posts out her fabulous Afternoon Tea Packages to your office or home for any occasion.  I have loved every photo she has posted on Facebook & Twitter throughout the summer, especially of her customers enjoying their afternoon tea at the races and on civilised pi

After a very exciting email and phone conversation with a researcher at the BBC One Show offices last Friday afternoon, I was asked to rally the troops and get 4 or 5 Clandestine Cake Club members from our Cambridge club for a filming opportunity this Monday evening. It was all in the name of the Great British Bake Off Final and with Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry planned to be in the BBC One Show studio on the Tuesday (the eve

My name is Miss Sue Flay and I am a bake-a-holic! I am usually found hosting events and activities based around afternoon tea in Cambridge and soon to be London and anywhere in between. I have an infatuation with afternoon tea and all things cakey, I even have a tattoo of a cake on my foot, of which I am not proud of from time to time, due to my new detest for the cake in question haha. However I also, for fun and frolics, hos

Following a recent event that I hosted in Leeds, The Clandestine Cake Club Annual Organiser’s Gathering and meeting the mega passionate Rachel over at Dolly Bakes, I decided to get on board, as I am sure we all did after her fab and informal chat on her passion for these circular & weirdly interesting cakes.  After a first and rather successful attempt at my very first Bundt Cake this weekend, thanks to the lovely J

Having just taken a well deserved and much needed holiday, after nearly 3 years without a proper break away previously, I decided now was a good time to take my bike with me and enjoy some slightly more picturesque rides over my latest Cambridge ambles.  Having taken the estate car with us, myself and my partner in lycra-clad crime were able to get both bikes safely inside the car for the week and it helped teach me a thing or

After a very busy 12 months or so, with no sign of stopping with Xmas only around 12 weeks away (how did that happen…again?!) I decided it was time for a proper holiday. Not just a break away, which never seems to relax me completely, but a proper holiday, away from work, laptops, television, the normal every day rubbish. I didn’t want to regret having one of those trendy “Staycations” sat on my sofa fe