Win Free Afternoon Tea for Two at Beatons Offer for Tweeps

Friends Matter! Afternoon Tea at Beatons Blandford

Hello Everyone, and in particular those who engage with us on Twitter where you'll find us chatting as #beatonstisbury #beatonsblandford and #beatonschester.

Follow any Beatons and retweet any #generousvalue tweet to be in with a chance of winning Free Afternoon Tea for Two. Offer applies to each Beatons Tearooms and Bookshop, and your chance runs out at mid-night on Sunday 9th August. Good luck and see you soon!

This is what it's all about... sharing friendship, scrummy cake in elegant surroundings while enjoying gracious hospitality that's also #generousvalue!

Oh yes, and book Afternoon Tea during Afternoon Tea Week (10th - 16th August) and you and your friends will each receive a FREE signed copy of 'Distinguished Leaves: Poems for Tea Lovers' to take home with you!  [more]

Celebrate our #generousvalue Afternoon Tea Week and feel Distinguished!

We love Afternoon Tea Week (10th - 16th August) - a chance to feel elegant and gracious while feasting on three tiers of scrummy cakes and scones! This year, everyone taking Afternoon High Tea at any Beatons Tearooms and Bookshop during Afternoon Tea Week will receive a FREE First Edition signed copy of  Liz Darcy Jones's best-seller, 'Distinguished Leaves' (worth £7.99).

This sweet little hardback tells you all about tea in the most delightful way and includes a charming foreword by Nigel Havers. We thought it would add a splash of #generousvalue to your Afternoon Tea. It would make a lovely way to say thank you to a family member or friend, prompt you to have a long overdue 'girls together' tea-party and have a keepsake to take home too!

Reserve your table to be sure of a place:

Blandford   01258 269515

Chester       01244 950761

Tisbury       01747 871 819

P.S. Win Afternoon Tea for Two! If you're on Twitter, follow us at @beatonschester @beatonsblandford or @beatonstearooms for Tisbury and retweet our #generousvalue tweet to be in with a chance of winning Free Afternoon Tea for Two. Offer applies to each Beatons Tearooms and Bookshop, and your chance runs out at mid-night on Sunday 9th August. Good luck and see you soon!

#beatonsbod: Shellie - Tisbury Tearoom Tiger!

Shellie is an important part of our Beatons Team, however she is not seen in the Tearooms that often. 

Shellie looks after all of our lovely customers bright and early at Tisbury Train station, providing a little warmth to cheer up their early morning journeys!

Shellie loves 'being around fab people and enjoys making customers happy and exceeding their expectations.'

What's your favourite edible or drinkable from our menu?
The scones and cream with jam, followed closely by strawberry milkshake....nom-nom!

Which of the ways we like to go about things at Beatons means most to you and why? At Beatons we like to make sure that we provide a speedy yet elegant service always with a smile. The service is great value for money and the food is just out of this world, it always looks stunning. I love how everyone is very passionate about the way we do things.

If you were an animal, what would you be? 

TIGER roarrrrrrrr!!

What do you like most about the most important person (or pet) in your life? 

The fact that they understand me and never ever judge anyone, everybody gets a chance. Perfect.

Lastly, what are you most looking forward to in terms of Beatons' events or future plans?

It is very exciting to know that Beatons is expanding and doing amazingly. It feels brilliant to just to be a part of the journey.

#Chester: Dong Ding, Chester and the Magna Carta

David Adams

First, this is a big thank you to David Adams, pictured, and all our neighbours who frequent The Addleshaw Tower next door at Beatons Chester.

On 30th May they achieved something special - and gave us a lovely mention.  They officially range the whole peal of Dong Ding Delight Major - a method in praise of tea. From St Laurence Church Frodsham it rang out - as far as we know it's the first ever method on the subject of tea itself.  It looks like it took nearly 3 hrs to ring too! Here's a link to the details, which confirm the method should be now be officially registered.

Why all this talk of bells. Well, as you know, we're holding a great event at Beatons Chester on Sunday 14th June 

Think free carrot cake, Dong Ding tea, bells and talking about freedoms - of the individual and speech.

For the historians or loyal 'Cestrians' here's some more fascinating information gleaned by David Adams, Press Officer for the Chester Cathedral Bellringers - they're the brains and bells behind the event! Over to you David...

'In 1215 Chester had a powerful Earl: Ranulf de Blondville.  Some months after the sealing of the more famous document at Runnymede in 1215, the Earl of Chester issued his own charter.  He did not do it under pressure from his barons, but perhaps it showed how powerful he was; virtually a King of Chester.  The Chester Magna Carta was shorter than the more famous one but had similar clauses.  The final one is of particular significance: it urged the barons to grant the same concessions the Earl granted them to their tenants.  It was hardly likely to have had much effect on the lives of serfs and all unfree people; and it was soon superseded by the Magna Carta and its later versions. Nevertheless, it is interesting to know that Chester had its own Great Charter.'

