High Tea

If you're looking for something festive to do during the holidays, here's a civilized idea: Take a friend to tea. The 'N Enchanted Herb Garden and Tea Room in Owings Mills is just the place, with its small, feminine dining room done in the softest lavenders and greens. Here, you can sip tea from a china cup while listening to the faint sounds of a gurgling fountain. If that sounds like the perfect antidote to the harried, last-minute shopping you've been doing this week, make your reservation now. Tables are limited.

Pinkies up! St. Stephen's Traditional Episcopal Church in Timonium is hosting its 12th annual British Garden Party and Fete on Saturday, May 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, even though it costs St. Stephen's nearly  $4,000 each year to present this "bit of Jolly Olde England," as the church bills it. "It's really a gift to the community," the Rev. Guy Hawtin said. "It's not really a money-making venture - the goal is to break even. One year we cleared $50 profit.

RECENTLY, I TOOK part in a High Tea, which is a ritualistic British type of light meal involving a large quantity of etiquette.Generally, I do not get involved with any level of tea, even Low Tea. Generally, when I am in the market for an afternoon beverage ritual, the one I select is Cold Beer. But in this case I had High Tea because I was invited by etiquette expert Marjabelle Young Stewart, who is on a lifelong crusade to get Americans to use good table manners and for God's sake take off their baseball caps indoors.

The Annual AMC Valentine Tea was held Friday, Feb. 15 at Tea by Two in Bel Air with a sellout crowd. Speaker Bob Rich from Saxon's Diamond Centers was entertaining and most informative as he shared samples of diamonds in various colors. Did you know that there are blue, yellow, brown and black diamonds? Oohs and aahs were heard throughout the tea room as samples were passed around for all to see. The Pandora Bracelet, donated by Saxon's, was a tantalizing auction item. The delicious menu for high tea was delicious and varied with lots of chocolate and fabulous teas all served in the charming atmosphere of classic table settings and decorations.

John-John Williams IV has a story in Wednesday's Taste section about the revival of the formal afternoon tea tradition. Afternoon tea is not to be confused with high tea. Afternoon tea has various applications in England, depending on class. But let's say that there is the domestic version, performed in households, and the institutional version, performed in fancy hotels. That version let's call formal afternoon tea. It's that version that's the focus of Williams' story . The tradition comes and goes in Baltimore.

Eldersburg library branch, 6400 W. Hemlock Drive, is offering: Family Story Time for all ages (age 3 and younger with an adult) at 7 p.m. today on "Woolly Sheep" and 9:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Monday on "Digging Up Dinosaurs." "Teen Mystery Game -Roswell" at 7 p.m. today. Participants can become characters in the story to solve the mystery of who has been involved in extraterrestrial foul play at a beach house luau. Registration is required. "KidWorks Presents: Dance Fever" at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow for all ages (age 3 and younger with an adult)

Students from the Southeast Horizon Council attended the Howard County NAACP Youth Council Community Health Fair Nov. 19, at the Ridgeley Run Community Center, in Jessup. The event targeted the needs of children and teens by providing valuable information on nutrition and exercise. The Horizon Foundation's current initiatives include implementing strategies to improve healthful eating, physical activity and other positive lifestyle changes. Attending the Health Fair to learn more about what is being done locally to improve health and wellness of teens were, from left, Candace Johnson, of Reservoir High School; Betsy Maltez, of Hammond High School; and Marcos Miranda, of Reservoir High School.

To those out there who think high tea is some fancy anachronistic event attended only by white-gloved old ladies who barely have room for three cookies, I'm about to set you straight. Better yet, I'm going to tell you where you can partake of the most flawless high tea this side of the pond: the Thir-Tea-First Street Cafe and Tea Room in Waverly. In December, Denise Washington took over the funky old purple building that used to house the Old Waverly History Exchange & Tea Room. With all due respect to the beloved predecessor, the newcomer is even better.

A PROPER tea party involves three things. The first, of course, is plenty of piping hot tea with sugar, milk and lemon. The second is finger food served on good china - scones, sliced cake, small sandwiches made of white bread with the crusts removed. The third, and perhaps the hardest to provide, is a relaxing atmosphere that encourages people to linger as they take a break from their daily routine. Kitty Knoedler, the genial proprietor of Petticoat Tea Room, has these elements down pat, from the assorted teas she presents to the homemade goodies served on floral china that would have been at home in any Victorian parlor to the cozy, Colonial-style tearoom overlooking the Fells Point waterfront.

Did you know high tea is coming back in style?High teas were big in Woodrow Wilson's day, and then the casual, anti-Establishment '60s all but eliminated the activity as an American tradition.Harbor Court Hotel and Bertha's Restaurant in Fells Point offer afternoon high teas, and big-city hotels nationwide have tea time as well. It seems to be the in thing.Understand, tea in the afternoon is not like tea in the morning, which at my house is drunk in an old, stained mug with a floating bag, no cream.

