Tea and crumpets served — Downton Abbey style
A slice of Georgian history visited the Burlington Public Library on Saturday afternoon. Librarians dressed in the opulent “Directoire-style” of 1912 and in formal maid costume, serving in a beautiful tea service small cucumber sandwiches along with Lady Grey tea and cinnamon and cheddar scones. Patrons sat at two large round tables that featured the handwritten cursive placards of guests’ names.
It was all part of the free “Downton Abbey” Tea Party at 34 Library Lane at 1 p.m. prior to a screening of the PBS TV show’s fifth season’s finale in the library’s video screening room.
Assistant Library Director Diana Rudzinski dressed in period costume in the style of an upper-class British matriarch, complete with a green gown, a long strand of pearls, and purple gloves. Rudzinski said, “This is the first time we’ve ever done this. We, at the library, are all fans, and it’s been a fabulous turnout among all ages.”
Some of the 13 attendees included teens and adults, who said they would later attend the “Downton Abbey” final sixth-season’s premiere-episode screening at Torrington’s Warner Theatre Saturday evening. The British drama series, which follows the lives of the 1910s aristocratic Crawley family and its servants, is also broadcast Sunday evening on PBS at 9 p.m.
Teen librarian Sara Lo Presti represented the “downstairs” life at an English manor, dressed in a formal black-and-white maid’s outfit. She said, “I am tickled by how many people are here and how many ‘Downton Abbey’ fans there are out there.”
Lo Presti added, “At first, we were thinking it may be just an adult event. But then we opened it up to teens as well. And they came.”
Megan Porga, 16; Meghan Conlin, 16; and Emily Porga, 14, who attend Burlington’s Lewis S. Mills High School, represented the younger fans of the show who dined under the watchful eyes of a photo at their table of the “Downton Abbey’s” sharp-tongued Dowager Countess of Grantham (played by Dame Maggie Smith).
“I like the show but I like that they are ending it at this time,” Porga said. “It’s a good series.”
Meghan’s mother, Lisa Conlin, sat nearby, adding, “My daughter and I started watching a few seasons ago. Now, we watch the show regularly.”
Lo Presti, Rudzinski, and other library staff had prepared for the party tuna-salad, egg-salad, and cucumber tea sandwiches and cheddar savories in the shape of hearts. Varieties of Earl Grey and English breakfast tea were served as well, topped off with chocolate-covered cherries.
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