David Adams

Chester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers

#Chester: LiberTeas, Magna Carta and Individualitea!

On Sunday 14th June  a nationwide initiative by The National Trust and the Houses of Parliament will see hundreds of events being held under the umbrella of 'LiberTeas' celebrating the 800th Anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta. They are all about 'communiteas' getting together to talk about democracy and freedom... offline. Join us and join in!

Making it all the more delicious is the invitation to take tea at the same time and reflect on the freedoms that started with this remarkable document. Beatons Chester is co-hosting LiberTeas Chester with Chester Cathedral bellringers  - free carrot cake and Dong Ding oolong tea and bell-ringing activities and screens with live streaming so you can watch the bellringers ringing...

... and at all three Beatons venues, you can enjoy a 'LiberTeas Afternoon High Tea' for two on the day  with £5 off all pre-booking! That rings a bell for affordabilitea too!


Why did we want to be involved?

Well, Salisbury holds the finest copy of the four original remaining exemplars of  the Magna Carta (Salisbury's quite close to Tisbury, home of our flagship tearooms). Chester had something quite unique, its own take on Magna Carta which included some fascinating differences - more here from Cheshire Local History Association. An exhibition about Magna Carta and Chester opens in Chester Cathedral Library on June 16th.

I can't find any links between Blandford Forum and Magna Carta but Dorset certainly has a connection - Bearwood near Poole has many roads named after people involved in the signing of Magna Carta and indeed the oldest road in the area is called Magna Road! And both Dorset and Wiltshire are celebrating in style with 800 children being involved in four concerts at Salisbury Cathedral this year.

Bringing Beatons into the equation, two of our group's key values are about honouring the individual, you can read them and our challenge to you at the end. In 1215 when Magna Carta was sealed the rights of the individual - barely acknowledged, and arguably only faintly at best - were first entertained as an idea.

Is it relevant to you and me, today?  Yes. There's a great article by Justin Fisher on the British Library site (brilliant - link here) which explains it all. But if it's all new to you and - like me - you don't really know what's even in the 'Great Charter', Julian Fisher helps,

'The continuing importance of Magna Carta as a source of liberty is well established. One of the key provisions in the 1215 Charter was that imprisonment should not occur without due legal process. This also established the idea of trial by jury. Clause 39 of the 1215 Charter states that: ‘No free man shall be arrested or imprisoned … or exiled or in any way ruined … except by lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.’ 

Then there's bells...  The day has been nominated a Grand Ringing Day - I'm guessing with reference to the famous 'Liberty Bell' - so there will be bells sounding out across the country too. If you're a Cestrian, or one of Beatons Chester's regulars, you'll know the Addleshaw Bell Tower, which houses Chester Cathedral's bells is next door to Beatons Chester.

So what's our offering on Sunday 14th June?

• At Beatons Chester (phone 01244 950761 to pre-book High Tea) Plus there's a whole afternoon of activities with free carrot cake and Dong Ding oolong tea served from 2.15 to 3.15 - pop into the Bell Tower next door to collect your token. Full details on the LiberTeas website here.
• At Beatons Blandford (phone 01258 26951) and Tisbury (phone 01747 871819)  pre-Book a LiberTeas High Tea for two to enjoy a £5 discount, or pop in on the day and honour the freedoms that the 'Great Charter' embody in Britain as you chat!  Our challenge to you? Is there something you value about the individual you're with, or yourself? Why not take a few minutes and find the courage to share it with your fellow guests while you enjoy your tea and cake?  

Finally, I promised sharing our values that relate to the individual - and appreciating them. They are:

... valuing the individual - whether supplier, franchisee, customer or any other stakeholder - is necessary for people to feel heard and nourished - it gives Beatons its integrity
 and

 ... developing the attributes and skills of franchisees and staff alike is the single most important factor in creating personal and business success for each person, and therefore the group as a whole

 If that tempts you to come and work for us, check out our vacancies!

#Chester: Cathedral Bells Make a Dong Ding!

This is a story about bells, although our 'Make a Dong Ding for Chester and Charity' started off at Beatons Chester with Town Crier, David Mitchell, popping in for some post-crying Dong Ding tea to lubricate his vocal cords... 

Beatons House Poet Liz, Chester's Town Crier
and Beatons' Founder Patrick Duffy - eagerly anticipating the event!

And it's really about our jolly good neighbours not us!

It was David Adams, Press Officer of the Chester Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers (to give them their proper name) who made the event come to life in a way that could literally be heard for miles around...

And here's the video so you can even hear a little bit if you didn't manage to get to Chester on the day!

Dong Ding Tea Brewing...

How was the idea born? When preparing the event, I contacted David and mused somewhat cheekily that it would be great to have the Cathedral Bells ringing as we had a bell theme. Somehow in the conversation with David an idea grew - had there ever been a sequence of bells (called a 'method') in praise of tea?  David went away and - with a bit of help from some tea from Jenier Teas (who kindly donated all the Dong Ding tea for the event) promptly started creating one! I did some research and came up with a blank. David dug a little deeper and found a method about 'Percy's Tea Strainer' but nothing specifically about tea!

