Dearest gentle readers ... it appears a Jane Austen and Bridgerton medley graced McMaster with a fantastic evening of dress up, mystery and enjoyment

The McMaster Book Club hosted a Jane Austen and Bridgerton themed mystery tea party. On Nov. 12, 2024, students gathered in their finest regency-inspired attire from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m for a mystery game night at Bridges.

McMaster's book club is dedicated to creating community through books. Mehreen Javed is the club's vice-president of administration. Isabella Paton is the vice-president of outreach for the McMaster Book Club.

"We typically choose two books a month and we really emphasize having club members vote on what those books are to let them have a say on that. So we'll have two meetings each month where we just talk about the books themselves. Additionally to that, we also do some socials and fun stuff like the Jane Austen event," said Paton.

Paton initially came up with the idea for this event over this past summer. "Everyone was hyping up Bridgerton so hard and I said, "I need this content right now." I was reading Pride and Prejudice at the time and we had been planning over the summer what kind of events we were going to run," said Paton.

"I think even when you look at Bridgerton, you could definitely tell that Bridgerton itself is definitely pulling inspiration from Jane Austen," said Paton when asked about the decision to do a combination theme of Jane Austen and Bridgerton.

The mystery tea party was an extremely detailed game and very well received by McMaster Book Club's community. "There was this kit online that came with a list of characters, character guides and fun little audio files we could play for them," said Javed.

"The audio files were so fun . . . it was so over the top, in the most fun way because I remember everyone got so into it . . . Once we actually started playing the game we were breaking people off into smaller groups. The whole point was to spread gossip and it was so funny because people just got so into it from there. And by the end of it, it was just constant laughing, over the top gasping and people were completely improvising. It was fun to see people come out of their shells," said Paton.

By the end of it, it was just constant laughing, over the top gasping and people were completely improvising. It was fun to see people come out of their shells.

Isabella Paton, Vice-President of Outreach
McMaster Book Club

"In these groups they [participants] also have lines and rumours that they can spread [which] are listed in their character guides. So that way, the drama is stirred, the tea is filled. Everyone gets suspicious of everybody else because they don't know if that person is plotting," said Javed.

The book club executives had assigned all attendees a letter before their arrival to the event. They chose one of the letters to be Lady Whistlewind, a character's hidden identity people try to discover in the game. "What makes it fun is you can play the game multiple times . . . in theory, every time it [Lady Whistlewind] could be a different character," said Paton.

Participants were strongly encouraged to wear costumes to further immerse themselves in the game. "We sent everyone a list of all the characters before the actual day of and got them to tell us their top three characters. After that, we told everyone what their character was . . . people were fully dressed up in their gowns. Even the men were in their riding boots, it was so funny," said Paton.

The book club executives used decorations, refreshments and props for attendees to have a real Jane Austen and Bridgerton tea party experience.

"We had small brownies, we had little mini cupcakes and we also had tea, because you can't have it without tea," said Javed. "Bridges has these nice fairy lights that they have strung up there. So we turned those on . . . I also had my speaker as well and we were playing Bridgerton music in the background."

The evening had other props such as teacups, fans and the overall Bridges scenery for students to take photos among. "What's really nice about Bridges is you don't necessarily have to do too much just because it's a really nice venue," said Paton.

"I think events like these . . . just give book lovers an opportunity to actually come together, get to know each other, come out of their shell a lot of the times," said Paton. "It was so nice to emphasize community and emphasize that book club can be a source of community for people."

It was so nice to emphasize community and emphasize that book club can be a source of community for people.

Isabella Paton, Vice-President of Outreach
McMaster Book Club

So for now gentle readers, have a say in the next McMaster Book Club's book of choice and stay tuned for more engaging socials on their Instagram.

Mother-daughter duo’s travelling tea trailer continues to deliver tea and comfort during COVID-19 

Autumn is the season of change. Leaves begin to change to brilliant, bright and beautiful colours and the warmer temperatures give way to cooler, wintery weather. This is also the season of good company. It is the time to sit down with a friend, share a pot of tea and enjoy good conversation. While gatherings may look different this year, taking place often over Zoom rather than in person, businesses like the mother-daughter-run Tea Amo are still finding ways to bring people together.

As part of a big Irish family, tea has always played an important role in Marian Peter’s life. This love of tea is something she passed down to her daughter, Heather Peter. In 2013, Heather purchased a vintage trailer with the intention of setting up a tea service. When Marian retired from her job as an English as a Second Langue teacher, the mother-daughter duo went into business together, selling tea out of the trailer at parks and private events.

“Having tea with people [is] a lot about [the] memories that you have around tea and making new memories. I think a lot of people have that nostalgia [towards tea] and they already love the memories around afternoon tea, so they want to bring that back,” said Heather.

“Having tea with people [is] a lot about [the] memories that you have around tea and making new memories. I think a lot of people have that nostalgia [towards tea] and they already love the memories around afternoon tea, so they want to bring that back,” said Heather.

Many of the loose leaf teas that they offer are made in-house. As their business continues to grow, the duo hopes to blend more of their teas themselves to create new flavours. Those not made in-house are sampled and then carefully selected from importers. All of their blends are free of artificial flavours, preservatives and added sweeteners.

Tea Amo sells their teas and a number of thoughtfully selected tea-related products on their website. These include traditional products such as teacups and teapots, as well as novelty items, such as perfume oil and teapot-shaped earrings. The latter they opted to include because they felt these items would make nice gifts for tea lovers. Many of these products are locally made.

[media-credit name="C/O Heather & Marian Peters" align="none" width="2048"][/media-credit]

However, the pandemic has forced them to pivot their approach. Many of the events they would have attended are now on hold and they can no longer bring the trailer around to parks as they had previously done.

In conjunction with their online store, the duo is now offering afternoon tea boxes. Each afternoon tea box includes finger sandwiches, cookies, fruits and vegetables and two bags of loose leaf tea. These boxes are created in-house and delivered weekly in the trailer. 

Especially during this time when many are having socially distant gatherings, the afternoon tea boxes are fitting because everyone can have their own box. As there is no need to share food, individuals are still able to gather safely. For those connecting via Zoom or other video platforms, the tea boxes are also convenient in that they can be ordered individually and then enjoyed together during the call.

[media-credit name="C/O Heather & Marian Peters" align="none" width="1944"][/media-credit]

 

“[W]e're bringing happy to people. So many people have sent this afternoon [tea] box to a friend that's been depressed or a mother that’s sick . . . Or just to themselves with a couple of friends, distancing. So it was just a perfect idea for this time to do the afternoon tea box. So, we're doing quite well with that and enjoying it. It's like a feel-good kind of service for sure,” said Marian.

"So many people have sent this afternoon [tea] box to a friend that's been depressed or a mother that’s sick . . . Or just to themselves with a couple of friends, distancing."

In these trying times, Tea Amo continues to spread the warmth and comfort customary of tea. They are also bringing people together, reminding them of better times as well as providing them with the opportunity to create bright, happy memories that they will look back on fondly for years to come.