On a mild october day I spent the afternoon in a hotel which is mentioned in such phrases as " putting on the ..." and "tea at the...". I was involved in the later activity, finally getting round to using a birthday voucher I got in May, which I promised I would save until I had something to celebrate - aside from just my birthday. Well that something had finally happened.

So tea for two in the tea lounge at the Ritz in Berlin. I went with English rather than German as my language of choice, it just felt right when dealing with such a typically English custom. And it was the right choice, it made the whole experience much more pleasurable. Anyway, what is the German for scone?

After sniffing out the tea of our respective choices, followed by an onslaught of petit fours I was settling nicely into the role. However as the the piano player began tinkling out covers such as "send in the clowns" and the Forrest Gump theme tune, I had the feeling i was being slightly mocked.