From left: Stefan Zientek, Carrie Hyde, Andy Jobson, David Jones
Brian Heys, Patrick Deakin, Duncan Hyde, Andrew Rawlinson

Hooray! Ding Dong! Dong Ding! Suddenly we had a world first on our hands (albeit that it needs a fair bit of complicated ratifying to register I have since learned) and a collaboration between two neighbours with enough enthusiasm to keep the project afloat in the frenetic lead up.

By the time of our Launch Soiree the night before all was in place - 'all' meaning eight bell ringers ready to ring 'Dong Ding Delight Major', (pictured) not at all a simple undertaking, after partaking of Dong Ding tea!

What on earth is a 'method'? I'd call it the code or ringing recipe!  And I now know that 'methods' range from being simple in structure - 'Plain Bob', through to being 'Treble Bob', to 'Surprise' and 'Delight' which are more complex. To be precise - and bell ringing is a very precise business - a 'Delight' is more difficult to ring but easier in structure than a 'Surprise' which is easier to ring but more difficult in structure.  Got it? Fortunately we don't need to! Just look at the scan of 'Dong Ding Delight Major' to get an idea...

Now, I want to make a special mention of an amazingly talented - and extremely helpful - family.

Four out of seven of the Deakin family ring - from eleven year old Isaac (who offered to collect with one of our collecting buckets - thank you Isaac) to lovely mum, Linda. Niamh and Patrick (in their teens I think) show how bell ringing is an activity for all ages. Bellringing - what a way to hone your co-ordination, mental agility and exercise with friends!  

When the Dong Ding Delight Major method began to ring I got tingles going up and down my body - something that hasn't happened to me since I watched Alexi Gruss's Circus in Paris a few years' back! [Which leads me beautifully into a public thank you for my 'Mr Darcy' aka Chris Barltrop @circuspr who took both the photos and the video, a very generous contributor to the day.]

Next opportunity when we join our neighbours? Pencil in Sunday 14th June for LiberTeas I Commemorating the 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta. 

Carrot cake, Dong Ding tea... could be the start of a tradition at Beatons Chester!

P.S. The second our YouTube video of the event goes up, we'll let you know here - and of course on twitter @BeatonsCheshire

Beatons Chester Moments to Treasure and were you there?

Roger Atkinson OBE - the charming octogenarian who marched to Beatons Chester a fortnight before it opened (a serendipitous mistake on my part which found us an aspiring Cheshire author and friend) - rang a school handbell to open our 'Make a Dong Ding for Chester and Charity' event on Saturday. 

Roger's faculties are in better order than mine - as you'll read below! On returning to my writer's retreat in Herefordshire I discover this story is slightly bare of pictures and names...

But the event wasn't about names or pictures, it was about taste, smell and sound.  The taste of carrot cake, the smell of grassy spring Dong Ding oolong tea and the sound of bells reverberating round Beatons Chester in the most delightful way, as if it was itself invisible Dong Ding tea!



Because we did make a Dong Ding... or rather the Cathedral bells did - they made history, and that's the story for the next blog post to go up, which will be dedicated entirely for them. But here's the video we've just uploaded to YouTube about what happened while the bells were ringing.

Our Open House launch events are always about us being part of the community and - thanks to some incredibly generous visitors (mainly Cestrians but a few tourists too) - we managed to raise £123.93 in the space of two hours which will be split between RASA (Rape And Sexual Abuse) Centre and The Cheshire Community Foundation.

About to stick her name up on our 'Bell Tower Artwork'
Lovely Mummy and two beaming daughters..

We'll be putting a video of the event up on our YouTube channel over the next day or two, but here are a couple of pictures which did manage to appear on my camera. I was so busy helping people ring a bell for someone special and then write their name on a piece of paper that became our 'Bell Tower Artwork' that the camera appeared to go off in a sulk and didn't register about half the pictures I took. So, I'm sorry Honorary Alderman Simon Cussons, wife Gill and daughter Lindsey - you were the first to arrive and contribute and I only have your names to ring out here!

Who is she?
Mystery lady who enjoyed
her Dong Ding!

Then, with the cruel irony that technology seems to enjoy serving me, the pictures that have been taken are missing the slip of paper on which I carefully wrote the names... If you recognise yourself please let us know and we'll credit your lovely smiles.

Still, it happened, I've always said I'm an offline lady and fortunately Beatons ethos is always 'live first, online second'...

... and you can enjoy the taste of carrot cake and smell and taste of Dong Ding oolong tea every day of the week.

Psst... and a little bird told me that if it's not tooooo busy and you missed ringing a bell for charity on Saturday, Beatons' Chester owner, Steve Roberts might just let you have a little ring of the bell we gave him to celebrate opening our first franchise...