I met my pal from Croydon at Kingston – we were searching for some fabrics for a special occasion and she is an expert. We started at John Lewis and then ventured over to Fabric Land. My friend remembered that they sold fabrics upstairs in the old but recently restored Market House in the Ancient Market Place building. So we set off.
Downstairs there are a number of stalls with a distinctly craft and vintage feel. There were plenty of pretty and intriguing items here to tempt us. After browsing a while we climbed the stairs (there’s a stair lift for access too) to a large room which was like an Aladdin’s Cave of fabrics. We browsed a while and chatted to the woman who was extremely knowledgeable about all manner of fabrics.
Now normally we would go to a coffee shop at this point. But everywhere was really busy and the weather just too nice to be hidden away inside a dark café. And there, on the top floor of the building next to the fabrics, we found an amazing tea room.
The sun was streaming through the large windows, Vera Lynn was playing softly in the background and the tables had bright clothes covering them with fresh flowers and cheerful china. A pot of tea (complete with a cosy) was two pounds. There are at least eight varieties to choose from.
We checked out the various cakes – all under pretty glass cases – and choose some blueberry crumble cake which was delicious. They also make sandwiches to order – avocado lettuce and tomato, hummus and red pepper, egg mayonnaise and roast beef and horseradish were just some of those on offer.
While we ate and chatted in this peaceful oasis we admired the wooden dressers and war time memorabilia all around us. It was a lovely place to relax, refresh and reflect.