Students from the Southeast Horizon Council attended the Howard County NAACP Youth Council Community Health Fair Nov. 19, at the Ridgeley Run Community Center, in Jessup. The event targeted the needs of children and teens by providing valuable information on nutrition and exercise. The Horizon Foundation's current initiatives include implementing strategies to improve healthful eating, physical activity and other positive lifestyle changes. Attending the Health Fair to learn more about what is being done locally to improve health and wellness of teens were, from left, Candace Johnson, of Reservoir High School; Betsy Maltez, of Hammond High School; and Marcos Miranda, of Reservoir High School.

John-John Williams IV has a story in Wednesday's Taste section about the revival of the formal afternoon tea tradition. Afternoon tea is not to be confused with high tea. Afternoon tea has various applications in England, depending on class. But let's say that there is the domestic version, performed in households, and the institutional version, performed in fancy hotels. That version let's call formal afternoon tea. It's that version that's the focus of Williams' story . The tradition comes and goes in Baltimore.

The Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department's Ladies Auxiliary will hold a vendor show from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. March 18 at the fire hall, 6275 Old Washington Road, Elkridge. Vendors are to include brands such as Avon, Mary Kay, Silpada Designs jewelry, Creative Memories, Longaberger, At Home America, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Executive Sweet gourmet gift baskets and others. Information: 410-761-6633, Ext. 3. Library to offer varied activities The Miller branch library, 9421 Frederick Road, will offer "Let's Get Together: Pins and Needles," a chance to work on stitching, knitting or crocheting projects while meeting new friends and trading tips, at 10 a.m. March 8 and 29. "Success Matters: College Prep 101," with Jean Marie Keller, president of Keller College Services, provides strategies for financial planning for college.

December marks the peak of navel-orange season. The orange's connection to Christmas stretches back more than a century when times were hard and an orange in the bottom of a stocking was a welcome gift. Today, of course, oranges are readily available in grocery produce sections. According to Sunkist, the average American consumes 12 1/2 pounds of fresh oranges per year. Doing a dip: Hey, it's easy Although the Christmas dinner isn't yet on the table, it's not too soon to think about what you're going to serve for New Year's Eve. French's mustard has this easy appetizer idea: Defrost a 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, squeeze it dry, and place it in a food processor or blender along with 1 cup of plain nonfat yogurt, 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese, 1/4 cup French's Napa Valley style Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil leaves, a chopped clove of garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper.

Eldersburg library branch, 6400 W. Hemlock Drive, is offering: Family Story Time for all ages (age 3 and younger with an adult) at 7 p.m. today on "Woolly Sheep" and 9:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Monday on "Digging Up Dinosaurs." "Teen Mystery Game -Roswell" at 7 p.m. today. Participants can become characters in the story to solve the mystery of who has been involved in extraterrestrial foul play at a beach house luau. Registration is required. "KidWorks Presents: Dance Fever" at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow for all ages (age 3 and younger with an adult)

The past in its most decorous form is never so remote that Alice Ann Finnerty cannot touch some fragment of it daily in her Hampden consignment shops. Perhaps it's logical that she would raise her new life project on a foundation of memory. It had to be a tearoom, as Finnerty tells the story, if only to appease a persistent nostalgic impulse. She would restore some elements of a day when the Hutzler Brothers Co. meant not just a fine downtown Baltimore shopping experience, but also the prospect of enjoying an afternoon in the department store's sixth-floor restaurant, the Colonial, known also as the tearoom.

The Annual AMC Valentine Tea was held Friday, Feb. 15 at Tea by Two in Bel Air with a sellout crowd. Speaker Bob Rich from Saxon's Diamond Centers was entertaining and most informative as he shared samples of diamonds in various colors. Did you know that there are blue, yellow, brown and black diamonds? Oohs and aahs were heard throughout the tea room as samples were passed around for all to see. The Pandora Bracelet, donated by Saxon's, was a tantalizing auction item. The delicious menu for high tea was delicious and varied with lots of chocolate and fabulous teas all served in the charming atmosphere of classic table settings and decorations.

The Kennedy Center in Washington has announced a millennium series titled "Kennedy Center 2000: The Legacy and Promise of the Performing Arts." The theater offerings begin in September 1999 with "Shockheaded Peter," a work by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch based on an 1844 book of tales warning children of the consequences of naughty behavior.In October, the Center presents the American premiere of the Barabas Company of Dublin's production of Lennox Robinson's 1916 comedy about a small-town Irish family, "The Whiteheaded Boy."

PHILADELPHIA - "Spacious rooms. Views of the city skyline. ... Elegant dM-icor in warm and sophisticated tones ... Fine linens and terry cloth robes ... High Tea served every afternoon." Sounds like an ad for a five-star hotel, right? Actually, it is an enticing promo for a new unit, The Pavillion, at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. The Pavillion "is for people who wish to pay for additional amenities," said Christine Collins, director of patient access services, speaking at a recent Philadelphia conference on "premier" hospital services.

To those out there who think high tea is some fancy anachronistic event attended only by white-gloved old ladies who barely have room for three cookies, I'm about to set you straight. Better yet, I'm going to tell you where you can partake of the most flawless high tea this side of the pond: the Thir-Tea-First Street Cafe and Tea Room in Waverly. In December, Denise Washington took over the funky old purple building that used to house the Old Waverly History Exchange & Tea Room. With all due respect to the beloved predecessor, the newcomer is even better.