Page 68 of The Seaside Supper Club

‘Cheers.’ The lads paid, and were off.

The early morning newspapers, coffee, Danish pastries and croissant run had begun, with a flurry of customers dropping by. Cath enjoyed the buzz, warming another batch of pastries, as well as some pies and quiches, when supplies began to get low. Between times, she managed to chat with dear old Kenneth, too, of course. Sitting there on his chair by the till, he was like the shop’s mascot.

There was a lull, and Cath’s eye was drawn to the raffle prize that the lads had kindly now organised for the Tilldale Afternoon Tea. It looked wonderful; a huge wicker basket filled with a treasure trove of local produce, all cellophaned up and tied with curls of golden ribbon. Nikki had given a fancy bottle of Prosecco, and Lily was going to make up a couple of bags of millionaires shortbread and chocolate truffles, ready to add to the hamper at the last-minute, so they’d still be lovely and fresh. Andreas and Dan had generously raided their shelves to provide local shortbread, savoury biscuits, jams and chutneys, heather honey, plus Northumberland Tea and Rington’s coffee, making the whole basket a tea-time extravaganza.

There were more items, too, stored beneath the counter, for the raffle: with donations of a meal for two from Bill, the landlord at the village pub, and Rachel, from The Pudding Pantry near to Kirkton, who had links with the care home, had gifted a voucher for Afternoon Tea for Two, plus Will who’d given a brand-new cycling top and a free bike service. With raffle tickets already selling well, apparently, funds for the event were picking up.

‘So, are you looking forward to the afternoon tea, Kenneth?’ she asked.

‘I am indeed, lassie. Ah, it was such a lovely do, your Christmas luncheon that day. You really brought the village hall back to life. Marvellous it was.’

‘Ah, that’s so good to hear.’

And a full two hours after he arrived, and two large mugs of tea later, Kenneth finally left, taking a can of tomato soup, some wholemeal rolls and two strawberry yoghurts with him. ‘Lovely to see you, lassie. Thanks for the tea.’

‘You’re very welcome, Kenneth. Enjoy the rest of your day.’

*

In a flurry of activity, Veronica, ‘mistress’ of the village hall, was the next to call in to the shop, with some very welcome news.

‘We’ve rallied the troops!’ she called out. She had been on a mission, she explained. ‘So, I’ve asked every group that hires the hall to come up with a fundraising or sponsorship scheme over the next two weeks. They all agree that your community afternoon tea sounds a splendid idea. So, the Brownies are doing a sponsored bounce and assembling a small trampoline in the hall for their next session. The indoor bowls club are holding a bowl-a-thon. The Autistic Society are donating prizes for the tombola, which I’m more than happy to organise by the way, and the pilates class are doing a sponsored ‘500’ – that’s instead of the ‘100’ apparently. No idea what that means.’

Oh my, Cath tried to look delighted with that fantastic support, but that was her pilates class – and she knew exactly what the 100 was, and that was painful enough. But 500 – really?! But hey, it was all for a good cause, she reminded herself. Cath was sure she’d find out more about it at her Tuesday pilates session, next week. Her core, and no doubt her purse, was going to be pounded, for certain. Abs of steel, Cath, abs of steel.

‘That all sounds amazing. Thank you so much. And it’s great that all the clubs are getting involved. That’s such a lovely idea. And it’ll boost our finances for the event. We’ll be sure to make the most delicious spread for everyone, a real treat.’

‘Oh, and the Brownies are more than happy to help out on the day too, Brown Owl asked me to pass that message on,’ Veronica added. ‘And there was something about them baking scones for it, too.’ Naturally, scones with strawberry jam and thick cream were an essential part of any afternoon tea. And offers of help with making some extra ones – especially with the numbers attending rising daily, so she’d heard – would be more than gratefully received.

‘That’s brilliant, thanks. I’ll give her a call. And thank you, Veronica, you’re a one-woman wonder.’ She really was a force to be reckoned with, and it was fabulous when her talents were put to good use.

‘No need for any fuss. It’s the least I can do. And well, I think it’s a big thanks to you and your group that we’ve got the hall back up and running in the first place. Oh, and the hall hire that day will be free. That’s all sorted. The committee is in full agreement.’

Cath had to smile. She had a good idea that no one on that committee would dare to challenge that particular proposal by Veronica, anyhow.

With the same speedy turnaround as her arrival, the door jangled as she left with a ‘Just off to get the hall set up for indoor bowls.’ The refurbished village hall seemed to have given Veronica a new lease of life, and sense of purpose, too.

*

It was almost 5 p.m., and just as Cath was about to close up, after a busy yet satisfying day, a couple in their sixties came dashing in.

‘I hope we’re not too late? They haven’t all gone, have they?’ The lady, who Cath recognised as living in a small hamlet nearby, sounded rather flustered. ‘Only our Milly – that’s the dog – has been poorly, and we clean forgot. I was just chatting to Joyce next door, and she mentioned it.’

‘It’s been a race to get here before closing time,’ her husband added, looking rather red in the face.

‘He was doing a good impression of Lewis Hamilton in those lanes. I was hanging on to my seat by the end.’

It suddenly clicked with Cath that it was officially the last day to get tickets for the Tilldale Afternoon Tea. The poster had been duly amended after their last meeting. She pulled out the list from behind the counter, spotting dear old Kenneth’s name right there at the top. There were, oh wow, eighteen tickets already dished out – and that of course, was on top of the care home group numbers.

‘No worries. You’re fine.’ Cath found the metal tin that Dan had been using for the tickets. ‘Here you go.’ She pulled out two of the tickets – that Lily had designed so prettily for them – from an elastic-banded bundle, and recorded the numbers and the couple’s names on the sheet. She then gave a smile. ‘Not long to go now.’

‘Yes, and we heard how fabulous the last do was. Joyce told us all about it. We couldn’t possibly miss out this time.’

‘Well, be sure to bring your dancing shoes along. As well as the tea, we’ve got a band and dancing.’

‘Oh, it sounds wonderful. We can’t wait. Thank you. Oh, and how much do we owe you for the tickets?’ added the lady, who Cath now remembered was called Sue.

‘It’s a free event, but …’ Cath seized the opportunity to bring in some extra funds, ‘we are holding a raffle, and there’s a tombola on the day to help cover costs. Raffle tickets are a pound a strip, and the main prize is this wonderful hamper, right here. It’s filled to the brim with tea-time treats.’