Combining Cultures: "High Tea" in Inuvik

Our effervescent Inuvik hostess Arlene Hansen had decided that Sunday lunch would be "High Tea" in the best British tradition, as imported to Canada's north. And why??? Is there a British royalist lurking in amongst the French and Ukrainian heritage? It came out that - purely coincidentally - Arlene had been in London (England) during the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this past June, and was so taken by the scale of the festivities that she decided on the spot that she would have some sort of High Tea celebration in Inuvik. We were the lucky recipients of that decision. And it is Arlene's way to go all out:
 

Arlene's High Tea was more democratic in that it celebrated any event within purview: the Queen's Jubilee providing initial inspiration, the birth of Prince George receiving honorable mention, but especially the "big birthdays" (50, 55, 60) of three of us Yellowknifers getting more attention than such birthdays might deserve.

The High Tea "spread" followed protocol: dainty sandwiches, starched tablecloths, appropriate porcelain, suitable serving dishes.

We spent some of the morning making the sandwiches: egg salad; cream cheese with cucumber and sprouts (imported from Yellowknife); ham salad; curried chicken salad. The Waterford crystal tumbler on the right contains strawberry jam to go with the second course, scones with jam and clotted cream (the scones home-baked by our Yellowknife baking friend Sheila). There were tarts in abundance which we didn't even get to. The white tablecloths were Hazel's grandmother's, as was the silver sugar dish - the matching teapot is in a following picture. Hazel's grandmother and grandfather, by the way, were butler and housekeeper for an estate of Downton Abbey calibre, and the silver was their employer's wedding gift to them. We each got to choose a dainty teacup from the roughly 100 such cups and saucers Arlene has, just because she loves them

And of course - no High Tea is truly high unless one wears hats. The most majestic ones, which do suit almost every face, were the ones Arlene bought in a store in Wales. That's Arlene presiding over the two teapots, her sister Jan in the peach hat:
 

Hazel brought her own, I took up all four of mine just in case there was a shortage. One of them was a hat made for me by Liz Pereboom for my 50th birthday (10 years ago already - wow, a long time ago!). Donna was elected to wear it, and she did it proud:

And at the end of it all Arlene gave everyone there a present: tea, of course!

I had not thought that my 60th could be as memorable as my 50th, which I thoroughly enjoyed. But I was wrong. Thanks to Hazel, and to Arlene, and to Jan, Shona, Donna and Brenda, the Inuvik trip was a birthday celebration of unalloyed pleasure. I'll never forget it.