Annual Tea - January 16 2016
Annual Tea - 2016 January 16
We had another successful celebration of Jane with the annual JASNA Tea. The room was done up beautifully with flowers on the tables and our beautiful collection of tea cups and saucers. The mood was set with some wonderful period music put together by Deirdre. Ann had put together some display posters of past JASNA Calgary teas which were enjoyed by everyone prior to taking our seats.
The tea kicked off with some kind words from Carole thanking all who had contributed to the tea. Anne Marie announced that she would be organizing the Calgary viewing of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies which JASNA members had been invited to attend. Judith discussed additions to the library and announced that May Lee would be taking over the library. Thank you Judith for all of your years of work with the library, and good luck to May Lee!!
We were then invited to enjoy the delicious food brought by Ann and Carole. This year, as a change of pace, two buffet lines were set up and each table was asked to send a representative from their table up to the food tables to collect the trays sandwiches and scones and the tea pots. This meant that all were able to enjoy the tea from beginning to end. The room was filled with laughter and happy conversation while we all enjoyed our tea.
Following tea, the group was treated to the first half of the raffle draws. Thank you to all who contributed prizes for the raffles. It was wonderful that so many were able to take home a prize. Next was the toast to Jane Austen. Happy birthday to the woman who has brought us all together with her style and wit!
The next activity was a game which Michelle cleverly titled "A Truth Universally Acknowledged". The game had members selected at random come to the front to read several lines about Jane Austen from five different historical figures, and the rest of the audience was asked to guess which lines were an actual quote from the historical figure. The audience proved too clever for the game and in the end there was a six-way tie! A draw was made to select two tables to take home prizes of tempting homemade chocolate fudge made by Lindsey.
After the game, we enjoyed some delicious birthday cake and then were treated to a fantastic performance by Sprigged Muslin. It was incredible to see all of the steps and intricacies of the dances. Well done Sprigged Muslin! Finally, all were asked to stand up and participate in a group dance and nearly everyone took part. Things started off not too badly but on a second try, the dance rapidly deteriorated and by the time the dance was finished nearly all of the participants were bunched up and at various stages of the dance, all in fits of laughter. It was so much fun!
It was a wonderful afternoon enjoyed by all. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the tea this year, with a special thank you to Ann and Carole for all of their efforts.
