However, one of the most endearing scenes the word conjures up is the one apparently started by Anna, the seventh Du-chess of Bedford, in the 1800s. Her Grace used to ex-perience a ‘sinking feeling’ every afternoon, be-cause the English upper classes had very late dinners, so she instructed her maids to serve tea with little cakes. This proved such a delightful experience that it became a tradition thereafter.
Afternoon tea therefore is the sort with three-tiered cake stands, filled to the brim with thinly sliced cucumber or smoked sal-mon sandwiches, delicate wedges of fruit cake and other finger-licking goodies.
