Enjoying afternoon tea with scones and croquet in Sabah
Quintessentially British: (Top to Bottom) Sandakan's English Tea House and Restaurant serves tea and scones. The Agnes Keith House is a replica of the house used by the American authoress who wrote books on Borneo in the thirties and, no doubt, played croquet like these English expats. Pictures: Liz Price
Sunday, September 28, 2008
AFTERNOON tea of scones laden with jam and cream, washed down with tea served in bone china cups is quintessentially English. Included in this repast you could have delicately cut sandwiches, or an assortment of dainty cakes. And to complete the scene, afternoon tea could be served in the garden of a fine house, watching a game of croquet.
So when I found myself doing just this in a setting which even included the croquet, I had to keep reminding myself that I was in tropical Malaysia, and not in the grand garden of some country estate deep in the heart of rural England.
I even felt like a memsahib as waiters in crisp white shirts and black jackets greeted us at the gate and escorted us to a table in a gazebo. Like all good gazebos, this one had a fine view. We were able to look down onto the town of Sandakan across the bay and the Sulu Sea.
We were in the English Tea House and Restaurant. This is a renovated colonial house situated on the grounds of the Agnes Keith Museum, in Sandakan in Sabah. A fan provided enough breeze to make it pleasant sitting out in the heat of the tropical afternoon.
Having placed our orders, I went for a wander around the grounds. Firstly I went to see the peacock which had been making a lot of noise with his loud calls. He was a handsome male with an incredibly long tail, but I was told he had recently lost his mate and was rather dejected.
I went to have a look round the house. The outside area is used for dining, and inside is a bar and small lounge. The furniture looked original and was how I imagine houses would have been in colonial days.
Our tea arrived so I went back to the table to enjoy the scones whilst still warm. They were served with thick cream and jam. Whether you put the cream or the jam on first is entirely up to you, there seems to be no preferential etiquette in one way over the other.
The pleasant surroundings enhanced the taste of the scones, as it was such a tranquil atmosphere. It was hard to believe that a few hundred metres down the hill was the hustle and bustle of a small town.
One group started to play croquet. Dating back to the 1800s the sport of English croquet was an extremely popular lawn game, which reached Sandakan in 1870. There was the sound of each thwack as the wooden mallet hit the ball, then the sounds of laughter if the person missed the hoop or the ball veered off course.
Just next door to the Tea House is the Agnes Keith House. This is a replica of the house used by the American authoress who lived there with her family from 1934. It is here where she wrote her famous book The Land Below the Wind. She also wrote a couple of other books on their experiences in Borneo.
The house became home to Agnes and her family. She was married to Henry (also known as Harry) George Keith, who was the Conservator of Forests, and they had a son called George.
When the Japanese invaded Sandakan in 1942 the Keiths were imprisoned on a nearby island before being sent to Kuching in Sarawak. Harry returned to Sandakan in 1946 and it was another year before he was joined by his wife and son. However the original house was destroyed during the war, so the Keiths built a new house in a style similar to the old one, and named it Newlands. It was the first government permanent timber dwelling to be built after the Second World War.
When the Keiths left Sabah in 1952, the house was occupied by subsequent forestry officers, volunteers and staff. Although the Keiths never retuned to Sabah, the house was always referred to as Agnes Keith's House.
Today the house has been restored and turned into a heritage house, providing interesting insights to life during British North Borneo. It is furnished with a reproduction of colonial furniture and antiques. A gallery on the first floor tells the story of this remarkable woman, her books and her family.
The Brunei Times
So when I found myself doing just this in a setting which even included the croquet, I had to keep reminding myself that I was in tropical Malaysia, and not in the grand garden of some country estate deep in the heart of rural England.
I even felt like a memsahib as waiters in crisp white shirts and black jackets greeted us at the gate and escorted us to a table in a gazebo. Like all good gazebos, this one had a fine view. We were able to look down onto the town of Sandakan across the bay and the Sulu Sea.
We were in the English Tea House and Restaurant. This is a renovated colonial house situated on the grounds of the Agnes Keith Museum, in Sandakan in Sabah. A fan provided enough breeze to make it pleasant sitting out in the heat of the tropical afternoon.
Having placed our orders, I went for a wander around the grounds. Firstly I went to see the peacock which had been making a lot of noise with his loud calls. He was a handsome male with an incredibly long tail, but I was told he had recently lost his mate and was rather dejected.
I went to have a look round the house. The outside area is used for dining, and inside is a bar and small lounge. The furniture looked original and was how I imagine houses would have been in colonial days.
Our tea arrived so I went back to the table to enjoy the scones whilst still warm. They were served with thick cream and jam. Whether you put the cream or the jam on first is entirely up to you, there seems to be no preferential etiquette in one way over the other.
The pleasant surroundings enhanced the taste of the scones, as it was such a tranquil atmosphere. It was hard to believe that a few hundred metres down the hill was the hustle and bustle of a small town.
One group started to play croquet. Dating back to the 1800s the sport of English croquet was an extremely popular lawn game, which reached Sandakan in 1870. There was the sound of each thwack as the wooden mallet hit the ball, then the sounds of laughter if the person missed the hoop or the ball veered off course.
Just next door to the Tea House is the Agnes Keith House. This is a replica of the house used by the American authoress who lived there with her family from 1934. It is here where she wrote her famous book The Land Below the Wind. She also wrote a couple of other books on their experiences in Borneo.
The house became home to Agnes and her family. She was married to Henry (also known as Harry) George Keith, who was the Conservator of Forests, and they had a son called George.
When the Japanese invaded Sandakan in 1942 the Keiths were imprisoned on a nearby island before being sent to Kuching in Sarawak. Harry returned to Sandakan in 1946 and it was another year before he was joined by his wife and son. However the original house was destroyed during the war, so the Keiths built a new house in a style similar to the old one, and named it Newlands. It was the first government permanent timber dwelling to be built after the Second World War.
When the Keiths left Sabah in 1952, the house was occupied by subsequent forestry officers, volunteers and staff. Although the Keiths never retuned to Sabah, the house was always referred to as Agnes Keith's House.
Today the house has been restored and turned into a heritage house, providing interesting insights to life during British North Borneo. It is furnished with a reproduction of colonial furniture and antiques. A gallery on the first floor tells the story of this remarkable woman, her books and her family.
The Brunei Times
Source URL:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/travel/2008/09/28/enjoying_afternoon_tea_with_scones_and_croquet_in_sabah
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/en/travel/2008/09/28/enjoying_afternoon_tea_with_scones_and_croquet_in_sabah
No comments:
Post a Comment