Cakes and a good book

Yesterday we went to a local tea shop to celebrate talisen's  grandmother's birthday.  Most of the table decided to have the "Princess Tea",  which consisted of the lovely three tier tray of goodies below:



The sandwiches on  the bottom layer consisted of yummy  ingredients like red salmon and cream cheese and dill. I tried a white tea, Pai Mu Tan, but didn't enjoy it very much after the first few mouthfuls. But there are plenty more to try!

I've just finished reading The big over easy by the fabulous Jasper Fforde (possibly the best name in the world). This was his first non-Thursday-Next novel to be published, and I was a bit doubtful about a whole book centred around solving the death of Humpty Dumpty. But I'm glad I trusted in Fforde and used my Pulp Fiction book voucher to buy his new book! It was as clever as the Next books and very funny (I love that Humpty suffers from Salmonella!). The big over easy was one was only marginally less entertaining than the earlier novels because I preferred the book references. But there was such a lot of detail in The big over easy that I think I'll definitely be re-reading it again soon.

The many references in the story make one realise what a rich field nursery rhymes will be for Fforde. I just realised that this novel is one that may not work in other cultures without the same children's poems and stories. Anyway, I'm already looking forward to the next installment, The fourth bear.