Chapter One

I feel like I should start my blog with the trip that inspired me to set it up...

A few months back I found myself whiling away my morning in a truly lovely tea shop in Dorchester -on-Thames called "Lily's". A quaint place with painted chairs, floral wallpaper and many other delights including local postcards and produce.

 There was a lovely group of elderly women (old friends? WI?) laughing and joking at the front of the shop where the tables had kindly been put together just for them. I chose to sit right at the front of the cafe where I could people-watch as everyone went about their business in the sleepy village.

The menu was great and had a lot of variety (including breakfast!)... despite the variety however I was entirely predictable and ended up having cream tea for my lunch. Being predictable was worth it though when greeted with lovely china and big fluffy scones!

The trip being a while ago now I am struggling to remember the finer details but I remember that the back of the cafe was just as lovely as the front, and the toilet was filled with all kind of 'vintage' paraphernalia, such as old knitting patterns!

I ended up daydreaming to myself and realising that if I owned a tea shop, this would be exactly it... and if I couldn't own one I could certainly write about one. There began a lovely additional daydream of travelling around tiny towns and villages just to sample the tea shops... if only.

Also worth mentioning about Lily's is the genuinely beautiful setting of Dorchester. The abbey bells chime very regularly, there are beautiful tudor-esque houses, windy streets and there are many boards up with suggested walks...

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